Welcome to week 10 of our study from the gospel of Mark and, rather handily, to Mark chapter 10. Every part of this chapter contains a richness of truth that we could spend hours in, each day. But that’s not what Personal Worship is about. We want to spend about 15-20 minutes reading the word, considering its wisdom, reflecting on questions, and praying.
So I urge you to listen to the Out of Water podcast, where Pastor Sam and Mark do all they can to mine these nuggets of truth for you. And, of course, don’t miss next Sunday’s message where one of our pastors focuses on one element of the chapter, presenting it along with practical application. All of these work together to give you the most complete opportunity to grow spiritually.
As with prior weeks, because each day’s text tends to run long, we’re not giving you additional scriptures to read. We’ll confine ourselves to the text from Mark. Let’s get started!
Study notes by Mark Lautenschlager, prayer guides by Tracy Lautenschlager.
Index to Days 2 through 5
Day 1
Divorce Deception
Observe
The Pharisees attempt once again to trap Jesus into saying something that will potentially get him arrested or even killed.
{Mark 10:1-12 ESV} {1} And he left there and went to the region of Judea and beyond the Jordan, and crowds gathered to him again. And again, as was his custom, he taught them. {2} And Pharisees came up and in order to test him asked, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?” {3} He answered them, “What did Moses command you?” {4} They said, “Moses allowed a man to write a certificate of divorce and to send her away.” {5} And Jesus said to them, “Because of your hardness of heart he wrote you this commandment. {6} But from the beginning of creation, ‘God made them male and female.’ {7} ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, {8} and the two shall become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two but one flesh. {9} What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.” {10} And in the house the disciples asked him again about this matter. {11} And he said to them, “Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her, {12} and if she divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery.”
At no point did the Pharisees need Jesus to tell them the rules on divorce. This was not a question that sought information, it was a trap. Jesus had returned to the territory of Herod Antipas, a wicked king who had John the Baptist arrested and then put to death because John had publicly disapproved of Herod Antipas marrying Herodias, previously married to his half-brother. Herod Antipas and Herodias had both casually divorced their previous spouses in order to make way for their marriage and John the Baptist refused to approve of it. It is likely the Pharisees had hoped Jesus would say something equally offensive to Herod, leading to the same end that had befallen John the Baptist. In a brilliant answer, Jesus put them on the back foot with his own question. Moses was their authority—what did he say? Forced by this to make the first commitment, they stated the law. A husband could write a certificate of divorce and send his wife away. Jesus never questioned the law, although he did explain the compromise Moses made. Jesus reached back to the first principles, to creation. The God who had created humankind male and female, designed marriage as an unbroken lifetime commitment between a man and a woman. Jesus made his point from scripture without ever taking a personal stance. The Pharisees were defeated.
- When someone asks you a yes or no question on a complicated matter, they’re being self-centered. They are seeking the answer they want and expect you to give it to them. What are some ways you deal with this as it happens, and did you learn anything from how Jesus handled it in this passage?
- When the disciples pressed Jesus for more information, he said if a husband or wife took the easy divorce method Moses allowed and married someone else, they were committing adultery. (It’s noteworthy for Jesus to even suggest that a wife could divorce her husband, as that didn’t really happen in those days.) What do you think that answer means for divorce in modern times?
Dear Jesus, I am in awe of the wisdom and patience you showed during your earthly ministry to all types of people: the selfish opportunists, the true seekers and even the enemies trying to trap you. You answered them from your holy word, which had the power to reveal their true motives. Lord, give me your wisdom when I am confronted with questions. Help me to recall scripture. Strengthen me to respond with love and patience. Amen.
Day 2
Two Ways to Come
Observe
Today’s passage records two very familiar stories: Jesus rebuking the disciples for not letting the children come to him, and his encounter with the rich young man. They show two very different ways to come to Jesus.
{Mark 10:13-31 ESV} {13} And they were bringing children to him that he might touch them, and the disciples rebuked them. {14} But when Jesus saw it, he was indignant and said to them, “Let the children come to me; do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God. {15} Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.” {16} And he took them in his arms and blessed them, laying his hands on them. {17} And as he was setting out on his journey, a man ran up and knelt before him and asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” {18} And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. {19} You know the commandments: ‘Do not murder, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and mother.'” {20} And he said to him, “Teacher, all these I have kept from my youth.” {21} And Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, “You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” {22} Disheartened by the saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions. {23} And Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How difficult it will be for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!” {24} And the disciples were amazed at his words. But Jesus said to them again, “Children, how difficult it is to enter the kingdom of God! {25} It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.” {26} And they were exceedingly astonished, and said to him, “Then who can be saved?” {27} Jesus looked at them and said, “With man it is impossible, but not with God. For all things are possible with God.” {28} Peter began to say to him, “See, we have left everything and followed you.” {29} Jesus said, “Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands, for my sake and for the gospel, {30} who will not receive a hundredfold now in this time, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and in the age to come eternal life. {31} But many who are first will be last, and the last first.”
Both the children and the rich young man are coming to enter the kingdom of God, each with a different approach. How do children come to a parent when they need something? With their need and nothing else, right? They don’t come with ideas on how they can help meet the need and begin pitching them to you. When we come to Jesus for salvation, all we bring is the sin that makes it necessary. Children also come believing their parent can and will meet their needs. There isn’t one shred of doubt in their approach. That is also how we come to Jesus for salvation, with full assurance that he can and will save us! The rich young man is different. He begins by calling Jesus “Good Teacher.” This is a bit of a trick. Any rabbi called Good Teacher would quickly disavow the phrase because only one teacher was good: God. Had the rich young man been sure Jesus was God, could have used a different title. Instead he showed his doubt by seeing if he could get Jesus to tip his hand. Would Jesus disavow the title or would he signal that yes, he was God? The young man wants to inherit eternal life and he thinks he’s done his part, when Jesus lists the requirements of the law, the young man is quick to affirm he’s done all those things from his youth. No doubt he expected Jesus would say “very good, just add one or two more things and you’re in.” Jesus sort of does that, but it’s to reveal what this rich young man values. Jesus looked at this young man and Mark tells us he loved him, and from that position of love, he tells him to sell all he has and give the money to the poor. In other words, show Jesus that nothing even approaches the value of his kingdom. The rich young man hesitated and walked away, for as much as he wanted and valued eternal life, he also wanted and valued his possessions. Both wanting to do his part to help (thus being able to take pride in what he had done) and valuing his wealth just as much as eternal life were impediments to entering the kingdom of God.
- Pride and a desire to claim at least partial credit has prevented many from coming to Jesus for salvation. When you perceive that to be what’s keeping someone from God, what helpful wisdom could you share with them?
- Pride, self-sufficiency, and loving possessions can become problems even long after we become believers. How do you become aware of them when they creep into your walk with the Lord, and what do you do to correct them?
Father God, I come to you empty handed. I have no goodness except what I have learned from you. I have nothing to offer that you need, for you created all things. But sometimes I look at the blessings you have given to me and I claim credit. I feel pride, as if my life was not wholly a gift from your hand, and at those times I grasp at these things in my life. I value them above you and your kingdom. Forgive me Lord. Teach me again to open my hands, and to come to you like a child. Amen.
Day 3
Calling The Shot
Observe
Jesus once again lays before his disciples what is about to happen. They’re amazed and what is probably a group of pilgrims traveling with them were afraid.
{Mark 10:32-34 ESV} {32} And they were on the road, going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was walking ahead of them. And they were amazed, and those who followed were afraid. And taking the twelve again, he began to tell them what was to happen to him, {33} saying, “See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and the scribes, and they will condemn him to death and deliver him over to the Gentiles. {34} And they will mock him and spit on him, and flog him and kill him. And after three days he will rise.”
Jesus was certainly stirring things up by telling his disciples and whoever else it was that followed along with them (given the time of year and location, it was likely pilgrims coming to the feast at Jerusalem) what would happen to him when he reached the city. Especially noteworthy was how the prediction Jesus made started off bad, turned awful, and then ended in triumph. Mark tells us the disciples were astonished, but doesn’t explain that (Luke adds that the disciples didn’t understand what he was saying), and that other followers were afraid. The latter is easier to understand. Jesus was talking like someone who was going to start trouble when reaching Jerusalem, and they were probably afraid to be anywhere around that when it happened. It always amazes me how, when Jesus predicts his Passion, people brush right past the ending. It’s glorious! He will rise from the dead in three days? They get caught up in the bad stuff and never reach this point, I guess. My 21st century Protestant sensibilities sure like to think I would, what about you?
- Imagine yourself as one of his disciples. You had met this fascinating, compelling man and given up everything: home, family, and possessions, to follow him. You knew he was a prophet and you knew he was sent by God with power, but was he more? You hope so and fear not at the same time. When you hear Jesus foretelling his Passion on this journey, what is on your mind?
- The ending to this prediction was amazing, every time. After three days, he would rise from the dead! Why do you think that never seemed to be something they would rejoice over?
Lord Jesus, It is hard to read your teaching to the disciples of your coming suffering, death and resurrection, because I know the end of the story and the disciples did not. They probably couldn’t even hear the words that you would rise again, because their hearts were pounding out of their chests at the thought of your arrest and death. Even knowing the outcome – resurrection – and believing and trusting in you for salvation, I still have doubt and anxiety when your plan for me is unclear or unexpected. The disciples knew Jesus; they should have trusted him. I know you; help me to trust you. Amen.
Day 4
Heaven Isn’t a Game
Observe
In this midst of all this amazement and fear, James and John step up and proceed to make things worse.
{Mark 10:35-45 ESV} {35} And James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came up to him and said to him, “Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you.” {36} And he said to them, “What do you want me to do for you?” {37} And they said to him, “Grant us to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your glory.” {38} Jesus said to them, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or to be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?” {39} And they said to him, “We are able.” And Jesus said to them, “The cup that I drink you will drink, and with the baptism with which I am baptized, you will be baptized, {40} but to sit at my right hand or at my left is not mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared.” {41} And when the ten heard it, they began to be indignant at James and John. {42} And Jesus called them to him and said to them, “You know that those who are considered rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. {43} But it shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, {44} and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all. {45} For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
The request made by James and John seems preposterous. Asking Jesus for a blank check? And what did they want? Only positions of highest honor in the messianic kingdom. The good news is that it reveals they understood Jesus was the Messiah, but the bad news is they’d not comprehended a thing he said about his suffering. They expected that when they arrived at Jerusalem, the messianic glory would be revealed and the good times would begin. But no, Jesus makes it clear, suffering precedes glory. He asks a penetrating question about whether they’re ready to go through what he is about to go through, and their quick answer yes means they have no idea what he’s talking about. Jesus tells them that in time, they would drink the cup he was going to drink and be baptized with the same baptism as he would. The apostles would suffer, and all their naivety would be swept away, before they would enter glory. Although Jesus had rebuked them in chapter 9 for squabbling over who would be the greatest among them, that lesson was clearly forgotten. Jesus reminds them that trying to lord it over each other was a Gentile pastime, but it must be different among them. It’s the paradox of the Kingdom of God: greatness is not achieved by asserting rank, but by humble service. The most remarkable thing is Jesus lays before them this applies even to him, perhaps especially to him. Despite being worthy of all praise and adoration, the Son of Man had come to serve others and, eventually, to die for their sins. Verse 45 shows plainly that Jesus knew his death would be in place of many others and he always intended for that to be the case.
- The principle on display here is “suffering comes before glory.” How do you think that applies to believers today? How has it manifested itself in your life?
- Jesus explains the formula: to be great in the kingdom, you must be a humble servant to all. How can we remain humble in serving, rather than thinking about how serving will make us great (which is not a very humble thought at all)?
Heavenly Father, I think that I have read this story and even laughed at the audacity of this request from these two disciples, but my response just reveals my own pride. I have turned away from the truth that I may suffer for your sake. I have made foolish, self-serving requests to you in prayer. I have imagined myself as important in your work, receiving public thanks and admiration. I have turned away from being a servant to those in need. No better than James and John here. Forgive me Lord; open my eyes to the work of a servant that you have for me and strengthen me to do it. Amen.
Day 5
Going Public
Observe
Bartimaeus called out to Jesus using a specific title. The way Jesus reacts to it is important.
{Mark 10:46-52 ESV} {46} And they came to Jericho. And as he was leaving Jericho with his disciples and a great crowd, Bartimaeus, a blind beggar, the son of Timaeus, was sitting by the roadside. {47} And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” {48} And many rebuked him, telling him to be silent. But he cried out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” {49} And Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.” And they called the blind man, saying to him, “Take heart. Get up; he is calling you.” {50} And throwing off his cloak, he sprang up and came to Jesus. {51} And Jesus said to him, “What do you want me to do for you?” And the blind man said to him, “Rabbi, let me recover my sight.” {52} And Jesus said to him, “Go your way; your faith has made you well.” And immediately he recovered his sight and followed him on the way.
Mark records more detail about this encounter than do the other gospel authors. He clearly sees this as a change, a pivot in the behavior of Jesus. It’s also interesting that he shares the man’s name, almost as if he’s inviting people to go find him and investigate the story on their own. What is unique here is the title that Bartimaeus calls out. “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” The title Son of David was unambiguously messianic. It’s only used twice in the gospel of Mark: here and in Mark 12:35 where Jesus uses it about himself. What is important here is that Jesus doesn’t attempt to silence the man. Before this, when those with spiritual sight recognized the Son of God for who he was and began to call him as such, Jesus was quick to silence them. But now, just outside of Jerusalem, the mission of God’s Messiah was about to culminate. There was no more need for silence, let the people all know who it was that had come among them! Jesus heals Bartimaeus, restoring his sight, and tells him he can “go his way.” I wasn’t surprised when that way turned out to be following Jesus, were you?
- The crowd, who had been trying to silence Bartimaeus as he called out to Jesus, abruptly pivoted when Jesus stopped and called for him. Suddenly they were all part of Team Bartimaeus. Why do you think the crowd’s attitude pivoted so quickly?
- Jesus tells him, as he had told many others, that his faith had made him well. How was that true? What about the faith of Bartimaeus had made him well?
Dear Jesus, I see from this story of healing one man, mere days before your arrest, that your mission was and is our salvation, true healing and restoration. Salvation, healing, restoration are all intertwined and secured for me by your death and resurrection. I cried to you for mercy and you answered. You opened my eyes that had been blind. What a wonder that you would have such great love for me! I give you all the glory. Amen.