Mark 10:1-12 Divorce in the modern day has become an epidemic of unprecedented proportions. The actual number of divorces range from about 6 to as much as 17 divorces per thousand in America, depending upon the state you live in.[1] That doesn’t sound bad. What is bad is that over the life of a marriage, 53% of first-time marriages end in divorce according to common statistics. Remarriages are worse, the rate of second marriages is 60%, while third marriages rake in at a whopping 73% divorce rate…[2] There is a myth out that says that Christians have a higher divorce rate than non-Christians. The Barna Group dispelled this myth through a survey in 2008 that shows numbers coming out almost the same.[3] Divorce rates among the millennials to date are showing to be lower according to statistics. This is because of two factors. Many are cohabiting thus; separation is not a divorce. This group is a lot younger than the national average, so time has not tested the marriages as much. If you were to call cohabitation marriage, and if the time given was the same as the normal group, the numbers would probably be much higher.
In today’s world there are many who will say that these verses do not apply to them. Every time I study what Jesus said regarding marriage, I lose readers. Sorry about that, I will write what I see in the scriptures. Time for sugar coating the truth is over. Many believers cling to a “get out of jail free” card by saying that Jesus condoned divorce in the case of infidelity (Matt 19:9). For some reason English composition goes out the window with this verse. Jesus is saying that whenever a man divorces his wife, he is responsible for her adultery except in the case where she had already committed adultery prior to the divorce. The authority for adultery falls back on her at that point. Let’s look at this passage now:
Yeshua taught Torah. He taught the instructions of God according to the original intent of those instructions. Moses gave instructions that once a man marries his wife and he finds that she had “some indecency in her” then he could write her a certificate of divorce. The idea behind the word for “indecency” is “nakedness” quite literally “having genitals exposed” which can also be translated as “cohabitation”. Moses’ instructions were for a newlywed husband that discovered that his wife was tainted sexually in some way. The implication of the phrase points to uncleanliness in some manner, the specific area is sexual uncleanliness.
The Rabbi’s took these verses and expounded on them. It came to mean by Yeshua’s day that if the wife burnt the toast, she was defective. Then he husband could write a certificate of divorce to satisfy the letter of the “law”. Stern summarizes the Talmud well:
“The School of Shammai say a man may not divorce his wife unless he has found unchastity in her, as it is said, ‘ … because he has found in her indecency in a matter.’ But the School of Hillel say he may divorce her even if she burns his food, as it is said, ‘ … because he has found in her indecency in a matter.’ ” (Mishna: Gittin 9:10) [4]
Yeshua turned the tables from Rabinnics to return to the truth of the scriptures. In the beginning, it was one man and one woman. The two became one flesh. Then he adds the final phrase “What therefore God has joined together, let no man separate” (Mark 10:9 NASB95). The meaning is very clear. No man, not court of law, no human entity can dissolve a marriage by God’s standard. Yet, for some reason these verses are ignored in our churches today.
Let’s look at application to practical life here. Biblical believers, Jews and Christians alike stand responsible for this principle. No one who holds the Bible to be true should ever even consider a divorce. The unbelievers do not have this standard to live by. When divorced people are welcomed into our fellowships, they are tainted by sin just like any other sin that hey have committed. They were torah-less prior to coming to know the Messiah as their personal savior. In other words, they were not following the principles found in the Word of God and did not claim to follow them. Expect the world to act like the world. Divorced people who come to the church should be welcomed with open arms. They sinned, yes, but that sin was covered when they accepted the Messiah. As these baby believers grow and develop in the Lord, they are welcomed to move into areas of leadership. Believers have a different standard. If a believer divorces, he has violated God’s word and should not be in an area of leadership (1 Tim 3:1-13; Titus 5-9). In this way, this is a very hard teaching.
Mark 10:10-13 The disciples wanted clarification on the subject. Yeshua stated plainly that if a divorce takes place and the spouses remarry, they enter into adultery before God. The only stipulation in this is who is the responsible party for the adultery. If the woman is the one who leaves, or has been involved in cheating on her husband, then she is responsible for her own adultery. If she were innocent of any sexual escapades outside of her marriage, and her husband divorces her, he is responsible for her adultery before God (Matt 5:32).
This is a very hard teaching today since it goes against the norms that we have accepted in our society. I almost feel that I should apologize since some who read this are going to get their feelings hurt. Yeshua set the standard. He clarified the instructions that He gave in the beginning of the scriptures. The question is what are we going to do about it…?
Mark 10:13-16 Little Children: In the previous chapter we looked at the way that Yeshua used small children as a character study to demonstrate that young believers would make mistakes (Mark 9:35-42). In this chapter Yeshua continues the train of thought and embellishes the character study more.
Blessing children has been a long tradition in the Jewish circles. It developed as the Jewish sages studied the scriptures and saw the benefits of parental blessings upon children. The first of such that we see is the blessing Adam and Eve received from God (Gen 5:2). The blessing progressed to a stronger form when God blessed Abram and declared that his blessing would travel to all the families on earth (Gen 12:1-3). Two blessings soon follow as God blesses Abrahams children, Isaac and Ishmael (Gen 17:16-20). The blessing developed further when Jacob and Esau received their blessing with extreme drama (Gen 27). This idea developed through the scriptures where parents blessed their children and purposed their lives through blessing. This idea developed through the oral torah as a principle drawn from the written Torah. It was never commanded but became a general practice that continues today. At the beginning of the Sabbath day the modern Jew will declare a blessing over their children that has been passed down from unknown times:
“May the Lord make you like Ephraim and Manasseh (boys). May the Lord make you like Sarah, Rebecca, Rachael and Leah (Girls).” Then many add the Aaronic blessing: Numbers 6:24–26 (NLT)
“May the LORD bless you and protect you. May the LORD smile on you and be gracious to you. May the LORD show you his favor and give you his peace.”
During Yeshua’s time it is highly likely that this practice was taking place. Yeshua used the blessing as a teaching opportunity. He did not say that the kingdom of God belongs to little children. He said that it belongs to “such as these”. Thinking through the character of children and the context of the passage, lets make an educated guess. I believe that Yeshua was teaching that little children believe what they have been told and act upon it. They do not embellish the idea with all kinds of excuses and justification.
Previously in the chapter we looked at marriage and divorce. Instead of taking the simple truth, the Jewish sages developed arguments that justified divorce for a myriad of reasons. They deviated from the simple instruction of God. Following this section, we will be looking at the rich young ruler. This man followed Torah but still felt inadequate. He was missing the spirit of Torah, which is taking care of God’s people. The teaching of becoming like a child is sandwiched between these two teachings.
What can we take away from this study? First, bless children in your congregation and bless your children in your homes. Yeshua did this and He laid hands upon them to give the blessing. Secondly, consider the character of young children. They believe what they are told and they act upon it. This is the crux of faith. Faith is hearing, believing and acting on an idea with the conviction that it is truth.
Mark 10:17-31 The rich young ruler
There are several sections in this passage that we will be looking at. On first reading they seem to be a random set of situations that are not connected. However, the thought progression is definite and focused on one thing: salvation. The first of these is the rich young ruler. He is a catalyst that sparks the progression of thought. Read the passage!
First, look at his body posture. He kneels before Yeshua to ask a question. The kneeling posture is one of worship or subservience. Yeshua builds upon this posture with the answer to the question. Look at the statement:
18 Yeshua said to him, “Why are you calling me good? No one is good except God! (Mark 10:18 CJB)
Jesus is not saying “I am not good, only God is good”. He is demanding that the young man connect the dots. He is kneeling in worship before Jesus. The statement answers its own question. If Jesus is good, then He is God. The concept is left to be built upon.
Yeshua narrows the requirements for eternal life to the ruler. There are two separate sets of commands in the Ten Commandments. The first four deal with a relationship with God: 1. I am your God, 2. You will have no gods before me, 3. You will not take My name lightly or in vain. 4. You are to keep my Sabbath day holy. Yeshua does not even approach these requirements since the implied answer is that Yeshua is God. He is considered to be God and taking the stand that He is God. The rich young ruler is considering Him to be worthy. In this the first three commandments are satisfied.
The next six commandments are all quoted. These commandments deal with interpersonal relationships between people. If you were to set up the commandments on a vertical and horizontal scale, you would have four commandments pointing to God and six commandments pointing horizontally to other men. Yeshua builds on the six commandments by putting them in context.
The nature of the instructions of God (Torah) is built upon creating a safe environment for God’s people to live and to thrive in. One of the simple applications of Torah is to take care of the widows, orphans and the unfortunate. Look for example at the actual sin of Sodom and Gomorrah. The sin that they were judged for was not for homosexuality! The sin that they were judged for was for failing to take care of the poor:
Ezekiel 16:48–50 (NASB95)
48 “As I live,” declares the Lord God, “Sodom, your sister and her daughters have not done as you and your daughters have done. 49 “Behold, this was the guilt of your sister Sodom: she and her daughters had arrogance, abundant food and careless ease, but she did not help the poor and needy. 50 “Thus they were haughty and committed abominations before Me. Therefore I removed them when I saw it.
If you springboard off of taking care of the poor and needy, it is one of the key concepts that is found in Torah. It comes up often as a checkmark to qualify if Torah is being followed. It comes up in many scriptures, here are a few:
Ezk 18:12; 34:4; Dt 24:14; Jb 24:4; Ps 12:5; 62:10; 109:16; Pr 21:13; 22:16; 30:14; Ec 5:8; Is 3:14, 15; 32:7; Am 2:6; 5:11, 12; 8:4-6; Mi 3:2-4; Hab 3:14; Zc 7:10; 11:16; Mt 5:7; 25:43; Lk 16:20, 21; Ja 4:17.[5]
Each of these scriptures can be a springboard to deeper study regarding the poor and needy. Yeshua then brings the argument full circle. If the rich young ruler is going to have eternal life, then he must follow the instructions of God. This includes taking care of the poor and needy.
One final qualification is given to the rich young ruler. After selling everything, he is to follow Yeshua. This points back to the omission of the first four commandments. Yeshua is stating that He is God, therefore if the rich young ruler wants eternal life, he must follow Jesus.
Then Jesus ties two concepts together in his statement about the young ruler. The original question was how to gain eternal life. Yeshua’s answer pointed to being a member of the “kingdom of God” (Mark 10:17, 24). We equate eternal life with living in heaven forever. Jesus is turning the idea back to earth. The kingdom of God that Jesus often refers to is the one on one relationship between people on earth during their earthly lives. Heavenly treasure is gained by putting Torah into action. Eternal life then is following the instructions of God, which includes interpersonal relationships. This is augmented by following God in this life.
Jesus stated in the original answer that the only “good” is God. Then teaches accordingly. If He is not stating that He is God, then the argument from the text is very humanistic. Any good man who follows six of the commandments can get to heaven. The qualifier of “come, follow Me”, brings the answer full circle. The relationship with God found in the first four commandments is equated to a relationship with Jesus. If Jesus were not implying that He is God, then the answer that was given to the rich man was incorrect scripturally. Jesus finishes the equation for following the instructions of the Ten Commandments. He is declaring that He is God, thus fulfilling the first four. Remember, he received worship from the rich young ruler when he bowed before Jesus.
Yeshua acted out of “agape” love when he answered the young ruler (Mark 10:21). This note is very important. The statement regarding the “eye of the needle” is evidence for this. There are two views on the eye of the needle. The first one is that Yeshua is using hyperbole by giving a ridiculous scenario that is impossible to fulfill. In this case it would be impossible for a rich man to be saved. The second view is that the eye of the needle was a small gate that went in through the city wall. It was large enough for a man to go through. However, very small for a camel to go through. The camel would have to be unloaded of its burdens, then be dragged through the gate with extreme effort. It probably could have been done, but with extreme effort and a lot of help. It would have been impossible for the camel to do this without a lot of help from a group of people. With help, it may have been accomplished (Mark 10:27).
Of these two views, I think the second is correct. This is evidenced by Jesus giving the man an option to sell his possessions and give to the poor. This would have been an unburdening. Then the man was required to follow Jesus. Yet, he was not willing to sell everything and unload his burden of wealth.
There is an unknown involved in this story. We know that the rich man was very wealthy. Wealth in itself is not a sin and does not violate the instructions of God. If it were a violation, then King Solomon would have been an abomination before the Lord along with many of the other kings of the Jews. It causes one to wonder the source of the wealth and the reason that Jesus said he must unload his wealth. Was the wealth legitimate and drawn from wholesome gains? Or was the wealth drawn from illicit gains that hurt God’s people in the process? We simply do not know the rest of this story.
If we continue the view that the “kingdom of God” is the kingdom of believers on the earth, then Jesus is marking a qualification for becoming part of a fellowship. The rich man was required to leave his former life and join the community of believers.
Mark 10:28-31 Remember, the requirement for a camel to pass through the small gate meant that he had to be unburdened. Then he would have to follow Jesus afterwards. Context is interesting here since the disciples responded exactly according to this scenario. Peter stated that they had left everything to follow Jesus.
The discussion comes full circle. The original question was regarding “eternal life” (Mark 10:17). Yeshua states that if people will unburden and follow Him in this age, then they will receive eternal life in the next age. His statement was to follow the instructions found in Torah (Mark 10:18-19). Unburden, and then follow the instructions of Jesus (Mark 10:21).
Joining the community of true believers comes with a high cost though. Yeshua warns that if one follows Him for the Gospel’s sake, they will suffer persecutions in the present age. During that time, it was literally true. It is true in today’s age as well. If you follow Jesus, you will be a threat to those around you. Family and friends will turn their backs on you. The cost is high. Probably the highest cost is when your own children and acquaintances become hostile toward you.
After looking at this section in context, we see that it is not a set of disconnected thoughts but rather a section of extreme importance to each believer. If we are to obtain eternal life, then it is not a magic prayer that we pray at the salvation altar. It is a life change that demands we unburden our lives of all the junk. It is a life change that demands that we follow God’s instructions and determine to make Jesus the guiding force in our lives. In modern churches it is taught that if we make Jesus “Lord” of our lives and surrender to Him, we will be saved. This is the truth. The mechanics of this truth is that making Jesus “Lord” entails unburdening and turning to the instructions of God for our lives. It is not a prayer where we give mental assent to God as a higher power. It is a life commitment to follow Jesus as the boss and ruler of our lives. This does not mean that we join a country club where we rub shoulders with other believers on the day of worship. It means that we are working in the trenches every day to build up God’s kingdom on earth.
Each of us is in the shoes of the rich young ruler, especially in America. We stand very rich and are blessed with extreme wealth. Our wealth has become our god. Are we willing to unburden and refocus to make Jesus ruler of our lives and the sole focus of our lives? The cost is high, how many are willing?
Mark 10:32-34
There are two emotions mentioned in the passage that are interesting. The disciples were “amazed” and those following were “fearful”. These emotions cover two ends of the same spectrum. Amazement both contains and embraces the emotion of fear. While fear or phobia is on the spectrum of amazement but more of a negative view. The notation of these emotions demonstrates that the disciples were not blind to the political tension that was developing between the religious authorities and Yeshua. Going to Jerusalem for the Passover was like walking into a war zone. Yeshua validated their fears and concerns by telling them exactly what was going to take place. This is the third and most detailed of recent warnings (Mark 8:31; 9:31).
Mark 10:35-41
Matthew offers more information on this event. The mother of Jacob (James) and John was the one who made the request along with them (Matt 20:20-24). The difference in the Matthew account is a referral to “Your kingdom” instead of “Your glory”. The notation is significant. Remember, the current scene is that they were going up to Jerusalem for the Passover. Everyone was certain that something was going to happen at this Passover. Tension was extremely high.
Jacob and John were garnering for position in the coming kingdom. They believed that Yeshua was going to usher in the millennial kingdom where the Messiah would rule with an iron fist. They thought Jesus was going to set up an earthly kingdom within the next few days. This is not far removed from what Judas was soon to do. He would soon try to force Yeshua’s hand by turning him over to the chief priests. The motivation for his move appears also to be for accelerating the implementation of the earthly kingdom. Jacob and John were being proactive in making a request for position.
As a note, the word “baptism” or “baptized” is used six times in this passage. It is transliterated from the Greek into English but never translated. The word means simply “immersion”. The Complete Jewish Bible is one version that I found that translates this passage correctly:
Mark 10:37–40 (CJB)
37 They replied, “When you are in your glory, let us sit with you, one on your right and the other on your left.” 38 But Yeshua answered, “You don’t know what you’re asking! Can you drink the cup that I am drinking? or be immersed with the immersion that I must undergo?” 39 They said to him, “We can.” Yeshua replied, “The cup that I am drinking, you will drink; and the immersion I am being immersed with, you will undergo. 40 But to sit on my right and on my left is not mine to give. Rather, it is for those for whom it has been prepared.”
Yeshua is clearly teaching that the coming persecution will be intense. The immersion into the passion story is staggering because it blends many concepts. It includes the concepts from the Passover and intimately will fulfill each and every small detail that is involved in the Passover Seder, The Feast of Unleavened Bread, The Feast of First Fruits and The upcoming Feast of Shavuot. This is probably the most intense phase of the life of the Messiah and the most detailed. Every aspect of the above holidays will be fulfilled in minute detail. The Passover Seder will actually change meanings to turn from a deliverance from Egypt to the deliverance from the bondage of sin through Yeshua. Intense immersion is the best way to describe the upcoming events.
Mark 10:42-45
Yeshua refocuses the disciples. The coming kingdom would not be like Gentile kingdoms. He was gently letting them know that He was not setting up an earthly kingdom. His purpose was to offer his life as a ransom for many. The nature of His life was that of a servant. By redirecting the disciples, he was teaching them that to be a part of His kingdom means that they must take on His attitude of servanthood. Yeshua served man to the extreme point of offering His life as a sacrifice.
Mark 10:46-52 Sneak preview of my upcoming book! I copied and pasted from the book that I am writing on healing for the next section. The concepts from this healing are intimately involved in the nature of the Messiah. To understand the full meaning of the passage, we must take into account who the Servant Messiah was and what was expected of Him. Refocusing the disciples meant turning them back to the purpose of the Messiah:
10: Two blind men (Mt 9:27-31).
The blind men in this story are quick to call out to Yeshua as Messiah. They recognized that as the “Son of David” Yeshua was actually the “branch of David” that was prophesied (Jer 14:17). Jeremiah said that the Messiah will cause Israel to live in righteousness. That the Messiah will “save” Jerusalem. Let’s consider whether or not this is the attitude actual scripture that the blind men were alluding to is beyond our ability to discern. The characteristic of the time and understanding about the Messiah scripture carries forth in their request.
The scriptures foretold that YHVH will bear the name “Yeshua” (Ps 96:2). The mighty deeds of Yeshua are spoken of by David (Ps 71:15). These bind men connected the dots which established that Yeshua was certainly the promised “son of David”. This led them to believe that this “son” was extraordinary, and they concluded that this was the foretold savior (Yeshua) that the scriptures spoke of. When Yeshua questioned the Pharisees concerning the Messiah:
Matthew 22:41–46 (KJV) — “41 While the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them, 42 Saying, What think ye of Christ? whose son is he? They say unto him, The Son of David. 43 He saith unto them, How then doth David in spirit call him Lord, saying, 44 The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, till I make thine enemies thy footstool? 45 If David then call him Lord, how is he his son? 46 And no man was able to answer him a word, neither durst any man from that day forth ask him any more questions.”
The Pharisees understood that the Messiah (Christ) would certainly be the Son of David. Yeshua clarified this further by establishing that the Messiah will certainly be a Son of David (Ps 110). However, He will be much more than a “son”, He will also be a priest according to the order of Melchizedek. Psalm 110 is a powerful messianic Psalm. The point being that the people of the time understood clearly that the Messiah would certainly come from the lineage of David. You can almost be certain that the reason Yeshua questioned the Pharisees concerning the Messiah was because they clearly understood and taught that the Messiah would be from the lineage of David. Yeshua gave the Pharisees a trick question that demanded an answer. The nature of question pointed to His role as Messiah, the office of Messiah was to be filled with a “son of David”, therefore if they answered, they would have to consider further that Yeshua was the Messiah. The Pharisees quickly saw the direction of the interrogation and chose not to answer.
Blind people are often more perceptive than sighted people realize. Their interpretation of the events around them gave them enough conviction that they were willing to shout out for healing. These men did not remain silent but spoke out declaring what they knew to be true after the healing. This is the essence of the word “faith”. They heard of the healing of many various diseases and of the little girl being raised. Connecting the dots drew them to the conclusion that He was the promised Messiah: “Son of David”. They acted upon the faith that they had by calling out. Faith is a verb and they were actually “faithing”. Yeshua touched their eyes and healed them.
For the purpose of our study, these men did have faith to be healed. Blindness can be a functional issue, but in most cases, it is due to organic causes.
11: Two blind men who desired healing (Matt 20:29-34; Mk 10:46-52; Lk 18:35-42).
This story is very similar to the previous one. Yeshua’s ministry had progressed for an unknown time. The previous story took place at the beginning of His earthly ministry while this story takes place near the end of His earthly ministry. The previous story and the Bartimaeus story are almost like book ends. The elements of the story are the same with one exception. Yeshua does not command the healed men to be quiet like He did the first time..
These two men embraced the knowledge that Yeshua could heal, moved on the knowledge and were healed. They demonstrated faith in their lives that brought about healing. Their faith was so strong that they were not willing to bow to the pressure from the crowd to keep silent.
Specifically named by Mark and Luke narrow the story down to one man: Bartimaeus for loudly calling out to the Messiah for healing. Matthew does not name him and places a fellow blind man with him. The elements of the story demonstrate that in the three synoptic Gospels, this is most likely the same event. The reasoning for this is because it is placed just prior to the triumphal entry into Jerusalem (Matt 21:-9; Mk 11:1-10; Lk 19:29-38).
The story is incredibly similar to the previous discussion regarding the two blind men who called out to Yeshua (MT 9:27-31).. Matthew’s account carries the testimony that there was two blind men in this story while Mark and Luke only record Bartimaeus. The records of these four stories are so similar that the repetition it is compelling. Why do we have four events that are almost exactly the same? Could it be possible that all the events are the same event. However, since Matthew records the event twice, I am more inclined to hold that the important factor involved was that the two blind men recognized that Yeshua was the promised “son of David” that was prophesied to set men free. On this same token. Rather than reiterating what has already been said in the previous section, the blind men acted boldly upon the knowledge of who Yeshua was and believed in the fact that He could certainly heal them. These men were certainly healed perceptive enough to realize that the Messiah was in their midst (Mk 10:52; Lk 18:42).
Yeshua healed them of their blindness according to their faith. This was most likely an organic healing since no cause for blindness is listed.
Thanks for reading, all comments are welcomed.
Joe Turner.
[1] https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/articles/2019-02-11/what-is-the-divorce-rate-by-state, accessed 7/3/19
[2] https://www.wf-lawyers.com/divorce-statistics-and-facts/, accessed 7/3/19
[3] https://www.barna.com/research/new-marriage-and-divorce-statistics-released/, accessed 7/4/19
[4] David H. Stern, Jewish New Testament Commentary : A Companion Volume to the Jewish New Testament, electronic ed. (Clarksville: Jewish New Testament Publications, 1996), Mt 19:3.
[5] Jerome H. Smith, The New Treasury of Scripture Knowledge: The Most Complete Listing of Cross References Available Anywhere- Every Verse, Every Theme, Every Important Word (Nashville TN: Thomas Nelson, 1992), 902.
