Sermon Audio

This Sunday, we’ll explore Mark 10:32-45 as Jesus once again reveals what it truly means to follow Him. From the end of chapter 8 through chapter 10, Jesus has clearly taught His disciples about the cost of discipleship: denying ourselves, taking up our cross, and living sacrificially in every aspect of life—from marriage and family to wealth and relationships. He also repeatedly predicted His own suffering, death, and resurrection, setting an example of the path we’re called to follow. As Jesus leads the disciples toward Jerusalem, for the third time in three chapters, He clearly explains His mission as the Son of Man. He will be betrayed by Jewish leaders and handed over to Gentiles to be humiliated, mocked, spat on, and executed. Then, He will rise from the grave. And for the third time, the disciples ignore His words. As we have seen before, they are self-seeking and focused on their own greatness. After Jesus predicts His suffering, James and John boldly ask for seats of honor at Jesus’ right and left in His glory. Their request reveals a self-centered desire for status, ignoring Jesus’ repeated teaching that the cross must come before the crown. The disciples not only misunderstand Jesus’ mission but also think too highly of themselves. Jesus asks, "Can you drink the cup I drink or be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with?"—referring to His cup of judgment and immersion in suffering (Mark 14:36; Luke 12:50). They confidently say they can, not recognizing their own sin and weakness.

Jesus then overturns worldly ideas of greatness and once again shows us that true greatness in God’s kingdom is about becoming a servant, even a "slave to all." On Sunday, we will explore what it means to deny oneself and embrace servanthood. Servanthood isn’t just a weekly event; it’s a lifestyle of asking, "Who has Christ placed in my life to serve?" Finally, Jesus provides our motivation for denying ourselves and becoming servants: "For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many" (v. 45). Echoing Isaiah 53, Jesus—the glorious Messiah who deserves all service—humbled Himself to serve by redeeming us from sin’s slavery. Jesus calls us to take up the cross because ("For") the Son of Man Himself came to serve. His coming is our motivation and power to deny ourselves and give our lives away. How we respond to Jesus’ question to James and John (the same question he later asks Blind Bartimaeus) shows where our heart and treasures truly are. How would you answer when Jesus asks, "What do you want me to do for you?" (v. 36). 

I. The Gospel Mission Of Messiah (v. 32-34)

II. The Pride That Hinders Our Mission (v. 35-41)

III. The Sacrificial Call To Servanthood (v. 42-44)

IV. The Proper Motivation Of Our Service (V. 45)

Last Sunday, in Mark 10:13-16, Jesus said that whoever doesn’t receive the kingdom as a child will not enter it. Receiving the kingdom like a child means coming to Christ with helpless, dependent faith. Mark 10:17-31 immediately follows, showing us an example of someone who cannot receive the kingdom as a child. 

A man often called "the rich young ruler" runs to Jesus, kneels, and asks, “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” (v. 17). But Jesus’ response to him is very different from what we might expect. He questions the man’s idea of goodness and points him to the commandments. Jesus doesn’t immediately give him the gospel, but the law. When the man claims to have kept the law, Jesus tells him he must give all his wealth away and follow Him. On Sunday, we will explore why Jesus responds this way, showing the man that he has not kept the commandments and revealing the young man’s idol. Ultimately, the man turns away sorrowful. He will not receive the kingdom as a helpless child. 

The surprises continue as Jesus uses this event to teach the disciples. He says it’s “impossible” for the rich to enter the kingdom (vv. 23-25), like a camel passing through a needle’s eye. The disciples, shocked, ask, “Who then can be saved?” (v. 26), finally understanding their helplessness. Jesus declares, “With man it is impossible, but not with God” (v. 27)—salvation comes only through God’s grace, received with childlike dependence. This passage raises many questions, which we will explore, but in the rich young ruler, the disciples see someone who will not receive the kingdom as a child, and they finally grasp the impossibility of salvation through any other means.  

I. The Sacrificial Call To Eternal Life (v. 17-22)

II. The Impossibility of Entering God’s Kingdom (v. 23-27)

III. The Promised Gain of God’s Kingdom (v. 28-31)

As we continue in the Gospel of Mark, Jesus is nearing His final entry into Jerusalem. From the end of chapter 8 through chapters 9 and 10, He focuses on teaching His disciples that His mission involves suffering and death, and that following Him means denying self and taking up the cross (Mark 8:34). However, the disciples repeatedly miss this truth, consumed by their own desires for greatness and status (Mark 9:34). Despite Jesus’ clear warnings—such as the call to be “last of all and servant of all” (Mark 9:35)—they cling to their desire for greatness, even trying to stop others from serving in His name (Mark 9:38).

In this Sunday’s passage, Mark 10:13-16 (with context through verse 27), we see Jesus rebuke the disciples for hindering parents who bring their young children to Him for a blessing. The disciples, still chasing prominence, view these children as insignificant. Jesus, indignant, declares, “Let the little children come to me; do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God” (Mark 10:14). He emphasizes that the kingdom must be received with the helpless dependence of a child—not through status, accomplishments, or self-reliance.

This theme continues as Jesus contrasts the children’s dependence with the rich young ruler, who will not let go of his wealth or status to follow Jesus (Mark 10:17-27). The children show us the right way to receive the kingdom—empty-handed, trusting fully in God’s grace—while the rich man’s reliance on his achievements leaves him sorrowful and outside the kingdom.

1. Receiving Children as Jesus Does (Mark 10:13-14)

2. Receiving the Kingdom as a Child (Mark 10:15-16)

As we continue our study of Mark, this Sunday we’ll dive into Mark 10:1-12, a passage that addresses one of the most challenging and relevant topics in discipleship: marriage and divorce. Building on last week’s message from the end of chapter 9, where Jesus called for radical action against sin and stumbling blocks, chapter 10 explores what denying ourselves and taking up our cross looks like in everyday areas of life, the first of which is marraige.

As Jesus moves toward Jerusalem to die (He will enter the city in Chapter 11), He is confronted again by the Pharisees. As they have done before, they test Jesus with a controversial question. The question of what constitutes grounds for divorce was a broiling controversy among schools of Rabbi’s in the day, and as Jesus enters Judea, He is now in Herod’s territory (the same Herod that imprisoned and executed John the Baptist for denouncing His divorce and remarriage.) The Pharisees were seeking to trap Jesus and place Him at odds with the ongoing controversy. Jesus responds to the permissability of divorce by pointing back to God’s original design and purpose for marriage, emphasizing its sacred covenant nature. Jesus explains that Moses’ allowance for divorce was a concession due to human sin and hardness of heart, intended to limit abuse and protect the vulnerable, not to undermine God’s intent for marriage. Going back to creation in Genesis, Jesus highlights God’s plan for marriage as a lifelong covenant where a man and woman become one flesh, joined by God Himself. This union is instituted by God and reflects deeper gospel truths. In private, the disciples question Jesus further, and He applies the principle radically: Divorce and remarriage constitute adultery because the one-flesh union endures unless dissolved by God. We’ll touch on biblical exceptions (like sexual immorality and abandonment) and talk about why none are mentioned here in Mark. My prayer is that we affirm God’s grace, forgiveness, and the value of seeking help in difficult situations, without compromising Jesus’ words in Mark 10:1-12. While the teaching is direct and countercultural—both then and now—it’s rooted in God’s good design and offers hope through the gospel, which forgives, heals, and transforms.

The Controversial Question (vv. 1-2)

The Purpose of Moses’ Rule (vv. 3-5)

The Purpose of God’s Design (vv. 6-9

The Radical Application (vv. 10-12)