THE MISSION IN JUDAEA - JESUS PRONOUNCES ON DIVORCE, ON ENTRY UNDER THE KINGLY RULE OF GOD, ON THE DANGERS OF RICHES AND ON THE REQUIREMENT OF BECOMING A SERVANT AS HE HAS DONE (10:1-45). Jesus now begins His ministry in Judaea. Each of the pronouncements that follow continue the theme of the teach... [ Continue Reading ]
THE MISSION IN JUDAEA AND BEYOND JORDAN (10:1). Having stressed the importance of what is done in His Name, bringing out the supreme importance of His Name, Jesus commences His journey to Jerusalem by moving down into Judaea and Beyond Jordan. ‘And he arose from there and comes into the borders of... [ Continue Reading ]
JESUS FIRMLY ESTABLISHES THE CREATION ORDINANCE OF MARRIAGE AND REJECTS DIVORCE AS CONTRARY TO GOD'S PURPOSE (10:2-10). As Jesus was conducting a teaching ministry it was inevitable that Pharisees would soon attach themselves to the crowd (although if we accept some manuscripts the questioners were... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And there came to him Pharisees and asked him, “Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife?” testing him out.' ‘Testing Him out' may not necessarily mean in a bad sense. These were not the Pharisees he had been dealing with in Galilee, even though they did want to know His calibre and position. B... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And he answered and said to them, “What did Moses command you?” ' Jesus tested them out in return. He turned their minds to the Law of Moses. and asked what they commanded. (‘Moses' was short for ‘the Law of Moses', the first five books of the Bible, which they accepted as written by Moses). He wa... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And they said, “Moses allowed the giving of a Certificate of Divorce and to put her away.” Their minds automatically concentrated on Deuteronomy 24:1, for that was the only place in the Law where divorce was mentioned. In that verse God, through Moses, had made provision for the protection of wome... [ Continue Reading ]
‘But Jesus said to them, “He wrote you this commandment because of your hardness of heart. But from the beginning of creation he made them male and female. For this reason shall a man leave his father and mother and shall cleave to his wife, and they shall become one flesh, so that they are no more... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And in the house the disciples asked him again of this matter, and he says to them, “Whoever shall put away his wife and marry another, commits adultery against her, and if she herself shall put away her husband and marry another, she commits adultery.” ' This was all so startling that it is not su... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And they brought to him little children in order that he might touch them, and the disciples rebuked them.' This incident in one way stands by itself, but it is actually introductory to what follows, for it pronounces on how anyone must enter under the Kingly Rule of God in the light of a young ma... [ Continue Reading ]
JESUS PRONOUNCES ON THE IMPORTANCE OF LITTLE CHILDREN AND THE MEANS OF ENTRY UNDER THE KINGLY RULE OF GOD (10:13-16). Jesus here continues His teaching about children. He was constantly concerned that the needs and rights of little children should be recognised, for to Him they were equally as impo... [ Continue Reading ]
‘But when Jesus saw it he was indignant and said to them, “Allow the little children to come to me. Do not forbid them. For of such is the Kingly Rule of God.” Jesus' response to His disciples' behaviour was indignation. He had already pointed out to them that to receive such little children was to... [ Continue Reading ]
“Truly I say to you, whoever will not receive the Kingly Rule of God as a little child, he shall not under any circumstances enter into it.” The real problem for men when they sought to come under the Kingly Rule of God was that they were not like children. They were not receptive, open, responsive... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And he enfolded them in his arms and firmly blessed them, laying his hands on them.' Having spoken sternly to His disciples He then turned to the children and opened His arms to them. Each was received and each was ‘firmly blessed' (the prefix confirms it was no perfunctory action). And as He did... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And as he was going out in the way there ran one to him and knelt to him and asked him, “Good Teacher, what shall I do that I might inherit eternal life?” ' As Jesus was leaving the place where He was, a young man (Matthew 19:20) came running up to him and knelt in front of Him. The action demonst... [ Continue Reading ]
JESUS PRONOUNCES ON RICHES AND ENTRY UNDER THE KINGLY RULE OF GOD (10:17-31). In this further example of His teaching Jesus' authority again comes out. He is depicted as the One Who lays down the rules for entry into the Kingly Rule of God. And it also illustrates something else. He has just been sp... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? None is good except one, even God.” ' Jesus gently asks him why he calls Him uniquely good. He was not by this denying His own goodness. That was not really the question at issue. He was rather asking the young man to think through what he meant by ‘... [ Continue Reading ]
“You know the commandments. Do not kill. Do not commit adultery. Do not steal. Do not bear false witness. Do not defraud. Honour your father and mother.” Jesus began by putting before him something of the standards God required of man. The requirements outlined follow the second part of the ten comm... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And he said to him, “Teacher, all these things I have observed from my youth.” The young man had been brought up as a good and respectable Jewish boy and he had responded to the teaching he had received. Obedience to the Law of Moses had been a passion of his life. And He could think of nothing th... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And Jesus, looking on him, loved him and said to him, “One thing you lack. Go, sell whatever you have and give it to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven, and come and follow me.” Jesus looked at the eager young man and loved him. He was the kind of young man whom all good men loved. But... [ Continue Reading ]
‘But his face fell at the saying and he went away sorrowful, for he was one who had great possessions.' As he thought of what was involved the young man's face changed, and a despairing look overtook it. What was being required was too much for him. And he went away sorrowful. What a contrast with... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And Jesus looked round about and says to his disciples, “With what great difficulty shall those who have riches enter under the Kingly Rule of God.” ' Heavy of heart for the rich man Jesus wanted the lesson that they had seen in His dealings with him to come home to all the disciples. He wanted th... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And the disciples were amazed at his words.' Why were the disciples amazed? Because they had still not learned the lesson that what was important in the world was not important to God. They probably thought that riches enabled men to give generously, gave them position in the synagogue and made th... [ Continue Reading ]
‘But Jesus answers again and says to them, “Children, how hard it is to enter under the Kingly Rule of God. It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter under the Kingly Rule of God.” ' ‘Children.' A tender word. Possibly this was a hint to them that they s... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And they were exceedingly astonished, saying to him, “Who then can be saved?” ' They had previously been amazed at the statement of how hard it was for a rich man to enter under the Kingly Rule of God but at this statement about the difficulty of _anyone_ entering under the Kingly Rule of God, a... [ Continue Reading ]
‘Jesus looking on them says, “With men it is impossible, but not with God. For all things are possible with God.” ' Jesus recognised that they were beginning dimly to see the truth, that attaining salvation is impossible to men, and He then went on to make clear that in fact the only reason that men... [ Continue Reading ]
‘Peter began to say to him, “Lo, we have left all and followed you.” ' The thought of who could be saved, and that salvation is impossible to men, must have been disturbing to these men who had followed Jesus. After all, was that not why they were following Jesus? It could only make them wonder abo... [ Continue Reading ]
‘Jesus said, “Truly I say to you, there is no man who has left house, or brothers, or sisters, or mother, or father, or children, or lands, for my sake and the sake of the Good News, but he will receive a hundredfold now in this time, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and land... [ Continue Reading ]
“But many that are first shall be last, and the last first.” Finally Jesus ended by warning them against presumption, and no doubt Judas was especially in mind. Whether this means first in status and priority, or first in time, the same applies. It was possible to lose the benefit that was theirs.... [ Continue Reading ]
JESUS SPEAKS FOR THE THIRD TIME OF HIS COMING VIOLENT DEATH (10:32-34). ‘And he took again the twelve and began to tell them the things that were to happen to him, saying, “Behold, we go up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered to the chief priests and to the scribes, and they will con... [ Continue Reading ]
JESUS PRESSES ON TOWARDS JERUSALEM WHERE HE WILL GIVE HIS LIFE AS A RANSOM FOR MANY (10:32-45). It is only at this point that Mark draws our attention to the fact that Jesus has begun His final journey to Jerusalem, and having done so he will immediately hurry on to the final days. This contrasts w... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And they were in the way going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was going before them, and they were amazed, and those who followed were afraid.' As they walked along the dusty road towards Jerusalem, something about Jesus' new demeanour and His determination to press on urgently to Jerusalem amazed the... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And there come near to him James and John, the sons of Zebedee, saying to him, “Teacher, we wish you to do for us whatever we ask of you.” ' This was a normal type of approach when someone sought a favour. It was not considered polite to be too direct.... [ Continue Reading ]
JAMES AND JOHN SEEK THE HIGHEST PLACE (10:35-45). The words of Jesus found in Matthew 19:28, not recorded by Mark, had struck home. They appealed more to the thinking of the disciples than the talk of death. And James and John, as part of the Inner Three, egged on by their mother (Matthew 20:20), ca... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And he said to them, “What do you wish me to do for you?” ' Jesus' reply was equally polite. He accepted their approach and recognised that they were leading up to asking a favour. (There are several slight variations in text, but all with the same intent).... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And they said to him, “Grant to us that we may sit, one on your right hand and one on your left hand, in your glory.” ' This request assumes a statement like Matthew 19:28 in order to get their minds thinking in this direction. The idea of suffering had passed them by, but the idea of glory appeal... [ Continue Reading ]
‘But Jesus said to them, “You do not know what you ask. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink? Or to be baptised with the baptism that I am baptised with?” Jesus' reply was veiled, and yet open to those who would see it and who had listened to all His warnings of what was to come. The king's c... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And they said to him, “We are able”.' In their reply they had no idea what He was talking about. Perhaps they did naively think in terms of the King's cup and social graces, or perhaps they acknowledged that although there may be dangers ahead when Jesus as Messiah finally sought to establish His... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And Jesus said to them, “The cup that I drink, you will drink, and with the baptism with which I am baptised, you will be baptised. But to sit on my right hand or on my left hand is not mine to give, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared.” ' Fortunately for them Jesus knew their hearts... [ Continue Reading ]
JESUS APPROACHES JERUSALEM AND ENTERS IT AS A PROCLAMATION OF WHO HE IS, CLEANSES THE TEMPLE, DEPICTS ITS COMING DEMISE BY MEANS OF THE WITHERING OF THE FIG TREE, ENTERS INTO DISPUTE WITH HIS OPPONENTS, AND REVEALS THEM AS THOSE WHO ARE LIKE FAITHLESS TENANTS OF A VINEYARD REJECTING EVEN THE SON (10... [ Continue Reading ]