Mark 10 Redefining True Greatness
Mark 10 - Enduring Word Commentary
Divorce
10 Jesus then left that place and went into the region of Judea and across the Jordan. Again crowds of people came to him, and as was his custom, he taught them. 2 Some Pharisees came and tested him by asking, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?” 3 “What did Moses command you?” he replied. 4 They said, “Moses permitted a man to write a certificate of divorce and send her away.”5 “It was because your hearts were hard that Moses wrote you this law,” Jesus replied. 6 “But at the beginning of creation God ‘made them male and female.’[a] 7 ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife,[b] 8 and the two will become one flesh.’[c] So they are no longer two, but one flesh. 9 Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.” 10 When they were in the house again, the disciples asked Jesus about this. 11 He answered, “Anyone who divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery against her. 12 And if she divorces her husband and marries another man, she commits adultery.”
Jesus now moves from the region in Galilee toward Judea (Jerusalem). Wherever Jesus went, the crowds followed him. Once again the Pharisees were trying to trap Jesus. They always tried to use the Law to try trap him. In this case, they tried to use a provision in the Mosaic Law for divorce.
In Deuteronomy, Moses permitted men to divorce women if they were found to be unclean.
The debate centers around the Mosaic law that gave permission for divorce in Deuteronomy 24:1: When a man takes a wife and marries her, and it happens that she finds no favor in his eyes because he has found some uncleanness in her, and he writes her a certificate of divorce, puts it in her hand, and sends her out of his house. The debate among the rabbis tried to answer the question “What constitutes uncleanness?”
In Jesus' time, men could divorce their wives for almost anything according to Rabbi Hillel, the liberal branch of Judaism.
But Jesus goes back to the original intent of God's Creation. Since God created us in His image, what He made was good and doesn't need to be changed. Let's just start with the fact that God has made us male and female. Obviously our culture is massively confused about this right now. Gender is something that each person gets to describe for themselves. Today it is widely believe men can choose to identify as women. And women can choose to identify as a man. Of course, anyone can do anything they want, but it doesn't change how God has made us.
Then, Jesus says that the natural progression of becoming an adult, is a man leaving his mother and father, and being united to his wife. This is not to mean if you don't get married you aren't an adult, but it how the world has gotten populated and 8 billion live here today. Jesus says the essence of marriage is two becoming one, as God has joined them together. This is why the Catholic church calls marriage a sacrament. And it makes sense anatomically too. This is why divorce is wrong. Because if a man and woman are joined together, to tear them apart does damage to both parties. And since the union is permanent and eternal in God's eyes, for a man to marry another woman is also wrong.
It all makes sense doesn't it. Now I realize why some divorces happen. There is always grace. But it was not God's intention to begin with. Many who try to justify homosexuality have nothing in scripture to prove it is accepted by God. I realize we are all broken and this brokenness is seen acutely in our sexuality. But this was never God's intention. Sin has destroyed God's intention for creation, but it doesn't justify these behaviors. I don't anybody would argue that divorce has really helped our society. Any law God has given us for our own good.
The Little Children and Jesus
13 People were bringing little children to Jesus for him to place his hands on them, but the disciples rebuked them. 14 When Jesus saw this, he was indignant. He said to them, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. 15 Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.” 16 And he took the children in his arms, placed his hands on them and blessed them.
Jesus loved children, which he made abundantly clear every time he interacted with him. But he says something astounding when the disciples try to "shoo" them away. He says, "To these children belong the kingdom!". What does that mean?
Children are not only for blessing; they are also examples of how we must enter the kingdom with a childlike faith, not with a childish faith. We must come to God with a faith that trusts God just like a little child trusts his father – and leave all the problems up to daddy.
The Rich and the Kingdom of God
17 As Jesus started on his way, a man ran up to him and fell on his knees before him. “Good teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” 18 “Why do you call me good?” Jesus answered. “No one is good—except God alone. 19 You know the commandments: ‘You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, you shall not defraud, honor your father and mother.’[d]” 20 “Teacher,” he declared, “all these I have kept since I was a boy.” 21 Jesus looked at him and loved him. “One thing you lack,” he said. “Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” 22 At this the man’s face fell. He went away sad, because he had great wealth.
When people saw Jesus' power, they were always looking for a way to obtain it. First, the man tried to cozy up to him by calling him, "Good teacher". It gave Jesus a chance to define goodness. Goodness was for God to decide alone. But for "grins" Jesus gave the man a pop quiz on goodness. He started with the obvious commandments murder, adultery, theft, lying, and dishonoring his mother and father. The man thought he did pretty good in these areas. Check, check, check ..
But then Jesus gave him the real test. He asked him to sell everything he had and give to the poor. The man went away sad, because he had great wealth. Jesus knew the man had a problem with the 1st Commandment to worship God alone. His god was money.
23 Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God!” 24 The disciples were amazed at his words. But Jesus said again, “Children, how hard it is[e] to enter the kingdom of God! 25 It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.”
Jesus said it was harder for camel to go through the eye of needle, than a rich man to enter heaven. Obviously a camel can't go through the eye of needle, just like a man whose god is money can't trust in Jesus for salvation.
26 The disciples were even more amazed, and said to each other, “Who then can be saved?” 27 Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God.”
The bottom line is that no can do enough good things to enter the kingdom of Heaven. But through Jesus God has made the impossible possible. Just like the camel can't through the eye of needle, we can't save ourselves.
28 Then Peter spoke up, “We have left everything to follow you!” 29 “Truly I tell you,” Jesus replied, “no one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for me and the gospel 30 will fail to receive a hundred times as much in this present age: homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and fields—along with persecutions—and in the age to come eternal life. 31 But many who are first will be last, and the last first.”
Peter is not getting it. He is still stuck on the "camel and eye of the needle" analogy. He is still relying on the fact that he left everything to follow Jesus. But Jesus assures him that anybody who has left everything to follow him will be blessed expontentially in this life and even more in the next!
Jesus Predicts His Death a Third Time
32 They were on their way up to Jerusalem, with Jesus leading the way, and the disciples were astonished, while those who followed were afraid. Again he took the Twelve aside and told them what was going to happen to him. 33 “We are going up to Jerusalem,” he said, “and the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and the teachers of the law. They will condemn him to death and will hand him over to the Gentiles, 34 who will mock him and spit on him, flog him and kill him. Three days later he will rise.”
As Jesus made his way to Jerusalem, he told his disciples for the third time he would be condemned by the religious leaders and delivered to the Gentiles. The Gentiles would abuse him and kill him, but three days later he would rise again. The bottom line is this is the third time Jesus had told the disciples this, so they should not have been surprised when it happened.
The Request of James and John
35 Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to him. “Teacher,” they said, “we want you to do for us whatever we ask.” 36 “What do you want me to do for you?” he asked. 37 They replied, “Let one of us sit at your right and the other at your left in your glory.” 38 “You don’t know what you are asking,” Jesus said. “Can you drink the cup I drink or be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with?” 39 “We can,” they answered.
It wasn't just the crowds who were looking to use Jesus for their own benefit, James and John also thought through their association withh him they would be given a special place in heaven. They wanted to be at his left and right hand in the kingdom of heaven. Jesus asked them rhetorically if they wanted that kind of glory would they be willing to pay the price he was soon going to be pay. Naively they said "yes".
Jesus said to them, “You will drink the cup I drink and be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with, 40 but to sit at my right or left is not for me to grant. These places belong to those for whom they have been prepared.”
Though James and John would suffer for their faith, their seats in heaven would be determined by His Father in heaven based on their faithfulness with what they had been given.
41 When the ten heard about this, they became indignant with James and John. 42 Jesus called them together and said, “You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. 43 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.”
The other disciples were not too happy about James and John were trying to get a "leg up" on them. It was time for Jesus to clarify kingdom values. Importantly he corrected their misunderstanding that the kingdom of heaven was organized by worldly principles. Power and authority were not given by title or position, but to those who exhibited humility which led to servanthood.
Jesus redefined greatness as someone who would lay his life down. Greatness in the kingdom is based on being a servant. Jesus modeled greatness in every thing he did.
As Paul describe Jesus in Philippians 2, "Jesus did not equality as God as something to be grasped onto but emptied himself and became a servant even to death on the cross. Therefore, God has exalted him to the highest place that at the name of Jesus every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus is Lord."
Blind Bartimaeus Receives His Sight
46 Then they came to Jericho. As Jesus and his disciples, together with a large crowd, were leaving the city, a blind man, Bartimaeus (which means “son of Timaeus”), was sitting by the roadside begging. 47 When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” 48 Many rebuked him and told him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” 49 Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.” So they called to the blind man, “Cheer up! On your feet! He’s calling you.” 50 Throwing his cloak aside, he jumped to his feet and came to Jesus. 51 “What do you want me to do for you?” Jesus asked him. The blind man said, “Rabbi, I want to see.” 52 “Go,” said Jesus, “your faith has healed you.” Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus along the road.
What I love about this story is that Jesus says to the blind man, "What do you want me to do for you?" The blind man had boldly shouted, "Jesus, son of David, have mercy on me." He clearly knew something about who Jesus was as the Messiah. When the man told Jesus he wanted to see, Jesus noted his faith and he was healed right then and there.
What would you say to Jesus if he asked you, "What do you want me to do for you?"
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