Introductory remarks:
Jesus leaves Capernaum and travels to Judea. Here in this chapter He will come into contact again with the Pharisees. "A Great deal has intervened between the events at the close of Mark 9 and those in the beginning of Mark 10. For these events see Matt. 18, John 7-10, Luke 9:57-18:14 (one third of Luke's Gospel comes in here). It was over six months to the end at the close of Mark 9. It is just a few weeks now in Mark 10" (Robertson). This chapter may be outlined as follows: the teaching about divorce vv. 1-16; the rich man vv. 17-31; a third time Jesus foretells His death and resurrection vv. 32-34; the request of James and John vv. 35-45; the healing of blind Bartimaeus vv. 46-52.
Teaching about Divorce
(Matt. 19:1-12)
Verse 1, "And he arose from thence, and cometh into the coasts of Judea by the farther side of Jordan: and the people resort unto him again; and, as he was wont, he taught them again."
LGT "And He arose up from there and comes into the borders of Judea [and] the other side of the Jordan, and crowds come together again to Him, and as He had been accustomed, He taught them again."
"Jesus has begun His last journey to Jerusalem going north through Samaria, Galilee, across the Jordan into Perea, and back into Judea near Jericho to go up with the Passover pilgrims from Galilee, Caravans and caravans journeying to Jerusalem. Many of them are followers of Jesus from Galilee or at least kindly disposed towards Him. They go together with Jesus. Jesus was teaching this moving caravan" (Robertson).
Verse 2, "And the Pharisees came to him, and asked him, Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife? Tempting him."
LGT "And the Pharisees coming to [Him], asked Him if it is lawful for a husband to put away a wife, testing Him."
The Greek word for 'tempt' is peirazontes a present active participle meaning either to tempt or test; I have chosen to use the word 'test' in my translation, agreeing with Gould, because the context will bear this meaning out in our study. The Pharisees, I believe, were laying a trap for our Lord. McGee writes on this verse:
"We need to understand that they [Pharisees] do not ask this question because they want an answer. They are asking Him the question in order to trap Him. They had their own viewpoint concerning marriage and divorce; so they pose this trick question: Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife? It's a clever question and was really a live issue at this time because Herod had put away his wife and married his brother Philip's wife. John the Baptist had been beheaded because he had spoken out against it. So if Jesus answered no to their question, it would not only make Him contradict Moses, but it would bring Him into conflict with Herod. The death of Jesus was not to be determined on this issue. That's very important to see. On the other hand, if He said yes to their question, they could accuse Him of being lax in His teaching. So now notice His method. It always was His method and it was a good one. He countered with a question."
There were two schools of Rabbinical teaching on this subject of divorce; the one school of Shammai adhered to the letter of the Law, that is, forbidding divorce except for unfaithfulness; the other school was that of Hillel, which was so very liberal that they allowed divorce for almost any reason; if a wife didn't suit him physically; if she was a bad cook; if he saw another woman who aroused him; even when he traveled he could advertise for a wife while he was visiting a strange town. The Pharisees were familiar with both of these schools, and they were trying to trap Christ.
Verse 3, "And he answered and said unto them, What did Moses command?
LGT "But He answering, said to them, What did Moses command you?"
Jesus turns the tables on these religious hypocrites by asking the question of what the Law says that was given them by Moses.
Verse 4, "And they said, Moses suffered to write a bill of divorcement, and to put her away."
LGT "And they said, Moses allowed a bill of divorcement to write, and put away."
The Pharisees obviously accepted the liberal view of the school of Hillel, while Christ supported the conservative view of the school of Shammai. "Now our Lord goes back to that which is fundamental, and this is important to see. He turns it from a discussion of divorce to a discussion of marriage. And today that is the area into which we should move. I have so many questions from people asking about the grounds for divorce. When they are ready to get married, they never talk to the preacher. They are not interested in finding out whether he would approve or not; their only question is whether he will marry them. That is all they are concerned about.
The important thing to see here is that our Lord is going to discuss marriage with them. Notice how He handles it. He gives the reason God permitted divorce. It was because of sin that God permitted divorce under the Mosaic Law" (McGee).
Verse 5, "And Jesus answered and said unto them, For the hardness of your heart he wrote you this precept."
LGT "And Jesus answering said to them, Because of your hardheartedness he wrote for you this commandment."
Christ tells the disciples that it was only because of sin in their hearts that God made provision for divorce. The entire Law was given for this reason; the Jews asked for the Law, saying, that whatever God commanded them they would do. Well, the fact of the matter is, they didn't, nor could they keep the Law; the law then, according to Paul in his letter to the Galatians (chapter three) was given as a schoolmaster (a tutor) to lead them to Christ; no man, save Christ alone, could keep the Law, therefore, we must all put our faith and trust in Christ alone to keep the law for us, and impute on us His righteousness.
Verse 6, "But from the beginning of the creation God made them male and female".
LGT "But from the beginning of creation male and female, He made them."
Here we have Christ setting out the exact fundamentals for marriage; God intended marriage to be between one man and one woman (Gen 1:27; 2:24); God created Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve; it is only because of our faithless society that we have the corruption today of women living with women, and men with men (read Romans chapter one).
Verse 7, "For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and cleave to his wife;"
LGT "On account of this a man shall leave his father and mother [and shall be joined to his wife];"
This is the only reason I find in the Word of God where Christ sets out a reason for a man or woman to leave the nest, that is, to get married.
Verse 8, "And they twain shall be one flesh; so then they are no more twain, but one flesh."
LGT "And the two shall be one flesh: so that no longer are they two, but one flesh."
This sure puts a damper on those who get married and then want their space or they want to be independent. God never intended married people to be separate at all; this thing called marriage is a very binding thing, as it should be; of course between two unbelievers the divine institution of marriage is only designed to perpetuate the human race; but for the believer it is a union forever; that is why it is so dangerous for a believer to marry an unbeliever. It has been a divine institution from the beginning of time.
Verse 9, "What therefore God hath joined together, let no man put asunder."
LGT "What therefore God united together, let not man separate."
In these verses Christ has taken us back to the beginning before sin entered and ruined creation; God intended man to marry and not divorce, as He never intended man to become a murderer. He made a provision for man to divorce, but it was not His original intention, any more than He intended man to reject Him; that is not to say that man cannot be forgiven for either sin; a fact of the matter is, there is no sin that man cannot be forgiven. McGee comments that the problem with marriage today is that two people are joined together who should never be joined together, but this is not God's original intention.
Verse 10, "And in the house his disciples asked again of the same matter."
LGT "And in the house, again the disciples asked Him concerning this thing."
The disciples asked Christ again about marriage and divorce; we must keep in mind that the disciples were brained washed by the Elders and the Priests concerning the Law. We should not be too judgmental on them because of their background; this did cause them to be rather hard cases to teach.
Verses 11, 12, "And he saith unto them, Whosoever shall put away his wife, and marry another, committeth adultery against her. And if a woman shall put away her husband, and be married to another, she committeth adultery."
LGT "And He says to them, Whoever shall put away his wife and marry another commits adultery against her; and if she shall put away the husband and marry another, she commits adultery."
Here Mark does not add the clause we find in Matthews' Gospel, except for unfaithfulness but it is understood.
Barnes notes:
"It would seem, from this, that a woman, among the Jews, had the power of separating from her husband, yet this right is not given her by the law of Moses. There is not, however, any positive evidence that females often claimed or exercised this right. Cases had occurred, indeed, in which it had been done. The wife of Herod had rejected her former husband and married Herod. And though instances of this kind might have been attempted to be defended by the example of Pagans, yet our Savior was desirous of showing them that it did not free them from the charge of adultery. The apostles were going forth to teach Pagan nations, and it was proper for Christ to teach them how to act in such cases, and to show them that they were cases of real adultery."
Little Children Blessed
(Matt. 19:13-15; Luke 18:15-17)
Verse 13, "And they brought young children to him, that he should touch them: and his disciples rebuked those that brought them."
LGT "And they were bringing to Him little children, in order that He might touch them: but the disciples were rebuking them."
The parents of these little children were bringing their children to Jesus, after His teaching on marriage and the family, for Him to bless their children, not for salvation. "The touch of Jesus had brought blessings to many. Parents brought their children to Him in order that He might touch them. It may be the children were sick or deformed - we do not know. But the faith of the parents in the person of Christ was evidenced in that they brought their children so He might touch them. To place one's child in the arms of another shows complete trust and acceptance of that one. The disciples viewed all this as an unwarranted interruption and sought to turn the parents away" (Pentecost).
Verse 14, "But when Jesus saw it, he was much displeased, and said unto them, Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for such is the kingdom of God."
LGT "But having seen [it], Jesus was pained and said to them, Suffer the little children to come to Me, and do not hinder them; for of such is the Kingdom of God."
"But when Jesus saw it, he was much displeased,"
Jesus was pained in His Spirit to see His own disciples react in such a selfish callous manner. Some commentators read this phrase as though Jesus became angry, however, I believe anger too strong an emotion for this case; I believe He became pained that the disciples couldn't feel for these parents.
"And said unto them, Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not:"
Jesus reprimanded His disciples for doing that which they were not commanded to do; He had just welcomed these little ones, and now His disciples were hindering them from coming to Jesus as if they were insignificant, and a bother to Christ. Christ told them not to 'suffer', that is, to hinder them to come.
"For of such is the kingdom of God."
Christ had made it plain before that unless a person comes as a little child, he could in no way enter His Kingdom. A child comes to Christ in full dependence, and that is exactly the way a person must come to Christ, with no reservations.
Verse 15, "Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the Kingdom of God as a little child, he shall not enter therein."
LGT "Verily I say to you, Whoever shall not receive the Kingdom of God as a little child, shall in no way enter into it."
It was a trusting faith that brought these little ones to Christ, and that is exactly how everyone must come; if Christ refused these little ones, how would anyone have the assurance that He would accept them by faith.
Verse 16, "And he took them up in his arms, put his hands upon them, and blessed them."
LGT "And having taken them in [His] arms, He blessed them, having laid [His] hands upon them."
"Jesus tenderly took the children in His arms, put His hands on them, and blessed them. The fact that the children were small enough to be taken into His arms indicates that they were too small to exercise faith in His person. Therefore the faith referred to must have been that of the parents. Thus Jesus gave the disciples an illustration of the necessity of faith for entrance into the kingdom and the validity of faith as a basis for such an entrance" (Pentecost).
The Rich Man
(Matt. 19:16-30; Luke 18:18-30)
Verse 17, "And when he was gone forth into the way, there came one running, and kneeled to him, and asked him, Good Master, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?"
LGT "And as He went forth into [the] way, one running up, and kneeling down to Him, asking Him, Good Teacher, what shall I do that I may inherit life eternal?"
As I begin an exposition on this verse, the one thing that jumps out at me is what this rich young man was asking Jesus; What must I do to inherit eternal life? We all know that eternal life is free; we all know that it is a gift from God; we all know that we receive it simply by trusting in Christ; so it really is obvious to us that this young man is asking Jesus how he may earn eternal life. The young man addresses Christ as 'good teacher', which shows that he had respect for Christ as intrinsically good, but we will see that he was not ready to accept Christ as the Son of God.
Verse 18, "And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? There is none good but one, that is, God."
LGT "But Jesus said to him, Why do you call Me good? No one [is] good, except one, God."
Jesus questions him about his motives drawing out what is in the man's heart. If the young man is calling Jesus good, then he would be admitting that Christ is God, for Christ says there is only one that is good, that is, God. Jesus gave the young man an opportunity to confess that Christ was the Son of God as Jesus had been claiming.
Verse 19, "Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Defraud not, Honor thy father and mother."
LGT "You know the commandments: You should not commit murder, You should not commit adultery, You should not steal, You should not bear false witness, You should not defraud, Honor your father and mother."
A man must be righteous to enter the Kingdom of God; he either must enter on his own righteousness or on the righteousness imputed on him by faith in Christ, that is, to enter on Christ's righteousness; Christ directed him to the second table of the Law that governs man's responsibility to man; this man, as all men, must be 100% righteous to enter, and this is impossible without Christ, and that is why Christ declared, Unless a man is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God (John 3:3).
Verse 20, "And he answered and said unto him, Master, all these have I observed from my youth."
LGT "And he answering said, Teacher, these all [of them] have I kept from my youth."
The young man brashly made the claim that he kept all of the commandments, which we all know is impossible.
Verse 21, "Then Jesus beholding him loved him, and said unto him, One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow me."
LGT "And Jesus looking upon him loved him, and said to him, One thing to you is lacking: go, as much as you have sell and give to the poor, and you shall have treasure in heaven, and come follow Me."
"Then Jesus beholding him loved him,"
This phrase is proof positive God so loved the world.
"And said unto him, One thing thou lackest:"
Christ could have sighted many cases where this young man offended the Law, showing his unrighteousness; but Christ chose rather to allow the man the opportunity to prove his own unrighteousness. Christ tells the young man that what he lacks is a relationship to God; this man trusted in his riches, rather than God.
"Go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor,"
By this one solitary act, the man could have proved he honored the Law, that is, he loved his neighbor as himself.
"And thou shalt have treasure in heaven:"
Christ extends to this young man the principle of laying up treasures in heaven, over against hoarding treasures on earth.
"And come, take up the cross, and follow me."
This last phrase is not in the better manuscripts.
Verse 22, "And he was sad at that saying, and went away grieved: for he had great possessions."
LGT "But his countenance fell at the word, he went away grieved: for he had many possessions."
A gloomy cloud fell over the man at Jesus' words, for he had much wealth. Here we have a picture of a man who would rather serve temporal wealth than to surrender to Christ, and accept Him as personal Savior.
Verse 23, "And Jesus looked round about, and saith unto his disciples, How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the Kingdom of God!"
LGT "And looking around, Jesus says to His disciples, How with difficulty shall those with riches enter the Kingdom of God."
After Jesus sees the sad countenance on the face of the young man, He looks around and speaks to His disciples; notice he does not say that rich people can't enter God's Kingdom, only, with great difficulty, because He knows how much men cling to riches for all their support.
Verse 24, "And the disciples were astonished at his words. But Jesus answereth again, and saith unto them, Children, how hard is it for them that trust in riches to enter into the kingdom of God!"
LGT "But His disciples were amazed at His words. But Jesus again answering says to them, Children, how difficult it is to enter into the Kingdom of God:"
Jesus teaches His disciples that it is not the riches but the trust in riches that prevent men from seeing the truth. The phrase for them that trust in riches is missing in the better manuscripts; it was an evident admission to explain Christ's meaning.
Verse 25, "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."
LGT "It is easier [for] a camel through the eye of the needle to pass, than [for] a rich man to enter the Kingdom of God."
Jesus is making a comparison of how hard it is for a rich man to humble himself and to trust Christ; it is impossible. In other words, it is impossible to enter any other way than to believe Christ.
Pentecost writes:
"Christ's use of the word for a surgeon's suturing needle indicated that His references to a camel and a needle were to be taken literally. The popular explanation that the eye of a needle referred to a small gate within the large city gate has no historical basis (Robertson calls this theory jejune - sophomoric). Christ was not teaching that it is difficult for one who trusts in riches to enter the kingdom. He was showing that it was utterly impossible for one who trusts in riches to enter the kingdom. Such a teaching seemed inconceivable to the disciples who had been brought up on the philosophy that riches were a sure sign of divine pleasure and an evidence of God's blessing. If the rich whom God loved and blessed and with whom He was pleased could not enter the kingdom, what chance was there for the multitudes?"
Verse 26, "And they were astonished out of measure, saying among themselves, Who then can be saved?"
LGT "And they were astonished exceedingly, saying to themselves, Then who is able to be saved?"
The disciples reasoned among themselves that in this case, no one can be saved; remember, the disciples, like the rich young man, were thinking in terms of a works salvation; we see this by their response, then who is able to be saved.
Verse 27, "And Jesus looking upon them saith, With men it is impossible, but not with God; for with God all things are possible."
LGT "But looking on them Jesus says, With men [it is] impossible, but not with God: for all things are possible with God."
That look of Jesus would seem to say it all to His disciples; all through Mark the look of Jesus is stressed; we well remember the look Jesus gave Peter as they led Him out of the judgment hall to be crucified; that look caused Peter to run out and weep bitterly. Christ uses the preposition para meaning 'by the side of'; this phrase is literally by the side of men it is impossible, but by the side of God, all things are possible.
McGee adds:
"The man can't do it; only the Lord Jesus can. We have the idea today that money can buy everything [remember, the young man had great wealth]. Someone has written these lines about money that we do well to think over:
Money will buy a bed, but it will not buy
Sleep.
Money will but food, but it will not buy an
Appetite.
Money will buy medicine, but it will not
Buy health
Money will buy a house, but it will not
Buy a home
Money will buy a diamond, but it will not
Buy love.
Money will buy a church pew, but it will
Not buy salvation.
Jesus invited this young man to get rid of that, which stood between him and God. If he had followed Jesus, he would have learned that the reason Jesus is good is because Jesus is God."
Verse 28, "Then Peter began to say unto him, Lo, we have left all, and have followed thee."
LGT "Peter began to say to Him, Lo, we left all and followed You."
Peter responds as though Christ was talking to him directly; he feels it necessary to remind Christ of that day by the sea, that four of them left their nets, and their livelihood, and followed Christ, something the rich young man was unwilling to do.
Verses 29, 30, "And Jesus answered and said, Verily I say unto you, There is no man that hath left house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my sake, and the gospel's, but he shall receive an hundredfold now in this time, houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands, with persecutions: and in the world to come eternal life."
LGT "Jesus said, Verily I say to you, There is no one who left house, or brother, or sister, or mother, or father, or children, or lands, for My sake and the Good News, that shall not receive a hundredfold now in this time: houses, and brothers, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands, with persecution, and in the age that is coming, life eternal."
Christ assures His disciples that no matter what sacrifice they have made in this life; they will be rewarded, far beyond their greatest expectations. The original Greek leaves out wives; it is here that the apostates have made the claim that there will be wives a hundredfold waiting for them in heaven. In Matthew's Gospel Peter asked what their reward would be; this is the answer. One should not take these verses so literal that meaning is missed; Christ is simply stating that what is waiting the believer in heaven is far superior to what we consider important here.
Verse 31, "But many that are first shall be last; and the last first."
LGT "But many shall be first last, and last first."
This verse explains Christ method of giving rewards, and those that will be admitted into the Kingdom.
A Third Time Jesus Foretells His Death and Resurrection
(Matt. 20:17-19; Luke 18:31-34)
Verse 32, "And they were in the way going up to Jerusalem; and Jesus went before them: and they were amazed; and as they followed, they were afraid. And he took again the twelve, and began to tell them what things should happen unto to him,"
LGT "And they were in the way going up into Jerusalem, and Jesus was going on before them: and they were astonished, and they were afraid following. And having taken to [Him] again the twelve, He began to tell them the things which were about to happen to Him,"
What a picture we have of Jesus leading His disciples on toward Jerusalem where He would soon be crucified; as they followed Him, He taught them of the things that would soon happen to Him; this brought great fear upon them as they neared Jerusalem. We will see that Jesus never left His disciples with reason to fear, for every time He taught them of His crucifixion, He also taught them of His resurrection.
Verses 33, 34 "Saying, Behold, we go up to Jerusalem; and the Son of man shall be delivered unto the chief priests, and unto the scribes; and they shall condemn him to death, and shall deliver him to the Gentiles: and they shall mock him, and shall spit upon him, and shall kill him: and the third day he shall rise again."
LGT "That, behold, we go up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered up to the chief priests, and the Scribes, and they will condemn Him to death, and will deliver Him up to the Gentiles: and they will mock Him, and will spit upon Him, and will scourge Him, and will kill Him, and after three days He will rise again."
In these two verses Jesus gives the disciples a detailed account of exactly how they will crucify Him; and as I mentioned before, He never leaves them comfortless; He also encourages them with the fact of His resurrection. This time, for He had taught them three times before of His death and resurrection, they still refuse to grasp the reality of these things; some of His disciples would be pre-occupied with their own selfish desires.
The Request of James and John
(Matt. 20:20-28)
Verse 35, "And James and John, the sons of Zebedee, come unto him saying, Master, we would that thou shouldest do for us whatsoever we shall desire."
LGT "And James and John, the sons of Zebedee, come near to Him, saying to Him, Teacher, we desire that whatever we may ask, You would do for us."
Christ has just finished telling the twelve of His impending crucifixion, and James and John boldly come near to Him, with their selfish desires. However, as we learned in Matthew 20:20, they weren't so bold as to have the courage to approach Him themselves, but they used the instrumentality of their mother to make this request.
Verse 36, "And he said unto them, What would ye that I should do for you?"
LGT "And He said to them, What do you desire [Me] to do for you?"
Jesus responds politely in asking them what their request was.
Verse 37, "They said unto him, Grant unto us that we may sit, one on thy right hand, and the other on thy left hand, in thy glory."
LGT "And they said to Him, Give to us that one at Your right hand and one at [Your] left may sit in Your glory."
These two weren't asking too much, were they? What they were literally asking, we saw in Matthew's Gospel, was actually that they were asking to be seated, one at His right, and one at His left, in His Millennial Kingdom; "They are looking for a grand Jewish world empire with apocalyptic features in the eschatological culmination of the Messiah's Kingdom. That dream brushed aside all the talk of Jesus about His death and resurrection as mere pessimism" (Robertson).
Verse 38, "But Jesus said unto them, Ye know not what ye ask: can ye think of the cup that I drink of? And be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?"
LGT "But Jesus said to them, You do not know what you ask. Are you able to drink the cup I am to drink or the baptism I am baptized [with], ye shall be baptized?"
By the cup and the baptism Christ is making a symbol of His death; He asks the disciples if they are willing to die His death, in order to share in His glory. Christ received glory from the Father for His willingness to die for the sins of the world; believers will be rewarded for their willingness to be used by Him. Christ had just promised the twelve that they would sit and rule with Him in His Kingdom, but that did not satisfy these two.
Verse 39, "And they said unto him, We can. And Jesus said unto them, Ye shall indeed drink of the cup that I drink of; and with the baptism that I am baptized withal shall ye be baptized."
LGT "And they said to Him, We are able. But Jesus said to them, The cup I drink you shall drink, and the baptism I am baptized [with] you shall be baptized with."
This part the disciples were able; after the Holy Spirit came upon them, they both experienced persecution, James was killed, and John was exiled to Patmos; it was only through the power of the Holy Spirit were they able; but only Christ could propitiate the sins of the world.
Verse 40, "But to sit on my right hand and on my left hand is not mine to give; but it shall be given to them for whom it is prepared."
LGT "But to sit at My right hand or on My left hand, is not Mine to give, but [to those] for whom it has been prepared."
Christ's ruling in the Kingdom did not come to Him because He asked the Father for rulership, it came because of His obedience to the Father. The Father will meet out rewards for the obedience of His children.
Verse 41, "And when the ten heard it, they began to be much displeased with James and John."
LGT "And the ten having heard [this], began to be indignant concerning James and John."
The ten were displeased because each wanted the best positions for themselves.
Verse 42, "But Jesus called them to him, and saith unto them, Ye know that they which are accounted to rule over the Gentiles exercise lordship over them; and their great ones exercise authority upon them."
LGT "But having called them to [Him], Jesus says to them, You know that those who are accounted to rule over the nations, exercise lordship over them, and their great one exercises authority over them."
Christ was reprimanding His twelve for acting just like the Gentiles; the twelve wanted to have the lordship in the Kingdom. God does not use the haughty, self-important, but the humble.
Verse 43, "But so shall it not be among you: but whosoever will be great among you, shall be your minister:"
LGT "Thus it shall not be among you, but whoever desires to become great among you, will be your servant."
Jesus taught them whoever would reign, must first serve those to whom he would reign over; in order to rule one must first become a slave.
Verse 44, "And whosoever of you will be the chiefest, shall be servant of all."
LGT "And whoever desires among you to be first, shall be slaves of all."
This verse reiterates what He had said in the last verse.
Verse 45, "For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many."
LGT "For even the Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many."
Jesus used Himself as the prime example that He came to pay the price for all sin, that is, He came to ransom all those who would be ransomed.
The Healing of Blind Bartimaeus
(Matt. 20:29-34; Luke 18:35-43)
Verse 46, "And they came to Jericho: and as he went out of Jericho with his disciples and a great number of people, blind Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, sat by the highway side begging."
LGT "And they come to Jericho: and as He was going out from Jericho, and His disciples, and a large crowd, the son of Timaeus, Bartimaeus, a blind [man] was sitting beside the way."
There were two blind men, as we have in the records of Matthew and Luke, but Mark only mentions one, the more prominent, Bartimaeus; Mark does not deny there were two, he only centers his account on the one; McGee says, that the ones who try to make a big issue over the differences in the three accounts, are simply attempting to make the Word of God of non-effect, and what they are actually doing is making three blind men, that is, including themselves.
Verse 47, "And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out, and say, Jesus, thou son of David, have mercy on me."
LGT "And having heard that Jesus the Nazarene it was, he began crying out and to say, Jesus, Son of David, have pity on me."
The blind men recognize Jesus as the Messiah, and that healing the blind was part of his ministry, so they cry out to get His attention, and possible healing.
Verse 48, "And many charged him that he should hold his peace: but he cried the more a great deal, Thou son of David, have mercy on me."
LGT "And many rebuked him that he should be silent: but he much more cried out, Son of David, have pity on me."
The word 'rebuke' is in the imperfect tense, and it means they kept on rebuking him; the more they rebuked, the more Bartimaeus cried out.
Verse 49, "And Jesus stood still, and commanded him to be called. And they call the blind man, saying unto him, Be of comfort, rise; he calleth thee."
LGT "And having stopped, Jesus said, have him be called. And they call to the blind [man] saying, Be of good courage, rise up, He calls you."
This was good news to Bartimaeus, Jesus of Nazareth is calling for him.
Verse 50, "And he, casting away his garment, arose, and came to Jesus."
LGT "And he casting away his garment, having arisen up, came to Jesus."
He didn't have to be told twice: he responded immediately, and what a beautiful picture we have, he came to Jesus. I love that old hymn Jesus is tenderly calling. Those of this world who are lost are lost because they won't come to Jesus, for He is calling all, and He is knocking.
Verse 51, "And Jesus answered and said unto him, What wilt thou that I should do unto thee? The blind man said unto him, Lord, that I might receive my sight."
LGT "And Jesus answering says to him, What do you desire I do? And the blind [man] said, Rabbi, that I may receive my sight, again."
Apparently he had once had sight, and that would even intensify his request. Jesus knew full well what his problem was, but He desired the man to speak out to Him, recognizing the One Who could meet his need. "This incident was designed to be a lesson to the Twelve. The nation Israel was spiritually blind and did not recognize their need. That being the case, they saw no reason to turn to Christ for help. Christ could not remove the blindness from a nation that would not acknowledge their need and come to Him to have that need met. Christ helped those who recognized their need and turned to Him for help. Such was the lesson this incident conveyed" (Pentecost).
Verse 52, "And Jesus said unto him, Go thy way; thy faith hath made thee whole. And immediately he received his sight, and followed Jesus in the way."
LGT "And Jesus said to him, Go, your faith has healed you. And immediately he received his sight again, and followed Him in the way."
What an experience for these blind men; they not only received their physical sight, they received their spiritual sight; they could now say to everyone, All I know is, once I was blind, but now I see. And they followed Him to the cross. This is a wonderful note to end this chapter. No one has ever been saved without casting himself or herself completely on the finished work of Christ on the cross.
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