Mark 10:1-31 How Jesus Taught With Paradoxes

My commentary noted that "Jesus gave us these five important lessons that can be expressed in five succinct, paradoxical statements."  For the part I read today, they were:  "Two shall be one", "Adults shall be as children", and "The first shall be last".

Regarding the first one one divorce, my commentary said, "Jesus explained that Moses gave the divorce law because of the sinfulness of the human heart ... By giving this commandment to Israel, God was not putting His approval on divorce or even encouraging it.  Rather, He was seeking to restrain it and make it more difficult for men to divorce their wives ... so that women would not become victims of their husbands' whims.  Jesus took them back beyond Moses to the record of the original creation.  after all, it was God who established marriage; and He has the right to make the rules ... The emphasis here is that marriage is a physical union ... only a physical cause can break it -- either death or fornication ... To remarry after divorce, other than one granted on the grounds of fornication, would make the person guilty of committing adultery ... Mark 10:9 warns us that man cannot separate those who have been united in marriage, but God can ... He expects married people to practice commitment to each other and to remain true to each other."

For the second paradox, my commentary said, "A child enjoys much, but can explain very little.  Children live by faith.  By faith they accept their lot, trusting others to care for them and see them through.  We enter God's kingdom by faith like little children:  helpless, unable to save ourselves, totally dependent on the mercy and grace of God.  We enjoy God's kingdom by faith, believing that the Father loves us and will care for our daily needs."

For the third paradox, it said, "The young ruler did not see himself as a condemned sinner before the Holy God.  He had a superficial view of the law of God, for he measured obedience only by external actions and not by inward attitudes.  As far as his actions were concerned, he was blameless, but his inward attitudes were not blameless, because he was covetous.  He may have kept some of the commandments, but the last commandment caught him:  'Thou shalt not covet.' ... He wants to get salvation on his terms, and he was disappointed."

Father, it's often so hard for us to see things from Your perspective, since we live in such a sin-centered world and are constantly bombarded with messages that do not agree with Your Word.  Help me to be able to sort through them, see the paradoxes, and adjust my life to You.

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Your Brother In Christ,
Gary Ford