July 15, 2023
Please use the comment section on this page to share insights from today’s reading OR your own personal Bible reading.
Reading along with us in Mark? Here’s today’s reading:
Mark 10 (NIV)
Divorce
1 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.…..Continue Reading
Sad to see the way people have disregarded marriage these days and chapters like this show just how important it is to God. Between rushing into it unprepared and giving up on it so easily we have greatly devalued the sacred bond it is before God, two becoming one.
And money is such a temptress to so many! Hard to give up your “stuff” and follow Jesus but the reality is it doesn’t come with you in the end and yet we worship it, we work so hard for more of it, we live outside our means to feel like we have more of it. Money has become the God for so many especially here in our country.
Jesus’ reminder to come as children is a reminder of humility, simplicity, and faith and when we come like that it is easier to avoid traps like greed, idols, and sin.
Mark 10 💕
Mark 10
It is very sad to see the state of marriage in America today. May we as believers tap into all the power, principles and resources that God provides for relationships in general and marriages specifically to have the best marriages possible. And it is beneficial for all of us to be childlike without being childish and operate in the faith and obedience that young children often display. It is interesting that this teaching is followed by two examples of people who don’t operate with that childlike attitude. First we have the rich young man. The Jews believed wealth was a sign of God’s favor on someone and so to hear that it was difficult for them to enter the kingdom of God caused them to wonder how anyone could be saved. Well what God is looking for for us to gain salvation is simple childlike faith, to simply trust who Jesus is and what He says. Jesus asking him to sacrifice his wealth was not Him adding an additional requirement for salvation but revealing where the young man’s heart was. It is hard for rich people who have so much to trust in something beyond riches to gain salvation. Ultimately salvation is rejecting all the efforts of the flesh and what we can do to accomplish salvation and thereby trusting only in Jesus and His sacrifice on calvary. That event is coming closer for them and that is why Jesus progressively prepares them for what is coming when He will be rejected and killed. And after He shares that with his disciples, we have the next example of people without childlike faith and that is John and James. Jesus makes clear both what they will go through for His sake as well the fleshly hubris of asking what they did. Children do not care about power and position, just being with the people they love, honor and trust. What is important is that we all see things the way Jesus does and not be blinded by our own ideas and by the world. We all need Jesus to heal us from blindness as he does at the end of the chapter. Curious that Jesus just declares him to receive His sight, based in the faith that he has in Jesus. It shows His miracles are based in His power and not the physical things He does around certain healings.
In the beginning with Adam and Eve; God made marriage between man and woman. The two were to become one under God. But because of man`s sinful nature that God made some allowances. But not what He intended. It is God that ordains a marriage. But mankind has corrupted it. Like everything he gets his hands on, for without God he will do whatever is right in his own eyes which is evil. For marriage is sacred and as Christians, we should have Christ as the center of our marriages. It is three cord with Christ in the center. Now we come back to the children. The disciples just don`t seem to get it. This time they are trying to prevent children from coming to Jesus probably thinking that Jesus is to busy for children but Jesus is displeased and has the children come to Him. And teaches that when a person comes to Him he must come as a little child to enter the kingdom. A child`s faith. Jesus had just taught previously with a little child in His arms. The rich young ruler thinks that he is good until Jesus reveals to him that he is not, for Jesus says that no one is good except the Father. And uses the ten commandments to reveal it to him. The ten commandments which is the moral law can be used to show people that they are sinners. That no matter how many works a person does he cannot earn his way into Heaven. Ephesians 2;8,9. Yet all the religions in the world teach that you have to earn your way to Heaven. But only through Christ alone can one be saved. Again Jesus tells of His death and resurrection and again says that after three days will rise again. This time He gives more detail. And despite Jesus saying this the disciples are more concerned of who should sit at Jesus right side and left side. Here it is James and John who seem to think that they deserve this over the other disciples. What arrogance they have and Jesus had just taught in the last chapter about being servants to others. They are so slow to learn. But aren`t we the same. We can be so slow to learn and then when we have learned we discover that we are not even close to what we think and have to relearn it over again. I hope this makes sense. Jesus reteaches this lesson over again. His example this time is Himself. He states [ For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto but to minister and to give His life a ransom for many.] Then they went through Jericho a blind man called out to Jesus to heal him. The more people tried to keep him quiet the more he called out to Jesus for mercy to heal him. Jesus responds to him and has him brought to Him. He heals the blind man with just His spoken word because of the man`s faith. Jesus wants to hear us to call to Him in prayer for our requests coming to Him in faith as His children. May God richly bless you.
A worthwhile study for understanding our calling in Christ….
“Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.”
Mark 10
The rich one comes to Jesus:
And he answered and said to Him, “Teacher, all these things I have kept from my youth.”
21 Then Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, “One thing you lack: Go your way, sell whatever you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, take up the cross, and follow Me.”
22 But he was sad at this word, and went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.”
The apostles were baffled at Jesus’ response to this rich man. “Then Jesus looked around and said to His disciples, “How hard it is for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God!” 24 And the disciples were astonished at His words. But Jesus answered again and said to them, “Children, how hard it is for those who trust in riches to enter the kingdom of God! ”
The expectation that rich people are somehow closer to God or more highly esteemed by Him, I think, carries into our own world. Why do we esteem or attribute wisdom to the wealthy? Bill Gates, the World Economic Forum, the EU, presidents, Hollywood stars…if we really listened to these people and compared their “wisdom” to God’s word, it is foolishness….even detestable.
Re-reading this and I was struck again by the children:
“Then they brought little children to Him, that He might touch them; but the disciples rebuked those who brought them. 14 But when Jesus saw it, He was greatly displeased and said to them, “Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of God. 15 Assuredly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will by no means enter it.” 16 And He took them up in His arms, laid His hands on them, and blessed them.”
In particular, “LET THE LITTLE CHILDREN COME to ME, AND DO NOT FORBID THEM.” All I could think about was the removal of prayer and Bible teaching from our public schools. How many times has our own government (which we are supposed to control!), forbidden the expression of “religion”, specifically Christianity, from our schools? Another millstone award.
Mark 10
God says “This is my Son whom I love, listen to him!” And Jesus says “anyone who wants to be first must be the very last, and servant of all.”
If anyone has a question about gender, we can point them to what Jesus said “At the beginning of creation, God made them male and female.” I wonder if he stated this so clearly because he knew people would be confused about this topic. Jesus prophesied his death exactly as it was going to happen, it must have been very difficult for him and very unsettling for his disciples “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, who will mock him and spit on him, flog him and kill him. Three days later he will rise.”