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Scripture Reading: Mark 10:1-31
In this message we come to chapter ten of the Gospel of Mark. In verse 1 we have a word concerning the Lord’s coming to Judea. Then in 10:2-31 we have His teaching concerning divorce (vv. 2-12), His blessing of the young children (vv. 13-16), and His teaching concerning the rich and the kingdom of God (vv. 17-31).
Many readers of the New Testament do not regard Mark to be as deep as Matthew, John, or even Luke. Some may even view the Gospel of Mark as containing stories for children. We thank the Lord for enlightening us concerning the various portions of this Gospel. As we have pointed out, in 8:27—9:13 we are brought into the highlight, the foremost vision, concerning matters in the realm of divine, mysterious things. This vision concerns Christ with His all-inclusive death and His wonderful resurrection to be our entire, universal replacement.
In Mark 9:14-50 we have a training of the disciples in the light of what has been unveiled in the preceding chapters. In particular, the disciples were trained to be at peace with one another in order to maintain unity. This peace and unity among the believers is for the Body life. Following the training given in 9:14-50, the Lord goes on in chapter ten to give us further training.
Chapter ten of Mark is not a chapter for theological study. This is a chapter of teaching for those who are in the highlight of the divine revelation in this Gospel; it is for those who have seen the living Person of Christ with His death and resurrection to be their replacement. If we have seen this vision, then we have the proper standing and are in the right sphere to receive what is unveiled in this chapter.
We should not isolate any part of chapter ten from the vision concerning Christ with His death and resurrection to be our replacement. For example, in 10:14 the Lord Jesus says, “Allow the young children to come to Me; do not forbid them, for of such is the kingdom of God.” We should not consider this merely as a word to be read to little children at bedtime. Rather, we need to see this in relation to the heavenly vision concerning Christ with His death and resurrection.
In 10:2-31 three matters are covered: marriage, young children, and riches. These matters are all related to the kingdom of God. In particular, they are related to our entering into the kingdom.
If we would enter into the kingdom of God, we need Christ as our replacement, and we need the application of His death and the enjoyment of His resurrection. According to what is revealed regarding the human heart in chapter seven, we are inwardly unclean, unclean in our heart. Our heart is a composition of unclean things. Because our heart is in such a condition, we need to be replaced by Christ. We need to be terminated through His death, and we need His resurrection to bring in the Lord Himself as our life supply, as our real bread of life.
If we have Christ as our replacement and if we experience His terminating death and supplying resurrection, we shall be able to handle the matters of marriage, age or oldness, and riches. Then we shall be qualified to enter into the kingdom. Otherwise, we shall not be fit for the kingdom; we shall not have an entrance into the kingdom. If we do not have Christ as our replacement, if we do not have His death to terminate us, and if we do not have His resurrection to supply us with Himself as life-giving bread, we shall not have an entrance into the kingdom.
Studying the Bible is not a matter of using our natural mind to read merely the black-and-white letters. If we would see the vision revealed in and conveyed by the holy Word, we need divine light. We also need some amount of experience in the Lord. If we are lacking in the divine light and if we are short of experience, we shall not be able to see much in the Word, if anything at all. We thank the Lord for showing us something marvelous concerning Christ with His death and resurrection to be our replacement. This is a matter that the natural mind cannot comprehend. In order to see this, we need heavenly light and spiritual experience.
I wish to emphasize the fact that we need to read chapter ten of the Gospel of Mark in the light of what is revealed in chapters seven, eight, and nine. Especially we need to read chapter ten according to the vision of Christ with His death and resurrection to be our all-inclusive replacement. In 8:27—9:13 we have the highlight, and chapter ten is presented according to this highlight. If we did not have 8:27— 9:13, we could not have the highlight. Now as we consider chapter ten, we should not regard what is recorded here merely as stories for children. On the contrary, everything in this chapter is related to the vision of Christ and His death and resurrection.
Mark 10:1 says, “And rising up from there, He comes into the district of Judea and beyond the Jordan; and again crowds came together to Him, and again, as He was accustomed, He taught them.” In this verse “there” refers to Capernaum, which is in Galilee. Up to this point the Slave-Savior’s ministry had been in Galilee. But now, according to this verse, He rises up from the city of Capernaum in Galilee and comes into the district of Judea, the district surrounding Jerusalem. This verse also speaks of the Jordan, the place where the Slave-Savior was initiated. Hence, Jordan reminds us of the beginning of the gospel and the initiation of the Slave-Savior. In our study of the Gospel of Mark, we need to find out why the writer mentions Judea and the Jordan.
The Slave-Savior had been ministering in His gospel service for over three years in the despised region of Galilee, far from the holy temple and the holy city, the place where He had to die for the accomplishment of God’s eternal plan. As the Lamb of God (John 1:29), it was necessary for Him to be offered to God at Mount Moriah, where Abraham offered Isaac and enjoyed God’s provision of a ram as a substitute for his son (Gen. 22:2, 9-14) and where the temple was built in Jerusalem (2 Chron. 3:1). It must be there that He would be delivered, according to the counsel determined by the Trinity of the Godhead (Acts 2:23), to the Jewish leaders (Mark 9:31; 10:33), and there be rejected by them as the builders of God’s building (8:31; Acts 4:11). It should also be there that He would be crucified according to the Roman style of capital punishment (John 18:31-32; 19:6, 14-15) to fulfill the type concerning the kind of death He would die (Num. 21:8-9; John 3:14). Moreover, that very year was the year that Messiah (Christ) would be cut off (killed) according to Daniel’s prophecy (Dan. 9:24-26). Furthermore, as the Passover Lamb (1 Cor. 5:7) He had to be killed in the month of the Passover (Exo. 12:1-11). Hence, He had to go to Jerusalem (Mark 10:33; 11:1, 11, 15, 27; John 12:12) before the Passover (John 12:1; Mark 14:1), so that He might die there on the day of the Passover (14:12-17; John 18:28) at both the place and the time foreordained by God.
The gospel service was initiated by the ministry of John the Baptist, the forerunner of the Slave-Savior, in Judea (Mark 1:1-11), the region of honor. But it was continued by the ministry of the Slave-Savior in Galilee, a despised region, for a period of approximately three years (1:14—9:50). Unlike John in his Gospel, Mark does not narrate anything of the Slave-Savior’s ministry in Jerusalem and Judea during this time, until He left Galilee for Jerusalem the last time, to accomplish His redemptive work. Then the gospel service was continued by His ministry on the way to Jerusalem and in Jerusalem and its vicinity (10:1—14:42). It was concluded with His redeeming death, His life-imparting resurrection, His ascension for exaltation, and the continuation of His gospel service by His disciples’ preaching to all the creation (14:43—16:20).
As Christians we know that it was necessary for the Lord Jesus to die for us. In our reading of the Bible, we need to ask at what place and what time the Lord would die. According to the Old Testament, both the place and the time were ordained by God. The Slave-Savior was a slave of God, and as such He had no choice concerning the place and time of His death. Both the place and the time were determined by His Master. Furthermore, it was determined by a counsel of the Trinity of the Godhead that the Slave-Savior would be delivered to the Jewish leaders and be rejected by them (Acts 2:23).
We need to ask ourselves why, after He had been ministering in Galilee for about three years, the Slave-Savior suddenly rose up and went to the south, to the district of Judea and beyond the Jordan. He did this because the time of His death was approaching. He had to die in the year prophesied by Daniel. Furthermore, according to the type of the Passover Lamb, He had to die on the Passover, that is, on the fourteenth day of the first month of the Jewish calendar. Therefore, it is a very significant matter that, according to 10:1, the Lord left Galilee and went to Judea.
Although the scribes were dedicated to the study of the Scriptures, they did not see from chapter nine of Daniel the year that the Messiah would be cut off, put to death. Daniel 9 tells us that from the decree to build up Jerusalem “unto the Messiah the Prince, shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks…and after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off…” (vv. 25-26). The “weeks” here refers to years, with each week being the equivalent of seven years. Therefore, the length of time from “the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem” unto the cutting off of the Messiah would be four hundred eighty-three years. It should have been rather easy for the scribes to calculate the year in which the Messiah would be cut off. However, because they cared for tradition and were occupied by it instead of caring for the pure Word, they did not see this matter.
Just as the scribes were preoccupied by tradition and not by the pure Word, so the majority of today’s Christians are occupied by traditional teachings instead of the pure Word of God. Many are not willing to come back to the Word and study it directly in a pure way. If the ancient scribes had been willing to forget traditional teachings and study the Scriptures in a pure way, they would have known the exact year in which the Messiah would be cut off. Moreover, they would have realized that in that very year they were trying to arrest the Lord Jesus.
Although the scribes did not know when the Messiah would be cut off, the Lord Jesus knew the time when He would be put to death. He knew the year, the month, and the day. He knew that He would be put to death on the Passover, that is, on the fourteenth day of the first month in the Jewish calendar. Knowing this, He went boldly to Judea, not wanting to be delayed. He knew that it was necessary for Him to be in Jerusalem four days before the Passover. That was the period of time when the Passover lamb was examined.
The Lord Jesus certainly knew all the prophecies and types concerning His death. He knew, in particular, that He would be crucified on Mount Moriah, another name for Mount Zion. The Lord knew that He should not be crucified in Galilee. It was necessary for Him to be crucified on Mount Moriah, at the very place where Abraham offered Isaac and received God’s provision. The Lord also knew that He would be put to death by being crucified, by being lifted up on a pole, as typified by the brass serpent in Numbers 21:8-9.
Although the matters related to the death of Christ were clearly prophesied and typified in the Old Testament, nevertheless the scribes, those who claimed to be “doctors” in the law, did not know these things. This should serve as a warning to us. If we fall under the influence of traditional teachings, our eyes also will be veiled from seeing the revelation in the pure Word. Therefore, we need to lay aside the traditional teachings and come back to the pure Word of God. If we do this, we shall receive much light from the Lord.
Mark 10:1 says that when the Lord came into the district of Judea, He taught the people, as He was accustomed. In 10:15 we see that here the Lord taught concerning the kingdom of God: “Truly I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a young child shall by no means enter into it.” This verse indicates strongly that the Lord’s teaching in 10:13-16 concerning young children is directly related to the kingdom of God.
In verse 15 we see two aspects regarding the kingdom: receiving the kingdom and entering into the kingdom. Have you received the kingdom of God? To this question we all can answer, “Amen! I certainly have received the kingdom of God.” Do you also have the assurance that you will enter into the kingdom of God? We may hesitate in answering this question, for although we are endeavoring to enter into the kingdom of God, we do not have the definite assurance that we shall enter into that kingdom.
The teaching concerning riches in 10:17-31 is also related to the kingdom of God. For example, in verse 24 the Lord says, “Children, how difficult it is to enter into the kingdom of God!” Then in verse 25 the Lord goes on to say, “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.” These verses indicate that what we have in 10:17-31 is not merely a story for children; what we have here is a serious word concerning the kingdom of God.
In verse 26 we see the disciples’ response to the Lord’s word about entering into the kingdom of God: “But they were even more astounded and said among themselves, Then who can be saved?” Here we see that although the Lord was teaching about entering into the kingdom of God, the disciples’ minds were occupied with the matter of being saved. In verse 27 the Lord went on to explain, “With men it is impossible, but not with God; for all things are possible with God.”
In verse 28 Peter, speaking frankly, began to say to the Lord, “Behold, we have left all and followed You.” I appreciate Peter’s frankness. He seemed to be saying, “Behold, Lord, we have left everything in order to follow You. We left our family, our fishing boats, and even the Sea of Galilee. Doesn’t this merit something?”
In verses 29 and 30 we have the Lord’s reply: “Truly I tell you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for My sake and for the gospel’s sake but that he shall receive a hundred times as much now in this time, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and fields, with persecutions, and in the coming age, eternal life.” Here eternal life is not mentioned with respect to our salvation. In this verse eternal life is a reward as our enjoyment in the coming age. In the coming kingdom the overcoming believers will enjoy eternal life. To enter into this enjoyment in the coming age is to enter into the coming kingdom and participate in its enjoyment of eternal life.
Now we can see that what is contained in chapter ten is related to the kingdom. The Lord’s word here is related to receiving the kingdom of God and, in particular, to entering into the kingdom in the coming age.
In 10:2-31 we see three matters that may frustrate us from entering into the coming kingdom: marriage, oldness, and riches. The disciples had been brought into the way that leads into the kingdom. Now in chapter ten it was necessary for them to be taught concerning three things that could frustrate them from entering into the kingdom of God.
If we would enter into the coming kingdom, we need to learn to handle rightly the three matters of marriage, age, or oldness, and money. We need to take care of marriage according to God’s ordination, we need to keep from becoming old spiritually, and we need to handle our money in a proper way. May we be impressed with the fact that the Lord’s teaching concerning these matters in chapter ten is related to entering into the kingdom of God.
