Introduction: Have you listened to a Bible teacher and
thought, “That makes no sense. That must be wrong!” Part of
being open to the Holy Spirit is being willing to accept the
teachings of the Bible. The problem is often the “parable”
issue that we discussed recently. Jesus often teaches in
ways that are difficult to understand unless you take the
time to study and learn what He is really saying. This week
we look at two teachings of Jesus which caused His disciples
to essentially say, “You must be kidding. How can that be
true?” Let’s dive into these complicated teachings and see
what we can learn!
I. Marriage
A. Read Mark 10:1-2. Why would the Pharisees ask Jesus
such a question? They were always “testing” Him,
but the test is not obvious from the question. (The
IVP New Testament Commentary points out that Jesus
is in the area in which John the Baptist preached.
John had denounced Herod Antipas for marrying his
brother’s wife and that resulted in John being
beheaded. The Jewish leaders wished a similar fate
for Jesus.)
B. Read Mark 10:3-4. Is this an answer that would keep
Jesus safe? (Jesus is simply asking them what Moses
said on the subject.)
C. Read Mark 10:5-9. Has the trap closed on Jesus? (He
is clearly not trying to avoid offending Herod
Antipas.)
1. Let’s examine more closely what Jesus says.
The reference to what Moses said on the
subject is Deuteronomy 24:1-4. Is Moses
inspired by the Holy Spirit to write this? Is
this part of the Bible? (The answer to both of
those questions is, “Yes.” Moses cites “the
Lord” as authority for what he says.)
a. What principal does verse five teach us
about divorce? (God takes into
consideration our sinful nature. This
should be comforting to the many who are
divorced.)
2. Is Jesus changing the rule? (Jesus teaching
that the “two shall become one” is the
original rule and He is simply going back to
it.)
D. Read Mark 10:10-12. Has Jesus decided to leave
behind the flexibility for human hardness of heart?
1. Notice that He covers the situation in which a
woman seeks to divorce her husband, which is
not contemplated by Moses. Why is that?
E. Read Matthew 19:10. Mark leaves out this
interesting reaction by the disciples. Do you agree
with them that if marriage is for life, it is
better to remain single?
F. Read Matthew 19:11-12. Why is Jesus now talking
about eunuchs? Is this a new topic? (No. Our
modern permissive views keep us from fully grasping
what is being said. The disciples and Jesus are
talking about being celibate. They are not talking
about casually sleeping with others rather than
marriage.)
1. Notice the last statement of verse 12. What
does this mean? If I don’t want to “receive”
this instruction I have that option? (All the
commentaries that I consulted understand Jesus
as saying that not everyone is suited to be
celibate. Those should get married.)
2. If we look back at Mark 10:5 we see God
creating some flexibility in the rule. Is that
what we see in the last part of Matthew 19:12?
II. Wealth
A. Read Mark 10:17-18. Why is Jesus challenging the
man who calls Him “good?” (Jesus wants this young
man to consider whether Jesus is God.)
B. Read Mark 10:19. If you believe in righteousness by
faith alone, Jesus is giving a terrible answer to
the question of how to attain heaven. Can you
explain Jesus’ answer?
C. Read Mark 10:20-21. Wait a minute! I call foul.
None of the Ten Commandments requires us to sell
“all that you have” and give it to the poor. Would
someone like to defend Jesus’ addition to the
commandments? (The E.W. Bullinger Commentary says
this is the Tenth Commandment, but that is clearly
wrong. This young man was rich. He was not, based
on the information we are given, coveting what
anyone else had.)
D. Let’s skip ahead and read Mark 12:30-31 to see what
Jesus says about sharing. What does Jesus teach
about the Ten Commandments and helping others? (He
teaches that we should love our neighbor as we love
our self. Giving all my possessions to my neighbor
loves him more than I love myself. Another teaching
of the Bible on wealth is tithing – where I get to
keep 90%. See Malachi 3:10.)
E. Read Mark 10:22-26. Once again we see that the
disciples are amazed and astonished. Should they
be? (The reason for their amazement is not hard to
find. In texts like Deuteronomy 28 the Bible
teaches that obedience to God brings riches and
disobedience brings poverty. Being rich is a
Biblical sign of obedience.)
F. Read Mark 10:27. How do the rich get saved? (The
same way everyone else does – God makes possible
the impossible by the life, death, and resurrection
of Jesus on our behalf.)
1. Do you recall our discussion in recent weeks
about parables and drilling down on Jesus’
teaching? Do you see how when we drill down on
what seems to be terrible advice from Jesus we
find truth?
G. Let’s revisit Mark 10:25. Can you explain this
based on what we have just discovered? (The problem
with being rich is trusting in your wealth rather
than trusting God. This is precisely the same
problem as trusting in keeping the Ten Commandments
for your salvation. Only God is perfect, we are
not. We cannot trust in our works, our success, or
our wealth, to enter heaven. We can only trust what
Jesus has done for us.)
H. Let’s revisit Mark 12:30-31. I directed your
attention to verse 31. Does verse 30 have something
to say about salvation and the rich young man?
(Yes. He let his wealth stand between himself and
what Jesus told him to do. Jesus has not expanded
the requirements of the Ten Commandments in his
case. Again the point is what do you trust?)
I. Read Mark 10:28. How does this fit our discussion?
Isn’t Peter’s assertion the same as the rich young
man, “See what I have done to earn heaven. Is that
enough?”
J. Read Mark 10:29-30. Wait a minute! What does Jesus
mean by “in this time?” Is Jesus reinforcing
Deuteronomy 28? (Jesus’ answer is remarkable. He
says that following Him gives us a “hundredfold”
return now, and eternal life. What does this tell
us about being rich? (If we put God first, if we
trust Him, we should expect the hundredfold return.
Money is safe in the hands of those who trust God
and not their money.)
1. Did you notice the bad news, the “with
persecutions” statement?
2. We know the future for the disciples. Did they
get rich, or did they get persecuted? (They
got persecuted.)
a. How would you explain the hundredfold for
them? (They are some of the most famous
men in world history. Plus they received
the joy of following in the steps of
Jesus.)
K. Read Mark 10:31. Why does Jesus use the term “many”
as opposed to “all” who are first will be last?
(For the reasons we just discussed. Trusting God
results in blessings.)
III. First and Last
A. Read Mark 10:35-37. Do you think that James and
John were sleeping in the back of the boat during
the conversation we just studied? (I think the
point is rather that accepting what we just
discussed is difficult.)
B. Read Mark 10:38-40. Who is trusted to decide
positions in the Kingdom of Heaven?
C. Read Mark 10:41. Were all the disciples sleeping
during our prior discussion? (They all think they
should be first.)
D. Read Mark 10:42-45. We just discussed marriage,
wealth, trust in God, and now positions of
authority. Is there a line of truth that runs
through these topics? (Putting God first is the
secret to success. Our first obligation is to
serve God.)
E. Friend, will you decide right now to make service
to God your first priority? Why not make that
commitment right now? If you do, you will have many
blessings now, with persecution, and eternal life
thereafter.
IV. Next week: Jerusalem Controversies.
Copr. 2024, Bruce N. Cameron, J.D. Scripture quotations are
from the ESV Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard
Version ), copyright 2001 by Crossway, a publishing
ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All
rights reserved. Suggested answers are found within
parentheses. If you normally receive this lesson by e-mail,
but it is lost one week, you can find it by clicking on this
link: http://www.GoBible.org. Pray for the guidance of the
Holy Spirit as you study.
