In today’s episode, we dive into the profound teachings of Mark Chapter 10. Journey with us as we explore Jesus’ discussions on divorce, the welcoming of children, and the challenge posed by material wealth. Discover how these narratives deepen our understanding of faith and the path to eternal life. Through personal reflections and scriptural insights, we learn about the essence of commitment to God’s teachings, unwavering faith, and servant leadership.
Welcome to Add Bible, an audio daily devotion from the Ezra Project. We join Allen J. Huth as he shares Bible passages and comments from over 30 years of his personal Bible reading journals.
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Today brings us to the 52 verses of Mark chapter 10. Let’s listen to Faith Comes By Hearing’s reading of Mark 10.
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Mark 10. And he left there and went to the region of Judea and beyond the Jordan, and crowds gathered to him again. And again, as was his custom, he taught them. And Pharisees came up and in order to test him asked, Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?
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He answered them, What did Moses command you? They said, Moses allowed a man to write a certificate of divorce and to send her away.
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And Jesus said to them, Because of your hardness of heart he wrote you this commandment. But from the beginning of creation, God made them male and female. Therefore, a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh. So they are no longer two, but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.
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And in the house the disciples asked him again about this matter. And he said to them,
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Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her. And if she divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery.
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And they were bringing children to him that he might touch them, and the disciples rebuked them.
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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. Truly I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.
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And he took them in his arms and blessed them, laying his hands on them. And as he was setting out on his journey, a man ran up and knelt before him and asked him, Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life? And Jesus said to him, Why do you call me good?
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No one is good except God alone. You know the commandments. Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not bear false witness, do not defraud. Honor your father and mother.
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And he said to him, Teacher, all these I have kept from my youth.
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And Jesus, looking at him, loved him and said to him, You lack one thing. Disheartened by the saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.
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And Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, How difficult it will be for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!
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and the disciples were amazed at his words.
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But Jesus said to them again, Children, how difficult it is to enter the kingdom of God. It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God. And they were exceedingly astonished and said to him, Then who can be saved? Jesus looked at them and said, With man it is impossible, but not with God, for all things are possible with God.
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Peter began to say to him, See, we have left everything and followed you.
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Jesus said, Truly I say to you, there is no one who has left house, or brothers or sisters, or mother or father, or children or lands for my sake and for the gospel, who will not receive a hundredfold now in this time, houses and brothers and sisters, and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and in the age to come, eternal life. But many who are first will be last, and the last first.
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And they were on the road going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was walking ahead of them. And they were amazed, and those who followed were afraid.
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And taking the twelve again, he began to tell them what was to happen to him, saying, See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and the scribes. And they will condemn him to death and deliver him over to the Gentiles. And they will mock him and spit on him and flog him and kill him. and after three days he will rise.
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And James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came up to him and said to him, Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you.
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And he said to them, What do you want me to do for you?
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And they said to him, Grant us to sit one at your right hand and one at your left in your glory.
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Jesus said to them, You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or to be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized? And they said to him, We are able. And Jesus said to them, The cup that I drink you will drink, and with the baptism with which I am baptized you will be baptized. But to sit at my right hand or at my left is not mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared.
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And when the ten heard it, they began to be indignant at James and John.
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And Jesus called them to him and said to them, You know that those who are considered rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. But it shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many.
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And they came to Jericho. And as he was leaving Jericho with his disciples and a great crowd, Bartimaeus, a blind beggar, the son of Timaeus, was sitting by the roadside.
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And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, Jesus, son of David, have mercy on me.
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And many rebuked him, telling him to be silent. But he cried out all the more,
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Have mercy on me!
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And Jesus stopped and said, Call him.
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And they called the blind man, saying to him, Take heart, get up, he is calling you.
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And throwing off his cloak, he sprang up and came to Jesus. And Jesus said to him, What do you want me to do for you?
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And the blind man said to him, Rabbi, let me recover my sight.
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And Jesus said to him, Go your way. Your faith has made you well. And immediately he recovered his sight and followed him on the way.
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In 1986, I was moving my family from Denver, Colorado to Nashville, Tennessee about this time. When I read Mark 10, it says in my journal, Prayer and Reading on the Plain. So I read Mark 10 that day. And my note says, Packers come today in Denver. Ten years later, at 41 years old, I wrote about Mark 10 in two different days. Divorce. No, we become one flesh. No longer two, but one. Divorce is adultery. Thou shalt not commit adultery. On the second half of Mark 10, I wrote the next day, a call to ministry. No one who has left house or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands for my sake and the gospels who shall not receive a hundredfold now and in the age to come. And in 2006, at 51 years old, I split Mark 10 into two different days. So on the first day, in the first part of Mark 10, I wrote, Jesus defines divorce as adultery, a definition we don’t want today. He promises if we live for him, we will receive a hundred times as much now in the present age, along with persecutions, and in the age to come, eternal life. May it be so. Then the next day, I finished up Mark 10, and I wrote, Whoever wishes to become great among you, shall be your servant. And I was referring to verse 43. Jesus sets the example as he came to serve, not be served. Am I a servant leader? Is divorce adultery? Well, let’s see what the Word of God says. Verse 2 says, And Pharisees came up in order to test him, asked, Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife? What does Jesus say? Verse 5, And Jesus said to them, Because of your hardness of heart he wrote you this commandment. But from the beginning of creation God made them male and female. Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh. So they are no longer two, but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate. That’s what Jesus has to say about marriage. Verse 10 goes on to say that his disciples probably didn’t quite understand what he had to say, so he clarifies it. And in the house the disciples asked him again about this matter. And he said to them, Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her. And if she divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery. Certainly there are times when we do not want to hear what we hear. in the word of God. I’m not going to elaborate on the point, so let’s move on to the rich young ruler. Also probably a difficult passage. The question he asked was, good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life? The real answer from Jesus is in verse 21. Come, follow me. The rich young ruler was caught up in life. He went away disheartened because he had great possessions. In other words, he could not give up his life to follow Jesus. Oh, the rich young ruler had kept the commandments. In other words, he was probably religious, but he could not set aside his life to follow Jesus. Again, we just let the word of God speak for itself. His disciples ask him, who can be saved? Jesus answers, With man it is impossible, but with God all things are possible. Aren’t you glad? With Jesus, all things are possible. With Jesus, your marriage can hold together. With Jesus, you can be blessed with great possessions and wealth and still get to heaven. With Jesus, you can be a servant leader. None of it may be easy, But with Jesus, nothing is impossible. Hallelujah, Lord. Thank you. Lord, Mark 10 might have been difficult for some people to hear today. Regardless of what we think, regardless of what the world says, your word is truth. John 17, 17 says, thy word is truth. And your word also says that you are a God of forgiveness. That’s what the cross is all about. You knew we would sin. You knew we would fail. You knew we were hard-hearted. So you came to forgive us of our sins. To that we are grateful. So you say, if we confess our sins, you are faithful and just to forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. So if today’s passage has touched our hearts and made us feel guilty, then Holy Spirit, call us to repentance in you. Call us to confess whatever things we think we’ve sinned about and let us receive your forgiveness. Hallelujah. Thank you for the truthfulness of your word. Help us, Holy Spirit, to live as best we can according to what we’re reading. It may be impossible for us, Because with man it is impossible, but with God all things are possible. Call me to live in the possible. In your holy name we pray. Amen. Thanks for listening to AdBible today. I love passages like this because they impact my life. I don’t read for information. I read the Bible for transformation. In other words, I can read or listen to a scripture passage, like it, set it aside, and move on with my day. I got information. The Bible offers so much more. After I read the passage for information, I read it again for transformation. I want to personalize what I read, so I get out my daily Bible reading journal and record my thoughts from the passage. What did I read? What does it mean to me in my life right now? What do I need to do to apply it to my day, my week, my life? After I read the passage a second time and journal, then I pray. What I read ignites my prayer as I pray through the concepts of the passage. After that, I pray for other matters on my daily prayer list. If you want to watch me demonstrate my personal quiet time, visit EzraProject.net and watch the Quiet Time How-To video. I know you will enjoy it.
