Mark 10
Bible Passage: Mark 10
The chapters we read in Mark so far records the teachings of Jesus and the amazing miracles He performed.
Here is my sharing on a couple of the teachings in today’s chapter.
Giving up riches of the world for the riches in heaven
Verse 17 onwards records a young man “running towards Jesus and kneeling before him.” (Mark 10:17) My first impression of this man was that he was eager for the Word of God and was a religious man. Indeed we find out later in verse 20 that he kept all of the commandments. Unfortunately, he had just one thing which was the impediment to his path to eternal life.
What would be the one thing in your life that would prevent or hinder you from entering the heavenly kingdom? Is it also riches?
Although this man was obviously one who reveres God, although he knew that Jesus was the answer to eternal life, he was doomed. Ultimately his possessions which he was unwilling to forgo was his downfall. It is a scary thought if we really think about it.
We may attend church services regularly, we may have received the Holy Spirit, we may think that we are good Christians, but if there is just one thing in our lives that we are reluctant to forsake, we too will not be able to enter heaven.
“Then Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him…”
– Mark 10:21
This verse touched me deeply. It is a great blessing and grace to be loved by Jesus, how could we bear to disappoint Him? In our fleshly bodies it is especially difficult not to hanker after the things of the world. Let us remember to constantly examine our hearts and remove the filth within.
Persistence
We read later on about a blind man whose sight was restored. This man cried out for Jesus to heal him, and despite many people warning him to be quiet, he cried out even louder for Jesus’ attention.
We could learn much from this beggar, to be faithful and persistent. Despite discouragement from not just a few but many people, his faith did not waver. His persistence and determination pleased Jesus and in the end, he was healed.
Although he was of lowly status, Jesus had mercy on him. What more for us who are his children?
Have we been praying about something for what seemed like forever, but nothing has happened so far?
When things do not seem to work out, are we swayed by negative comments made by our non-christian friends or family about Jesus?
Like this beggar, not only should we be faithful and persistent, we must only look towards God and nowhere or no one else. We must not allow pessimistic or unpleasant remarks or opinions to obscure our vision.
May we all grow spiritually in our lives of faith.
5 Comments
biblereadingcompanion
Just noticed that Jesus asked Bartimaeus the exact same question He asked James and John….
““What do you want Me to do for you?” ~ Mark 10:36, 51
This is a very important question and if Jesus asked that of you today… what is your answer?
I have not really thought about it. Maybe it’s because I am scared that I will be proned to give the wrong answer.
James and John wanted to sit on thrones and reign with Jesus. Bartimaeus wanted only to see.
Despite following Jesus closely for some time and witnessing first hand His actions, selflessness, humility, compassion…. despite hearing the words spoken with authority and clarity….
James and John still could not see what they really needed. They were blinded by their desires and wants and could not see Jesus and their true need.
Despite not seeing any of the things James and John saw, Bartimaeus knew exactly what he wanted…. from Jesus – the Son of David… the Messiah. It was interesting that Bartimaeus believed so strongly that Jesus was the promised Messiah but not the disciples then…
Jesus can heal physical blindness but more than that, He wants to heal spiritual blindness.
Am I James or John? Or am I Bartmaeus today?
“Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”
PS
Hi InHisTime, thank u for highlighting that the young man actually knelt before Lord Jesus to speak to Him.
This is real reverence, right?
Lord Jesus looked into his heart and saw otherwise.
It may be interesting to note that Lord Jesus asked him about the 5th to 10th commandments about men but not the 1st to 4th commandments about God.
Lord Jesus knew that the young man did not keep the 1st to 3rd commandments bec his possessions were his God.
Was the requests of Lord Jesus to this young man too demanding?
– sell whatever you have and give to the poor,
– take up the cross and follow Me.
Lord Jesus had not been crucified. When He mentioned about take up the cross, i wonder what did the young man understand.
Mark 8:31, 9:31 and 10:34 Lord Jesus also only mentioned that He’ll be killed, no cross.
Not much i guess.
Now we know bec we have the bible and the Holy Spirit leads us into His truth.
If we do not have the bible, can we be like the Ethiopian eunuch to accept the truth with humility and readiness?
Who/What is the God in our heart? $, pride, passiveness…and etc
No matter what name is being called, as long as the name is not “JESUS” (Acts 4:12), there is no salvation.
Treasureinearthenvessel
Wow! Today’s chapter gave much food for thought!
PS, I have also been thinking of the same thing…. when Jesus mentioned about taking up the cross (Mark 10:21; 8:34), what did the people understand then?
Did the cross meant something to the people back then? I always thought the cross was simply a mode of punishment used by the Roman government or something? If that is the case, what would “taking up the cross” mean to them?
And wow, Biblereadingcompanion, I didn’t notice that until you pointed it out!
‘What do you want Me to do for you?” (Mark 10:36, 51)
However, I am not sure if I agree totally with you about James and John, because the first thoughts I have about them are positive ones.
I am not sure if they are really blinded by their own desires; I thought that this desire was a good one. Didn’t the Bible also tell us that we would reign with Jesus? Maybe they sincerely wanted to be with Jesus in His glory? Don’t we all want?
And when Jesus asked them, “Are you able….,” they had answered straightaway, “We are able.” It seemed to me that they have thought it before and had decided on their answer even before this. Which made me wonder, will I even dare to answer Jesus, “Yes, Lord, I am able.”?
I also noticed another contrast made in today’s chapter. The rich young ruler was reluctant to give up all his possessions, and went away sorrowful (Mark 10:22). Peter and the others left all and followed Jesus (Mark 10:28).
The disciples were astonished when Jesus commented that it is hard for the rich to enter the kingdom of God, and asked, “Who then can be saved?” (Mark 10:26) And then we have Peter, as though trying to make a claim, “See, we have left all and followed You.” (Mark 10:28)
And Jesus, kind and compassionate, reassured them, that whoever left all to follow Him will receive a hundredfold in this time and eternal life in the age to come. (I really think that Jesus is wonderful…. He knows our weaknesses and comforts us in our weakness!)
But He also did not withhold the truth from us… that persecutions will come along as well in this life… and that we will never know what happen in the end… only those who endured to the end will be saved.
One last question: How do we receive the kingdom of God as a little child? (Mark 10:15) I need to know otherwise I might not enter it! :O
biblereadingcompanion
It is ok to disagree with me, Treasureinearthenvessel 🙂 And I can certainly see it from your point of view.
Perhaps I have been a bit harsh on James and John.
We all want to be with Jesus in His glory. We all want to reign with Him. But I guess in seeing their request after the incidents with the children and the rich young ruler, they came up to Jesus with this request (actually I saw it more as a demand)…
“Teacher, we want You to do for us whatever we ask.” ~ Mark 10:35
Sounds very much like me at times.. telling Jesus what I want and expecting Him to be my genie in a bottle.
Which leads me to your last question:
How do we receive the kingdom of God as a little child? (Mark 10:15)
This is an oft quoted verse and I also spent some time thinking about it today and what does it mean. So here is what I think and I hope others would share their understanding as well….
If we look at the corresponding passage in Matthew 18:1-4, Jesus said….
“Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. ~ Matt 18:3-4
Here we plainly see what Jesus meant when He spoke of becoming “as little children.” Jesus meant that we ought to HUMBLE OURSELVES before God.
Jesus gives us the key characteristic of a child that we must possess — humility.
It seems that as a child grows older, he or she learns the ways of the world… the lust of the eyes and flesh, and the pride of life (1 Jn 2:15-17) and this pride stops them from having anything to do with God.
How can our attitude be childlike?
Do you see the young children (toddlers) in church today and how they endear themselves to their parents? (I am sure in your mind you already see some of them (: )
They love their parents wholeheartedly without any hesitation and are always willing to please them in everything that they do. When they do something, they always look at their parents, seeking their approval and praise.
Do I please God this way?
Children are also curious about everything and want to learn everything. When they see you doing something, they want to also follow along and do it with you.
Like children, we should also want to learn everything we can about God, His Word, and His Church.
The question is… do we really do that? How much time do we spend in reading the Bible, listening to sermons, attending Bible Studies or Home Fellowships and praying?
We just heard a sermon by Pr Shee on Samuel and as he was speaking, I was thinking about the boy Samuel. He was in the temple at a very young age serving God… and he displayed a willingness to listen to the voice of God and obey Him. He wanted to always know what God wanted and then do it.
This is pretty much what a young child is towards their parents.
Somehow as we grew up… although we mature enough to take solid food, we also lose the childlike qualities that Jesus so wants us to have.
Something to think about this weekend ….
Blessed Sabbath to all!
appleofHiseye
As I turned my bible to begin reading chapter 10 after reading the sharings from InHisTime, biblereadingcompanion, PS, and Treasureinearthenvessel, I was almost overwhelmed by the lessons that we could learn from one chapter alone. After I began reading, I found an important teaching in the first few verses already!
The first thing Jesus mentioned was about marriage and divorce. It is almost a trend in many larger societies where the divorce rate has grown to one in two couples divorcing. That to me is alarming-frightful! So it is important that we pray about marriage for the youths and elderly because it is something deemed very sacred and important in the eyes of God.
The second thing I gathered was when Jesus taught about entering the kingdom of God as a little child. I thought about the question Treasureinearthenvessel pointed out: “How do we receive the kingdom of God as a little child?” (Mark 10:15)Then I happened to come across elder John Yang’s Bible study notes which mentions a few good points about children; they are “humble” (Mt 19:14), “pure and upright” (Prov 20:11), and “do not know evil” (1 Cor 14:20). These are the lessons that we have learnt in the last couple of chapters too!!
The rest of the teachings I came across were elaborated in great detail by InHisTime about giving up the riches of the world for the riches of heaven, and persistence and these things are easier said then done for me. So I really hope to resolve to achieve this because our salvation is our own choice, whether we throw it away for the world or we embrace it and chase after it.
It just so happened that the theme verse of this book is mentioned in this chapter: “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve and to give His life a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45). It emphasises the reason for Jesus’ life, and it is an example of how we should live a life of service.
May we continue serving the Lord until the last day.