Inductive Bible study (SOAP) is an approach to God’s Word focusing on three basic steps that move from a focus on specific details to a more general, universal principle. Through these three steps, we apply inductive reasoning, which is defined as the attempt to use information about a specific situation to draw a conclusion. The steps are observation (what does it say?), interpretation (what does it mean?), and application (what does it mean for my life?). Inductive Bible study is a valuable tool in understanding and applying the principles of God’s Word. In an inductive study everyone participates. We will be working through as much of a chapter of Marks Gospel each week, taking turns to do the following:
SOAP Meathod
S: SCRIPTURE: Read a section of scripture, then summarise in your own words (What does it say? What verse stuck out to you most?).
O: Observation: Read the related Companion material below, then summarise one point/observation in your own words (Is their an issue being addressed?)
A: Application: How do you apply this truth to your life? What does it mean for us today?
P: Prayer: Following the study we will spend time in small groups praying. How do you implement this verse into your life? finish with the quiz below.
Mission 119 Weekly Reading
Readings can be prepared for prior to the study by reviewing The Mission 119 accessed online or through the app. Create a login, click on “grow” (bottom tab) and search “Mark” from the top search bar. Review the chapter of study and 10 minute devotional provided in Mission 119.
Mark Chapter 10
This chapter contains five teaching incidents and the final healing miracle in Mark’s gospel. There is teaching on divorce, Jesus’ love for children, a rich man’s request for eternal life, the third prediction of Jesus’ death and resurrection, the strange request of Zebedee’s sons, and, then, the chapter ends with the healing of blind Bartimaeus.
Mark 10: 1 – 12 Divorce
This chapter begins with Jesus leaving the region of Galilee for the final time prior to his resurrection. He was now on the east bank of the Jordon River in the region of Judea. As was often the case, crowds gathered around him and he taught them. The Greek word used here by Mark for crowds is only found here in his gospel, and it probably means there were different crowds on different occasions.
The Pharisees were increasing their questioning of Jesus. They were trying to trap him. This time they asked him a question about divorce. “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?” So why was this such a tricky question?
One reason may have been: this was the geographical area in which John the Baptist had ministered. The legal matter of the marriage of Herod Antipas to Herodias was the issue that ultimately had John executed. The Pharisees, along with the Herodians (Mk 3:6), may have wanted Jesus to uphold John’s denunciation of Herod and Herodias, which would have resulted in Jesus being imprisoned.
Another reason may have been the secular state of marriage in the community. Both in the Roman community and in the Greek culture, marriage was not highly honoured. Very much like today, the community was very open with relationships. It was one of the areas of life in which people did not want to be told who they could live with.
The Apostle Paul, on more than one occasion, addressed this matter in his letters. It was one of the first requirements he listed for churches that were selecting elders and deacons. So, maybe the Pharisees’ question about divorce was an attempt by them to reduce Jesus’ appeal to the crowds. Perhaps they hoped Jesus’ answer would be really strict, like their own.
In verse 3 Jesus showed his wisdom by avoiding all the difficult answers and asked a question instead, “What did Moses command you?” With this question, Jesus was appealing to the Pharisees’ own final authority for their laws. Interestingly in answer, the Pharisees refer to Deuteronomy 24:1 in which Moses permitted a husband to give a wife a certificate of divorce. (By the way, this shows problems with and within marriage are long standing, and fallen humans have struggled throughout time to fulfil the original purpose of marriage.) Jesus’ reply to this reference was to declare it was due to sinful or hard hearts that Moses gave that permission, for it was not the original intention of God.
Then Jesus gave the correct answer to his own question. He referred the Pharisees back to the creation order of Genesis Chapter 1. This was God’s design. And what God has designed mankind should not change. But so much of creation has been marred and broken by sin, and the marriage relationship is just one of the many consequences that have resulted from sin.
By this reply, Jesus avoided the trap set by the Pharisees.
Such was the perilous state of marriage and relationships within the Jewish and secular societies, the disciples needed to question Jesus further. The answer Jesus gave was abbreviated by Mark to, “Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her, and if she divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery.”
This reply from Jesus teaches some important truths. These truths should not be modified by our own family experiences. For they are the truths envisaged by the Creator and are found in the Kingdom of God.
The first thing to notice is that marriage is a basic unit of society. Marriage provided the foundation for family and hence the ongoing growth of a nation.
Further, marriage is the only means of support for both male and female. Both genders need each other to thrive. So culturally, in all societies, divorce is for the purpose of remarriage.
Next, note in this statement of Jesus that the act of adultery has an object. While society may think of adultery only as an act between two persons, adultery is, from God’s viewpoint, an act that is hurtful against the spouse.
Also, adultery breaks a relationship God had joined. So, from God’s perspective, the two persons became a unity. Thus, adultery rejected God’s creative plan.
This statement from Jesus also recognises that, in society, divorce is initiated by either partner. Both are treated the same in the Kingdom of God.
Also note, this conversation between the Pharisees, Jesus and his disciples does not give a clear answer to the problem of sinfulness and the hardness of people’s hearts within relationships. Jesus did not deny that provision for divorce is allowed because of the evil perpetrated between persons in a relationship.
Mark 10: 13 – 16 Jesus and Children
The next incident recounted by Mark has been a source of comfort to many parents throughout the centuries. It has encouraged parents to have their children dedicated to God. The thought of having Jesus lay his hands on their children and blessing them has brought deep spiritual emotion.
This is contrasted with the initial action of the disciples to stop the children coming to Jesus. The disciples, once again, are focussed on the worldly disturbance caused by the children. They cannot see the spiritual life of the Kingdom of God. Their only concern was with the adult convenience of being ministered to and taught by Jesus. Children were a hindrance. It is worth being reminded that culturally children, especially female children, were very poorly regarded in some Roman and Greek households.
But what did Jesus mean in verse 14 when he said, “To such belongs the Kingdom of God”? It made the disciples think of the spiritual realm; it dragged their eyes away from the cacophony of the crowd. It made a permanent connection between the Kingdom and young child-like qualities. Those qualities include total trust, total dependence, selfless love and simplicity of life. These qualities are the opposite from those the world pursues.
Then Jesus re-emphasised the importance of humility in all his disciples’ action in order to enter the Kingdom of God. Humility, faith in Jesus and an abandonment of worldliness are all essential in order to enter God’s Kingdom. This was not that dissimilar to the instruction Jesus gave his would-be disciples: that they must deny themselves, take up their cross and follow Jesus.
Mark 10: 17 – 31 Rich Man and Eternal Life
This account was placed immediately after the children’s example of the right attitude for entrance into the Kingdom of God. For here was a man with the wrong attitude! Let’s review the well-known story.
A man ran to Jesus and fell on his knees. He asked Jesus, “Good teacher what must I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus reminded the man of the Ten Commandments. The man admitted he had kept them all since boyhood. Jesus told the man to sell his possessions, give the money to the poor and then follow him. The wealthy man left Jesus because he was too attached to his wealth.
Jesus then had a teaching session with his disciples concerning the real difficulty of entering the Kingdom of God.
Notice again the interchanged terms “eternal life” and “Kingdom of God.” The rich man asked Jesus about inheriting eternal life. Jesus, a little later, said to his disciples, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the Kingdom of God.” Then again at the end of this account, Jesus said those who have left everything for him and the gospel will receive “eternal life” in the age to come.
While these terms appear to be interchangeable, they are not identical in meaning. The Kingdom of God is the spiritual realm over which God is king. It is the realm in which all who are born of the Spirit, who have received his spiritual life, enter into and live. The life they live in the Kingdom of God is an eternal life.
Now let’s review this incident more thoroughly.
The man, once on his knees, revealed the intensity of his request. The man was deeply serious. He addressed Jesus as, “Good teacher.” This may at first seem to be just a polite greeting, but Jesus seized upon it and it directed the discussion that followed. Calling Jesus “good” revealed, for this man, being good was really important. The Pharisees taught the rules that needed to be kept in order for God to consider a person good (righteous). It was possible this man had carefully considered the life of the Pharisees and noted some of their behaviour or actions, which on close scrutiny were not good. He had heard or seen that Jesus lived to a higher standard. He was attracted and probably thought: “At last, I have found the life I want.” So he came to find out what he had to do.
Let’s pause and note again the contrast between this man and the children of the previous section in Mark. For the child to enter the Kingdom, the child only needed to be childlike. For this man to enter the Kingdom, he thought it was something he had to do!
God’s goodness is the standard of goodness that is required!
Jesus then gave an opportunity for the man to discover he was not good. By stating that only God was good and then asking the man if he’d obeyed all God’s commandments, an opportunity was opened for the man to confess his sinfulness. (For the man was not God!) But the man didn’t get it. He continued to declare his innocence. For he believed he’d kept all the commandments. The man really wanted to be good. Jesus loved him, for Jesus saw into the heart of the man. Jesus saw that the man wanted to be righteous. But what the man couldn’t see was that there was nothing he could do to become righteous (good). What he needed was to no longer be dependent upon the material things of this world and to become completely dependent on God through following Jesus. That was the same attitude Jesus was referring to previously, when he taught that the Kingdom of God needed to be received like a little child.
In verse 21 Jesus made an outrageous statement: 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.” Jesus had a way of using exaggeration to drive home an important truth. Jesus did not ignore the man’s plea. He saw the man’s heart was genuine in its desire to be good. But Jesus also saw the man was dependent upon his own wealth. Dependence upon God through Jesus was the only way to receive God’s goodness, and that’s by his grace and his grace alone.
Wealth in and of itself is neither good nor bad. We have already met some women who supported Jesus out of their wealth. Others, like Matthew, who chose to follow Jesus were not told to sell everything. Selling everything was not a universal principle taught and required by Jesus before you could become a disciple. The issue was: what or upon whom, are you totally dependent?
Then Jesus deliberately looked at the crowd. He saw surprise written on the faces of the people in the crowd. So he said, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the Kingdom of God.” The disciples are amazed at this contra-cultural statement which caused Jesus to repeat the teaching, adding an illustration to underscore the truth. This illustration from everyday life has been variously understood by preachers throughout the centuries, but it was just an illustration of the teaching: “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of God.”
The sense of the impossibility implied in this illustration brought even greater amazement from the disciples and caused them to ask with some frustration, “Who then can be saved?”
In verse 27 Jesus looked at them and said, “With man it is impossible, but not with God. For all things are possible with God.” The rich man thought he could be saved by doing and living a good life. But no salvation is possible by just using human effort to keep rules or to live with self-imposed discipline. Salvation is a miracle given by the grace of God to those who believe and follow Jesus.
The final verses in this section (28 – 31) bring the attention back to the initial answer that Jesus gave the rich man. Jesus’ answer wasn’t just for the rich man to get rid of his riches, it also required the rich man to follow Jesus. So Peter says, on behalf of the other disciples, that they had all left everything to follow Jesus. Peter may have been thinking that he and his fishermen friends weren’t doing any fishing now, and the needs of their families may have been on his mind.
So, Jesus gave strong words of encouragement to his disciples. (I think these contrast with the deeply disappointing words Jesus gave to the rich man.) These encouraging words collectively group together everyone who had suffered any form of worldly loss on account of them doing the work of the Kingdom. He promised those who had suffered loss would receive an increase in this present age and in the age to come. But my understanding is that Jesus is focused on his disciples receiving spiritual gain not worldly gain. Because spiritual gain is so much greater than any worldly gain. This understanding is borne out by the final statement in this section by Jesus: “But many who are first will be last, and the last first.”
Note, we have seen two expressions that are almost interchangeable: the “Kingdom of God” and “Eternal Life.” Now to these two we can add two more, “to be saved” and “to follow Jesus.” These four, while all having slightly different meanings, all allude to the same spiritual truth.
Mark 10: 32 – 34 Jesus Predicts Death Third Time
At the beginning of this chapter, Mark tells us Jesus entered Judea for the first time on route to Jerusalem. He reached the location where John the Baptist baptised, and there Jesus taught about divorce. After which Mark puts two incidents together to show the only way to enter into the Kingdom of God or receive eternal life is to completely trust Jesus and then to follow him.
This next incident reminded Mark’s readers that Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem. But because his disciples had not understood the previous two times when Jesus explained that he must go to Jerusalem to die and then rise again, Jesus repeated this objective.
Verse 32 reports the apostles were astonished, and the other followers were afraid at this purposeful direction Jesus was taking. For they all knew that, in Jerusalem, Jesus would receive his greatest opposition and be arrested. They could not understand why anyone would deliberately put themselves in harm’s way.
So, for the second time, Jesus told his apostles that in Jerusalem he would be betrayed; and for the third time, he told them, he would be condemn to death by the Jewish leaders. They would pass him over to the Gentile leaders (Romans), who would torture and then kill him. But, he said, three days later he would come back to life.
Mark 10: 35 – 45 Request of Zebedee’s Sons
Jesus, with his followers, continued on their way to Jerusalem. While walking, James and John came to Jesus and asked him if they could sit next to him when he resumed his glorified state. Remember it was only a short while ago that James and John accompanied Jesus up the mountain and witnessed his transfiguration. So these two already believed they were privileged and, no doubt, discussed the meaning of the transfiguration at length between themselves. They knew Jesus would, upon his earthly death, resume his glorified state. They also knew that, like Moses and Elijah, they would be in a glorified state too. They also knew that they were chosen first and had been with Jesus from the very beginning. (Okay Peter and Andrew preceded them by an hour or two, and there probably was some ongoing rivalry between the two fishing families.) They also really loved being with Jesus and could think of nothing more wonderful than spending eternity with him. So, they thought their question was reasonable based on the inside knowledge they’d gained over the other ten apostles.
Jesus replied by informing the two that to have that honour they must follow Jesus thoroughly even if it meant torture and death. They said they could. James, only a few years later, was put to death by the sword by Herod Agrippa I. He was the first of the twelve to be martyred, while John lived to a very old age and was the last of the twelve to die.
Jesus also told them the places of honour in his Kingdom were being prepared but he, himself, didn’t make the decision as to who received them.
The rest of the ten apostles discovered the request that James and John had made. They were not happy, so Jesus gathered them all together and once again taught them how different things were in the spiritual realm of the Kingdom of God. In this earthly world, leadership was sought and, when gained, you ruled over others. In the Kingdom of God, if you wanted to be considered great or important, you had to be a servant, like a household slave.
Jesus concluded this teaching by pointing to his own example. Although he was entitled to be considered a king, he came to serve others and give his life for them. This was the complete opposite of the earthly, worldly culture in which humanity lived. This Kingdom attitude needed to be adopted by all followers of Jesus. Those who want to lead must be a servant of Jesus, and that will show itself by being a servant to others.
Mark 10: 46 – 52 Bartimaeus receives sight
This was quite a remarkable incident. Geographically, Jericho was the starting point for the steep walk up to Jerusalem. Those who travelled this route knew it was, in places, remote and dangerous. It was also physically challenging. Jericho was probably the lowest city on planet earth at -258 metres. Jerusalem was at 754 metres. A vertical distance of over a 1000 metres all within about 25 kilometre distance. (Today’s highway is 44 kilometres long as it winds up to Jerusalem and takes about 8 hours to walk.)
Jesus was walking with a crowd. He knew what lay ahead of him in Jerusalem. I imagine he was walking purposefully, setting out early on a rigorous walk.
At the exit of the town of Jericho sat beggars. A great place for begging as many who travelled to Jerusalem were pilgrims and giving alms to the poor was an important Jewish religious responsibility. The sightless man, the son of Timaeus, was alert to the noisy throng that was passing. Naturally he asked what was going on.
When he was told that it was Jesus of Nazareth leading the crowd, he called out, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me.” I find this a remarkable statement. Bear in mind, Bartimaeus was a resident of Jericho. Being blind, it is safe to assume Bartimaeus had never travelled outside of Jericho. He’d never seen a miracle. In Mark’s gospel, this was the first time Jesus had passed through Jericho. So why did Bartimaeus immediately make the connection between Jesus of Nazareth and Jesus as the “Son of David”?
Jesus had been ministering in Galilee for a couple of years. All that Jesus had been doing was told around Galilee and Judea. Bartimaeus had heard the news and clearly believed what he had been told about the miracles. Therefore, it would’ve been understandable if he had called out to receive a healing miracle from Jesus of Nazareth. But to identity Jesus as Son of David, where did that come from?
In Mark’s Gospel, this was the first and only time this title was used of Jesus. It was an unambiguous title for a Messiah. Bartimaeus, blind and never having seen Jesus before, had the courage of his own convictions to declare loudly to all, that this Jesus of Nazareth was the Messiah.
At the end of every day, Bartimaeus returned home to the family abode and engaged with his extended family in the news (gossip) that had been picked up during the day. It was here he’d heard about Jesus of Nazareth. It was here he’d engaged with his family about the identity of Jesus. Was Jesus John the Baptist raised from the dead? Or was Jesus Elijah? Or was Jesus one of the other prophets? Or was Jesus Beelzebub? Or was Jesus a contemporary messiah who would bring military victory to Israel? Or was Jesus God’s promised Messiah? Clearly Bartimaeus had decided on the basis of what he had heard, that Jesus was God’s promised Messiah.
I like to think this put Bartimaeus in the same place as ourselves. We haven’t seen Jesus. We have only heard reports about him. We’ve had discussions about what to believe about Jesus. Bartimaeus concluded that Jesus was the Messiah and didn’t care who knew. How about us?
Jesus responded to the repeated loud calls from Bartimaeus. Jesus asked him what he wanted. Bartimaeus replied with, “I want to see.” Jesus responded with, “Your faith has healed you.” As with the previous healings where Jesus linked faith with healing, it is interesting to note what Jesus saw that helped him to identify the man’s faith. Bartimaeus’ faith was seen in his positive, confident, pubic call to Jesus. He would not be silenced by the bystanders. He did not fear the opinions of others. He did not care what others thought of him interrupting Jesus. His faith was also seen in his confident identification of Jesus as the Messiah. His faith brought the attention of Jesus, and his faith brought him a miracle of healing.
Now just a couple of other observations from this incident. Was Bartimaeus the only person begging along the roadway out of Jericho? We are not told, but I think it probable there were others. But only Bartimaeus was healed. Also, it would seem Jesus had already passed Bartimaeus on his way to Jerusalem. Therefore, Jesus didn’t heal the blind beggar when he passed him. So Jesus didn’t heal every sick person he saw. Indeed, a proper demonstration of faith was sometimes needed to receive healing.