Mark 10 - Sometimes the Blind Can See, While Those Who Can See Are Blind!

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Divorce

Jesus has already exposed the hypocrisy and legalism of the Pharisees. Today they try to trip him up by asking for his interpretation of the Mosaic Law on the subject of divorce. They ask Jesus if it is lawful for a man to divorce his wife. The trap is that if he says it is okay, then he is going against the words in Genesis where God says, "What God has joined together let man not separate!"

But if he said it was unlawful they would point out a provision Moses made for divorce in cases of adultery. 

The law of Deuteronomy 24:1 was really given as a protection to the divorced wife. “Moses permitted divorce providing a certificate of divorce was given to the wife… Its primary function was to provide a degree of protection for the woman who had been repudiated by her husband.” (Lane)

Jesus affirms that God's plan for marriage is that what God has joined together let man not separate. Marriage is a holy commitment made before God and the faith community. Therefore, Jesus tells his disciples that if a person divorces their spouse and marries another person, they commit adultery. Why? Because in God's eyes the original couple is still "one" in God's eyes. Therefore for either spouse to have a sex with a new person is having sex outside of their marriage in God's eyes. 

Divorce is common in the church. The divorce rate in the church is almost as high as in the world. The church is not doing a good job of teaching and/or preparing couples for it means to make a marriage a holy commitment before God, family, and friends. It is promise that should not be so easily broken. So often people get divorces because they "can't get along anymore". Or, "We've lost that loving feeling". Or, unfortunately due to the infidelity of one of the spouses. 

However, infidelity is the only exception Jesus makes for divorce in Matthew 5 when he teaches on the Sermon on the Mount, 

"But I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, makes her the victim of adultery, and anyone who marries a divorced woman commits adultery." 

There are some that neglect the whole counsel of God and say that God never allows remarriage after divorce. But when we see what the entire Bible says on the subject, we see that if a divorce is made on Biblical grounds (adultery or abandonment by an unbelieving spouse), there is full right to remarry. - Guzik

The Little Children and Jesus

The disciples thought Jesus had better things to do then spend time with the children. After all, children were a nuisance. But Jesus says something which would have been shocking to the hearers, 

“Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. 

Then, he states the inverse that if you do not become like a little child, you cannot enter the kingdom of God. What is it about children that caused Jesus to say these things? Most importantly kids trust until they are given a reason not to. Unlike the skeptical Pharisees who questioned everything Jesus said, the children came to him and received him. They not have grasped all the intellectual truths of the faith but they "got Jesus" and exhibited true faith in Him. 

To become like a child is to humble oneself. It is to say you don't have all the answers, but Jesus does. It is to sit at Jesus' feet not trying to find ways to rationalize or explain away what he is saying, but exercising childlike faith to do what he says. 

If Jesus values children so highly, why do we in the church often want them to be seen but not heard? Why do we get so frustrated when they wiggle and make noises in church. We wonder why when young adults leave the church in droves after the get into high school and go to college, but maybe it is because they never felt a part of the church to begin with. 

The Rich and the Kingdom of God

Jesus continues to explain the nature of the kingdom of God and who gets it and who forfeits it. He uses the the analogy of a young man who says to Jesus, "What must I do to inherit eternal life?"  Jesus tells him, "That's simple just keep the commandments God has given you."  The man naively says to Jesus, "I've been a good boy my whole. I've kept all the commandments."

Jesus calls his bluff and asks him to sell all his possessions and follow him. But the man went away sad because he was not obeying the 1st commandment to worship the Lord Your God only! His riches was his god!

Again Jesus is exposing the danger of keeping the externals of the law, while neglecting the true, spiritual purpose of the Law. He illustrates this with divorce and now with money. In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus also teaches on how prayer and fasting can be done in a way that does not honor the Spirit of the Law. The primary purpose of the Law is to show us our need for Christ. Without Christ we can never keep the law no matter how we try.  If we think being a Christian is about following all of God's laws and assume we are a good person, we like the rich man will go away sad. 

It is only as we come to faith in Jesus that our hearts are transformed and we can begin to obey the law of Christ. The law of love. The law that has become written on our hearts!

Jesus Predicts His Death a Third Time

As Jesus makes the ascent to Jerusalem, he tells his disciples about his impending death. Every time he says essentially the same thing. The Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests and teachers of the law. He will be crucified and then after three days he will rise again. There has to be a reason Jesus has told them now three times. The irony is that even when we see this being fulfilled the disciples still don't get it. Fortunately after Jesus rose from the dead and appeared to them, some believed and eventually all but Judas did. 

As Jesus nears the cross and has been talking so much about the kingdom of God, the disciples are still thinking of a earthly kingdom where they might co-reign with Jesus. They don't understand the suffering Jesus is going to undergo and why it is for their sin he will die. 

So James and John, the sons of Zebedee, ask Jesus if they can sit at his right and left in the kingdom. These were the positions of power, just like at the Passover dinner table when guests were seated to the left and right of the host based on their relationship to the host. 

Jesus then makes a classic statement how we as his disciples should view power and authority. 

Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, 44 and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. 45 For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.

Greatness for Jesus and our reward in heaven will be based on servanthood. If Jesus' mission on earth was not to be served but to serve, how much more should we as his followers be servants of all. Nothing should be beneath a Christian. There should be no one too lowly for us to associate with. There should be no task we shouldn't be willing to do for Jesus' sake. 

When the toilet was clogged recently at the church I was serving, the pastor rolled up his sleeves and took out the plunger so the bathroom would be ready for Sunday morning congregants, as they arrived. He was a true servant and a true servant leader. If we go by the motto, "What Would Jesus Do", then we should be willing to wash feet if necessary. 

Blind Bartimaeus Receives His Sight

Jesus was traveling with a large crowd when he heard a man in the crowd say, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!" You see, he knew it was Jesus going by and this was his chance. The people tried to "shush" him, but he cried out all the more, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!"

Though the man could not see, he could see that Jesus was the Messiah. The Pharisees could see, but they couldn't see the Messiah right in front of him. The blind man says two things which shows his faith. First, he asks Jesus to have mercy on him showing that he knew Jesus was God. Second, he calls him the "Son of David", which was the prophesy from the Old Testament stating that the Messiah would come from the house and line of David. 

I love what Jesus says, "What do you want me to do for you?" Jesus probably knew the guy needed healing for his blindness, but he allowed the man to ask in faith. And the man said simply, "Rabbi, I want to see!"

The blind man got it right and Jesus rewarded his faith by giving him back his sight. When the man could see, his faith had become sight too and he followed Jesus down the road. 

What would you say to Jesus if he asked you, "What do you want me to do for you?" 

Are you willing to be as bold as blind Bartimaeus was?