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| Chapter 10 |
| Bible Text | Notes and Thoughts |
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1 ¶ And He rose from thence, and went into the region of Judea by the farther side of the Jordan. And the people resorted unto Him again; and as He was wont, He taught them again. 2 And the Pharisees came to Him and asked Him, "Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife?" --testing Him. 3 And He answered and said unto them, "What did Moses command you?" 4 And they said, "Moses suffered to write a bill of divorcement, and to put her away." 5 And Jesus answered and said unto them, "Because of the hardness of your heart he wrote you this precept. 6 But from the beginning of the creation, ‘God made them male and female. 7 For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and cleave to his wife, 8 and the two shall be one flesh.’ So then they are no more two, but one flesh. 9 What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder." 10 And in the house His disciples asked Him again about the same matter. 11 And He said unto them, "Whosoever shall put away his wife and marry another, committeth adultery against her. 12 And if a woman shall put away her husband and be married to another, she committeth adultery." 13 ¶ And they brought young children to Him, that He should touch them; and His disciples rebuked those who brought them. 14 But when Jesus saw it, He was much displeased and said unto them, "Suffer the little children to come unto Me, and forbid them not, for of such is the Kingdom of God. 15 Verily I say unto you, whosoever shall not receive the Kingdom of God as a little child, he shall not enter therein." 16 And He took them up in His arms, put His hands upon them, and blessed them. 17 ¶ And when He had gone forth onto the road, there came one running, and knelt before Him and asked Him, "Good Master, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?" 18 And Jesus said unto him, "Why callest thou Me good? There is none good but One, that is, God. 19 Thou knowest the commandments: ‘Do not commit adultery, do not kill, do not steal, do not bear false witness, defraud not, honor thy father and mother’." 20 And he answered and said unto Him, "Master, all these have I observed from my youth." 21 Then Jesus, beholding him, loved him and said unto him, "One thing thou lackest: Go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in Heaven; and come, take up the cross, and follow Me." 22 And he was sad at that saying and went away grieved, for he had great possessions. 23 And Jesus looked round about and said unto His disciples, "How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the Kingdom of God!" 24 And the disciples were astonished at His words, but Jesus answered again and said unto them, "Children, how hard is it for them that trust in riches to enter into the Kingdom of God! 25 It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the Kingdom of God." 26 And they were astonished beyond measure, saying among themselves, "Who then can be saved?" 27 And Jesus, looking upon them, said, "With men it is impossible, but not with God; for with God all things are possible." 28 Then Peter began to say unto Him, "Lo, we have left all and have followed Thee." 29 And Jesus answered and said, "Verily I say unto you, there is no man that hath left house or brethren or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands for My sake and the Gospel’s, 30 but he shall receive a hundredfold now in this time, houses and brethren and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and in the world to come, eternal life. 31 But many that are first shall be last, and the last first." 32 ¶ And they were on the way going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus went before them; and they were amazed, and as they followed, they were afraid. And He took again the twelve, and began to tell them what things would happen unto Him, 33 saying, "Behold, we go up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man shall be delivered unto the chief priests and unto the scribes; and they shall condemn Him to death, and shall deliver Him to the Gentiles. 34 And they shall mock Him and shall scourge Him, and shall spit upon Him and shall kill Him. And the third day He shall rise again." 35 And James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came unto Him, saying, "Master, we would that Thou should do for us whatsoever we shall desire." 36 And He said unto them, "What would ye that I should do for you?" 37 They said unto Him, "Grant unto us that we may sit, one on Thy right hand and the other on Thy left hand, in Thy glory." 38 But Jesus said unto them, "Ye know not what ye ask. Can ye drink of the cup that I drink of, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?" 39 And they said unto Him, "We can." And Jesus said unto them, "Ye shall indeed drink of the cup that I drink of; and with the baptism that I am baptized with, also shall ye be baptized. 40 But to sit on My right hand and on My left hand is not Mine to give, but it shall be given to them for whom it is prepared." 41 And when the ten heard it, they began to be much displeased with James and John. 42 But Jesus called them to Him and said unto them, "Ye know that they that are accounted to rule over the Gentiles exercise Lordship over them, and their great ones exercise authority upon them. 43 But so shall it not be among you: but whosoever will be great among you shall be your minister, 44 and whosoever of you would be the chiefest shall be servant of all. 45 For even the Son of Man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister and to give His life as a ransom for many." 46 ¶ And they came to Jericho. And as He went out of Jericho with His disciples and a great number of people, blind Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, sat by the wayside begging. 47 And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, "Jesus, Thou Son of David, have mercy on me!" 48 And many charged him that he should hold his peace; but he cried out all the more, "Thou Son of David, have mercy on me!" 49 And Jesus stood still, and commanded him to be called. And they called the blind man, saying unto him, "Be of good comfort; rise; He calleth thee." 50 And he, casting away his garment, rose and came to Jesus. 51 And Jesus answered and said unto him, "What wilt thou that I should do unto thee?" The blind man said unto Him, "Lord, that I might receive my sight." 52 And Jesus said unto him, "Go thy way. Thy faith hath made thee whole." And immediately he received his sight, and followed Jesus in the way. |
Having completed His ministry in Galilee Jesus now leaves Capernaum and heads for the other side of the Jordan. v1 This one verse covers a period of about six months in the ministry of Jesus, This is covered by John 7:10 to John 10:39 and Luke 10:1 to Luke 13:21. v1-10 Marriage and divorce Matt 17:1-8; Luke 9:28-36. Compare Matt 5:31,32; Matt 19:1-9; Luke 16:18; 1 Cor 7:10-15. This area was under the control of Herod Antipas which explains why the Pharisees brought up the subject. John the Baptist had died because he had preached against the marriage of Herod which was against the Law. Mark 6:14-29; Lev 18:16; Lev 20:21. Divorce was not a problem just for Herod but was a major discussion point between the Jewish religious leaders. The Rabbi’s were always discussing what was meant by "found some uncleanness in her" in Deut 24:1-4. Some felt that a man could divorce for any reason, even burning his dinner was permitted, others were very strict and felt that the uncleanness was talking about premarital sins. If the marriage was new and the wife had had a sexual relationship before the marriage then this was one possible reason for divorce. Note in this passage it was the man who was doing the divorce, not the wife. And the passage was not referring to adultery as a reason for divorce as the Law states that both the adulterer and adulteress should be stoned to death. Deut 22:22; Lev 20:10; John 8:2-11. v2 The Pharisees are asking this question deliberately to "tempt" or "test" Jesus. v3,4 Jesus asks "What is in the instructions given by Moses?" The Pharisees say that Moses permitted divorce, but do not state the conditions under which divorce was permitted. Deut 24:1. v5 The words used by Jesus "hardness of your heart" means that this was not a command but permitted because of the spiritual hearts of men, it was to make rules of control rather than to encourage it. v6-9 Jesus continues by stating Gen 1:27, and Gen 2:24. Marriage is a life long relationship, "one flesh" a physical union. If physical then only a physical cause can break it, death Rom 7:1-3; or fornication Matt 5:32; Matt 19:9. Note that Mark does not include these possible reasons for a break. v10-12 Later the disciples take up this divorce subject with Jesus. In the example the man is committing adultery against his original wife, not because of divorce but because he remarried. In God’s sight the man is still married to the first wife. Also the wife will commit adultery if she remarries. See Matt 19:9. God expects married people to commit themselves to each other v7 and remain together. 1 Cor 7:10-15. v13-16 Be child like. Matt 19:13-15; Luke 18:15-17. The Jews in the time of Jesus looked upon a child as a blessing, a treasure from God. Therefore it was normal for parents to bring their children for a blessing. Luke 18:15 tells us that these were babies as well as young children. The disciples thought they were helping Jesus by stopping the children coming to Him, saving His time, they had obviously not taken in His teaching Mark 9:36ff. v14 Jesus openly tells the disciples off for their action. He then tells the people that a child is a better example of who will get into the Kingdom of God, adults should have the attitude and mind of a child. A child depends upon others for their care, food etc., children trust in others, they live by faith. Unfortunately some children have been brought up as if they are an adult, spoilt, demanding, these are not the kind of child that Jesus was talking about. When a child needs help or care then they go to their parents for care, this is what a believer should do, turn in faith to their Father for help. v16 Jesus takes the children in His arms in love. v17-31 The Young Man Matt 19:16-30; Luke 18:18-30. This man is a little unusual as he appears to be the only person who came to Jesus and left in a worse condition. This young man held a position of authority, so must have been looked up to and trusted. He was seeking the answers to a spiritual question, "how to get eternal life." He thought that he could obtain eternal life by working for it, a common belief. So many think that a ‘good action’ cancels a ‘bad action’ John 6:28. v17,18 The man tries to flatter Jesus by calling Him "good," this was a title only reserved for God. Jesus did not deny that He was God, He wanted the young man understand the title and meaning. v19 Jesus points the man to the Law of Moses, He wanted the young man see that just keeping the law does not save a person Eph 2:8-10; Gal 2:16-21. The Law shows the standard, but cannot save you, only grace can do that. The young man measured up to the Law, but he had a problem, he loved riches, he ‘coveted’ and failed the last Commandment "Thou shalt not covet." "or the love of money is the root of all evil;" 1 Tim 6:10. Note it is the "love" of money, not money itself which brings evil. v21 Money was this man’s god, he worshipped it and would not get rid of it as Jesus instructed. The man was to humble himself, "take up cross," give all he has to the poor and follow Jesus. Jesus offered eternal life but was turned down. v23 This exchange between Jesus and the young man caused a shock to the disciples because the Jews thought that great wealth was a sign of God’s blessing. v28 Peter’s response suggested that he also had a problem with money, "We have given up all to follow you, what are we to get in return?" v29-31 Jesus tells the disciples that no one who follows Him will ever lose what is important, in this life or future life, the reward will be far more than is lost. We must, however, make sure that we do it for the right reason "My sake and the Gospel’s." v31 Jesus again repeats the servant attitude God is looking for in each of us, those who think that they are "the first" in their eyes will be last in the eyes of God. v32-45 Jesus again foretells His death. Matt 20:17-19; Luke 18:31-33. v32-34 Still heading for His ‘appointment’ at Jerusalem Jesus again speaks of His coming death. Mark 8:31; Mark 9:31 The disciples were having great difficulty in understanding what Jesus was saying, it was nothing like they had expected to happen to the Messiah. Jesus is now telling them that it will happen in Jerusalem and who are involved in His suffering and death, the chief priests, scribes and for the first time they are told that the Gentiles will be involved. v34 Jesus again confirms that He will return to life after three days. v35-45 James and John have desires. Matt 20:20-28. Following this announcement of His coming death James and John (and their mother Matt 20:20-21) come asking for a position of power in the future kingdom, how could they be so cold-hearted? They are making sure of the promise made to them. Matt 19:28. It does show great faith in claiming that promise so soon after Jesus had told of His coming death. v38 For the promise to be fulfilled Jesus had to suffer and die, they still did not understand what was about to happen. Their desires were very selfish, a price had to be paid for those promised thrones. Jesus compares the future events to Him drinking a ‘cup,’ this cup was to contain the wrath of God against the sin of Men, He was to be baptized with the baptism of death. "Can you do this?" He asks them. "We can " they reply, not realizing what they were saying. "Yes, one day you will" is the response of Jesus, "but who sits on the thrones is decided by God the Father." v41-45 Because of this selfish request the other disciples are very angry. Just as today all the disciples were looking at the kind of glory men can provide. The way God looks at His people is that those who are willing to become servants for Him will be made rulers in the future kingdom. Just as Jesus was willing to go to the cross, following the Will and as instructed by His Father. v46-52 Bartimaeus receives sight. Matt 20:29-34; Luke 18:35-43. Jericho is about 18 miles from Jerusalem, King Herod and his successors had built a winter palace near the old destroyed city, so a new Jericho now existed next to the old one. Two blind beggars are sitting by the road, one is named Bartimaeus, who being the spokesman is the only one mentioned in Mark and Luke. They heard that Jesus of Nazareth was passing and tries to make contact with Jesus. At first the crowd tried to silence them, but following Jesus reaction to their call they are encouraged to approach. "What do you want me to do for you?" may seem a strange question for a blind man but Jesus was trying to find out how much faith the man had, what did he believe Jesus could do for him. At first Bartimaeus had called Jesus "Son of David,," a Messianic title, now he switches to Rabboni or "Lord," a personal submission, see John 20:16. Jesus heals the two men and then they followed Jesus towards Jerusalem. This is the last miracle that Mark records. |
Easy English Translation
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