Mark 10:46

 Mark 10:46 says, 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. When Jesus and His disciples left Jericho, many people went with them.  We should always be willing to leave where we are and to follow Jesus where He leads us.  One of the people who encountered Jesus was blind Bartimaeus.  Verse forty-seven adds, 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.  Though he was physically blind, he was able to spiritually see that Jesus was the One Who could restore his sight, and He called out to Jesus.  Though we may not be physically blind, until we accept Jesus Christ as our personal Savior and Lord, we are spiritually blind, and putting our faith in Him is the only way to have our spiritual sight restored.  Though Jesus calls everyone to Him, we must respond to that call for it to do us any good.  Verse forty-eight continues, 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.  The people around Bartimaeus told him to hold his peace or to be quiet.  As Christians, we need to pray that we never attempt to keep certain people from coming to Jesus because we look down on them, as these people evidently did with Bartimaeus.  After all, he was just a blind beggar beside the road, and they evidently felt no need to help him get to Jesus.  Do we feel a need to help the spiritually blind get to Jesus today?  Bartimaeus instead of being quiet, called out even more asking Jesus to have mercy on him, and that is what we need to do today if we would be saved.   We should never let anyone keep up from Jesus Christ.  Verse forty-nine states, And Jesus stood still, and commanded him to be called. And they call the blind man, saying unto him, Be of good comfort, rise; he calleth thee.  Jesus told Bartimaeus to be of good comfort and called him to come to Him.  Jesus still calls those who are spiritually blind to be of good comfort by coming to Him and accepting Him as their Savior and Lord.  Verse fifty adds, And he, casting away his garment, rose, and came to Jesus.  Bartimaeus got up, threw aside his garment and came to Jesus.  We should be willing to cast aside anything that would hinder us in coming to Jesus.  Verse fifty-one continues, 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. Jesus asked Bartimaeus what he wanted Him to do, and he said he wanted Jesus to restore his sight.  He was looking for a physical healing, but Jesus would give Him so much more.  No matter the reason for our calling out to Jesus Christ, if we accept Him by faith, He offers us everlasting life with Him, which is so much greater than any earthly thing that we might have been looking for.  Veres fifty-two concludes, 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. Jesus told Bartimaeus to go his way that his faith had made him whole.  When we come to Jesus by faith in Him as our Savior and Lord, He makes us spiritually whole and tells us to go on our way and share the gospel with others.  Bartimaeus followed Jesus after he was made whole by his faith, and so must we. 

Mark 10:41

Mark 10:41 says, And when the ten heard it, they began to be much displeased with James and John.  James and John asking Jesus that they be allowed to sit on His right and left hand displeased the other disciples, even though Jesus told them they didn't know what this would really mean, and that it was not His right to give.  We need never be jealous of other Christians because we believe God is rewarding them more than He is us, and I am relatively sure we are never jealous of those who suffer more because of their relationship with Jesus Christ.  We need to reflect on why Jesus was born.  He was born to suffer and die for our sins and to be raised again to give us victory over sin and death if we put our faith in Him.  Still speaking of being in positions of power, Verse forty-two adds, 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.  Jesus said those in power over the Gentiles exercised lordship and authority over them.  Verse forty-three states, But so shall it not be among you: but whosoever will be great among you, shall be your minister:  Verse forty-four adds, And whosoever of you will be the chiefest, shall be servant of all.  Jesus then said that this was not to be the case with His disciples. Jesus said that anyone who would be great in His kingdom would be a minister to others, not a lord over them.  So, if we want to feel great in God's kingdom today, we need to be ministering to others. He also said whosoever would be chief among His followers would be a servant to all.  Too often, this is not what we want to hear.  Verse forty-five continues, For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.  Jesus then said that He came not to be ministered to, but to minister to others and lay down His life as a ransom for them.  This is what we as followers of Christ are called to do today, and though we cannot bring salvation to anyone by our death, we should be willingly to lay down our life for them to have the opportunity to accept salvation through faith in Jesus Christ. 

Mark 10:28

Mark 10:28 says, Then Peter began to say unto him, Lo, we have left all, and have followed thee. After Jesus taught about the difficulty of a rich man getting to heaven, Peter said that the disciples had left everything to follow Him.  I believe Peter may have been bragging a little or at least seeking to glorify the disciples and himself a little.  We may leave everything to follow Jesus, but that doesn't make us any better than anyone else.  We are still sinners saved by grace, and we should never think that we deserve praise because of our following Christ.  Verse twenty-nine adds, 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, Jesus said that no one who had forsaken everything, from houses, family, or land for the gospels sake will ever truly lose anything.  Though we are to love our brothers and sisters and our parents, our love for them can never come before our love of and obedience to God.  Verse thirty continues, 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.  When Jesus said anyone who had left these things would receive back a hundred-fold, this refers to what we gain as a part of God's family, and not a physical gain in this world.  There is one thing that is literal, though, and that is if we follow Christ, we will gain persecution.  If we do not feel the persecution of the world because of our faith, we may have become too much like the world.  The important thing that we gain, though, is everlasting life with God.  Verse thirty-one concludes, But many that are first shall be last; and the last first.  Jesus tells us that anyone who would put being first in the is world ahead of serving Him will be the last in His kingdom.  Even if they have accepted Him as their Savior, I don’t believe they have made Him Lord of their life with this attitude.  Verse thirty-two says, 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 him,  Jesus taught a much or more going along the way as He did in synagogues, or places of worship.  We today as followers of Christ cannot limit our teaching about God to the congregation gathered together in houses of worship.  We must teach the world about God as we go along the way in our everyday life.  The people who were following Jesus on His way to Jerusalem were both amazed and afraid.   We have no reason to be afraid if we are Christians, but we need to always stand amazed in God’s presence.  Jesus gathered the twelve disciples to Him and began to tell them the things that were going to happen to Him.  We already know what happened, but the disciples then were looking for a very different outcome.  They wanted an earthly kingdom in which they would be in positions of power along with Jesus.  We are not called on to rule the world but instead are called on to take up our cross daily, just as Jesus was about to tell His disciples that the cross awaited Him.  Verse thirty-three adds, 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:  He would be delivered by the chief priests, the religious leaders of that day, to the Gentiles to be put to death on the cross.  The chief priests prided themselves on their devotion to their religion, but they had no real relationship with God. Religion will never save us, but only faith in Jesus Christ will.  Verse thirty-four continues, And they shall mock him, and shall scourge him, and shall spit upon him, and shall kill him: and the third day he shall rise again.  Jesus then told the disciples that He would be mocked, scourged, and spit on before He was put to death on the cross, but He also told them that was not the end.  On the third day, He would rise again in victory.  Jesus defeated sin and death on the cross, and He freely offers us the same victory if we put our faith in Him as our Savior and Lord, Verse thirty-five says, 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. Sometimes, the disciples really didn't listen to Jesus.  He had just told them what awaited Him in Jerusalem, which would be the end of His earthly ministry by a cruel death on the cross, and James and John immediately wanted to ask Him a question.  The fact that they went to Jesus for the answer was a good thing, but had they really listened and understood what He had just said, they probably wouldn't have asked the question.  They first asked if Jesus would give them whatever they wanted, and I believe this can too often be our attitude.in prayer.  We want Jesus to endorse our plan.  Verse thirty-six adds, And he said unto them, What would ye that I should do for you?  Jesus asked them what they wanted Him to do.  When we pray for what we want, God will listen, but that doesn't mean that He will give us everything we want.   Verse thirty-seven continues, 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.  James and John asked that they be allowed to sit on His right and left hand when He came into His glory.  They were still looking for an earthly kingdom and for them to be to be above all others except Jesus Himself.  I don't believe that as Christians we should ever believe that we are above other Christians. Verse thirty-eight states, But Jesus said unto them, Ye know not what ye ask: can ye drink of the cup that I drink of? and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with? Jesus asked if they could drink of the cup He drank of or be baptized in the baptism that He was baptized with, referring to His coming arrest, trial and crucifixion.  Still not understanding what Jesus meant, they said they could.  We today if we are to be followers of Christ must be crucified to our worldly selfish desires and take up our cross daily and follow Him.  Verse thirty-nine adds, 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:  Jesus said they would indeed drink of the cup that He drank of and be baptized with the baptism that He was baptized with, which meant that they would suffer and die because of their faith in Him after His death, burial and resurrection.  We should expect no less today, but too often we see Jesus Christ as the One Who gives us all that we desire.  Verse forty continues, 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.  Jesus then told James and John that it wasn't His place to decide who would sit on His right and left hand in His coming kingdom.  I personally don't believe that anyone who feels that they deserve that right really understands what it means to be a Christian.  We are instead to always pray for God's will to be done in our life and never to consider our self to be superior to any other Christian.