Simple Math July 23
Mark 10:6 But from the beginning of the creation, God ‘made them male and female.’ 7 ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, 8 and the two shall become one flesh;' so then they are no longer two, but one flesh. 9 Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate.”
Jesus quotes from Genesis to establish that divorce undermines the intention of marriage – the inseparable union of two people – intended from the beginning.
He quotes from Gen. 1:27 – “So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.” This could be understood as creating persons that were both male and female, a union later separated into male and female.
In Gen. 1:21-22, God removes a side or half of Adam (a better translation than just a rib) to form a separate being, Eve.
And from Gen. 2:24 – “Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.” Here is restoration of the union of the two halves that once comprised Adam.
Jesus appeals to a higher authority than Moses. As a summary answer to the question, He states, “…what God has joined together, let not man separate.”
One became two that they could become one again. There is no further division in God’s plan.
More Simply July 24
Mark 10:10 In the house His disciples also asked Him again about the same matter. 11 So He said to them, “Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her. 12 And if a woman divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery.”
Jesus has given a very hard answer to the legalists who questioned Him. He did not fall into the trap they had intended, denying the law that Moses had given. They found themselves as the guilty party because of the charge of the hardness of their hearts.
The disciples question Jesus further on this. Surely Jesus is not going against the dissolution of marriage, a right that is as secularly fundamental as the marriage institution itself.
Jesus expresses His opinion even more bluntly than He had spoken to the Pharisees. He states that divorce does not dissolve the union of marriage. Anyone who divorces and remarries is thus guilty of adultery.
Matthew reports that the disciples are very discouraged by this response. “His disciples said to Him, ‘If such is the case of the man with his wife, it is better not to marry.’” (Matt. 19:10)
Jesus has a way of putting issues turned gray by the Pharisees’ teaching into clear black and white. The clarity of Jesus’ reasoning makes any alternate understanding difficult to defend.
Note that Jesus does not launch into a public tirade against Herod and the many others who have devalued the institution of marriage. His mission is more important, and He will leave the guilty to consider their own situation.
Little Children July 25
Mark 10:13-14 Then they brought little children to Him, that He might touch them; but the disciples rebuked those who brought them. 14 But when Jesus saw it, He was greatly displeased and said to them, “Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of God.
The disciples are vital to the Gospel stories for many reasons. They are not only students learning from their Master, they perform many of the basic necessary functions for survival, such as begging for support in terms of food, lodging, and basic necessities. They manage the crowds, keeping order and protecting Jesus from being overwhelmed.
These men also act as foils for Jesus, providing an opportunity for the authors of the Gospels to further explain and clarify the teachings of Jesus. These men are representative of us all, asking the questions and misunderstanding the answers. They stand both for the crowds of the time and for the readers and hearers of the Gospels over the following centuries.
In the name of protecting Jesus from the distraction that children might cause, the disciples rebuke the parents who bring children. After all, Jesus is teaching things hard to understand, messages intended for adults.
The disciples are having difficulty with many of Jesus’ teachings. How much more difficult are those teachings for children!
Or is this Jesus’ point: that only those with the open minded simplicity of a child can understand?
Let Them Come July 26
Mark 10:14 But when Jesus saw it, He was greatly displeased and said to them, “Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of God.”
Jesus is displeased with the disciples for this service of turning away children. He again uses children to make a point, as He has done earlier (9:36-37).
T he people are bringing little children to Jesus “that He might touch them.” We have seen previously in Mark (3:10, 5:28, 6:56, and 8:22) the people’s desire for the union with Jesus by touch, that they might be made whole or given sight. The parents might have had a specific need for their children in mind, or simply the blessing of this holy Man.
The parents’ desire that a child be transformed at an early age in order to live a better and more perfect life is admirable in itself. Faith is required, as well as the will to act on that faith. Jesus expresses that such faith that a child of man can be molded into a child of God, should not be rebuked by the disciples.
Jesus makes the statement that the inhabitants of the kingdom of God are as these children.
This should make adults sit up and take notice. What qualities do children have that are desirable but lacking in adults?
Only Children Enter July 27
Mark 10:15 Assuredly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will by no means enter it.”
What is required to receive the kingdom of God in the manner of a child?
We must look not only at what a child does have – humility, trust, acceptance, even love, but also what a child does not have – ambition, guarded beliefs, judgment, even jealousy.
Whether the words spoken directly to the children are beyond their comprehension is irrelevant. What the children hear is less important than what they receive from Him – attention from an open and loving heart.
The hours of a day are in fixed supply. They cannot be lengthened, only measured out appropriately.
Jesus’ time is in fixed supply. He measures out the hours in a manner to achieve wholeness for those whom He touches. He does this for those in physical and emotional need; for those who need to learn His message so they might carry it forward when He is gone; for those who will remember when the kingdom of heaven first came to them.
Consider the concept of being born from above, being born of the Spirit.
Submersion under the water is death to the old life, and emergence with the Spirit is new life. The wilderness experience that must follow is the shedding of old habits and spiritually destructive relationships. We must build new habits and new relationships (even with the people of our old life) based on a new standard.
New to the kingdom of heaven, we begin again as children.
Each of us faces the same question: Am I willing and able to be such a child?
He Blessed Them July 28
Mark 10:16: And He took them up in His arms, laid His hands on them, and blessed them.
He enfolds them in His arms and He blesses them.
How often does this happen to a child, particularly past the stage of infancy? How often did you or I experience this as a child old enough to remember the event?
Children seek attention. When they do not perceive that they are part of the lives of others, they will seek to be significant, to be worthy of the investment of time and focus. If positive ways of accomplishing this fail, they will use other means. Negative attention is judged better than no attention.
Jesus is modeling mature behavior, and not solely for the education of the children. He demonstrates parental love.
He gives the children a blessing, Strong’s G2127, eulogeo in Greek. From this comes our English word, eulogy, a speech of praise or commendation. We think of eulogy as a memorial given to the recently deceased. In other words, we think of it like peace, something that comes with death.
Jesus demonstrates peace as a way of being. And here he is demonstrating a eulogy, the affirmation and commendation of children into their future, as a living gift.
He does not give vacuous words of undeserved praise, but uplifting words to grow the children beyond the character each already is developing. He is caring for the seed already implanted even though He will not see it yield its fruit.
False Humility July 29
Mark 10:17 Now as He was going out on the road, one came running, knelt before Him, and asked Him, “Good Teacher, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?”
A man comes running to Jesus (urgency), kneels before Him (humility), calls Jesus both “good” and a “teacher” (acknowledgment of a greater authority than himself), and asks for advice (teachable). This man gives the appearance of being the perfect candidate for Jesus’ ministry.
His question speaks of inheriting eternal life. The word inherit implies that there is nothing he need do in order to receive his inheritance. What is due to him will come in its own course, as to a child from a parent.
The one flaw in his approach that gives us pause is the question of what he must do to inherit eternal life.
The works oriented philosophy of the Pharisees has made this man a successful student of their own school of thought. The man believes he must earn his inheritance. The words “do” and “inherit” contradict each other. This is an oxymoron, a word from the Greek literally meaning “pointedly foolish.”
This is not to call the man foolish, but to call into question any line of thinking that envisions the realm of eternal life as something which we can require of God because of our own efforts. This man has learned the art of how to control God (irrational and impossible though it is) from his not so good Pharisaic teachers.
Jesus must wake the man from this delusional dream.
Next day
Mark 10:6 But from the beginning of the creation, God ‘made them male and female.’ 7 ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, 8 and the two shall become one flesh;' so then they are no longer two, but one flesh. 9 Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate.”
Jesus quotes from Genesis to establish that divorce undermines the intention of marriage – the inseparable union of two people – intended from the beginning.
He quotes from Gen. 1:27 – “So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.” This could be understood as creating persons that were both male and female, a union later separated into male and female.
In Gen. 1:21-22, God removes a side or half of Adam (a better translation than just a rib) to form a separate being, Eve.
And from Gen. 2:24 – “Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.” Here is restoration of the union of the two halves that once comprised Adam.
Jesus appeals to a higher authority than Moses. As a summary answer to the question, He states, “…what God has joined together, let not man separate.”
One became two that they could become one again. There is no further division in God’s plan.
More Simply July 24
Mark 10:10 In the house His disciples also asked Him again about the same matter. 11 So He said to them, “Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her. 12 And if a woman divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery.”
Jesus has given a very hard answer to the legalists who questioned Him. He did not fall into the trap they had intended, denying the law that Moses had given. They found themselves as the guilty party because of the charge of the hardness of their hearts.
The disciples question Jesus further on this. Surely Jesus is not going against the dissolution of marriage, a right that is as secularly fundamental as the marriage institution itself.
Jesus expresses His opinion even more bluntly than He had spoken to the Pharisees. He states that divorce does not dissolve the union of marriage. Anyone who divorces and remarries is thus guilty of adultery.
Matthew reports that the disciples are very discouraged by this response. “His disciples said to Him, ‘If such is the case of the man with his wife, it is better not to marry.’” (Matt. 19:10)
Jesus has a way of putting issues turned gray by the Pharisees’ teaching into clear black and white. The clarity of Jesus’ reasoning makes any alternate understanding difficult to defend.
Note that Jesus does not launch into a public tirade against Herod and the many others who have devalued the institution of marriage. His mission is more important, and He will leave the guilty to consider their own situation.
Little Children July 25
Mark 10:13-14 Then they brought little children to Him, that He might touch them; but the disciples rebuked those who brought them. 14 But when Jesus saw it, He was greatly displeased and said to them, “Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of God.
The disciples are vital to the Gospel stories for many reasons. They are not only students learning from their Master, they perform many of the basic necessary functions for survival, such as begging for support in terms of food, lodging, and basic necessities. They manage the crowds, keeping order and protecting Jesus from being overwhelmed.
These men also act as foils for Jesus, providing an opportunity for the authors of the Gospels to further explain and clarify the teachings of Jesus. These men are representative of us all, asking the questions and misunderstanding the answers. They stand both for the crowds of the time and for the readers and hearers of the Gospels over the following centuries.
In the name of protecting Jesus from the distraction that children might cause, the disciples rebuke the parents who bring children. After all, Jesus is teaching things hard to understand, messages intended for adults.
The disciples are having difficulty with many of Jesus’ teachings. How much more difficult are those teachings for children!
Or is this Jesus’ point: that only those with the open minded simplicity of a child can understand?
Let Them Come July 26
Mark 10:14 But when Jesus saw it, He was greatly displeased and said to them, “Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of God.”
Jesus is displeased with the disciples for this service of turning away children. He again uses children to make a point, as He has done earlier (9:36-37).
T he people are bringing little children to Jesus “that He might touch them.” We have seen previously in Mark (3:10, 5:28, 6:56, and 8:22) the people’s desire for the union with Jesus by touch, that they might be made whole or given sight. The parents might have had a specific need for their children in mind, or simply the blessing of this holy Man.
The parents’ desire that a child be transformed at an early age in order to live a better and more perfect life is admirable in itself. Faith is required, as well as the will to act on that faith. Jesus expresses that such faith that a child of man can be molded into a child of God, should not be rebuked by the disciples.
Jesus makes the statement that the inhabitants of the kingdom of God are as these children.
This should make adults sit up and take notice. What qualities do children have that are desirable but lacking in adults?
Only Children Enter July 27
Mark 10:15 Assuredly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will by no means enter it.”
What is required to receive the kingdom of God in the manner of a child?
We must look not only at what a child does have – humility, trust, acceptance, even love, but also what a child does not have – ambition, guarded beliefs, judgment, even jealousy.
Whether the words spoken directly to the children are beyond their comprehension is irrelevant. What the children hear is less important than what they receive from Him – attention from an open and loving heart.
The hours of a day are in fixed supply. They cannot be lengthened, only measured out appropriately.
Jesus’ time is in fixed supply. He measures out the hours in a manner to achieve wholeness for those whom He touches. He does this for those in physical and emotional need; for those who need to learn His message so they might carry it forward when He is gone; for those who will remember when the kingdom of heaven first came to them.
Consider the concept of being born from above, being born of the Spirit.
Submersion under the water is death to the old life, and emergence with the Spirit is new life. The wilderness experience that must follow is the shedding of old habits and spiritually destructive relationships. We must build new habits and new relationships (even with the people of our old life) based on a new standard.
New to the kingdom of heaven, we begin again as children.
Each of us faces the same question: Am I willing and able to be such a child?
He Blessed Them July 28
Mark 10:16: And He took them up in His arms, laid His hands on them, and blessed them.
He enfolds them in His arms and He blesses them.
How often does this happen to a child, particularly past the stage of infancy? How often did you or I experience this as a child old enough to remember the event?
Children seek attention. When they do not perceive that they are part of the lives of others, they will seek to be significant, to be worthy of the investment of time and focus. If positive ways of accomplishing this fail, they will use other means. Negative attention is judged better than no attention.
Jesus is modeling mature behavior, and not solely for the education of the children. He demonstrates parental love.
He gives the children a blessing, Strong’s G2127, eulogeo in Greek. From this comes our English word, eulogy, a speech of praise or commendation. We think of eulogy as a memorial given to the recently deceased. In other words, we think of it like peace, something that comes with death.
Jesus demonstrates peace as a way of being. And here he is demonstrating a eulogy, the affirmation and commendation of children into their future, as a living gift.
He does not give vacuous words of undeserved praise, but uplifting words to grow the children beyond the character each already is developing. He is caring for the seed already implanted even though He will not see it yield its fruit.
False Humility July 29
Mark 10:17 Now as He was going out on the road, one came running, knelt before Him, and asked Him, “Good Teacher, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?”
A man comes running to Jesus (urgency), kneels before Him (humility), calls Jesus both “good” and a “teacher” (acknowledgment of a greater authority than himself), and asks for advice (teachable). This man gives the appearance of being the perfect candidate for Jesus’ ministry.
His question speaks of inheriting eternal life. The word inherit implies that there is nothing he need do in order to receive his inheritance. What is due to him will come in its own course, as to a child from a parent.
The one flaw in his approach that gives us pause is the question of what he must do to inherit eternal life.
The works oriented philosophy of the Pharisees has made this man a successful student of their own school of thought. The man believes he must earn his inheritance. The words “do” and “inherit” contradict each other. This is an oxymoron, a word from the Greek literally meaning “pointedly foolish.”
This is not to call the man foolish, but to call into question any line of thinking that envisions the realm of eternal life as something which we can require of God because of our own efforts. This man has learned the art of how to control God (irrational and impossible though it is) from his not so good Pharisaic teachers.
Jesus must wake the man from this delusional dream.
Next day
