Today’s Superverse is Mark 10:15 – Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.”
Mark Chapter 10 is filled with teachings. These range from marriage and divorce, blessing children, Jesus addressing a wealthy young man directly and healing a blind beggar – all happening during Jesus and His disciples’ travel from Galilee to Jerusalem.
The first lesson demonstrates the significance of appreciating little ones. People were bringing small children to Jesus so He could bless and touch them, which wasn’t common practice at that time; thus the disciples attempted to push them away; Jesus became upset with this because their actions were acting for personal gain rather than His. He told them until they accepted God’s kingdom with childlike faith they wouldn’t ever enter it.
This teaching served as a caution against pride in his disciples. They may have considered themselves highly esteemed among their peers, but ultimately God was their ultimate measure. Jesus warned that many who appeared first on earth might turn out to be last on His list of values.
Jesus addressed divorce and remarriage as part of His teachings in this lesson. According to Pharisaic teachings at that time, men could divorce their wives if they found them unsuitable but were forbidden from divorce because of love – this teaching posed a challenge to sexual morality while seeking to create strong family bonds.
Jesus took this issue on head on, quoting Moses’ law and explaining that those who divorce their wives commit adultery before adding that God does not permit remarriage for men or women who had previously divorced – an evident challenge to Pharisees who did not acknowledge that Jesus could teach both Old Testament Scripture as well as how its application applied in the new covenant.
After Jesus had discussed divorce and remarriage, many brought their children to Him so that He could touch and bless them. This wasn’t common practice during His day and His disciples rebuked these efforts as distractions to Jesus; this provided Jesus an opportunity to address cultural expectations around children while emphasizing how important adult behavior should be observed by children as well.
Jesus heals a blind beggar named Bartimaeus as a powerful example to his disciples about service to others. Bartimaeus tosses off his cloak in expectation, only for Jesus to tell the disciples to call for him – an important message about serving others with love as Christ did; his disciples tried to prevent this but Jesus told them to call on Bartimaeus so he can help. Jesus made this example clear that all Christians must treat each other this way as part of following his commandments; His death on our behalf can restore this principle despite our deviations from this principle.
