The Gospel of Mark

“God’s Expectation For Those Saved” Mark 12:1-12

Christ’s Power Over Every Need

The Gospel of Mark Sermon Series

“God’s Expectation For Those Saved”

Mark 12:1-12

Introduction

Today’s passage of Mark 12, takes place two days after the triumphal entry, one day after the cleansing of the temple, and after the religious authorities came and asked about his authority to “do these things.” It’s Wednesday and on Friday of the Passion week, Jesus will die, Jesus knows this, and even predicts what they are going to do.

Prayer

The Target of the Parable (vv. 12:1a)

And he began to speak to them in parables.

“Them refers to the Sanhedrin as a whole. But even more, since they were representatives of the Jewish people and the entire system of Judaism, the lesson was designed as a condemnation of the whole. Of course, this does not refer to Jews who believed in Him.”[1] Parables is plural, so Mark knew of other parables Jesus taught that day, but chooses to give only this one here.

With a parable, there is generally a broad teaching, moral, or idea and one should avoid trying to match up each detail with something. For, example the owner places a fence around the vineyard, does this refer to the law, keeping the Jewish people safe from the Gentile world, etc.? There is just no way of knowing. Also, another example is that the son of owner (Jesus) is left dead at the end of the story and to explain him rising from the dead would have taken away from the purpose of the parable. So, we are looking for a broad, overarching truth.

Also, “the parable helps explain two things about Jesus’ proclamation of the coming of the kingdom which his disciples found hard to understand. In the first place, they could not make sense of Jesus’ increasing emphasis on his own coming death: how could he announce the day of God’s glorious revolution and at the same time his own death? In the second place, they did not understand his failure to release Israel from the bondage of foreign imperialists. . . The disciples even ask in Acts 1:6, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?”[2]

The Contract Within the Parable (vv. 12:1b-11)

“A man planted a vineyard and put a fence around it and dug a pit for the winepress and built a tower, and leased it to tenants and went into another country.

“A landowner had a plot of land and decided to plant grapevines on it. After he had planted the tender shoots of the grapevines, he protected it from wild animals such as foxes and boars (Song of Sol. 2:15; Psalm 80:13) by putting a wall around the vineyard. He also equipped the vineyard with a winepress and a watchtower.

The watchtower was used during the harvest as a lookout against thieves. The whole project was a financial venture for the landowner. While they would have waited for the harvest, the owner would support the farmers, buy manure and supplies for the vineyard, and hope that in the fifth year to have a profit.”[3]

The owner of the vineyard provided everything needed for the tenants to be able to produce a crop from the vineyard, and the phrase, “went into another country” is intended to show the passage of time. “In the case of a new vineyard it would be at least four years before a crop would be harvested.”[4]

In the owner’s absence, the tenants would cultivate the vineyard, prune the branches, and raise vegetable crops between the vines during the first few years. For the first few years the owner would have to support them. After those years of toil were past, the vineyard would be lucrative source of income for the owner.[5]

There was an agreement that in due time, the tenants would pay the owner a portion of the crop.

2 When the season came, he sent a servant to the tenants to get from them some of the fruit of the vineyard.

Jesus is telling this parable to explain to the Jewish people, God’s covenant people, that God had provided a land for them, He brought them out of slavery, but there is a covenant between them – there is an expected return to God. There is freedom, but there is also an expectation of what they are to do with that freedom. In Exodus 19, notice the “if” and “then” with the covenant between God and the nation.

Exodus 19:4-8 “You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself. 5 Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine; 6 and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words that you shall speak to the people of Israel.” 7 So Moses came and called the elders of the people and set before them all these words that the LORD had commanded him. 8 All the people answered together and said, “All that the LORD has spoken we will do.” And Moses reported the words of the people to the LORD.” They were to be a priest nation, a nation that brought the world to God.

3 And they took him and beat him and sent him away empty-handed. 4 Again he sent to them another servant, and they struck him on the head and treated him shamefully. 5 And he sent another, and him they killed. And so with many others: some they beat, and some they killed. 6 He had still one other, a beloved son. Finally he sent him to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ 7 But those tenants said to one another, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’ 8 And they took him and killed him and threw him out of the vineyard.

Every time the owner of the vineyard sent someone to collect what was due, they mistreated this person. “The message which the owner received was that the tenants had no intention of paying the requested income of the grape harvest.”[6]

And as the time went by, their treatment grew worse and worse, until they eventually killed even the owner’s own son. “Finally he sent him to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ This is the agaoetos[7] son, the only son. So, if we understand this parable to represent God’s people, then those sent to the nation were the prophets, who were calling God’s people to keep the covenant between them and God, and the owner’s only son is Jesus.

(v. 7) “and the inheritance will be ours” – the renter’s thinking eventually became so clouded that they started to think that they had some claim to the property. Their thinking seemed to be, that if there is no heir, then the property would go to them. Ultimately, their refusal to pay the rent, and the abuse of the servants, and death of the son all point to the renters wanting to own the land and keep all crops to themselves.

This parable is mentioned in three of the gospels, and in the other two accounts the son is cast outside the vineyard, and then killed. They initially admitted him into the vineyard, but in order not to defile the vines with blood, they killed him outside the vineyard. (following the law in minor ways, while ignoring the major ways). In their minds it’s acceptable to kill a person to maintain their lifestyle, but it is not acceptable to kill him where the victim’s blood may ceremonially contaminate the land they are trying to steal.

“It is the story of God sending first the prophets and then Jesus to the people of Israel, patiently calling them to ‘bear fruit. It is the story of their violent rejection of that call, culminating in the killing of Jesus; and it is the story of God taking action to punish Israel and “to give the vineyard to other.”[8] Jesus sees himself as God’s last and decisive messenger to the people.

9 What will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy the tenants and give the vineyard to others. 10 Have you not read this Scripture: “‘The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone[9]; 11 this was the Lord’s doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes’?”[10]

(v. 9) “What will the owner of the vineyard do?” – The owner’s son has been killed, all of the servants that that been sent have been abused or killed, so the owner Himself must now come and reclaim what is His away from the squatters.

This marks the end of the redemptive plan for the world through the nation of Israel. Now, it will be Christians who will take up this responsibility to share God’s plan for redemption with the world. Israel has refused to be the instrument of salvation to the world.

“Jesus’ parable offers hope for a new beginning.”[11] The vineyard doesn’t go away, but it is the renters who will be replaced. Those who are expected to produce a crop for the owner will be replaced. So, who is the new renter? The spiritual leadership of Israel were done, they would be judged, and Jesus’ disciples were going to be given an opportunity to make the vineyard fruitful in such a way that honors the owner.

(v. 10) Jesus is quoting Psalm 118:22, “The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.” which describes builders who rejected a stone – as they were looking at stones to build with, they threw one away – that would become the key to what God was constructing. In masonry the cornerstone, set the orientation and gave true lines for the rest of the building. The one rejected, has become the most important stone of all.

Jesus is not abandoning God’s plan for the redemption revealed through the Word of God in the Old Testament, but is bringing that plan to fruition. He is closing the book of the Old Testament, and beginning a New Testament – a new covenant.

The church must remember that we have been given stewardship of the gospel. When we commit ourselves to Christ, it is also a commitment to His church, and the church has a responsibility to “produce fruit” in keeping with the gospel.

Romans 10:14-17 “How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? 15 And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!” 16 But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed what he has heard from us?” 17 So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.”

The Reaction to the Parable (vv. 12:12)

12 And they were seeking to arrest him but feared the people, for they perceived that he had told the parable against them. So they left him and went away.

“Why did they so requite the mercy of God? Not because there was no record to teach them, for all history cried aloud, “This is the way.” Not because they lacked the power to discriminate between good and ill; for they confessed, “This is the heir,” and then straightway forswore their noblest conviction. Self-will was their curse. They resolved that the garden of life should be theirs – theirs for gain, theirs for fame, and not God’s for worthy manhood. “Let us keep the inheritance.”[12]

So from the parable we can draw three major points:

1) God is patient and longsuffering in waiting for His people to bear the fruit which he requires of them, even when they are repeatedly and overtly hostile in their rebellion against him.[13] Are we expected because of our salvation (freedom from sin) to do something? God entrusts all people with abilities and resources, and He expects them to be good stewards of what has been given to them.

John 15:16 “You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you.”

Tennyson said, “The fields – the human fields – are white already unto harvest.” The demand of God is that this little plot of earth shall produce an industry that blooms like a garden, homes that are ripened grain, souls ever “wearing the white flower of a blameless life.”[14] Matthew 28: “Go and make disciples . . .”

2) A day will come when God’s patience is exhausted and those who have rejected him will be destroyed.

3) God’s purposes will not thereby be thwarted, for he will raise up new leaders who will produce the fruit the original ones failed to provide.

__________________

[1] Herschel H. Hobbs, An Exposition of the Four Gospels, Mark (Nashville, Tennessee; Broadman Press, 1970) 187.

[2] David Wenham, The Parables of Jesus (Downers Grove, Illinois; InterVarsity Press, 1989) 125.

[3] Simon Kistemaker, The Parables of Jesus (Grand Rapids, Michigan; Baker Book House, 1980) 90.

[4] R. T. France, The Gospel of Mark, A Commentary on the Greek Text (Grand Rapids, Michigan; William B. Eerdmans Company, 2002) 459.

[5] Kistemaker, 90.

[6] Kistemaker, 91.

[7] Frank E. Gaebelein, The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Volume 8 (Grand Rapids, Michigan; Zondervan Publishing, 1984) 732.

[8] Wenham, 127.

[9] Mt. 21:42; Rom. 9:32f; Eph. 2:20; 1 Pet. 2:6ff. Also, Acts 4:10.

[10] See Isaiah 5:1-7.

[11] France, 456.

[12] George A. Buttrick, The Parables of Jesus (Grand Rapids, Michigan; Baker Book House, 1979) 220.

[13] Craig L. Blomberg, Interpreting the Parables (Downers Grove, Illinois; Intervarsity Press, 1990) 249.

[14] Alfred Tennyson, in the “Dedication” to “The Idylls of the King.”

“The Bragging Fig Tree” Mark 11:12-14, 20-33

Christ’s Power Over Every Need

The Gospel of Mark Sermon Series

“The Bragging Fig Tree”

Mark 11:12-14, 20-33

Introduction

Jesus has entered into Jerusalem on a colt, the people laid down their outer garments in the street, waved palm branches, and shouted Hosanna (save us!) and were anticipating Jesus coming as the Messiah, who would be the new king of the Jews (like David). The following morning Jesus entered the Court of the Gentiles and drove out the moneychangers, the livestock, and Jesus kept people from taking short-cuts through the holy area. While he did all that, He was teaching, specifically against the religious temple leadership, saying, “you have turned this holy worship area into a den of robbers (v.17).”

He may have even been reenacting Zechariah 14:21, “And there shall no longer be a trader in the house of the LORD of hosts on that day.” This passage is a reference to the coming Day of Lord, which is a coming judgment. So, the picture of Jesus riding into Jerusalem on a colt was Him declaring, I am the promised Messiah. His driving out the false and corrupted worship was what a king would do, restoring a proper worship of God.

And during these events in Mark’s gospel, he adds an account of where Jesus curses a fig tree. This is not just a side point of frustration of Jesus, “because He was hungry.” This is very specific and important because it is Jesus’ last miracle in the book of Mark. All of the miracles were to prove that Jesus was who He said He was. Here, Jesus’ last miracle makes one final statement, and it would be just for the disciples (not the crowds). Mark puts the stories together in such a way so that one helps to explain the other.

Prayer

Jesus’ Last Miraculous Act (vv.12-14, 20-25)

The following day, when they came from Bethany, he was hungry. 13 And seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf, he went to see if he could find anything on it. When he came to it, he found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs. 14 And he said to it, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again.”[1] And his disciples heard it. . . .20 As they passed by in the morning, they saw the fig tree withered away to its roots. 21 And Peter remembered and said to him, “Rabbi, look! The fig tree that you cursed has withered.”

Earlier, Jesus told the parable of the fruitless fig tree, and here he is putting the parable into action, Luke 13:6-9 “And he told this parable: “A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came seeking fruit on it and found none. 7 And he said to the vinedresser, ‘Look, for three years now I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and I find none. Cut it down. Why should it use up the ground?’ 8 And he answered him, ‘Sir, let it alone this year also, until I dig around it and put on manure. 9 Then if it should bear fruit next year, well and good; but if not, you can cut it down.’” Jesus has returned to Jerusalem, the temple, and is not seeing any spiritual fruit. “Israel was the fruitless fig tree, or the richly-privileged vineyard that brought forth wild grapes (Isa. 5:1-7). Yet, though fruitless, Israel was full of profession, false show of godliness.”[2] They were leaves without fruit, promise without fulfillment.

Jesus is not jumping from the cursed fig tree, to the topic of faith. That was his goal all along. He allowed Peter to discover the cursed tree on his own. Also, remember that disciples had seen Jesus perform miracle after miracle up to this point (raising the dead, calming the sea, casting out demons, healing the sick, walking on water, etc.) yet they are still amazed at Jesus’ performing miracles. Peter says, “, “Rabbi, look! The fig tree that you cursed has withered.” The disciples will soon lead the new Christian church, they too could do what Jesus did – but how?

Jesus says in John 14:12 “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father. 13 Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.” How will they do even greater things than Jesus did?

22 And Jesus answered them, “Have faith in God. 23 Truly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will come to pass, it will be done for him. 24 Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. 25 And whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.”

Jesus is days from the crucifixion, he has a very limited amount of time left with the disciples to prepare them for what they are about to experience all the things that will happen at his death and burial, and their eventual leadership, so he uses the fig tree to explain to them what it means to have faith.

How We Define Faith is Critical to a Relationship With God.

Mark is very careful and sparse in the details that he gives in every chapter and verse of his gospel. So, to help us understand this passage, it is helpful to point out the details that Mark chooses to include (leaves, the season of the year, etc.) – so it is linked with Jesus’ traveling to Jerusalem and what He finds at the temple.

“Jesus on his initial visit to the temple has found all leaves, but no fruit. His summary verdict on the ‘braggart’ fig tree is a verdict on the failure of God’s people and is of a piece with his developing polemic against the ‘barren’ temple.”[3] From a distance the tree looked great, but when you get close, there is nothing there. From a far the temple gave the appearance of authentic and genuine worship of the One true God, but when you get close, it has become corrupt, divided, and disingenuous.

Jesus is preparing the disciples to take over as leaders, so how does Jesus do what he does – how does he do the miracles? How did he curse a fig tree? (v. 22) “And Jesus answered them, “Have faith in God” – action, movement, steps in life, live your life in such a way that shows you believe God, and take Him at His Word.

(v. 23) “does not doubt in his heart” – this literally means a divided judgement, it is the word for the number two and judge.[4] It’s having the thought, “it can be done,” and “it’s can’t be done,” at the same time.[5]

Cain And Abel’s Offering

Example of Faith; Cain and Abel’s offering. Adam and Eve’s children, Cain and Abel come to a worship service and present their offering to the Lord. God accepts Abel’s offering, but rejects Cain’s offering because it was not according to the requirements God had established, God says to Cain, Genesis 4:7 “If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is contrary to you, but you must rule over it.”

Hebrews 11:4 helps us interpret what is going on in the Genesis passage. “By faith Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain, through which he was commended as righteous, God commending him by accepting his gifts. And through his faith, though he died, he still speaks.” Hebrews 11:6 “And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.” Abel’s actions followed what he believed to be true. Cain’s attitude betrayed him, because it revealed that he did not genuinely have faith in, or believe God.

(v. 24) “Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.” – This is a faith that prays, “prayer is the source of its power, and the means of its strength – God’s omnipotence is the sole assurance, and God’s sovereignty its only restriction.”[6]

A passage that helps us to understand Jesus’ teaching is Romans 8:26-27 “Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. 27 And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.”

This faith in God, resulting in the words we pray are not a blind faith. Our prayers are rooted in our relationship with God, knowing what He desires, based on His Word, and then praying those things back to Him. If our prayer came from the Spirit of God, it stands a much better chance of being answered by God, according to “the will of God.”

1 John 5:14-15 “And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. 15 And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him.” We are to ask and pray according to His will.

The Greatest difficulties, facing the disciple’s ministry,

can be removed with prayer rooted in faith.[7]

(v. 24) “And whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.”[8] – This goes back to how we approach God; We ask in prayer that God forgive us of our sin, therefore He expects us to forgive other people of their sin against us. This goes back to action, and a following of God’s Word while interacting with Him. Also, this teaching on prayer is happening corporately, “the text is not focusing on private prayer.”[9]

Standing while praying “signifies that we honor God as being present, before whom we cannot sit but must stand.”[10]

Now when the mountain has been thrown into the sea (you have prayed and God has moved), don’t wade into the water and dig it back up again. Forgive and move on. All of this is rooted in the work that you and Lord, and your church are doing together – this is not about an individual getting rich, or having fancy cars, or having your best life – it’s the work, the obstacles you face together, and asking God in faith to remove them.

The Religious Leader’s Lack of Action (vv. 27-33)

27 And they came again to Jerusalem. And as he was walking in the temple, the chief priests and the scribes and the elders came to him, 28 and they said to him, “By what authority are you doing these things, or who gave you this authority to do them?” 29 Jesus said to them, “I will ask you one question; answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things. 30 Was the baptism of John from heaven or from man? Answer me.” 31 And they discussed it with one another, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say, ‘Why then did you not believe him?’ 32 But shall we say, ‘From man’?”— they were afraid of the people, for they all held that John really was a prophet. 33 So they answered Jesus, “We do not know.” And Jesus said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.”

(v. 27) “the chief priests and the scribes and the elders came to him,” – there are three groups (high priests, scribes, and elders) that composed the Sanhedrin, the Supreme Court of the Jews. This is the Jewish high court, and they are appearing to him in person.[11]

(v. 28) “By what authority are you doing these things, or who gave you this authority to do them?” – “that you keep on doing these things,”[12] These questions force the reader to ask, “who was speaking for God – the Jewish leaders, or Jesus?”[13] Their question implied that since they had not given it to Jesus, that he then had not right to say that He spoke on behalf of God.

“The honor paid to the Rabbis exceeded even that due to parents. The ‘elder in knowledge’ was revered even more than the ‘elder in years.’ If a person’s father and teacher are each carrying burdens, one must first help the teacher, or if both one’s father and one’s teacher are in captivity one must first ransom the teacher. This respect bordered on honor given to God. ‘Let the honor of thy friend border on the honor of thy teacher, and the honor of thy teacher on the fear of God.’ To dispute a rabbi, or to murmur against him, was as sinful as to murmur against God. The Jew gave preference to his teacher over his father [because] the one gave him temporal life, the other eternal life.”[14]

Jesus even warns of religious leaders who loved the attention and devotion they received from the people, Luke 20:46 “Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes, and love greetings in the marketplaces and the best seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at feasts, . . .”

Their intention is not to gain information from Jesus, they don’t believe that he has the authority to teach in the temple, drive out people from the Gentile Court, have disciples following him around, etc. They wanted Jesus to stop.

(v. 30) Jesus asks the religious leaders, “Was the baptism of John from heaven or from man? Answer me.” – Jesus is linking his authority as the Messiah to John the Baptist. When John preached “repent for the kingdom of God is at hand,” the religious leaders did not repent, follow John’s preaching, nor were they baptized. Jesus is simply repeating their question back to them, but replacing his name with John’s name, “By what authority did John baptize people?”

Mark 1:1-3 “The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. 2 As it is written in Isaiah the prophet, “Behold, I send my messenger before your face, who will prepare your way, 3 the voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.” God had sent prophet after prophet to His chosen people, and John was the last prophet that would be sent – and they didn’t recognize him.

Jesus places the Sanhedrin in the middle of two horns of a dilemma – If John’s authority was from God, then why didn’t you accept him? Why were you not baptized by him? When he was arrested by Herod, why didn’t you say anything? If they say John’s authority was from men, the people knew otherwise and would have punished them (by stoning).

The religious leaders had ignored John. They did not deny that he was sent from God, to do so would have gotten them stoned.[15] They also, made their decisions and public comments based on the consensus of the crowd. The truth of the Bible doesn’t change depending on what culture feels should be right and what should be wrong.

(v. 33) “So they answered Jesus, “We do not know.” – They are supposed to be the people who know, it was their supreme duty to know, yet they say, “We do not know.” In their own words, the disqualified themselves from being the religious authority.

____________________________

[1] See also Matthew 21:21

[2] W. N. Clarke, Commentary on the Gospel of Mark (Valley Forge, Pennsylvania; Judson Press, 1950) 163.

[3] R.T. France, The Gospel of Mark, A Commentary on the Greek Text (Grand Rapids, Michigan; William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2002) 441.

[4] Archibald Thomas Robertson, Word Pictures in the New Testament, Volume 1 (Nashville, Tennessee; Broadman Press, 1932) 361.

[5] R. C. H. Lenski, The Interpretation of St. Mark’s Gospel (Minneapolis, Minnesota; Augsburg Publishing House, 1964) 495.

[6] Frank E. Gaebelein, General Editor, The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Volume 8 (Grand Rapids, Michigan; Zondervan Publishing, 1984) 729.

[7] Note to self: Don’t be the mountain, that others are praying to be removed.

[8] See also Matthew 6:14-15; 18:35.

[9] Darrell L. Bock, Cornerstone Biblical Commentary, The Gospel of Mark (Carol Stream, Illinois; Tyndale House Publishers, 2005) 499.

[10] Lenski, 497.

[11] Lenski, 500.

[12] Robertson, 362.

[13] Bock, 503.

[14] Roy B. Zuck, Teaching as Jesus Taught (Grand Rapids, Michigan; Baker Books, 1994) 37.

[15] See Luke 20:6

Christ’s Power Over Every Need The Gospel of Mark Sermon Series “Regal, Reverence, and Revenue” Mark 11:1-11, 15-19

Christ’s Power Over Every Need

The Gospel of Mark Sermon Series

“Regal, Reverence, and Revenue”

Mark 11:1-11, 15-19

Introduction

Prayer

Sunday; A Day of Triumph (vv. 1- 11)

Now when they drew near to Jerusalem, to Bethphage and Bethany, at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two of his disciples and said to them, “Go into the village in front of you, and immediately as you enter it you will find a colt tied, on which no one has ever sat. Untie it and bring it.[1] 3 If anyone says to you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ say, ‘The Lord has need of it and will send it back here immediately.’” 4 And they went away and found a colt tied at a door outside in the street, and they untied it. 5 And some of those standing there said to them, “What are you doing, untying the colt?” 6 And they told them what Jesus had said, and they let them go. 7 And they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their cloaks on it, and he sat on it. 8 And many spread their cloaks on the road, and others spread leafy branches that they had cut from the fields. 9 And those who went before and those who followed were shouting,

“Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! 10 Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David! Hosanna in the highest!”

11 And he entered Jerusalem and went into the temple. And when he had looked around at everything, as it was already late, he went out to Bethany with the twelve.

Jesus is entering the last week of his life on earth, it is days from the crucifixion. As he is traveling to Jerusalem, he instructs the disciples to go back to a town they had passed coming in and ask to borrow a colt, “on which no one has ever sat.”[2] This description is important because, “an animal set aside for a sacred purpose was not to be put to ordinary use.”[3] Also, this colt had never been ridden, but the disciples lay garments across it, and Jesus rides it into the city – a miracle in itself.[4]

Jesus has proclaimed that He is God, that He has been sent from the Father, and shown his pronouncements to be true by performing miracles. At this point he has raised the dead, calmed the storm, cast out demons, healed the sick (blind, blood issues, lepers, etc.) Here in Mark 11, he is once again, saying to those looking, and waiting for the Messiah, saying that the kingdom of God is at hand. “The manner He chose for His entrance was very fit for declaring His Messianic dignity to those who were able and inclined to understand and to conceal it from the others.”[5]

Pilgrims coming to the temple and entering into Jerusalem “would customarily enter the city on foot, and (for) Jesus’”[6] “To enter Jerusalem riding on a colt was expressly to declare himself the promised king of Israel. . . now he would declare himself in such a way that his claim could not be misunderstood, and would be either recognized or rejected as the Messiah.”[7]

Jesus in His arrival as the Messiah, entering Jerusalem, was not what the people expected – He arrived humbly. This is why later that they will turn against Him, He was not what they wanted from the Messiah. They wanted might, power, and a conquering Messiah. He gave them a suffering, serving and humble Messiah.

But on this Sunday, the people were running to gather palm branches from the fields, placing them in the street, and they were crying out, quoting scripture, Zechariah 9:9 “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is he, humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.” Luke 19:35 tells us that it was the people who put Jesus on the colt, “And they brought it to Jesus, and throwing their cloaks on the colt, they set Jesus on it.”

(vv. 9-10) “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! 10 Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David! Hosanna in the highest!” – Hosanna literally means, “save us now.” The pilgrims traveling with Jesus were entering the city, and John tells us there were those that came out of the city to meet him – were excited that the Messiah had arrived and he would set up a kingdom like David.

The disciples nor the crowds understood fully what Jesus was doing, but they understood in some sense that Jesus was fulfilling a prophetic mission. They had just recently observed Jesus’ healing of blind Bartimaeus, and Lazarus being raised from the dead was very recent, and he lived very closely, so they are wanting to honor this prophet.

They are yelling out “Save us,” and Jesus is the Messiah who is establishing His kingdom, but it’s not the way they are anticipating, and He will save them but not in any way that they can imagine. This is the week leading up to the Jewish celebration of the Passover – and the lamb must die at Passover.

(v . 11) on this Sunday, Jesus and the disciples had traveled the [18-20] miles, from Jericho to Jerusalem, “we can see why it was late, why the pilgrims had dispersed, and why Jesus took no further action.”[8]

Monday; A Day of Cleansing (vv. 15-19)

15 And they came to Jerusalem. And he entered the temple and began to drive out those who sold and those who bought in the temple[9], and he overturned the tables of the money-changers and the seats of those who sold pigeons[10]. 16 And he would not allow anyone to carry anything through the temple. 17 And he was teaching them and saying to them, “Is it not written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations’? But you have made it a den of robbers.” 18 And the chief priests and the scribes heard it and were seeking a way to destroy him, for they feared him, because all the crowd was astonished at his teaching. 19 And when evening came they went out of the city.

To understand what is going on here it is helpful to understand the temple and how it was laid out. The temple area included the sanctuary – into which only the priests could go, the Court of Israel into which all male Israelites could go to offer sacrifice to God, the Court of the Gentiles – beyond which no Gentile could go unless he were to fully covert to Judaism. Jesus is driving people from the Gentile Court.[11]

“For a long time markets had been set up on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, but there introduction into the temple area itself seems to have been as recently as 30AD, the probable year of the crucifixion.”[12] This set up only lasted for a two or three week period during Passover.[13] True worship and concern for the foreigner, became replaced with a desire for convenience.

At this point, it is Jesus’ cleansing the temple, that is a turning point in the story of the Passion.[14] The consequence of this action is a unifying of the Jewish religious groups against Jesus, even plotting to kill him.

(v. 15) “he entered the temple and began to drive out”[15] – Jesus is purifying the temple, he is driving out people who were doing three things:

1) money-changers – these were people who exchanged the foreign currency of religious pilgrims, so they could pay the temple tax and participate in the religious services. The moneychangers price gouged the people. The exchange rate was way too high.[16]

2) those who sold pigeons, — the poor would purchase pigeons, because it was the lowest they could go to and still patriciate in the religious services at the temple – the poor couldn’t afford what was designed for them to be affordable.

3) Jesus stopped people from “carry anything through the temple.” – People were using this temple court as a short-cut “from the city to the Mount of Olives.”[17] This holy place was being dishonored.

All of these things tell us that this part of the temple was thought less than the real inner court where the real true believers would worship. But the religious leaders, specifically Caiaphas, had turned the court into a shopping bazaar filled with little booths, sitting around on chairs at tables selling their goods, which would have made it really impossible for Gentiles to worship, and seriously pray in that place. This was the only place that Gentiles could go to worship.

While Jesus was cleansing the temple, He was also teaching, (v. 17) “And he was teaching them and saying to them, “Is it not written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations’?” Jesus is quoting Isaiah 56:7 “my house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples.”

When Solomon originally dedicated the temple many years before in 1 Kings 8:41-43 we see God’s intention of the temple to be a place for the world to come and worship “Likewise, when a foreigner, who is not of your people Israel, comes from a far country for your name’s sake 42 (for they shall hear of your great name and your mighty hand, and of your outstretched arm), when he comes and prays toward this house, 43 hear in heaven your dwelling place and do according to all for which the foreigner calls to you, in order that all the peoples of the earth may know your name and fear you, as do your people Israel, and that they may know that this house that I have built is called by your name.”

It’s not the sales of doves, and animals, and the exchanging of currency that Jesus has a problem with, after all the pilgrims needed these things to participate in the worship. It was that those actions (while not of themselves bad) were allowed to corrupt the place that should be completely devoted to prayer and worship of God.

“But you have made it a den of robbers[18]” – The consequences in the Jeremiah passage that Jesus is quoting here, is very significant. It is an indictment against the religious leaders who were allowing these things to happen, they may have even been profiting from it.

The fact that the Jewish leadership specifically allowed this to happen, and that they allowed it to happen in the Gentile Court, is showing how the Jewish leadership saw themselves as the only true and genuine followers of God, God’s chosen people – others are of little significance. The world worshipping God was not as important as them worshipping God. Jesus is redirecting their mission back to God being available for the nations, “uninhibited by Jewish restrictions.”[19]

Typically, we think that Jesus when he says, “den of robbers” is focused on the money-exchangers robbing the pilgrims with an exorbitant exchange rate – but Jesus’ focus is on the religious leaders by allowing this court to be crowded with all these conveniences were robbing God of the worship and prayer from the Gentiles. Mark’s gospel was specifically written to the Greeks (Gentiles), he is pounding home that Jesus was the promised Messiah of the One true God – who calls all nations to a relationship with Him. We see this when Jesus is born, “

Also, thieves think they are safe in their den (den of thieves), just like the religious leaders thought they could do anything, treat people any way, engage a holy God in any manner – because they were in the temple. They would argue that they are good with God because they have the temple, and they are going through the motions of worship. Church, we must not fall for this same trap – as long as we are in church on Sunday, we can live like the world Monday through Saturday – we will be held accountable.

Jesus entering into Jerusalem and his cleansing the temple are both messianic acts. Many people don’t mind the Jesus who comes humbly riding into Jerusalem on a colt, but the Jesus who “drives out” and “overturned the tables,” are acts of force. “This picture of Jesus does not sit well with those who regard the Lord merely as the “gentle Jesus,” because they cannot understand the holy indignation that made Him act as He did here. Their Jesus is all love and no righteousness, but this is not the Jesus of the Bible!”[20]

The Bible tells us that God is a jealous God (Ex. 34:14) – He commands that we are to have no other gods before Him, and He alone is worthy to be praised (Psalm 95:1-7), and as God, He chooses and instructs how He is to be worshipped. We don’t get to worship God any way we see fit; we worship God according to His Word.

This cleansing would have gone on for hours, but “the change must have been astounding; all the turmoil was gone, no one was even carrying things across the court; everything was quiet and decorous as it should be in God’s House.”[21] He seems to remain there to enforce that it stayed this way. As the hours continued, He was teaching, cleaning, and putting things back the way they should be.

(v. 18) “And the chief priests and the scribes heard it and were seeking a way to destroy him, for they feared him, because all the crowd was astonished at his teaching” – The people are looking at Jesus as a hero, as the Messiah. And while they didn’t fully understand how Jesus varied from their understanding of the Messiah, etc. Jesus’ popularity protected him for the time being. The Jewish leaders had to figure out a way to arrest Jesus without starting a riot.

The chief priests and scribes were seeking to destroy Jesus because he was taking away their glory. He shows again and again how their following and worshipping of God was false, corrupt, and empty. Jesus is fighting for the one who should be receiving the glory, while taking it away from the those that shouldn’t. Their fear was that Jesus’ teachings would take hold of the people’s hearts and they would see Jesus as the authority, and not them.

There is also something about this scene we need to understand; “Jesus did not want to reform the temple but to abolish it.”[22] It would not be long after this that the church “soon came to be recognized as the new temple (cf. 1 Cor. 3:16-17).

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[1] Zechariah 9:9 “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is he, humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.” (ESV)

[2] Other examples of where animals were used in religious contexts that were animals that had never been worked would be Num. 19:2; Duet. 21:3; 1 Sam. 6:7.

[3] James McGowan, Twenty-First Century Biblical Commentary Series, Mark (Chattanooga, Tennessee; AMG Publishing, 2006) 154.

[4] “This declaration invokes a custom known as angaria (Matt. 5:41; 27:32), in which a person of significance (most commonly an officer of the Roman government) could take possession of someone else’s property or require them to perform a task.” Darrell Bock, Cornerstone Biblical Commentary, The Gospel of Mark (Carol Streams, Illinois; Tyndale House Publishers, 2006) 497.

[5] Vincent Taylor, The Gospel According to St. Mark (New York, New York; St. Martin’s Press, 1959) 452.

[6] Larry W. Hurtado, New International Biblical Commentary, Mark (Peabody, Massachusetts; Hendrickson Publishers, 1989) 179.

[7] W.M. Clarke, An American Commentary on the New Testament, Volume 2 (Valley Forge, Pennsylvania; Judson Press, 1881) 161.

[8] James A. Brooks, The New American Commentary, Mark (Nashville, Tennessee; Broadman Publishing, 1991) 180.

[9] See Zechariah 14:21

[10] When Mary and Joseph presented Jesus to the temple, this was the temple tax they paid. Luke 2:25 (Clarke, 164).

[11] Hurtado, 182.

[12] Brooks, 184.

[13] Bock, 499.

[14] Taylor, 461.

[15] In John’s account he fashions a whip and drives them out, here there is no mention of an implement – just Jesus’ righteous disdain for what they are doing.

[16] The Tyrian shekel was required for the annual temple tax imposed on all Jewish males (Exodus 30:11-16) (Brooks, 185).

[17] Archibald Thomas Robertson, Word Pictures in the New Testament, Volume 1 (Nashville, Tennessee; Broadman Publishing, 1930) 359.

[18] Jesus is quoting Jeremiah 7:11 “Has this house, which is called by my name, become a den of robbers in your eyes?”

[19] Frank E. Gaebelein, The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Volume 8 (Grand Rapids, Michigan; Zondervan Publishing House, 1984) 728.

[20] McGowan, 158.

[21] R. C. H. Lenski, The Interpretation of St. Mark’s Gospel (Minneapolis, Minnesota; Augsburg Publishing House, 1964) 488.

[22] Brooks, 183.

Christ’s Power Over Every Need The Gospel of Mark Sermon Series “What Must I Do to Inherit Eternal Life?” Mark 10:17-31

Christ’s Power Over Every Need

The Gospel of Mark Sermon Series

“What Must I Do to Inherit Eternal Life?”

Mark 10:17-31

Introduction

After striking a large deposit of gold, two miners in the Klondike gold rush were so excited about unearthing more and more gold each day that they neglected to store up provisions for the winter. Then came the first blizzard. Nearly frozen, one of the miners scribbled a note explaining their foolishness. Then he lay down to die, having come to his senses too late. Months later, a prospecting party discovered the note and the miners’ frozen bodies lying on top of a huge pile of gold.

Obsessed with their treasure, these men hadn’t taken into account that the fair weather wouldn’t last and winter was coming. Hypnotized by their wealth, they failed to prepare for the imminent future. The gold that seemed such a blessing proved to be a deadly curse.[1]

Prayer

The False Path to Eternal Life (vv. 17-22)

“And as he was setting out on his journey, a man ran up and knelt before him and asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” 18 And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. 19 You know the commandments: ‘Do not murder, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and mother.’” 20 And he said to him, “Teacher, all these I have kept from my youth.” 21 And Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, “You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.”[2] 22 Disheartened by the saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.

The man who ran up to Jesus calls him “Good Teacher.” The Greek word he used is agathos, meaning, “intrinsically good.” The word was no used lightly nor or every good thing. We will see in verse 22, that his passion outweighed his commitment.”[3]

Jesus responds by saying, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone.” Jesus is saying, “Before you address me with such a title, you had better think soberly about what the implications are, and especially what they are for you.”[4]

(v. 17) He then asks, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” Brooks notes, “most Jews would have no doubts about what to do; observe the law. Probably the man had heard about Jesus’ teaching that mere obedience to the law was not enough.”[5]

“indicating that he was thinking in terms of Jewish works of righteousness. He wanted to do something to merit eternal life, whereas Jesus taught that eternal life (the kingdom of God) is a gift to be received (v. 15).[6] The disciples also were in this same mind set, because they are astonished at Jesus’ answer.

(v. 19) Jesus then moves to the 10 Commandments, where the man says, “Teacher, all these I have kept from my youth.” – This passage really summarizes why Jesus (God with skin on) came to earth; there are people who want to have eternal life, they are working so hard at trying to be good people, but in the end that’s not enough. And in that struggle, Jesus’ heart breaks.

“This is a sample of Pharisaic training which nullifies the very effect that God intends that the law should produce, namely, contrite knowledge of sin and the terrors conscientiae.”[7] The man, even though he has kept the law from his youth, there is still something missing. He is dissatisfied with being self-righteous.

This is a real danger for churches – people who a seeking to be good people, upright citizens, but have never gone on to be genuine followers of Christ. They hold on to something in this world that keeps them from having eternal life. There was a time in Webster’s dictionary that defined Christian as “a decent, civilized, or presentable person.”[8]

(v. 21) The man was sincere in his desire to follow God and keep the commandments, “And Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him”

There are few people that truly see us – in spite of what Jesus saw, he loved him anyway. Then He spoke to him, showing him where he fell short of his goal of inheriting eternal life. “Jesus saw people with a double eye. He saw what they were, and he saw what they might be.” Jesus saw Peter as a fisherman, and a fisher of men.[9]

The thing that Jesus commands the man to do is rooted in his love for him, and his desire for him to have eternal life. But, no matter how much we are loved by God, he will not override our choices.[10] God gives mankind the dignity of choice.

“The one thing that prevented this young man from having eternal life was the security of his wealth.”[11] Jesus highlights this by giving him the instructions to sell all his stuff, give them money to the poor, and “come, follow me.” (with nothing, just him). “the call is not to poverty, but to discipleship.”[12]

The act of selling all his stuff is not something that earns him eternal life – Jesus is prescribing for this man a way for him to rid himself of something that is preventing him from having eternal life. “You lack one thing,” Jesus does not tell him exactly what that one thing is, but he tells him what is necessary for the one thing to become a reality. “What you have” stands between you and what you are seeking (eternal life).”[13]

“The thing he lacks begins with this discovery, with the realization that all his work-righteousness is in vain, that what he needs is a complete inward change.”[14]

But don’t think, “I’m not rich, so this does not apply to me.” The one thing that this man lacks “is the self-sacrificing devotion which characterizes every true follower of Jesus.”[15]

“Disheartened by the saying, he went away sorrowful” – “The man is conscience of his defect, an important point in his spiritual condition.”[16] To obey Jesus was too great a risk for him to take, the security of his wealth, outweighed the security of the gospel. He said to himself, “I can’t follow Jesus if it means giving up my wealth.” Disobedience to God always brings sorrow.

This is the only verse in Mark where someone being called to discipleship but refusing.

The Costly Path of Eternal Life (vv. 23-27)

23 And Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How difficult it will be for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!” 24 And the disciples were amazed at his words. But Jesus said to them again, “Children, how difficult it is to enter the kingdom of God! 25 It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.” 26 And they were exceedingly astonished, and said to him, “Then who can be saved?” 27 Jesus looked at them and said, “With man it is impossible, but not with God. For all things are possible with God.”

(v. 23) Jesus says, ““How difficult it will be for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!” Jesus never questions the man’s ability to keep the law (even from his youth), but “this action demonstrated how easy it was to become so attached to wealth that even an earnest man forgets what is infinitely more important.”[17]

This also follows Mark 9:43 “And if your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life crippled than with two hands to go to hell, to the unquenchable fire.” This is a call to radical action to remove that which would keep a person from heaven.

(v. 24) The disciples were “amazed,” and then again in (v. 26) “they were exceedingly astonished” at Jesus’ words, because the Jewish people “regarded wealth as a token of God’s favor.”[18] “If this were true, then how would they – poor fishermen – gain entrance? The disciples asked if the best could not be saved, who could?”

(v. 25) The type of needle referenced is a sewing needle, and the camel is a regular camel. Jesus’ point is that it is impossible to put a camel through such a small opening as the eye of a needle. It is impossible for a man to be saved, in his own effort.[19] Jesus is saying that it is impossible for a rich man, who trusts in riches, to go into the kingdom. He must learn to trust in Jesus alone.

The disciples ask the question, “Then who can be saved?” – we also use the word, saved. But what is it that the disciples are referring to; what does a person need to be saved from?

Jesus tells us that salvation is completely a work of God. “apart from the grace of God, it is impossible for any man – especially a rich man – to enter God’s kingdom.”[20]

“Saved,” “salvation,” “eternal life,” “kingdom of God” are all used synonymously, meaning a right relationship with God. “This verse probably is the key to understanding the entire passage.

Inheriting eternal life, entering the kingdom, and being saved are impossible for any human being, but not for God, who is good and desires the salvation of all. Therefore, all must depend entirely upon God. Such absolute trust in God makes possible a life of faithful discipleship.”[21] We come to God empty handed.

The Promise of Eternal Life (vv. 28-31)

28 Peter began to say to him, “See, we have left everything and followed you.” 29 Jesus said, “Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands, for my sake and for the gospel, 30 who will not receive a hundredfold now in this time, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and in the age to come eternal life. 31 But many who are first will be last, and the last first.”

(v. 28) Peter is responding to the rich man’s response to Jesus’ command to give up his material possessions and “come follow me.” This is almost identical to Jesus’ call of the disciples, specifically where Peter leaves his father and their family business in Mark 1:18 “And immediately they left their nets and followed him.”

(v. 29) Jesus gives a threefold answer to Peter, and he begins by making a promise “Truly, I say to you” – If there is a person who has “left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands, for my sake and for the gospel,”

(1) receive a hundredfold what he has lost – when a person leaves his biological family he gains his church family. Often times, the brotherhood among Christians is stronger than biological sibling ties.[22]

True fellowship within a church should be so genuine that we can see it as a good substitute for what has been left behind for the sake of the gospel. “Is fellowship just a beautiful word, with an attractive, but faraway, NT aroma about it, rather than a realized ideal?”[23]

(2) suffer persecutions – Mark alone emphasizes persecution. This is the utter honesty of Jesus. He never offered an easy way. To be a Christian will cost you something. Barkley says, “Jesus never used a bribe to make men follow him. He used a challenge.”[24]

(3) have eternal life in the age to come. God does not take anything from us without restoring it to him in a new and glorious form.

Jesus promises a full, though difficult, life here and now, and eternal life in the “age to come.” This entire section focuses on that riches make being a disciple difficult but the rewards of discipleship are worth more than material possessions.

Jesus is not teaching that being rich is evil, nor is being poor better than being rich. He is not teaching that only the poor can be saved. Jesus is saying that “God takes nothing away from a man without restoring it to him in a new and glorious from.”[25]

Gregg Easterbrook wrote about this in a 2003 book called The Progress Paradox. Easterbrook’s subtitle was How Life Gets Better While People Feel Worse. He describes how affluent we have become—better food, better healthcare, better education, better communication, better climate control, better entertainment, better transportation—all of that.

Yet, when sociologists do their surveys, and people in America indicate where they fall on the satisfaction scale, they are only “slightly satisfied.” Easterbrook has many explanations for this paradox—a condition some have termed affluenza—but the fundamental problem is that this fallen world cannot satisfy anyone.

What we really need, and what we are really looking for, whether we know it or not, is a relationship with the living God. David expressed it well when he said, My soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water. (Ps. 63:1)[26]

______________________________

[1] https://thepastorsworkshop.com/sermon-illustrations-2/sermon-illustrations-wealth/

[2] Lane 375. “Scribal legislation prohibited the giving away of all one’s possessions precisely because it would reduce a man to poverty.”

[3] Cooper, 167.

[4] Gaebelain, 715.

[5] Rodney L. Cooper, Holman New Testament Commentary, Mark (Nashville, Tennessee; Holman Reference, 2000) 166.

[6] Frank E. Gaebelein, General Editor, The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Volume 8 (Grand Rapids, Michigan; Zondervan Publishing, 1984) 715.

[7] R. C. Lenski, The Interpretation of St. Mark’s Gospel (Minneapolis, Minnesota; Augsburg Publishing House, 1964) 435.

[8] George Arthur Buttrick, Commentary Editor, The Interpreter’s Bible, Volume 7 (Nashville, Tennessee; Abingdon Press, 1953) 803.

[9] “A primrose by a river’s brim, A yellow primrose was to him, And it was nothing more.” William Wordsworth

[10] Cooper, 168.

[11] Gaebelain, 715.

[12] James A. Brooks, The New American Commentary, Mark (Nashville, Tennessee; Broadman Press, 1991) 163.

[13] Clifton Allen, General Editor, The Broadman Bible Commentary, Volume 8 (Nashville, Tennessee; Broadman Press, 1969) 349.

[14] Lenski, 436.

[15] William L. Lane, The New International Commentary on The New Testament, The Gospel According to Mark (Grand Rapids, Michigan; William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co. 1974) 367.

[16] W. Robertson Nicoll, The Expositor’s Greek Testament, Volume 1 (Grand Rapids, Michigan; WM. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1967) 411.

[17] Lane, 369.

[18] Archibald Thomas Robertson, Word Pictures in the New Testament, Volume 1 (Nashville, Tennessee; Broadman Press, 1932) 352.

[19] There is no evidence for a special gate in the city wall, called “The Eye of the Needle,” nor is there is any evidence that “needle” should be translated as “rope.”

[20] Gaebelain, 716.

[21] Brooks, 165.

[22] See Mark 3:31-35

[23] Buttrick, 809.

[24] Cooper, 169.

[25] Lane, 372.

[26] https://thepastorsworkshop.com/sermon-illustrations-2/sermon-illustrations-wealth/

Christ’s Power Over Every Need The Gospel of Mark Sermon Series “Marriage & Children” Mark 10:1-16

Christ’s Power Over Every Need

The Gospel of Mark Sermon Series

“Marriage & Children”

Mark 10:1-16

Introduction

In 2005, the Guinness Book of World Records said that Percy and Florence Arrowsmith held two records—the longest marriage of a living couple (80 years) and having the largest married couple’s aggregate age (205 years).

Both Mr. and Mrs. Arrowsmith have since died, but they left good advice for those who want to have a lasting marriage. Florence said, “You must never go to sleep bad friends. If you’ve had a quarrel, you make it up. Never be afraid to say, ‘sorry’.”

Percy had slightly more humorous advice. He said the secret to his long marriage was just two words, “Yes, dear.”[1]

Prayer

In Intention of Marriage (vv. 1-12)

“And he left there and went to the region of Judea and beyond the Jordan, and crowds gathered to him again. And again, as was his custom, he taught them. 2 And Pharisees came up and in order to test him asked, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?” 3 He answered them, “What did Moses command you?” 4 They said, “Moses allowed a man to write a certificate of divorce and to send her away.”5 And Jesus said to them, “Because of your hardness of heart he wrote you this commandment.

When we close chapter nine we have six months until the cross, and when we get to the opening verses of chapter 10 we are only weeks away. There are caravans and multitudes of people traveling to Jerusalem.[2] So, as they are moving and traveling, Jesus is teaching them.

(v. 1) “went to the region of Judea and beyond the Jordan” – “The fact that Jesus was in Perea, Herod Antipas’s territory, may be significant. Antipas had put John the Baptist to death because John had denounced Antipas’s marriage and divorce. The Pharisees are hoping that Jesus would get himself into trouble with Antipas and would suffer the same cruel fate as John (head on a platter).”[3] John the Baptist died because he took a stand on this subject.

Also, “Herod took John the Baptist’s criticism of his marriage as potential incitement to revolt, and it is likely that the political situation in Galilee best explains the original reason for which Jesus was questioned about his views on divorce.”[4]

Mark tells us these religious leaders, the Pharisees, are up to no good, and trying to trip Jesus up, when he says, “in order to test him.”

Jesus references Deuteronomy 24:1 when he says, “What did Moses command you?” and the Pharisees quote their source of authority, Moses, “When a man takes a wife and marries her, if then she finds no favor in his eyes because he has found some indecency in her, and he writes her a certificate of divorce and puts it in her hand and sends her out of his house, and she departs out of his house,” Apparently, before Moses’ day, a man could divorce his wife with just a word.

The Pharisees are saying Moses permitted divorce providing a certificate of divorce was given to the wife.[5] Of course they had rules relating to the certificate (it had to be written on durable material, permanent ink, something that wouldn’t fade, etc.) – But they are not having the discussion of God’s intention behind marriage, only the loop holes, the short cuts, and the way out.

“On the question of the lawfulness of divorce, there was general unanimity among the Jews: divorce was allowed. The real difference of opinion centered on the grounds for divorce. . . In Duet. 24:1 the crucial words are “something indecent.”[6] There were two schools that one typically fell into.

“The school of Shammai, the stricter of the schools, understood these words to mean something morally indecent, in particular, adultery. But remember that “the penalty for adultery was not divorce, under the Mosaic code, but death.”[7]

The school of Hillel interpreted the words much more freely. Just about anything in a wife that a husband did not find to his liking was suitable grounds for divorce. Even if she burned food.”[8] Where Jesus stood between these two schools, and to get him to say something that could be used against him was their goal.

Remember that the book of Mark was not written to the Jewish people, but to the Roman believers; so there would be little interest in the rabbinical teachings on the law, their focus would have been “in Jesus’ teaching about God’s will.”[9]

Jesus does not question the law. But he reaches back to first principles. God’s design for a man and woman was that marriage should be an unbroken lifelong union. Jesus is pointing out that because man’s hearts are rebellious, he gives provisions that are intended to slow down the effects of sin upon society. The rabbis mistook God’s gracious provision in allowing divorce as his approval of it.”

(v. 5) “And Jesus said to them, “Because of your hardness of heart he wrote you this commandment.” – The law was an attempt to promote some order and restraint in the society to which it was first given. The reason for the law was the people’s “hardness of heart.” The people were set on doing what they thought and desired; they were blind and unteachable as far as God’s will for them was concerned.[10]

When Jesus comments on Moses’ statement in that it is not a reflection of the will of God but instead reflects the stubbornness of the Israelites (v. 5) – this would have been unique and striking.[11] The men were throwing their wives to the side for the most insignificant of reasons.

6 But from the beginning of creation, ‘God made them male and female.’ 7 ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, 8 and the two shall become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two but one flesh. 9 What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.”

Jesus moves the discussion from “is it lawful?” to the purpose of God for marriage. Jesus turns to the beginning of creation; It is God’s purpose for mankind, male and female, to be joined together by God – a holy union. God joined the man and woman together. Man should not separate what God put together. “Mere formal divorce does not annul the actual marriage consummated by the physical union. Breaking that bond does annul it.”[12]

Since marriage is a lifelong union between a man and a woman, its’ claims take precedence over ties to father and mother (v.7). “So they are no longer two but one flesh” – they are one unit.

(v. 9) “therefore God has joined together” – means literally “yoked together” It graphically stresses the importance of husband and wife working together as a team of oxen yoked together. God has put a man and woman together to work for the glory of God, with their family.

In Genesis 1:27 “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.” “In this passage men and women are presented on equal ground. Both are to be respected, and they are equal partners. “In the social and economic context of ancient Palestine, the absolute right of the husband to divorce often meant great hardship for divorced wives, who might be given one lump-sum economic settlement if they were not accused of unchastity.

This sum, however would be no more than the woman’s dowry given at marriage, and that might be very small if the woman had poor parents.”[13] Jesus is rejecting the idea of women being property and the wife has rights in the context of marriage, based upon the creation account.

“Jesus defines marriage as a relationship in which both husband and wife are responsible both to each other and to God for maintaining its sanctity.”[14]

10 And in the house the disciples asked him again about this matter. 11 And he said to them, “Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her, 12 and if she divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery.”

Mark does not tell us how the Pharisees respond to Jesus’ comment. Instead, we go immediately into house again for a private conversation.

“In rabbinic Judaism a woman by infidelity could commit adultery against her husband; and a man, by having sexual relations with another man’s wife, could commit adultery against him. But a man could never commit adultery against his wife, no matter what he did.”[15]

(v. 11) By Jesus saying, “Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her” – is putting the man under the same moral obligation as the wife, thereby raising the status and dignity of women. Whatever the reason for a divorce someone’s heart along the way was hardened toward God, and this was reflected in the marriage. Jesus is directly targeting men who are being cruel in how they are divorcing their wives, and against their perverse disregard of the purpose of the Creator when he formed man from the dust and joined husband and wife together.

The Innocence of Children (vv. 13-15)

“And they were bringing children to him that he might touch them, and the disciples rebuked them. 14 But when Jesus saw it, he was indignant and said to them, “Let the children come to me; do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God. 15 Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.” 16 And he took them in his arms and blessed them, laying his hands on them.”

It was a custom for parents to bring their children to great men and have them blessed.[16] Here we then see parents bringing their children to Jesus, and he was blessing them. Parents are wanting a better future for their children, a blessed future.

This is the point of a godly household and parents, to bring their children to Jesus. Ephesians 6:4 “bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.”

But the disciples are rebuking them. Why did the disciples want to keep parents and children away from Jesus? They were keeping parents and children from experiencing Jesus. The disciples tried to stop the anonymous exorcist (Mark 9:38-41) from casting out demons, and “Jesus said, “Do not stop him,” Here the disciples are again, trying to stop people.

The disciples haven’t captured the spirit of Jesus. We ask, how can they have been with Jesus so long, and heard all that He said, and still miss the things that Jesus really cared about. They still seem calloused toward people (ex. hungry people, those outside the twelve).

“he was indignant” – “It was a strong word of deep emotion (from agan and acthomai, to feel pain).”[17] “The disciples attempt to turn the children aside because they were unimportant, is one more instance of a persistent tendency to think in wholly human, fallen categories which Jesus had rebuked on earlier occasions (Mark 8:33; 9:33-37). The kingdom of God is made up of “childlike” earthly unimportant people.

(v. 14) “Let the children come to me; do not hinder them,” – hinder is an active, conscience, intentional blocking or obstruction. “for to such belongs the kingdom of God. 15 Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter.”

“The kingdom is that which God gives and that which man receives. Essential to the comparison developed in verse 15 is the objective littleness and helplessness of the child, which is presupposed in verse 14 as well. The kingdom may be entered only by one who knows he is helpless and small, without claim or merit.”[18]

(v. 16) “And he took them in his arms and blessed them, laying his hands on them.” – “A papyrus dated Alexandria, June 17, 1 B.C. contains a letter of instruction from a husband to his expectant wife, who he supposes may have had her child: “if it was a male child, let it live; if it was a female, cast it out.” Jesus shows his love for all children, which is freely given to all who would receive it.

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[1] https://ministry127.com/resources/illustration/the-secret-to-a-lasting-marriage

[2] Archibald Thomas Robertson, Word Pictures in the New Testament, Volume 1 (Nashville, Tennessee; Broadman Press, 1930) 348.

[3] Frank E. Gaebelein, General Editor, The Expositor’s Bible Dictionary, Volume 8 (Grand Rapids, Michigan; Zondervan Publishing, 1984) 710.

[4] Larry Hurtado, New International Biblical Commentary, Mark (Peabody Massachusetts; Hendrickson Publishing, 2001) 160.

[5] An example of an eleventh-century Jewish divorce certificate, “On . . .[date], I . . .[name], son of . . . and of . . .. of my own free will and purpose and without an coercion whatsoever, do divorce, set free, and repudiate you, . . . [name], so that you are now free and in full possession of your own person, with the right to go and be married to whmever you choose. . .” Buttrick, 796.

[6] Gaebelein, 710.

[7] George Arthur Buttrick, The Interpreter’s Bible, Volume 7 (Nashville, Tennessee; Abingdon Press, 1953) 795. See also, John 8:2-11 The woman caught in adultery.

[8] Gaebelein, 710.

[9] Clifton J. Allen, The Broadman Bible Commentary, Volume 8 (Nashville, Tennessee; Broadman Press, 1969) 346.

[10] Allen, 346.

[11] Hurtado, 160.

[12] Robertson, 349.

[13] Hurtado, 160.

[14] Hurtado, 161.

[15] Gaebelein, 712.

[16] Genesis 48:13-20.

[17] Robertson, 350.

[18] William L. Lane, The New International Commentary on the New Testament, The Gospel of Mark (Grand Rapids, Michigan; William B. Eerdmans Publishing, 1974) 361.