Mark 10 Reading

1. The Pharisees asked Jesus concerning divorce—if it was lawful for a man to divorce his wife [Mar 10:2]
   1. Even though the Law taught that a man could divorce his wife, the question arose because they felt some discomfort with it
   2. It’s okay to ask questions on things that are unclear or uncomfortable. However, such questions mustn’t be asked in rebellion, but in sincerity and humility.
2. The Law of divorce was an act of mercy on God’s part. Due to the hardness of their hearts, He permitted them to let their wives go. Had God not made it so, men might’ve done untold wickedness to their wives, and the women would’ve had no way out
3. Jesus requires that we leave everything—not just for His sake—but also for the Gospel’s.
   1. If we stand for Jesus, we must stand for His word [Mar 10:29]
4. Many who are first will be last, and the last first [Mar 10:31]. By this, Jesus means that those who are rich in this world, would be poor in the kingdom.
   1. Not that He doesn’t say that “ALL” who are first would be last, but “MANY”.
      1. There will be rich people—first in this world—who will still be great in the kingdom.
      2. There are examples—in Scripture—of the rich who we know will certainly be great in the kingdom. Abraham, Moses, David, Solomon, etc.
   2. Greatness in the kingdom comes with suffering [Mar 10:37-38].
   3. Jesus said it’s not in His place to determine who sits at His right and left in the kingdom [Mar 10:40].
      1. The Father is obviously the one who determines who will sit beside Jesus in the Kingdom.
      2. This clearly teaches that the Father is superior to Jesus. One would expect that on the matter of who will sit beside glory, Jesus would be the one to determine it, yet He says that God is the one who appoints those positions.
   4. Blind Bartimaeus cried out for mercy, when Jesus responded asking him what he wanted. One would expect that it would be obvious that Bartimaeus—being blind—would ask for sight, yet Jesus still asked him what he wanted
      1. When we come to God, we must state what we want, rather than just making vague cries for mercy
   5. The Bartimaeus account shows how people never ask Jesus for more than one thing. Jesus never asks people, “what things (plural) can I do for you?”.
      1. When we turn to God in prayer, we must be focused on what we want, rather than asking for a million things.
   6. Jesus didn’t curse the fig tree because He was angry that it didn’t have fruit [Mar 11:13-14].
      1. Clearly, it wasn’t the season of figs, and Jesus would have known that
      2. Therefore, He cursed it to teach them something.

The teaching that faith can move mountains wasn’t directed at the Church as a whole, but for the Twelve specifically [Mar 11:22-23].