Mark 10:13-22

Peace to you my brothers and sisters.

Today’s Bible Verse: [Mark 10:13-22 ESV] 13 And they were bringing children to him that he might touch them, and the disciples rebuked them. 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. 15 Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it." 16 And he took them in his arms and blessed them, laying his hands on them. 17 And as he was setting out on his journey, a man ran up and knelt before him and asked him, "Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?" 18 And Jesus said to him, "Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. 19 You know the commandments: 'Do not murder, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and mother.'" 20 And he said to him, "Teacher, all these I have kept from my youth." 21 And Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and 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." 22 Disheartened by the saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.

In today’s verses we have two subjects: how we receive the Kingdom of God and idols.

In regard to receiving the kingdom of God, as we become more spiritually mature and biblically knowledgeable, we tend to overestimate our standing and abilities before God. We see those who are not as far along and try to use the Bible to control them into right behavior—behavior more in line with what we think is appropriate in the kingdom of God. Too often, we build a kingdom of our own with half-understood truths and pressure others to fit our expectations, much like the Pharisees.

When presented with a great gift they do not deserve, children will generally accept it gratefully and unselfconsciously. They have no thought of earning it or even feeling guilty about receiving it. They just want to enjoy it. This is the approach we need to take with the kingdom of God.

In regard to idols, Jesus presented the last six to the man first; these are in regard to how man is to treat man. The man said he did all of these since his youth. Then Jesus told him to sell everything that he had and give it to the poor, but the man could not do that and went away disheartened. The man’s possessions had replaced God and become an idol to him.

We all have a job.

[Matthew 28:18-20 ESV] 18 And Jesus came and said to them, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age."

All of the disciples of Jesus are to spread His word and the gospel.

This is the gospel:

[1 Corinthians 15:1-6 ESV] 1 Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, 2 and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you--unless you believed in vain. 3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, 5 and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. 6 Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep.

[Acts 2:22-24 ESV] 22 "Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know-- 23 this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. 24 God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it.

[1 John 2:2 ESV] 2 He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.

Propitiation: ἱλασμός hilasmós, hil-as-mos'; atonement, i.e. (concretely) an expiator:—propitiation.

This is penal substitution; that is, our sins were transferred to Jesus and His righteous transferred to us.

Go forth and spread this good news.

I pray that God has revealed Himself to you and that you have salvation.

Remember, God is sovereign. That means that he controls everything.

I hope this has been a blessing to you. May the rest of your day be blessed. Peace.