Mark 10:1-16
Notes
Transcript
Handout
It is so good to see all of you this evening students!
I do not particularly enjoy getting out of routine. I’m very much a routine person, and so when I am thrown out of that like I have been for the last two weeks, I’m not that great at it. I’m horrible at resting during a time that is supposed to be restful like spring break vacations… i’m just bad at it.
Anybody else bad at that? Adrian always kind of gets on to me, because during some vacations or time off, I just can’t relax. It takes me about 2 or 3 days really to relax, which by then you’re usually already at least half way through your vacation...
DID YA’LL HAVE A GOOD SPRING BREAK???
AWESOME!
Well, today we pick up in Mark 10:1-16. And we’re going to dive right into it this evening.
Mark 10:1-12
Mark 10:1-12
We find ourselves at a point where the religious leaders are trying to find something to pin on Jesus.
It doesn’t at all have to be anything that they particularly don’t like about him, it can be anything else that they can find against him, to pin against him to hopefully get him out of good graces with the people whom He has been teaching and healing.
How many of you have ever just straight up not liked somebody, you had your reasons of course. But there were times when you would start an argument with this person, and just try to throw shade at them for something that is totally out of left field. Has nothing to do with the reason you don’t like them, but the issue is one that you may be able to discredit them with, and so you try to use it to your advantage.
All because you don’t like the person, and you don’t want the people around you to like them either.
THIS IS WHAT THE RELIGIOUS LEADERS ARE DOING.
Divorce has nothing to do with why they can’t stand Jesus right now. But, divorce at this time, is very much a hot topic of the day.
So the religious leaders feel that if they can get him to choose a side (The conservative side, or the liberal side), then they can begin to discredit him from the other side and maybe even arrest him.
The topic of divorce at this time is a hot topic because of the recent news going on with Herod Antipas and Herodias (married to Herod’s brother) who both divorced their spouses in order to marry each other. Which is what got John the Baptist in so much trouble who had called it out.
The issue at hand here is not whether or not divorce can be done. May a divorced women marry again. The legitimacy of divorce.
Remarriage was permitted. Divorce was permitted.
It was the question at hand was “What are the legal grounds for a man to divorce his wife?”
NOW, your thought on this depended largely of how you interpreted a vague expression in Deut. 24:1
1 “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,
...which is properly translated “something about her that he doesn’t like.”
Now the two main thoughts on this was this:
The conservative school of Shammai held that it referred to adultery.
The liberal school of Hillel claimed that a man could divorce his wide for anything that displeased him. EVEN if she burned his meal.
Also, be reminded here that at this time… it was all according to what the man wanted and thought.
Women did not have any legal right to divorce her husband. The official bill given to the women was to declare her status and to assure any prospective husband that she was indeed free to remarry.
In Verse 5: Jesus explains that Moses gave the divorce law because of the sinfulness of the human heart.
You see…
The law protected the wife by restraining the husband from impulsively divorcing her and abusing her like an unwanted piece of furniture, instead of treating her like a human being.
Without a bill of divorcement, a woman could easily become a social outcast and be treated like a harlot.
No man would want to marry her, and she would be left defenseless and destitute.
By giving this commandment to Israel, God was not putting His approval on divorce or even encouraging it. Rather, He was seeking to restrain it and make it more difficult for men to dismiss their wives. He put sufficient regulations around divorce so that the wives would not become victims of their husbands’ whims.
One commentator put it this way…
“Distinguishing between God’s ultimate intention for the human race, more particularly his own people, and his temporary accommodation to human inability or unwillingness to accept his high standards is important. Moses did not command or encourage divorce. He merely permitted it.”
Jesus then takes them back beyond Moses to the record of original Creation (Gen. 1:27; 2:21-25).
It was God who established marriage; and He has the right to make the rules.
According to Scripture, marriage is between a man and a woman, not two men or two women; and the relationship is sacred and permanent. It is the most intimate union in the human race, for the two become one flesh.
This is not true of a father and son or a mother and daughter, but it is true of a man and wife.
Personal rant time in which I believe is biblically backed...
To the guys… notice that Scripture puts much of this responsibility on us. Not all from the whole scope of scripture but a lot of it.
It says a “MAN shall leave his father and mother and HOLD FAST TO HIS WIFE.”
I’ll go another step… In Eph. it explains a little more of what a relationship should look like between a married couple.
25 Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her,
I have yet ran into a divorced couple where the women who left the husband was like…
you know He really and truly gave up his life for me in servant leadership....
You know he really he pursued me too much in holding fast.
He tried too much to share in his intimacy with me.
And Because of all that… i’m done.
GUYS… it is my personal belief that the success of our marriages is not mainly on our wives shoulders but ours as men and leaders within our households.
I am not at all saying that there IS NEVER A CRAZY LADY who goes rogue despite her husbands love and holding fast. Not saying that at all. But it doesn’t happen very often in my estimation.
To the girls: And some of this goes to the guys as well. But it often happens with girls more often I feel.
Do not go looking for a husband who does not know the same God and Savior as you do!
DO NOT GOING MISSIONARY HUNTING FOR A HUSBAND. WE ARE NOT CALLED TO BE MISSIONARIES IN OUR MARRIAGE RELATIONSHIPS.
Why in the world would you expect a husband who does not know Christ in the first place to uphold God’s original plan for marriage when they don’t know God.
Why would you expect a husband to hold fast to you, to serve you and to give his life for you like Christ did the church when HE DOES NOT KNOW CHRIST.
You want to avoid divorce in your lives students.
Make sure you understand your roles in the marriage union.
And also know who you are looking for (Christian’s with Christian’s) to spend the rest of your life with and do not settle.
Our marriage unions are supposed to reflect THE GOSPEL. Because of that, have high standards for one day approaching marriage. And because of that, have high standards for approaching dating right now.
The point of Jesus’ teaching here is to condemn all divorce as contrary to God’s will.
And also set forth a high standard of marriage for His disciples.
NOW,
Christians of all eras have fallen short of the ideal just as ancient Jews did, but there is GOOD NEWS HERE IN THE GOSPEL. God can and will forgive divorce as well as other sins through JESUS.
Divorce may sometimes be the lesser of two evils, but it is never pleasing to God or good in itself.
It should not be looked upon by Christians as the preferred option.
Mark 10:13-16
Mark 10:13-16
Here we see His view on children. And it’s a radical one at that!
This story cannot be appreciated without the realization of the lowly place children occupied in ancient society, more so in pagan than Jewish.
Jews of that day actually looked on children as a blessing and not a burden. A rich treasure from God and not a liability.
Mark appropriately placed this account immediately after the preceding section because children and marriage naturally are associated.
13 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.
Now it was customary for parents to bring their little ones to teacher or Rabbis. So it makes since that parents would be bringing their little ones to Jesus after hearing about Him.
WHY THOUGH were the disciples trying to keep these children aways from Jesus.
They probably thought they were doing Jesus a favor by helping Him protect His time and conserve HIs strength. In other words, they at this time did not consider the children to be all that important.
Our Lord actually became indignant as He openly rebuked His disciples for standing in the way.
Then He announced that the children were better kingdom examples than were the adults. We tell the children to behave like adults, but Jesus tells the adults to model themselves after the children!
It what ways are children a pattern you may wonder?
Humble dependence on others.
Their receptivity
Their acceptance of themselves and their position in life.
A children enjoys much but can explain very little.
Children live by faith: trusting others to care for them and see them thru.
The Attitude of a Disciple:
We enter into God’s Kingdom by faith, like littler children: helpless, unable to save ourselves, totally dependent on the mercy and grace of God.
We enjoy God’s Kingdom by faith, believing that the Father loves us and will care for our daily needs. And we do not understand everything about God and His Kingdom. And that’s OK!
What does a child do when he or she has a hurt or a problem? Take it to the Father and Mother! What an example for us to follow in our relationship with our Heavenly Father!
YES! God wants us to be childlike, but not childish.