Mark 10:1-16
Dear RTB’ers,
HAPPY EASTER! “Hallelujah! The Lord is risen! He is risen indeed! Hallelujah!” Jesus’ Resurrection is the turning point in our lives! As St. Paul writes:
… if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain, your faith also is in vain. Moreover, we are even found to be false witnesses of God, because we testified against God that He raised Christ, whom He did not raise, if in fact the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, then not even Christ has been raised, and if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins. Then also those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If we have hoped in Christ only in this life, we are of all people most to be pitied. But the fact is, Christ has been raised from the dead…
I Corinthians 15:14-20 (NASB)
Or, my own paraphrase, “If Jesus has not been raised from the dead, we are, of all people, the most to be pitied!” The Lord is risen! He is risen indeed!
I’m back! I’ve taken the time off since my surgery on March 24 (when John took over – thank you, John!). I’ve had my arm in a sling this whole time, and typing while in a sling is difficult. Plus, it was good to just let my shoulder rest. Again, thank you, John, for standing in the gap!
So now we have finished with Deuteronomy, finished with the Pentateuch, and are back for another two weeks finishing the gospel of Mark. Our first verse today tells us that we are at a turning point in Jesus’ life: And He left there and went to the region of Judea and beyond the Jordan… (v. 1a) We last saw Jesus in Galilee (Mark 9:30) and Capernaum (Mark 9:33). In fact, His entire ministry in Mark’s gospel has been in Samaria and Galilee and places north and east; He has not been to Jerusalem or Judea in Mark’s gospel. Another well-known verse in Luke’s gospel has an even more pointed comment on Jesus embarking on this trip: When the days drew near for Him to be taken up, He set His face to go to Jerusalem. (Luke 9:51) So that’s where we find Him today.
And not surprisingly, we find Him teaching – today’s topic, divorce. Society today is much more generous than Jesus with respect to divorce, but I don’t want to get into that at all. Many couples in our church have been happily married for 40, 50 and more years; others are less fortunate. But one verse in Jesus’ teaching does stand out for me today: But from the beginning of creation, “God made them male and female.” (v. 6) This week’s news had an item about the UK Supreme Court ruling that the legal definition of “woman” referred strictly to biological sex, excluding transgender women from this classification – consistent with Jesus’ statement. How American society reacts to this decision will be interesting.
Let’s leave on a happier Easter note, Jesus speaking: Let the children come to Me; do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God. (v. 14b) Let’s happily pray this verse today with Kelly or Daniel as they dismiss our children to Godly Play!
Blessings!