Tuesday Night Group (TNG ) Notes
Stay up to date on our weekly study of the Gospel of Mark
Mark 10:1 – “Jesus then left that place” – Jesus and the disciples left Capernaum and headed to the region of Judea and across the Jordan. A two to three day walk, eighty miles south of Capernaum.
“He taught them” – Back in Mark 9:30, Jesus intentionally passed through Galilee with the disciples, so that they could be alone. It was a time of direct discipleship. Jesus met the disciples where they were (Struggling with who was the greatest and why people, outside their circle, were doing things in Jesus’ name.) Jesus was walking with them. Now, it’s time to reengage with the outside world and teach the people. Which will also teach the disciples, but through inference and not direct confrontation. “There’s a time for every season under heaven.” (Ecclesiastes 3:1)
Mark 10:2 – “Some Pharisees” – Pharisees were a prominent religious and political sect in Judaism. The word comes from the Hebrew parash, which means “separated”. This reflected their commitment to remaining pure and distinct from Gentile practices. They were predominantly middle-class businessmen, merchants and synagogue leaders with substantial influence among common people. They were the people who stood to lose the most, if the good news of Jesus became culturally accepted.
“Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?” – Divorce has always been a controversial topic. There were two main schools of thought, in Jesus’ day, based on the interpretation of Deuteronomy 24:1. Rabbi Hillel taught that the passage meant that a man could divorce his wife for any reason that caused her to fall out of his favor. Rabbi Shammai taught that the passage meant that a man can only divorce his wife because of sexual immorality or adultery.
The question was a trap. The hope was that the Pharisees could paint Jesus into a corner. They hoped that the question would force Jesus to publicly take a stand. For, like with any other controversial issue, any stand you take publicly will find public disagreement. And the Pharisees were looking to create any kind of public disagreement with Jesus. Even though we all know that any public stance contains layers of perspectives that are unable to be expressed in a public stance. It’s true that there’s no such thing as a dumb question. But it’s also true that there is such a thing as a loaded question!
Mark 10:3 – “What did Moses command you?” – Jesus answered a question with a question. Have you put this tactic into play in your own life and relationships? Notice that Jesus uses the word “command” in his question. In the very asking of this question, Jesus was forcing the Pharisees to show their hand to him and to everyone listening. For in Deuteronomy 24:1, Moses didn’t command divorce, he simply permitted it. So, if the Pharisees answered this question about what Moses commanded, they would’ve tipped their hand that they sided with Rabbi Hillel and believed that divorce was commanded for any reason the man desired. If they corrected Jesus’ interpretation, they would’ve tipped their hand that they believed Rabbi Shammai and divorce was only permitted in the case of sexual immorality or adultery. Mark 10:4 – “Moses permitted a man…” – The Pharisees showed their theological hand. They believed that Moses didn’t command divorce, but permitted it. Why did Moses permit divorce? It was a law that was written for the protection of women. For divorce was only allowed in specific cases of sexual immorality or adultery. And, to go further, the husband had to give his wife a certificate of divorce. Without this certificate, the wife would be banished but still legally married. She would be unable to remarry and unable to have any connection with her children. Effectively sentencing her to a life of being ostracized and living isolated in absolute poverty.
Mark 10:5 – “It was because your hearts were hard that Moses wrote this law” – Jesus agrees with the Pharisees concerning the difference between command and permit. Now Jesus flips the narrative from the Pharisees trying to trick Jesus into Jesus teaching the Pharisees, and all of us, the heart of the matter. Afterall, Jesus was there when Moses wrote that law. Jesus declares that the Mosaic law, permitting divorce, was a concession to the hardness of the hearts of husbands in Moses’ day. Divorce isn’t commanded by God, for any reason, but permitted by God, for specific reasons, with specific requirements. The law was given as protection for a divorced wife. Not as a command for husbands to divorce their wives.
Mark 10:6 – “But” – Always pay attention to the “buts” in the Bible!
“At the beginning of creation God made them male and female” – Context, context, context. Jesus is referring to Genesis 1:27-28. And based on our culture’s insertion of the institution of marriage, only being between a man and a woman, many read this statement by Jesus as his direct condemnation of homosexuality, gender dysmorphia and same-sex marriages. But, first, Genesis 1:27-28 has no mention of the institution of marriage and, two, this is a statement, made by Jesus, in the context of his conversation with the Pharisees concerning the lawfulness of divorce. Not a question of who is allowed to marry.
Jesus, in 10:5, taught the Pharisees that the law permitting divorce, was in response to the hard hearts of some husbands. The law’s purpose was to protect women, not to condone divorce. Divorce was already happening, with dire consequences. God simply intended to make divorce survivable for women. God’s focus in the law wasn’t to stop divorces. For all divorces are simply symptoms of larger problems. The larger problem that Moses was dealing with, according to Jesus, was the hardness of men’s hearts, regarding their relationship with their wives.
Mark 10:7&8 – “A man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife…The two will become one flesh” – Jesus is referring to Genesis 2:24. As we look at this verse, remember that Jesus didn’t come to start a new religion. Jesus came to fulfill what God has always intended, since the beginning of time. This verse is a reference to the God intended, pre-fall, marital relationship, between the only human beings that were alive at that time – Adam and Eve. This relationship serves as our example for what marriage looks like. And, just in case you’re wondering, we have no record of Adam and Eve ever having a civil or religious ceremony, which would’ve made their marriage legal.
Adam, in response to God’s creation of Eve, simply declared his connection to her. For Eve was literally taken out of Adam. So, the idea of marriage, to which Jesus refers, is the fact that when a man takes a wife, they literally complete each other. And, back to the Pharisee’s original question, you can no more divorce yourself as you can stop being yourself. A marriage, as originally intended in Genesis, wasn’t the legal action that we understand it to be today. Marriage was a man and a woman coming together and becoming one flesh.
The point of Genesis 2:24 isn’t the creation of the institution of marriage. We created that much later. And then we had to create a way for men to legally get out of our very own creation of the institution of marriage. The point of Genesis 2:24 is to teach us about who we are, in relationship with each other.
Men and women complete each other. Thus, when we find “the one” and we get married, we become one with that person. Thus, in God’s eyes, divorce is the separation of one someone, which has tragic consequences. We’ve taken all of this and morphed it into something that bolsters our own personal agendas about people who are different than ourselves. We believe that God is teaching that same-sex marriage, homosexuality and gender-dysmorphia are all full-frontal assaults on God’s institution of marriage. When, in Genesis, God simply instituted the reality of what marriages accomplish, the completion of human beings.
Mark 10:9 – “Therefore…” – Because of our understanding of God’s intention for marriage, the two becoming one, the completion of humanity, we may now revisit the Pharisee’s question in Mark 10:2. A question that was already intended to be a trap, not a theological reflection on who God is and who we are in response. Jesus gives his answer: Yes, it’s legal for a man to divorce his wife. And also No, it’s not God’s intention, design or will for marriages to end in divorce. For everyone suffers in the face of divorce. But legal divorces, for the good of everyone involved, needed to be instituted.
“Legal creep” is the term that describes laws that began with noble intentions but are warped by evolving technology, lobbying or bureaucratic incentives. Laws are rigid, but society and technology adapt quickly, creating massive loopholes and unintended consequences.
Mark 10:10 – “When they were in the house again,” – We don’t know whose house this is. This is an example of adding English punctuation that somewhat alters the perspective of the verse. If the comma is added after “again”, as it is in the NIV translation, then it seems that this is a house that Jesus and the disciples have been to before. If the comma is added before “again” then it seems as if the emphasis is not on a repeat visit to a physical location, but to the fact that again the disciples were asking Jesus to explain his teaching.
“Asked Jesus about this” – The only time that Jewish leadership commanded that men divorce their wives was as the Jews returned from exile in Babylon. As the Jews experience a fresh start, back in Jerusalem, Ezra realized that many Jewish men had married foreign women who might lead them right back into idolatry. The danger to their identity as God’s chosen people was at danger, so they had to send their wives away. (Ezra 10). Thus, culturally the disciples are living in a world that’s bought into divorce at will.
Mark 10:11 – “Anyone who divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery against her.” – The scribes, in Jesus day, taught that if a husband finds another woman that he’s more attracted to, he could divorce his wife and marry the new woman. But Jesus is explaining that this isn’t the point of the law. The situation is more serious than the Pharisees and even the disciples let themselves believe. The heart of the matter is faithfulness. Faithfulness to God and faithfulness to each other. Thus, Jesus moves the conversation from divorce to adultery.
In the asking of the divorce question the Pharisees reveal that it hadn’t occurred to any of them that a man could commit adultery against his wife. In the asking of the explanation, the disciples are admitting the exact same thing. In the Mosaic law (Leviticus 20:10) both the man, who commits adultery, and the woman, whom he commits adultery with, are to be put to death. In other words, equality. Both are found equally liable for the crime of adultery. By Jesus’ day, this equality of adultery had morphed into the inequality of divorce. Leaving the man high and dry and the woman left to fend for herself. For a man could simply divorce his wife for any reason, as long as he gives her a certificate of divorce. Thus, circumventing the standard that God originally established in the law. Men and women being held equally accountable for adultery.
Mark 10:12 – “And if she divorces her husband and marries another man, she commits adultery.” – This verse was added in by Mark for his Gentile Christian community in Rome. For in the Jewish culture of Jesus’ day women couldn’t divorce their husbands. It’s still that way in some Jewish cultures. But in the Greco-Roman culture, women could divorce their husbands. A prominent example of this cultural difference was the story of Herodias, who divorced her husband to marry his half-brother, Antipas. This is the situation that got John the Baptist beheaded in Mark 6:14-29. Gentiles, converting to followers of Jesus, needed to realize that God’s ways aren’t always in agreement with human ways.
Jesus is explaining his response to the Pharisees question that was meant to trap him. He’s condemning men who send away their wives for trivial reasons. He’s not speaking to someone distraught by the possibility of divorce, caught in an abusive marriage or contemplating remarriage after a divorce. Yet, by specifically mentioning a woman initiating a divorce, Jesus placed men and women on equal footing regarding the moral responsibility of the marriage covenant. The point that Jesus is making is that adultery and divorce isn’t the problem with which the Pharisees and the disciples must wrestle. The bigger problem is the cultural norms that have developed over time, that place men over and above women.
Mark 10:13 – “People were bringing little children to Jesus.” – This teaching immediately follows the teaching on marriage and divorce to demonstrate vulnerability vs. power. In Jesus’ world, children had no legal rights, social status or economic power. By immediately following a discussion about divorce, where adults debated legal rights, power and loopholes, Jesus highlights that entering God’s kingdom requires recognizing one’s own powerlessness, vulnerability and total dependence on God.
Children represent another category of those marginalized and dominated, like women. For the child was the least in familial and societal structures. Children were easily dominated and exploited because of their vulnerability. Jesus is inviting his disciples, and all of us, into a new reality of community and family, where the least becomes the model for discipleship.
People brought little children to Jesus so he could physically touch and lay hands on them. This was an ancient practice seeking a spiritual blessing. People wanted Jesus’ physical touch to impart favor, divine protection and prayers for the children’s physical and spiritual well-being.
“But” – Always pay attention to the buts in the Bible!
“The disciples rebuked them” – Rebuke = To express sharp, stern disapproval of; reprimand. (Mark 8:32) The disciples didn’t just think that people needed to stop wasting Jesus’ time by bringing little children to him; they acted out their thoughts and rebuked the families.
Mark 10:14 – “When Jesus saw this, he was indignant” – Indignant = Feeling, characterized by or expressing strong displeasure at something considered unjust, offensive or insulting. How it must break God’s heart to see how we treat each other.
“Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.” Not actually these, but “such as these”. The kingdom of God isn’t only for little children. But the kingdom of God is for people who see themselves, God and the world around them, as little children. In Matthew 5:3 Jesus says “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs in the kingdom of heaven.” To be “poor in spirit” means to be spiritually bankrupt. To have no currency, possessing nothing to merit God’s love.
As we become more spiritually mature and biblically knowledgeable, we tend to overestimate our standing and our abilities before God. We see those who aren’t as far along and try to use the Bible to control them into right behavior – behavior that we think should be appropriate in the kingdom of God. (Another reason why we’ve made a covenant to stop shoulding on ourselves and others.) We build a kingdom of God based on our own half-understood truths or even learned untruths. We then pressure others to fit into our expectations, much like the Pharisees.
Mark 10:15 – “Truly I tell you” – This is Jesus sharing a prophetic word. In the Old Testament, when a prophet would share a word from God, they would use the words “Thus says the Lord”, or “The word of the Lord is…” Jesus, being God, simply says “Truly I tell you”.
“Anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.” – Those most eligible to experience God’s glory and sovereignty in their lives are the people who have no presumption that they legally or spiritually deserve it. When presented with a gift they do not deserve, children will accept it gratefully and unselfconsciously. Children have no thought of earning it or even feeling guilty about receiving it. They just want to enjoy it.
In other words, the kingdom of God is about who you are and who God is. The kingdom of God isn’t about what you do. For no amount of doing will merit any of us the kingdom of God. It’s the simple, childlike acknowledgment, that we don’t deserve it and we can’t merit it, that’ll actually enable all of us to experience it.
Mark 10:16 – “And he took the children in his arms” – Jesus moves his attention from the disciples to the children. Ask and you shall receive. Jesus took the children in his arms, not because of who the children are, but because of who Jesus is. This is good news for us all!
Mark 10:17 – “A man ran up to him and fell on his knees before him” – There’s a sense of urgency in this description. This isn’t just someone who is interested in who Jesus is. This is someone who is interested in the transformation that Jesus offers.
“’Good teacher’, he asked, ‘what must I do to inherit eternal life?’” – Always pay attention to the questions you ask. But also pay attention to how you ask your questions. For how you ask something will give you insight into not only the answer you’re looking for, but also your perspective in asking the question. This man obviously believes that eternal life is inherited, because of what he does. This perspective is a work’s theology – I can do enough to be saved.
Mark 10:18 – “Why do you call me good?” – Again, Jesus answers a question with a question. There’s no record in any Jewish teaching where a Rabbi is called “good”. This is Jesus inviting this man to ponder why he is using this abnormal title for Jesus. The only one who is truly good is God. So, was this man understanding that he was addressing God? Or was he simply blowing smoke up a Rabbi’s tunic?
Mark 10:19 – “You know the commandments” – Jesus meets this man where he is. He asked about what he can do to inherit eternal life. So, Jesus lays out a list of doings that this man can do. He highlights six of the Ten Commandments that focus entirely on how people are to treat one another.
Mark 10:20 – “’Teacher’, he declared, ‘all these I have kept since I was a boy.’” – Now we start to see the real guy. For this guy obviously thinks a great deal of himself. For if he really knew who Jesus was, then how could he, with a straight face, confess that he’s kept these six commandments since being a child? How we ask questions reveals a great deal about who we are. How we answer questions goes even further toward revealing who we really are.
Mark 10:21 – “Jesus looked at him and loved him.” – Now we’re getting real and Jesus loves it. Jesus loves this man for who he is, not what he’s done or not done. Because of this love, Jesus is going to present this man with an opportunity. Jesus is going to be real with this man, because this man was being real with Jesus.
“One thing you lack” – The chorus of the song “One Thing” by Finger Eleven – “If I traded it all, if I gave it all away for one thing, just for one thing. If I sorted it out, if I knew all about this one thing, wouldn’t that be something?” Jesus is getting ready to drop a word on this guy. He hopes it’s the answer to his question about what he needs to do. And, he’s probably feeling a little encouraged, for it’s only “one thing”.
“Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor.” – Wow! That’s a pretty big “one thing”. This is a passage that’s been taken out of context by so many well-intentioned people. Jesus isn’t saying that every single person who wants to inherit eternal life must give away all of their wealth and possessions. Jesus is answering this specific man’s specific question about what he must do. Jesus is meeting this guy where he is. Jesus knows that what’s tripping this guy up, when it comes to inheriting eternal life, is his love of his possessions, his money, his stuff. All of us can only have one God that we worship and serve.
“Follow me” – Regardless of what your “one thing” happens to be, and we all have at least “one thing” that’s preventing us from experiencing what it means to inherit eternal life. Everyone must figure out how to overcome their very own ”one thing”. For this man, his “one thing” was his wealth and Jesus knew it and, because this man was being real with Jesus, Jesus was real with him. The goal is to follow Jesus and to overcome anything that gets in the way of that following.
Mark 10:22 – “At this the man’s face fell. He went away sad, because he had great wealth.” – Scripture doesn’t record for us what this man did with this information; beyond his initial sadness over the thought of giving away his wealth. Did he do it? Or did he simply go back to his life and forget about what Jesus told him? What the man did with the info isn’t nearly as important as the info itself. For Jesus is teaching this man, his disciples and all of us the cost of discipleship: If there’s anything that prevents you from following Jesus, get rid of it. This harkens back to 9:43-47.
Identity is the unique set of characteristics, beliefs, values, and traits that define who you are as an individual and how you fit into the world. So, who are you? What’s your identity?
Mark 10:23 – “Jesus looked around” – How it must have broken Jesus’ heart to see this man sadly walk away from an invitation to follow. Yes, Jesus knew that this was one possible outcome, but knowing something could happen and something actually happening are two completely different things. He will now take this opportunity to teach a very important lesson about discipleship.
“How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God!” – The adjective, “the rich”, is often translated into the plural to describe a demographic – All rich people. Yet, in the Greek, it appears as a singular substantive, which means a word or phrase that functions as a single noun, representing only one person, place, thing or idea. Thus, we understand this adjective to be “The rich one”. This implies an identity that’s heavily defined by material possessions, rather than simply possessing wealth.
Mark 10:24 – “The disciples were amazed at his words.” – Jesus’ statement radically challenged the prevailing first-century Jewish belief, that wealth was a direct sign of God’s blessing and favor. (But did it?) There’s an assumption out there, spoken as well as unspoken, that rich people are better than others, in some way. Rich people become our idols, monopolize our aspirations and influence how we see ourselves, the world around us and the other people in the world around us. Anyone’s human value is largely determined by the size of your paycheck, your bank accounts, your investments and all of the stuff that being rich affords. It was no different in Jesus’ day. (People have always been people and will always be people.) For the disciples believed that rich people were more righteous and were most likely to enter the kingdom of God.
Was Jesus teaching that all rich people will have a hard time entering the kingdom of God? Yes and no. Yes, because what Jesus was teaching, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God!” was perceived by the disciples to be a radical perspective. And perception is 9/10 of the law. For the disciple’s perspective was that wealth was a sign of righteousness and God’s favor. Thus, they were amazed at what they perceived they heard Jesus just say. The disciples didn’t understand the lesson. For, it challenged their perspective. To them, Jesus was teaching that all rich people will have a hard time entering the kingdom of God.
No, Jesus wasn’t teaching that all rich people will have a hard time entering the kingdom of God. Jesus was simply sharing the importance of identity, who you are, when it comes to the kingdom of God. The truth that God’s more interested in who you are, as opposed to what you do. Jesus’ so-called radical perspective was that a rich person can miss out on being all that God has created them and gifted them to be. Jesus was teaching that wealth wasn’t the problem, but the identity of the one with the wealth, could be the problem. Yet, the disciples were so locked into the cultural norm of wealth being a sign of God’s blessing. (Which it can be.) That they were unable to understand what Jesus was really saying.
“But Jesus said again,” – Sensing the disciple’s amazement, Jesus clarifies his previous teaching.
“Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God” – Some manuscripts translate this verse as “Children, how hard it is for those who trust in riches to enter the kingdom of God”, as a way of clarifying what Jesus is teaching. Jesus wasn’t teaching that all rich people will have a hard time entering the kingdom of God. He was teaching that all people will have a hard time entering the kingdom of God.
For there are many things in this life, in this world, that’ll trip you up, if you allow it. One of those things just so happens to be wealth. But wealth, in and of itself, isn’t the problem. When wealth becomes your identity, who you are, then it becomes a problem. The very reality that we just witnessed in the rich man choosing not to follow Jesus, because of his wealth.
Figures of speech – A word or phrase that uses non-literal language to evoke emotion, add emphasis or create vivid imagery. She’s as quiet as a church mouse. The classroom was a zoo. The wind howled last night. My backpack weighs a ton. He’s as brave as a lion. Time is money.
Mark 10:25 – “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of the needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.” – Roughly 2,000 to 2,350 verses in the Bible deal with money, wealth and possessions. Compare this to the six or seven verses that deal with same-sex sexual behavior and 570 verses that deal with murder.
“Needle” – This word is only used three times in the Bible, in the retelling of this same conversation in Matthew, Mark and Luke. It literally means a sewing needle.
“Eye” – This word is also only used three times in the Bible, in the retelling of this same conversation in Matthew, Mark and Luke. It literally means an opening, like an orifice in the human body.
“Camel” – This word is also used three times in the retelling of this story in Matthew, Mark and Luke. Additionally, this word appears in Matthew 3:4 and Mark 1:6 to describe the type of clothing that John the Baptist wore, “camel’s hair”. Yet, in Matthew 23:24, Jesus uses “camel” as a figurative statement that cannot be taken literally: “You strain a gnat and swallow a camel.” This was a figure of speech that could be understood by the hearer.
Our thought: “If this verse is a literal camel going through a literal needle’s eye, then Jesus was teaching that we can’t be rich, if we want to be in the kingdom of God.” Thus, you’re forced to decide just what Jesus is teaching in this verse. And your decision can’t be based on what makes you feel better about yourself and your life. It must be based on your study of the totality of the Biblical account.
When it comes to the value of real estate it’s all about location, location, location. When it comes to understanding the Bible it’s all about context, context, context. You want to interpret any verse in the Bible using the surrounding context of the statement. Ask yourself these three questions: (1) Who is speaking? (2) Who is the audience? (3) Who or what is being spoken about?
The words in this verse are the result of a conversation between Jesus and a rich man, that started back in Mark 10:17. Jesus was only speaking to this one rich man about how to be saved, and the disciples were listening. In response to this private conversation between Jesus and the rich man, the disciples now had questions about personal salvation and wealth.
In Mark 10:23 the context switches from a private salvation conversation, between Jesus and a rich man, to Jesus and his disciples talking about the scope, the nature and the heart of the matter, as it pertains to anyone’s salvation. The point: Wealth can make it harder for some to be saved by grace, through faith in Jesus. For some will find their salvation in their wealth, their status and their position in this life. Some will worship their wealth. Some will serve their wealth. Some will make their wealth their god. And that’s Jesus’ point and why he makes such a ridiculous statement. For anyone who puts anything above God will have a hard time being saved by grace, through faith in Jesus.
Mark 10:26 – “Who then can be saved?” – The disciples had been taught that wealth signaled God’s ultimate favor. Their perspective was this: If a seemingly moral, wealthy man couldn’t earn salvation, then absolutely no one else had the righteousness to do it on their own. And there-in-lies the rub. The very thing that was causing the disciples to be amazed was the very thing that Jesus wanted them to embrace. Salvation isn’t a matter of earning or merit or even deserving. Salvation is a gift of grace and love, that can only be experienced through faith.
So, what’s the answer to the disciples’ question? Anyone who puts their faith in Jesus. This is the good news that the disciples are going to go out and proclaim to the world, after the resurrection and ascension of Jesus.
“He taught them” – Back in Mark 9:30, Jesus intentionally passed through Galilee with the disciples, so that they could be alone. It was a time of direct discipleship. Jesus met the disciples where they were (Struggling with who was the greatest and why people, outside their circle, were doing things in Jesus’ name.) Jesus was walking with them. Now, it’s time to reengage with the outside world and teach the people. Which will also teach the disciples, but through inference and not direct confrontation. “There’s a time for every season under heaven.” (Ecclesiastes 3:1)
Mark 10:2 – “Some Pharisees” – Pharisees were a prominent religious and political sect in Judaism. The word comes from the Hebrew parash, which means “separated”. This reflected their commitment to remaining pure and distinct from Gentile practices. They were predominantly middle-class businessmen, merchants and synagogue leaders with substantial influence among common people. They were the people who stood to lose the most, if the good news of Jesus became culturally accepted.
“Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?” – Divorce has always been a controversial topic. There were two main schools of thought, in Jesus’ day, based on the interpretation of Deuteronomy 24:1. Rabbi Hillel taught that the passage meant that a man could divorce his wife for any reason that caused her to fall out of his favor. Rabbi Shammai taught that the passage meant that a man can only divorce his wife because of sexual immorality or adultery.
The question was a trap. The hope was that the Pharisees could paint Jesus into a corner. They hoped that the question would force Jesus to publicly take a stand. For, like with any other controversial issue, any stand you take publicly will find public disagreement. And the Pharisees were looking to create any kind of public disagreement with Jesus. Even though we all know that any public stance contains layers of perspectives that are unable to be expressed in a public stance. It’s true that there’s no such thing as a dumb question. But it’s also true that there is such a thing as a loaded question!
Mark 10:3 – “What did Moses command you?” – Jesus answered a question with a question. Have you put this tactic into play in your own life and relationships? Notice that Jesus uses the word “command” in his question. In the very asking of this question, Jesus was forcing the Pharisees to show their hand to him and to everyone listening. For in Deuteronomy 24:1, Moses didn’t command divorce, he simply permitted it. So, if the Pharisees answered this question about what Moses commanded, they would’ve tipped their hand that they sided with Rabbi Hillel and believed that divorce was commanded for any reason the man desired. If they corrected Jesus’ interpretation, they would’ve tipped their hand that they believed Rabbi Shammai and divorce was only permitted in the case of sexual immorality or adultery. Mark 10:4 – “Moses permitted a man…” – The Pharisees showed their theological hand. They believed that Moses didn’t command divorce, but permitted it. Why did Moses permit divorce? It was a law that was written for the protection of women. For divorce was only allowed in specific cases of sexual immorality or adultery. And, to go further, the husband had to give his wife a certificate of divorce. Without this certificate, the wife would be banished but still legally married. She would be unable to remarry and unable to have any connection with her children. Effectively sentencing her to a life of being ostracized and living isolated in absolute poverty.
Mark 10:5 – “It was because your hearts were hard that Moses wrote this law” – Jesus agrees with the Pharisees concerning the difference between command and permit. Now Jesus flips the narrative from the Pharisees trying to trick Jesus into Jesus teaching the Pharisees, and all of us, the heart of the matter. Afterall, Jesus was there when Moses wrote that law. Jesus declares that the Mosaic law, permitting divorce, was a concession to the hardness of the hearts of husbands in Moses’ day. Divorce isn’t commanded by God, for any reason, but permitted by God, for specific reasons, with specific requirements. The law was given as protection for a divorced wife. Not as a command for husbands to divorce their wives.
Mark 10:6 – “But” – Always pay attention to the “buts” in the Bible!
“At the beginning of creation God made them male and female” – Context, context, context. Jesus is referring to Genesis 1:27-28. And based on our culture’s insertion of the institution of marriage, only being between a man and a woman, many read this statement by Jesus as his direct condemnation of homosexuality, gender dysmorphia and same-sex marriages. But, first, Genesis 1:27-28 has no mention of the institution of marriage and, two, this is a statement, made by Jesus, in the context of his conversation with the Pharisees concerning the lawfulness of divorce. Not a question of who is allowed to marry.
Jesus, in 10:5, taught the Pharisees that the law permitting divorce, was in response to the hard hearts of some husbands. The law’s purpose was to protect women, not to condone divorce. Divorce was already happening, with dire consequences. God simply intended to make divorce survivable for women. God’s focus in the law wasn’t to stop divorces. For all divorces are simply symptoms of larger problems. The larger problem that Moses was dealing with, according to Jesus, was the hardness of men’s hearts, regarding their relationship with their wives.
Mark 10:7&8 – “A man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife…The two will become one flesh” – Jesus is referring to Genesis 2:24. As we look at this verse, remember that Jesus didn’t come to start a new religion. Jesus came to fulfill what God has always intended, since the beginning of time. This verse is a reference to the God intended, pre-fall, marital relationship, between the only human beings that were alive at that time – Adam and Eve. This relationship serves as our example for what marriage looks like. And, just in case you’re wondering, we have no record of Adam and Eve ever having a civil or religious ceremony, which would’ve made their marriage legal.
Adam, in response to God’s creation of Eve, simply declared his connection to her. For Eve was literally taken out of Adam. So, the idea of marriage, to which Jesus refers, is the fact that when a man takes a wife, they literally complete each other. And, back to the Pharisee’s original question, you can no more divorce yourself as you can stop being yourself. A marriage, as originally intended in Genesis, wasn’t the legal action that we understand it to be today. Marriage was a man and a woman coming together and becoming one flesh.
The point of Genesis 2:24 isn’t the creation of the institution of marriage. We created that much later. And then we had to create a way for men to legally get out of our very own creation of the institution of marriage. The point of Genesis 2:24 is to teach us about who we are, in relationship with each other.
Men and women complete each other. Thus, when we find “the one” and we get married, we become one with that person. Thus, in God’s eyes, divorce is the separation of one someone, which has tragic consequences. We’ve taken all of this and morphed it into something that bolsters our own personal agendas about people who are different than ourselves. We believe that God is teaching that same-sex marriage, homosexuality and gender-dysmorphia are all full-frontal assaults on God’s institution of marriage. When, in Genesis, God simply instituted the reality of what marriages accomplish, the completion of human beings.
Mark 10:9 – “Therefore…” – Because of our understanding of God’s intention for marriage, the two becoming one, the completion of humanity, we may now revisit the Pharisee’s question in Mark 10:2. A question that was already intended to be a trap, not a theological reflection on who God is and who we are in response. Jesus gives his answer: Yes, it’s legal for a man to divorce his wife. And also No, it’s not God’s intention, design or will for marriages to end in divorce. For everyone suffers in the face of divorce. But legal divorces, for the good of everyone involved, needed to be instituted.
“Legal creep” is the term that describes laws that began with noble intentions but are warped by evolving technology, lobbying or bureaucratic incentives. Laws are rigid, but society and technology adapt quickly, creating massive loopholes and unintended consequences.
Mark 10:10 – “When they were in the house again,” – We don’t know whose house this is. This is an example of adding English punctuation that somewhat alters the perspective of the verse. If the comma is added after “again”, as it is in the NIV translation, then it seems that this is a house that Jesus and the disciples have been to before. If the comma is added before “again” then it seems as if the emphasis is not on a repeat visit to a physical location, but to the fact that again the disciples were asking Jesus to explain his teaching.
“Asked Jesus about this” – The only time that Jewish leadership commanded that men divorce their wives was as the Jews returned from exile in Babylon. As the Jews experience a fresh start, back in Jerusalem, Ezra realized that many Jewish men had married foreign women who might lead them right back into idolatry. The danger to their identity as God’s chosen people was at danger, so they had to send their wives away. (Ezra 10). Thus, culturally the disciples are living in a world that’s bought into divorce at will.
Mark 10:11 – “Anyone who divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery against her.” – The scribes, in Jesus day, taught that if a husband finds another woman that he’s more attracted to, he could divorce his wife and marry the new woman. But Jesus is explaining that this isn’t the point of the law. The situation is more serious than the Pharisees and even the disciples let themselves believe. The heart of the matter is faithfulness. Faithfulness to God and faithfulness to each other. Thus, Jesus moves the conversation from divorce to adultery.
In the asking of the divorce question the Pharisees reveal that it hadn’t occurred to any of them that a man could commit adultery against his wife. In the asking of the explanation, the disciples are admitting the exact same thing. In the Mosaic law (Leviticus 20:10) both the man, who commits adultery, and the woman, whom he commits adultery with, are to be put to death. In other words, equality. Both are found equally liable for the crime of adultery. By Jesus’ day, this equality of adultery had morphed into the inequality of divorce. Leaving the man high and dry and the woman left to fend for herself. For a man could simply divorce his wife for any reason, as long as he gives her a certificate of divorce. Thus, circumventing the standard that God originally established in the law. Men and women being held equally accountable for adultery.
Mark 10:12 – “And if she divorces her husband and marries another man, she commits adultery.” – This verse was added in by Mark for his Gentile Christian community in Rome. For in the Jewish culture of Jesus’ day women couldn’t divorce their husbands. It’s still that way in some Jewish cultures. But in the Greco-Roman culture, women could divorce their husbands. A prominent example of this cultural difference was the story of Herodias, who divorced her husband to marry his half-brother, Antipas. This is the situation that got John the Baptist beheaded in Mark 6:14-29. Gentiles, converting to followers of Jesus, needed to realize that God’s ways aren’t always in agreement with human ways.
Jesus is explaining his response to the Pharisees question that was meant to trap him. He’s condemning men who send away their wives for trivial reasons. He’s not speaking to someone distraught by the possibility of divorce, caught in an abusive marriage or contemplating remarriage after a divorce. Yet, by specifically mentioning a woman initiating a divorce, Jesus placed men and women on equal footing regarding the moral responsibility of the marriage covenant. The point that Jesus is making is that adultery and divorce isn’t the problem with which the Pharisees and the disciples must wrestle. The bigger problem is the cultural norms that have developed over time, that place men over and above women.
Mark 10:13 – “People were bringing little children to Jesus.” – This teaching immediately follows the teaching on marriage and divorce to demonstrate vulnerability vs. power. In Jesus’ world, children had no legal rights, social status or economic power. By immediately following a discussion about divorce, where adults debated legal rights, power and loopholes, Jesus highlights that entering God’s kingdom requires recognizing one’s own powerlessness, vulnerability and total dependence on God.
Children represent another category of those marginalized and dominated, like women. For the child was the least in familial and societal structures. Children were easily dominated and exploited because of their vulnerability. Jesus is inviting his disciples, and all of us, into a new reality of community and family, where the least becomes the model for discipleship.
People brought little children to Jesus so he could physically touch and lay hands on them. This was an ancient practice seeking a spiritual blessing. People wanted Jesus’ physical touch to impart favor, divine protection and prayers for the children’s physical and spiritual well-being.
“But” – Always pay attention to the buts in the Bible!
“The disciples rebuked them” – Rebuke = To express sharp, stern disapproval of; reprimand. (Mark 8:32) The disciples didn’t just think that people needed to stop wasting Jesus’ time by bringing little children to him; they acted out their thoughts and rebuked the families.
Mark 10:14 – “When Jesus saw this, he was indignant” – Indignant = Feeling, characterized by or expressing strong displeasure at something considered unjust, offensive or insulting. How it must break God’s heart to see how we treat each other.
“Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.” Not actually these, but “such as these”. The kingdom of God isn’t only for little children. But the kingdom of God is for people who see themselves, God and the world around them, as little children. In Matthew 5:3 Jesus says “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs in the kingdom of heaven.” To be “poor in spirit” means to be spiritually bankrupt. To have no currency, possessing nothing to merit God’s love.
As we become more spiritually mature and biblically knowledgeable, we tend to overestimate our standing and our abilities before God. We see those who aren’t as far along and try to use the Bible to control them into right behavior – behavior that we think should be appropriate in the kingdom of God. (Another reason why we’ve made a covenant to stop shoulding on ourselves and others.) We build a kingdom of God based on our own half-understood truths or even learned untruths. We then pressure others to fit into our expectations, much like the Pharisees.
Mark 10:15 – “Truly I tell you” – This is Jesus sharing a prophetic word. In the Old Testament, when a prophet would share a word from God, they would use the words “Thus says the Lord”, or “The word of the Lord is…” Jesus, being God, simply says “Truly I tell you”.
“Anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.” – Those most eligible to experience God’s glory and sovereignty in their lives are the people who have no presumption that they legally or spiritually deserve it. When presented with a gift they do not deserve, children will accept it gratefully and unselfconsciously. Children have no thought of earning it or even feeling guilty about receiving it. They just want to enjoy it.
In other words, the kingdom of God is about who you are and who God is. The kingdom of God isn’t about what you do. For no amount of doing will merit any of us the kingdom of God. It’s the simple, childlike acknowledgment, that we don’t deserve it and we can’t merit it, that’ll actually enable all of us to experience it.
Mark 10:16 – “And he took the children in his arms” – Jesus moves his attention from the disciples to the children. Ask and you shall receive. Jesus took the children in his arms, not because of who the children are, but because of who Jesus is. This is good news for us all!
Mark 10:17 – “A man ran up to him and fell on his knees before him” – There’s a sense of urgency in this description. This isn’t just someone who is interested in who Jesus is. This is someone who is interested in the transformation that Jesus offers.
“’Good teacher’, he asked, ‘what must I do to inherit eternal life?’” – Always pay attention to the questions you ask. But also pay attention to how you ask your questions. For how you ask something will give you insight into not only the answer you’re looking for, but also your perspective in asking the question. This man obviously believes that eternal life is inherited, because of what he does. This perspective is a work’s theology – I can do enough to be saved.
Mark 10:18 – “Why do you call me good?” – Again, Jesus answers a question with a question. There’s no record in any Jewish teaching where a Rabbi is called “good”. This is Jesus inviting this man to ponder why he is using this abnormal title for Jesus. The only one who is truly good is God. So, was this man understanding that he was addressing God? Or was he simply blowing smoke up a Rabbi’s tunic?
Mark 10:19 – “You know the commandments” – Jesus meets this man where he is. He asked about what he can do to inherit eternal life. So, Jesus lays out a list of doings that this man can do. He highlights six of the Ten Commandments that focus entirely on how people are to treat one another.
Mark 10:20 – “’Teacher’, he declared, ‘all these I have kept since I was a boy.’” – Now we start to see the real guy. For this guy obviously thinks a great deal of himself. For if he really knew who Jesus was, then how could he, with a straight face, confess that he’s kept these six commandments since being a child? How we ask questions reveals a great deal about who we are. How we answer questions goes even further toward revealing who we really are.
Mark 10:21 – “Jesus looked at him and loved him.” – Now we’re getting real and Jesus loves it. Jesus loves this man for who he is, not what he’s done or not done. Because of this love, Jesus is going to present this man with an opportunity. Jesus is going to be real with this man, because this man was being real with Jesus.
“One thing you lack” – The chorus of the song “One Thing” by Finger Eleven – “If I traded it all, if I gave it all away for one thing, just for one thing. If I sorted it out, if I knew all about this one thing, wouldn’t that be something?” Jesus is getting ready to drop a word on this guy. He hopes it’s the answer to his question about what he needs to do. And, he’s probably feeling a little encouraged, for it’s only “one thing”.
“Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor.” – Wow! That’s a pretty big “one thing”. This is a passage that’s been taken out of context by so many well-intentioned people. Jesus isn’t saying that every single person who wants to inherit eternal life must give away all of their wealth and possessions. Jesus is answering this specific man’s specific question about what he must do. Jesus is meeting this guy where he is. Jesus knows that what’s tripping this guy up, when it comes to inheriting eternal life, is his love of his possessions, his money, his stuff. All of us can only have one God that we worship and serve.
“Follow me” – Regardless of what your “one thing” happens to be, and we all have at least “one thing” that’s preventing us from experiencing what it means to inherit eternal life. Everyone must figure out how to overcome their very own ”one thing”. For this man, his “one thing” was his wealth and Jesus knew it and, because this man was being real with Jesus, Jesus was real with him. The goal is to follow Jesus and to overcome anything that gets in the way of that following.
Mark 10:22 – “At this the man’s face fell. He went away sad, because he had great wealth.” – Scripture doesn’t record for us what this man did with this information; beyond his initial sadness over the thought of giving away his wealth. Did he do it? Or did he simply go back to his life and forget about what Jesus told him? What the man did with the info isn’t nearly as important as the info itself. For Jesus is teaching this man, his disciples and all of us the cost of discipleship: If there’s anything that prevents you from following Jesus, get rid of it. This harkens back to 9:43-47.
Identity is the unique set of characteristics, beliefs, values, and traits that define who you are as an individual and how you fit into the world. So, who are you? What’s your identity?
Mark 10:23 – “Jesus looked around” – How it must have broken Jesus’ heart to see this man sadly walk away from an invitation to follow. Yes, Jesus knew that this was one possible outcome, but knowing something could happen and something actually happening are two completely different things. He will now take this opportunity to teach a very important lesson about discipleship.
“How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God!” – The adjective, “the rich”, is often translated into the plural to describe a demographic – All rich people. Yet, in the Greek, it appears as a singular substantive, which means a word or phrase that functions as a single noun, representing only one person, place, thing or idea. Thus, we understand this adjective to be “The rich one”. This implies an identity that’s heavily defined by material possessions, rather than simply possessing wealth.
Mark 10:24 – “The disciples were amazed at his words.” – Jesus’ statement radically challenged the prevailing first-century Jewish belief, that wealth was a direct sign of God’s blessing and favor. (But did it?) There’s an assumption out there, spoken as well as unspoken, that rich people are better than others, in some way. Rich people become our idols, monopolize our aspirations and influence how we see ourselves, the world around us and the other people in the world around us. Anyone’s human value is largely determined by the size of your paycheck, your bank accounts, your investments and all of the stuff that being rich affords. It was no different in Jesus’ day. (People have always been people and will always be people.) For the disciples believed that rich people were more righteous and were most likely to enter the kingdom of God.
Was Jesus teaching that all rich people will have a hard time entering the kingdom of God? Yes and no. Yes, because what Jesus was teaching, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God!” was perceived by the disciples to be a radical perspective. And perception is 9/10 of the law. For the disciple’s perspective was that wealth was a sign of righteousness and God’s favor. Thus, they were amazed at what they perceived they heard Jesus just say. The disciples didn’t understand the lesson. For, it challenged their perspective. To them, Jesus was teaching that all rich people will have a hard time entering the kingdom of God.
No, Jesus wasn’t teaching that all rich people will have a hard time entering the kingdom of God. Jesus was simply sharing the importance of identity, who you are, when it comes to the kingdom of God. The truth that God’s more interested in who you are, as opposed to what you do. Jesus’ so-called radical perspective was that a rich person can miss out on being all that God has created them and gifted them to be. Jesus was teaching that wealth wasn’t the problem, but the identity of the one with the wealth, could be the problem. Yet, the disciples were so locked into the cultural norm of wealth being a sign of God’s blessing. (Which it can be.) That they were unable to understand what Jesus was really saying.
“But Jesus said again,” – Sensing the disciple’s amazement, Jesus clarifies his previous teaching.
“Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God” – Some manuscripts translate this verse as “Children, how hard it is for those who trust in riches to enter the kingdom of God”, as a way of clarifying what Jesus is teaching. Jesus wasn’t teaching that all rich people will have a hard time entering the kingdom of God. He was teaching that all people will have a hard time entering the kingdom of God.
For there are many things in this life, in this world, that’ll trip you up, if you allow it. One of those things just so happens to be wealth. But wealth, in and of itself, isn’t the problem. When wealth becomes your identity, who you are, then it becomes a problem. The very reality that we just witnessed in the rich man choosing not to follow Jesus, because of his wealth.
Figures of speech – A word or phrase that uses non-literal language to evoke emotion, add emphasis or create vivid imagery. She’s as quiet as a church mouse. The classroom was a zoo. The wind howled last night. My backpack weighs a ton. He’s as brave as a lion. Time is money.
Mark 10:25 – “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of the needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.” – Roughly 2,000 to 2,350 verses in the Bible deal with money, wealth and possessions. Compare this to the six or seven verses that deal with same-sex sexual behavior and 570 verses that deal with murder.
“Needle” – This word is only used three times in the Bible, in the retelling of this same conversation in Matthew, Mark and Luke. It literally means a sewing needle.
“Eye” – This word is also only used three times in the Bible, in the retelling of this same conversation in Matthew, Mark and Luke. It literally means an opening, like an orifice in the human body.
“Camel” – This word is also used three times in the retelling of this story in Matthew, Mark and Luke. Additionally, this word appears in Matthew 3:4 and Mark 1:6 to describe the type of clothing that John the Baptist wore, “camel’s hair”. Yet, in Matthew 23:24, Jesus uses “camel” as a figurative statement that cannot be taken literally: “You strain a gnat and swallow a camel.” This was a figure of speech that could be understood by the hearer.
Our thought: “If this verse is a literal camel going through a literal needle’s eye, then Jesus was teaching that we can’t be rich, if we want to be in the kingdom of God.” Thus, you’re forced to decide just what Jesus is teaching in this verse. And your decision can’t be based on what makes you feel better about yourself and your life. It must be based on your study of the totality of the Biblical account.
When it comes to the value of real estate it’s all about location, location, location. When it comes to understanding the Bible it’s all about context, context, context. You want to interpret any verse in the Bible using the surrounding context of the statement. Ask yourself these three questions: (1) Who is speaking? (2) Who is the audience? (3) Who or what is being spoken about?
The words in this verse are the result of a conversation between Jesus and a rich man, that started back in Mark 10:17. Jesus was only speaking to this one rich man about how to be saved, and the disciples were listening. In response to this private conversation between Jesus and the rich man, the disciples now had questions about personal salvation and wealth.
In Mark 10:23 the context switches from a private salvation conversation, between Jesus and a rich man, to Jesus and his disciples talking about the scope, the nature and the heart of the matter, as it pertains to anyone’s salvation. The point: Wealth can make it harder for some to be saved by grace, through faith in Jesus. For some will find their salvation in their wealth, their status and their position in this life. Some will worship their wealth. Some will serve their wealth. Some will make their wealth their god. And that’s Jesus’ point and why he makes such a ridiculous statement. For anyone who puts anything above God will have a hard time being saved by grace, through faith in Jesus.
Mark 10:26 – “Who then can be saved?” – The disciples had been taught that wealth signaled God’s ultimate favor. Their perspective was this: If a seemingly moral, wealthy man couldn’t earn salvation, then absolutely no one else had the righteousness to do it on their own. And there-in-lies the rub. The very thing that was causing the disciples to be amazed was the very thing that Jesus wanted them to embrace. Salvation isn’t a matter of earning or merit or even deserving. Salvation is a gift of grace and love, that can only be experienced through faith.
So, what’s the answer to the disciples’ question? Anyone who puts their faith in Jesus. This is the good news that the disciples are going to go out and proclaim to the world, after the resurrection and ascension of Jesus.
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