Lesson 12 Discipleship in Everyday Matters ~Mark 10
Chapter 10 is filled with conflicting statements
called paradox- a statement that is seemingly contradictory or opposed to common sense and yet is
perhaps true. Its purpose is to arrest attention and provoke fresh thought.
Poem credited to an Unknown
Confederate Soldier
I asked God for strength, that I
might achieve.
I was made weak, that I might learn humbly to obey . . .
I asked for health, that I might do greater things.
I was given infirmity, that I might do better things ...
I asked for riches, that I might be happy.
I was given poverty, that I might be wise ...
I asked for power, that I might have the praise of men.
I was given weakness, that I might feel the need of God …
I was made weak, that I might learn humbly to obey . . .
I asked for health, that I might do greater things.
I was given infirmity, that I might do better things ...
I asked for riches, that I might be happy.
I was given poverty, that I might be wise ...
I asked for power, that I might have the praise of men.
I was given weakness, that I might feel the need of God …
I
asked for all things, that I might enjoy life.
I was given life, that I might enjoy all things ...
I got nothing I asked for--but everything I had hoped for.
Almost despite myself, my unspoken prayers were answered.
I was given life, that I might enjoy all things ...
I got nothing I asked for--but everything I had hoped for.
Almost despite myself, my unspoken prayers were answered.
I,
among all men, am most richly blessed!
Lesson
12 Discipleship in Everyday Matters
Lessons from Paradox
Lessons from Paradox
1.
Two
Shall Be As One (10:1-12)
2.
Adults
must become as Children (10:13-16)
3.
The
Impossible Is Possible (10:17-30)
4.
First
Shall be Last (10:31-45)
5.
The
Blind can See (10:46-52)
1.
Two Shall Be As One
On the way to Jerusalem Jesus attracts crowds
once again. This area of Judea is ruled by Herod Antipas (beheaded John the
Baptist for preaching against his adulterous marriage). Pharisees pick a
question about divorce to trap Jesus. “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his
wife?”
Jesus turned the question back to the Pharisees
focusing on the WORD of God.
Verse 4-They said, “Moses allowed a man to write a certificate of divorce and to send her away.” 5 And Jesus said to them, “Because of your hardness of heart he wrote you this commandment.
Verse 4-They said, “Moses allowed a man to write a certificate of divorce and to send her away.” 5 And Jesus said to them, “Because of your hardness of heart he wrote you this commandment.
God allowed the Bill of Divorcement to restrain divorce and protect the wife, who had legal rights, from being cast aside and treated as a harlot. Adultery was not a ground for divorce because the punishment to both caught in adultery was death by stoning.
Genesis 1: 27 So God created man in his own image, … male and female he created them. 28 And God blessed them. And God said to them,
“Be fruitful and multiply” can only be true of a man and a woman.
2:24 Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast
to his wife, and they shall become one.
Warren Wiersbe in Be Diligent states the “Most
intimate relationship in the human race, for the two to become one flesh.”
Matthew Henry- “God himself
joined man and wife together. The bond which God has tied is not to be lightly
untied.”
Illustration:
A braid appears to contain only two strands of cord. But as you know it is
impossible to create a braid with only two strands. If the two could be put
together at all, they would quickly unravel. Herein lies the mystery: What looks like two strands require a
third. The third strand, though not immediately evident, keeps the strands
tightly woven. In a Christian marriage, God's
presence, like the third strand in a braid, holds husband and wife together. Cathern
Paxton
Women Matter to Jesus. DISCIPLESHIP MATTERS
EVERYDAY,
2.
Adults must become as Children
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.
Jesus was much displeased with his
disciples for their mistreatment those binging children. Just like in the
children song, “Jesus Loves the Little Children.” It was a pleasure to Him to
receive and bless little children. Plus, the disciples had already forgotten the lesson taught in Mark 9:37“Whoever
receives one such child in my name receives me,”
Mark 10:15 Truly,
I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.” 16 And she took them in his arms and blessed them, laying his hands on them.
He cares about children and uses them to illustrate
good qualities of faith, innocence, honesty, and trust. Childishness is not what Jesus is referring to.
Jesus asks us to be childlike; open,
trusting, and responsive. Jesus wanted the disciples to embrace powerlessness rather than seeking
power.
Remember
~Jesus entered the world not as a mighty warrior but as an innocent babe.
Forest
E. Witcraft (1894 – 1967), a scholar, teacher, and Boy Scout administrator. His
quote was first published in the October
1950 issue of Scouting magazine.
“One hundred years from now, It will
not matter,
What kind of car I drove, What kind of house I lived in,
How much I had in my bank account, Nor what my clothes looked like.
One hundred years from now, It will not matter
What kind of school I attended, What kind of typewriter I used,
How large or small my church,
But the world may be a little better because...
I was important in the life of a child.”
What kind of car I drove, What kind of house I lived in,
How much I had in my bank account, Nor what my clothes looked like.
One hundred years from now, It will not matter
What kind of school I attended, What kind of typewriter I used,
How large or small my church,
But the world may be a little better because...
I was important in the life of a child.”
DISCIPLESHIP
MATTERS EVERYDAY, Children Matter to Jesus
3.
The
Impossible is Possible
(10:17-31)
The rich young ruler came running to Jesus and knelt
before Him. Running was not dignified for someone of his position. Kneeling
before Jesus also showed humility. When he called Jesus “Good Teacher,” he was
signifying that he knew Jesus was
God. “For no one is good but God alone.”
The young ruler was diligently seeking to earn eternal life. As Jesus listed the
laws of Moses, the young ruler was earnest in his desire to be obedient to the
laws. “Teacher, all these I have kept
from my youth.” Jesus beheld him and loved him. (After all was trying so
hard! just like Ann.)
21Jesus
said to him, “You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have and give to the
poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.”
Jesus offered
the young man the gift of eternal life.v.22
Disheartened by the saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great
possessions.
It is difficult to receive a gift when your fist is clenched around money and the
things money can buy.
He claims to have kept the law since his youth, but
he forgot the first commandment. “Thou
shalt have no other gods before me.” Money was his god.
But no one can keep all the laws. God knew that from
Creation and had a plan to provide the perfect sacrifice once and for all men. Jesus!
The man did not see sin in himself. We cannot be forgiven until be admit we
have sinned.
25 “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.”“Then
who can be saved?” 27 Jesus looked at them and said, “With man it is impossible, but
not with God. For all things are possible with God.”
Illustrate-Imagine a door into wall around Jerusalem through
which a camel cannot enter unless he
were unloaded, and made to kneel. A
rich man cannot enter heaven unless he is willing to part with the burden of his worldly wealth and stoop to
be an humble servant.
DISCIPLESHIP
truly does MATTER when we are hindered by trappings of this world.
4.
First shall be Last 10:31-45
This
is third time Jesus tries to prepare his disciple for the cup of sorrow He must
endure. But this is the first time the disciples were told it will happen in Jerusalem, the Holy City and Jesus will
be handed over to Gentiles for his death.
Greg Laurie of Harvest Church : “When Jesus
spoke of His own impending death, about how he would be betrayed and then
handed over to the Gentiles to be mocked, spit upon, scourged, and ultimately
killed, (Don’t you know the despondency you would feel.)
James
and John blurted out, “Teacher, we want You to do for us whatever we ask. . . .
Grant us that we may sit, one on Your right hand and the other on Your left, in
Your glory” (Mark 10:35, 37 NKJV).
Seriously, was that a good time to
bring this up? It
would be like saying, “Really? Could I
have your car?” to someone who just found out they had one week to live.
These guys just said what they thought.(Just like Ann) And they were just like
us: hopelessly human and remarkably
unremarkable.”
Matthews’s
account of this event may soften our opinion of the Sons of Thunder. After the
discussion of the rich young ruler, Matthew 19:27 Peter replied, “See, we have left everything and followed you. What then will we
have?”
Matthew 19:28 Jesus said to them, “Truly, I say to you, in the new world, when
the Son of Man will sit on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will
also sit on twelve thrones, judging
the twelve tribes of Israel.
Matthew 20:20 also tells it is the mother of James and John
was doing the asking.
Jesus replies But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, 27 and whoever would be first among you must be your slave, FOR 28 even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
Jesus replies But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, 27 and whoever would be first among you must be your slave, FOR 28 even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
I recently discovered we have a big race fan in our class. It
seemed appropriate to use a racing illustration for this point.
At
the Daytona 500 in 1979, as 100,000 fans watched, Richard Petty ended his 45 race losing streak and won stockcar racing's largest
purse--$73,500.
Petty's
win was a complete surprise. Going into the last lap, he was running 30 seconds
behind the two leaders, Cale Yarborough and Donnie Allison. Struggling to gain
first place, Cale tried to pass Allison on the inside. But Donnie blocked him
and ran Cale into the dirt. Without slowing down, Yarborough came back
onto the track and collided with Allison. Both cars fused together and
plowed into the third turn wall. The cars slid down the banking and came
to rest in the infield.
Petty, who had offseason surgery to remove 40 percent of his
stomach, was racing against the advice of his doctor. For Petty, it was a miraculous
victory “I
didn’t know what happened that last lap. I saw the yellow light
flash. I radioed my pit crew and asked them where the wreck was.
All they said was ‘Go, go, go’. I couldn’t believe it when I saw both
them cars sittin’ in the grass.”
This 1979 event was the first time that the Daytona
500 was broadcast live on television. The incident helped spark an interest in
NASCAR that no amount of advertising
could ever match.
DISCIPLESHIP
MATTERS everyday on the racetrack and in our lives.
5.
The
Blind can See
It was the season for Passover and
many Jews were traveling toward Jerusalem. Bartimaeus, a blind beggar, was
sitting by the roadside hoping to receive charity from those passing by. When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth,
he began to cry out and say, “Jesus, Son
of David, have mercy on me!” He knew of the miracles of Jesus. Blind Bartimaeus
saw what others could not. This was the Messiah from the linage of David. He would not be quiet. Jesus stopped
and called him.50 And
throwing off his cloak which might hinder his coming. He sprang up and came to Jesus. The cloak has been spreading out for
almsgiving on the street.Blindness did not prevent Bartimaeus from recognizing
Jesus as Rabboni, my great master, the most honorable of all titles. (Only Mary
at the tomb used term.)
“Go your way; your faith has made you well.”
And immediately he recovered his
sight and followed him on the way. Warren
Weirsbe says this is the last healing
miracle recorded in Mark. We see Jesus Christ, God's suffering servant, on
His way to the cross, and yet He stops to serve a blind beggar. What love, what
mercy, what Grace!
Are we bold enough to speak out for Jesus? Do we
throw off all that encumbers us and leap to follow Jesus, Son of David? Do you
trust Jesus to show you the way.
Then the eyes of the blind shall be
opened,
and the ears of the deaf unstopped;
then shall the lame man leap like a deer,
and the tongue of the mute sing for joy. Isaiah 35:5,6.
and the ears of the deaf unstopped;
then shall the lame man leap like a deer,
and the tongue of the mute sing for joy. Isaiah 35:5,6.
In everyday matters it means dying to self, putting
needs of other before our own, and living by faith in Jesus! Trusting He knows
was is best.
Will you choose to put others first in
everyday matters?