Mark 10:1-31: Marriage, Minors, and Money

The Rev. Doug Griebenaw, pastor and Mission Advocate at KFUO Radio, joins the Rev. Dr. Phil Booe to study Mark 10:1-31.

Jesus confronts the Pharisees who test him on the issue of divorce, and he affirms that God’s original design was for a lifelong union between a man and a woman. He also welcomes the little children who come to him and declares that the kingdom of God belongs to those who receive it like a child. Finally, he encounters a rich young man who asks him how to inherit eternal life. Jesus tells him to sell everything he has and follow him.

Beneath the fast-paced action of Jesus' ministry in the Gospel of Mark lies a profound theological message: we are all in bondage to sin and cannot free ourselves. Though Jesus performs mighty deeds and calls people to repent, they repeatedly fail to understand his true identity and mission. Even his disciples abandon him in his darkest hour. Yet Jesus willingly suffers and dies on the cross as a ransom for many, accomplishing what we could not do ourselves - securing our justification before God. Mark presents Jesus not just as a miracle worker but as the divine Savior whose atoning sacrifice makes salvation possible for lost sinners.