Helpfinder Sampler - Flipbook - Page 26
MAR K 1 0
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37 “Anyone
who welcomes a little child like this
on my behalf* welcomes me, and anyone who
welcomes me welcomes not only me but also my
Father who sent me.”
— promises —
from God
“Anything is possible if
a person believes.”
M A R K 9:2 3
Using the Name of Jesus
38 John said to Jesus, “Teacher, we saw someone using your name to cast out demons, but
we told him to stop because he wasn’t in our
group.”
39 “Don’t stop him!” Jesus said. “No one who
performs a miracle in my name will soon be
able to speak evil of me. 40 Anyone who is not
against us is for us. 41 If anyone gives you even
a cup of water because you belong to the Messiah, I tell you the truth, that person will surely
be rewarded.
42 “But if you cause one of these little ones
who trusts in me to fall into sin, it would be
better for you to be thrown into the sea with a
large millstone hung around your neck. 43 If your
hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It’s better to
enter eternal life with only one hand than to go
into the unquenchable fires of hell* with two
hands.* 45 If your foot causes you to sin, cut it
off. It’s better to enter eternal life with only one
foot than to be thrown into hell with two feet.*
47 And if your eye causes you to sin, gouge it out.
It’s better to enter the Kingdom of God with only
one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown
into hell, 48 ‘where the maggots never die and
the fire never goes out.’*
49 “For everyone will be tested with fire.*
50 Salt is good for seasoning. But if it loses its flavor, how do you make it salty again? You must
have the qualities of salt among yourselves and
live in peace with each other.”
Discussion about Divorce and Marriage
Then Jesus left Capernaum and went
down to the region of Judea and into
the area east of the Jordan River. Once again
crowds gathered around him, and as usual he
was teaching them.
2 Some Pharisees came and tried to trap him
with this question: “Should a man be allowed
to divorce his wife?”
3 Jesus answered them with a question:
“What did Moses say in the law about divorce?”
4 “Well, he permitted it,” they replied. “He
said a man can give his wife a written notice of
divorce and send her away.”*
10
5 But Jesus responded, “He wrote this commandment only as a concession to your hard
hearts. 6 But ‘God made them male and female’*
from the beginning of creation. 7 ‘This explains
why a man leaves his father and mother and
is joined to his wife,* 8 and the two are united
into one.’* Since they are no longer two but
one, 9 let no one split apart what God has joined
together.”
10 Later, when he was alone with his disciples in the house, they brought up the subject again. 11 He told them, “Whoever divorces
his wife and marries someone else commits
adultery against her. 12 And if a woman divorces
her husband and marries someone else, she
commits adultery.”
Jesus Blesses the Children
13 One day some parents brought their children
to Jesus so he could touch and bless them. But
the disciples scolded the parents for bothering him.
14 When Jesus saw what was happening, he
was angry with his disciples. He said to them,
“Let the children come to me. Don’t stop them!
For the Kingdom of God belongs to those who
are like these children. 15 I tell you the truth,
anyone who doesn’t receive the Kingdom of God
like a child will never enter it.” 16 Then he took
the children in his arms and placed his hands
on their heads and blessed them.
The Rich Man
17 As Jesus was starting out on his way to Jerusalem, a man came running up to him, knelt
down, and asked, “Good Teacher, what must I
do to inherit eternal life?”
18 “Why do you call me good?” Jesus asked.
“Only God is truly good. 19 But to answer your
question, you know the commandments: ‘You
must not murder. You must not commit adultery. You must not steal. You must not testify
falsely. You must not cheat anyone. Honor your
father and mother.’*”
20 “Teacher,” the man replied, “I’ve obeyed all
these commandments since I was young.”
21 Looking at the man, Jesus felt genuine love
for him. “There is still one thing you haven’t
done,” he told him. “Go and sell all your possessions and give the money to the poor, and
you will have treasure in heaven. Then come,
follow me.”
22 At this the man’s face fell, and he went
away sad, for he had many possessions.
23 Jesus looked around and said to his dis9:37 Greek in my name. 9:43a Greek Gehenna; also in 9:45, 47.
9:43b Some manuscripts add verse 44, ‘where the maggots
never die and the fire never goes out.’ See 9:48. 9:45 Some
manuscripts add verse 46, ‘where the maggots never die and
the fire never goes out.’ See 9:48. 9:48 Isa 66:24. 9:49 Greek
salted with fire; other manuscripts add and every sacrifice will
be salted with salt. 10:4 See Deut 24:1. 10:6 Gen 1:27; 5:2.
10:7 Some manuscripts do not include and is joined to his wife.
10:7-8 Gen 2:24. 10:19 Exod 20:12-16; Deut 5:16-20.
MARK 10
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ciples, “How hard it is for the rich to enter
the Kingdom of God!” 24 This amazed them.
But Jesus said again, “Dear children, it is very
hard* to enter the Kingdom of God. 25 In fact, 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!”
26 The disciples were astounded. “Then who
in the world can be saved?” they asked.
27 Jesus looked at them intently and said,
“Humanly speaking, it is impossible. But not
with God. Everything is possible with God.”
28 Then Peter began to speak up. “We’ve given
up everything to follow you,” he said.
29 “Yes,” Jesus replied, “and I assure you that
everyone who has given up house or brothers
or sisters or mother or father or children or
property, for my sake and for the Good News,
30 will receive now in return a hundred times
as many houses, brothers, sisters, mothers,
children, and property—along with persecution. And in the world to come that person
will have eternal life. 31 But many who are the
greatest now will be least important then, and
those who seem least important now will be
the greatest then.*”
Jesus Again Predicts His Death
32 They were now on the way up to Jerusalem,
and Jesus was walking ahead of them. The
disciples were filled with awe, and the people
following behind were overwhelmed with fear.
Taking the twelve disciples aside, Jesus once
more began to describe everything that was
about to happen to him. 33 “Listen,” he said,
“we’re going up to Jerusalem, where the Son of
Man* will be betrayed to the leading priests and
the teachers of religious law. They will sentence
him to die and hand him over to the Romans.*
34 They will mock him, spit on him, flog him with
a whip, and kill him, but after three days he will
rise again.”
Jesus Teaches about Serving Others
35 Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee,
came over and spoke to him. “Teacher,” they
said, “we want you to do us a favor.”
36 “What is your request?” he asked.
37 They replied, “When you sit on your glorious throne, we want to sit in places of honor
next to you, one on your right and the other on
your left.”
38 But Jesus said to them, “You don’t know
what you are asking! Are you able to drink from
the bitter cup of suffering I am about to drink?
Are you able to be baptized with the baptism of
suffering I must be baptized with?”
39 “Oh yes,” they replied, “we are able!”
10:24 Some manuscripts read very hard for those who trust in
riches. 10:31 Greek But many who are first will be last; and
the last, first. 10:33a “Son of Man” is a title Jesus used for
himself. 10:33b Greek the Gentiles.
Then Jesus told them, “You will indeed
drink from my bitter cup and be baptized with
my baptism of suffering. 40 But I have no right
to say who will sit on my right or my left. God
has prepared those places for the ones he has
chosen.”
41 When the ten other disciples heard what
James and John had asked, they were indignant. 42 So Jesus called them together and said,
“You know that the rulers in this world lord
it over their people, and officials flaunt their
authority over those under them. 43 But among
you it will be different. Whoever wants to be a
leader among you must be your servant, 44 and
• Worship
M ARK 10: 17-27
In this remarkable confrontation with
the ancient equivalent of an upwardly
mobile young urban professional, Jesus
is not demanding that all of his followers
take a vow of poverty. Rather, Jesus
challenges this particular young man to
move beyond defining his own spiritual
life as adherence to the law. By calling
him to sell his possessions and give the
proceeds to the poor, Jesus is forcing
him to face the truth about what he
worships. Jesus accurately discerned
that the young man’s possessions had
come to own him. God will challenge us
regarding anything we value more than
our relationship with him.
• Selfishness
M ARK 10: 35-45
In this remarkable interchange we learn
that even following Jesus can be twisted
out of shape by selfish ambition. James
and John seem to have been consumed
with the desire to be Jesus’ greatest disciples. Perhaps this ambition began as a
sincere longing to please their Lord, but
it became a selfish and petty competition as power and authority over others
became their goal. Notice that their
selfish ambition led them to invert their
relationship to Jesus; they began making
demands on him rather than asking him
what he would have them do. Jesus’
response is devastatingly simple. Our
ambition should not be to attain position
or power but to serve one another. Only
then will we truly find greatness in God’s
Kingdom.
