Wealth and Kingdom Effectiveness

Mark 10:13-31 · 2024-12-29 · Jason Wolin · Gospel of Mark | Cross and Crown

Mark 10:13-31 · Money. Wealth and Kingdom Effectiveness — sermon from Cypress Bible Church on BibleSlides.

Wealth and Kingdom Effectiveness Slideshow for this message PDF Message Download Introduction I want to welcome everyone and especially those with families today. Normally kids, it’s your job to listen to your parents teach you things. And God has given you wise parents that you should listen to. But today is a little different. What we are going to see in the Bible is that Jesus is going to use you KIDS as an example today to teach your parents something. See if you can notice it in the Bible today. Today we return to our study of the book of Mark. Let’s recall that Jesus is approaching the last part of his ministry here on earth. Last time we were in Mark we saw the Pharisees come up and challenge Jesus on his view of divorce and remarriage with a goal, most likely, of getting him arrested by Herod Antipas. And as we’ve moved through the ministry of Jesus, we see, more and more clearly what it means to be a follower of Christ. Today’s text adds additional clarity. Today we see this interchange between polar opposites on the social spectrum. We have a child who is the weakest in society next to a rich man who was the most powerful. And there is irony in their proximity. The weakest in society, this child, gains entrance to the kingdom of heaven while the strongest in society, this wealthy business owner, discovers a closed door. And what Jesus does by comparing the child with the rich man is he shows what it takes to inherit eternal life. It’s the contrast that I think is the point here. I think it’s a tragedy to pull these two texts apart. Sure we can teach how Jesus loves little children. Sure we can teach how money corrupts. But those are very secondary purposes to what Mark is trying to teach. Mark is answering the question, the most important question of all time, “What must I do to inherit eternal life.” And Jesus uses comparison to give the answer. We have to teach these together. So let’s start with the child. And here’s the first thing we are going to learn. Jesus makes this point by pulling a child on his lap. Now let’s watch this unfold in the text. Mark 10:13 And they were bringing children to him that he might touch them, and the disciples rebuked them.” Now the attitude of the disciples is a very important part of the setup. The disciples understood how important Jesus was. At this point in the ministry they fully believed that he was the Messiah. They saw him transfigured. They believed he was God. They had a keen sense of the SIGNFICANCE and IMPORTANCE of their mission. So while they understood WHO JESUS WAS, they are still learning WHAT JESUS VALUED. So here they are turning away children and look at Jesus’ response. Mark 10:14 But when Jesus saw it, he was indignant and said to them, “Let the children come to me; do not hinde…

Cypress Bible Church · Full sermon loading below.