Jesus
Taught With Power
–
Mark Ten –
Mark ten provides us with a look at some of the things that Jesus
said and did as He reached the end of His personal ministry. As Jesus journeyed
toward Jerusalem He spoke of marriage and of little children. Marriage is a
contract between a man and a woman, not between two men or two women. I care
not how many states pass laws to say men may marry men God still says it is an
abomination. (Leviticus 18:22) Marriage is so sacred that it is a lifetime
commitment. Divorce is not allowed for trivial causes. (Mark 10:6-9) Divorce
and remarriage for any cause except for fornication violates God's law. Jesus
is not only concerned about marriage He is also concerned about little
children. (Mark
A rich, young man "came running" to Jesus and "kneeled to him and
asked" "what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?" This man had many
positive qualities. He had reverence for the Lord and he was concerned about
spiritual matters. He had kept many of God's commandments, but it grieved the Lord that he
would not obey His commandments. He loved his money more than he loved his
soul.
Our Lord had clear knowledge of His coming suffering
and death as a sin sacrifice. (Mark
James
and John are so typical of the many. They desired first places in the kingdom
for their own personal glory. They said they could drink of the cup Jesus drank
of and be baptized with the baptism he was baptized with. They were thinking of
the crown when they should have been focused on the cross that they should
bear. Jesus said, But "...Whosoever will be great
among you, shall be your minister: And whosoever of you will be the chiefest,
shall be servant of all." (Mark 10:43-44) Servants leave the world better,
holier and happier than when they were born.
The chapter closes with Jesus healing a blind man named Bartimaeus. He cried to Jesus, "Son of David, have
mercy on me." This blind man saw Jesus through faith. Our attitude must be
the same. "Though now we see Him not, yet believing we rejoice with joy
unspeakable, and full of glory." (1 Peter 1:8) He did not allow others to
stop him. He just kept his focus on Jesus. Jesus said to him, "Go thy way;
thy faith hath made thee whole." Appreciation demanded that he follow
Jesus in the way.
Jesus taught about divorce and children – Mark 10:1-16:
The Pharisees asked Jesus about divorce to trap Him. They believed in divorce
for almost any cause (Deuteronomy 24:1), but Jesus did not believe that.
(Matthew 5:32, Matthew 19:3-9) The fact that God has always hated divorce is
borne out in Malachi 2:16. "For the Lord, the God of Israel,
saith that he hateth putting away..." Marriage is the relationship that
brings a man and woman together so that they become one flesh. The marriage relationship demands strong
commitment. The only way marriage can
honorably be dissolved is by death.
Jesus moved straight from marriage to talk about children. The
parents wanted Jesus to touch their children and bless them. Oh, and notice
that there is no mention of any infant baptism involved here. The disciples saw
that children were being brought to Jesus and they began to rebuke those that
brought them. Jesus was displeased with that and said, "Suffer the little
children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the
A rich, young man came to Jesus – Mark 10:17-31:
As Jesus went on His way he was approached quickly by a rich, young man. He
wanted to know from Jesus how he could inherit eternal life. The young man
showed much respect to Jesus. Scripture say that he came running up to Him, and began
to kneel down in front of Him, and that he even called Him "Good
Master." This very religious young man had obeyed God's commandments from
his youth. Jesus had compassion and pity for him. Jesus told him that he lacked
one thing in order to have treasures in heaven. He told the young man to go and
sell what he had and give to the poor. The poor, pitiful rich, young, ruler
could not, or would not do it! He wanted to "inherit eternal life,"
but he wanted to do it his own way, not God's way. This young man walked away
from Jesus sad and lost.
Jesus foretold His death a third time – Mark 10:32-34:
Slowly but steadfastly Jesus made His way toward
Jesus dealt with James, John and Bartimaeus – Mark 10: 35-52: No sooner had the Lord
spoken of His death, burial and resurrection before James and John came to Him
with a request. It seems that Zebedee's sons had been
assuming that they were really something in the eyes of Jesus and in the other
apostles' eyes as well. Therefore, they really felt that they maybe deserved a
place of honor over anybody else. So they said, "Grant unto us that we may
sit, one on thy right hand, and the other on thy left hand, in thy glory."
(Mark
Bartimaeus, a blind beggar cried,
"Jesus, thou Son of David, have mercy on me." The crowd commanded Bartimaeus to "Shut up!" However, Jesus stopped
to hear his request. Look back on blind Bartimaeus
and see exactly how his faith was shown. His faith was shown in six ways: (1)
He went to Jesus, (2) He believed in Jesus as the Messiah, (3) He refused to
give up, even when others around him wanted him to, (4) He took off his garment
when he saw that it was going to hinder his going to Jesus, (5) When Jesus
called him, he immediately went to Him, and (6) After he was healed, he praised
and followed Jesus. Do you and I have this same kind of faith in Jesus?
Do you believe that Jesus Christ is the Son
of God? If so it is time to become a Christian now! To become a Christian you
must hear the gospel (Romans