Lesson 41: Mark 10

“Lesson 41: Mark 10,” New Testament Seminary Teacher Manual (2016)

“Lesson 41,” New Testament Seminary Teacher Manual

Lesson 41

Mark 10

Introduction

Near the end of His mortal ministry, the Savior ministered to those in Perea. While there, He taught the doctrine of marriage and invited little children to come unto Him. The Savior also admonished a rich young ruler to sell all his possessions and follow Him. As the Savior left Perea and made His way to Jerusalem for the last time in mortality, He foretold His death and Resurrection and counseled His Apostles to serve others. He also healed a blind man at Jericho.

Suggestions for Teaching

Mark 10:1–16

Jesus teaches the doctrine of marriage and invites little children to come to Him

Show students several pictures of young children.

What qualities or characteristics do you admire about your younger brothers or sisters or other young children you know? (List students’ responses on the board.)

Invite students to look for a truth as they study Mark 10:1–16 that teaches us why we should become like little children.

Explain that near the end of the Savior’s ministry, He left Galilee and went to an area called Perea. (You may want to invite students to locate Perea on the handout “Mortal Life of Jesus Christ at a Glance” [see lesson 5] or on Bible Maps, no. 11, “The Holy Land in New Testament Times.”) Summarize Mark 10:1–12 by explaining that while in Perea, the Savior taught the people about the importance of marriage.

Invite a student to read Mark 10:13–14 aloud. Ask the class to follow along, looking for what happened while the Savior was in Perea.

How did the disciples react when the people brought young children to the Savior? (Explain that the word rebuked in verse 13 indicates that the disciples told the people they were wrong to bring their children to the Savior.)
How did the Savior respond to the disciples?

Invite a student to read Mark 10:15–16 aloud, and ask the class to look for what the Savior taught His disciples as the little children came to Him. Explain that the phrase “receive the kingdom of God” in verse 15 refers to receiving the gospel.

What do you think it means to receive the gospel “as a little child”? (verse 15). (Write students’ responses on the board, and compare them with the items already listed on the board.)
What principle can we learn from these verses about what will happen as we receive the gospel like little children? (Students may identify multiple truths, but make sure it is clear that as we receive the gospel like little children, we will be prepared to enter God’s kingdom.)
In what ways does receiving the gospel like little children prepare us to enter God’s kingdom? (To help students answer this question, you may want to refer them to Mosiah 3:19.)

Mark 10:17–34

The Savior admonishes a rich young ruler to sell his possessions and follow Him

Invite a student to read Mark 10:17–20 aloud, and ask the class to look for what happened after the Savior blessed the little children.

How would you describe the man who came to Jesus? Why?
What did the man ask the Savior? How did Jesus respond?

Explain that Matthew 19 also contains the account of this man coming to the Savior. Invite a student to read Matthew 19:20 aloud, and ask the class to listen for how the man responded after the Savior listed some of the commandments.

After acknowledging that he kept all the commandments, what question did the young man ask the Savior? (You may want to suggest that students mark the young man’s question.)

Write the following question on the board: What lack I yet?

Invite students to read Mark 10:21 silently, looking for how the Savior responded to the young man.

What did the Savior tell the young man he still lacked?

Point out the phrase “Jesus beholding him loved him” in verse 21. You may want to suggest that students mark this phrase in their scriptures.

Why do you think it is important to know that Jesus loved this young man before He told him what he lacked?
What principles can we learn from this account? (Students may identify several principles, including the following: Because He loves us, the Lord will help us know what we lack in our efforts to follow Him. If we ask the Lord, He will teach us what we need to do to inherit eternal life.)

Invite students to read Mark 10:22 silently, looking for how the young man reacted when the Savior counseled him to sell all that he had.

How did the young man react?
According to verse 22, why did he react that way?

Point out that while we may not be asked to give up great riches to follow the Lord, He has asked us to make other sacrifices to serve Him and obey His commandments.

What are some sacrifices the Lord has asked of us that may be difficult to make?
What blessings might we fail to receive if we choose not to follow the Lord in all things?

Invite a student to read Mark 10:23–27 aloud. Ask the student to replace the appropriate part of verse 27 with the Joseph Smith Translation excerpt found in Mark 10:27, footnote a. Ask the class to follow along, looking for what Jesus taught about leaving all for His sake.

Why do you think it is so hard for those who trust in riches or other worldly things to enter the kingdom of God?
What do you think it means that all things are possible for those who trust in God?

Invite a student to read Mark 10:28–31 aloud. Ask the student to replace verse 31 with the Joseph Smith Translation excerpt found in Mark 10:31, footnote a. Ask the class to follow along, looking for what Peter said after the Savior taught that we should be willing to give up whatever He requires of us.

According to verse 28, what did Peter say?
What did the Savior promise to those who are willing to give up everything to follow Him?
What principle can we learn from the Savior’s teachings about what we must do to receive eternal life? (Students may use different words, but make sure they identify the following principle: To receive eternal life, we must be willing to give up whatever the Lord requires of us. Write this principle on the board.)
Why is eternal life worth any sacrifice we are asked to make on earth? (You may want to remind students that eternal life includes living forever in God’s presence with our righteous family members.)

Summarize Mark 10:32–34 by explaining that the Lord told His disciples that after they arrived in Jerusalem He would be mocked, scourged, spit upon, and killed and that He would rise again on the third day.

How is the Savior a perfect example of being willing to give up whatever God requires?

Testify of the truths that have been taught in this lesson. Encourage students to prayerfully ponder the question “What lack I yet?” and obey any promptings they may receive concerning sacrifices the Lord would like them to make.

Mark 10:35–52

The Savior foretells His death and Resurrection and counsels His Apostles to serve others

Divide students into small groups. Provide each group with a copy of the following handout, and invite them to complete it:

Who Is the Greatest?

New Testament Seminary Teacher Manual—Lesson 41

Complete this handout as a group, and discuss your answers to the questions.

List some activities you enjoy:

Name some individuals who are truly great at performing the activities you listed above. What makes them great?

As you continue to study the Savior’s words in Mark 10, look for what He taught about what makes a person truly great.

Read Mark 10:35–37, looking for what James and John asked of the Savior as they traveled toward Jerusalem.

James and John’s request to sit at the Savior’s right and left hand implied that they wanted to receive more glory and honor in God’s kingdom than the other Apostles would receive. Mark 10:38–40 records that the Savior explained to James and John that this blessing would be given to those who were prepared to receive it.

Read Mark 10:41, looking for how the other disciples responded to James and John’s request.

Why do you think the other disciples were displeased with James and John?

Read Mark 10:42–45, looking for what the Savior taught His disciples about greatness.

Complete the following statement based on what the Savior taught about true greatness:

To be truly great, we must .

In verse 45, the word minister means to provide care, comfort, aid, and support for others.

Why would someone who serves and ministers to others (like the Savior) be considered truly great?
When has someone served and cared for you or your family? Why might you consider that person truly great?

After students have completed the handout, invite several to report how they completed the statement based on Mark 10:42–45. Students may use other words, but they should identify the following principle: To be truly great, we must follow the Savior’s example by serving others.

Summarize Mark 10:46–52 by explaining that as the Savior and His Apostles were leaving Jericho to journey to Jerusalem, a blind man named Bartimaeus cried out for the Savior to heal him. The crowd told Bartimaeus to be quiet, but he cried out even louder. The Savior heard his cry, had compassion on him, and healed him. (Note: The account of Bartimaeus’s healing will be taught in greater detail in the lesson for Luke 18.)

How is the Savior a perfect example of the principle He taught about ministering to others?

Share your testimony that the Savior is truly great because of the way He ministers to Heavenly Father’s children. Invite students to think about what they can do to serve and care for those around them. Encourage them to set a goal that will help them serve and minister to others.

Commentary and Background Information

Mark 10:17–22. The rich young ruler

Elder Neal A. Maxwell of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles taught that we need to actively do good rather than merely refrain from sin in order to be valiant disciples of the Savior:

“It is very often the sins of omission that keep us from spiritual wholeness because we still lack certain things. Remember the rich, righteous young man who came to Jesus asking, ‘Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life?’ …

“A customized commandment thus came for that man [see Matthew 19:21–22]. It was something he needed to do, not something he needed to stop doing, that kept him from wholeness” (“The Pathway of Discipleship” [Brigham Young University fireside, Jan. 4, 1998], 4, speeches.byu.edu).

Elder Bruce R. McConkie of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles taught that the rich young ruler lost privileged blessings because he wasn’t willing to follow the Lord in all things:

“We might well ask, ‘Isn’t it enough to keep the commandments? What more is expected of us than to be true and faithful to every trust? Is there more than the law of obedience?’

“In the case of our rich young friend there was more. He was expected to live the law of consecration, to sacrifice his earthly possessions. …

“As you know, the young man went away sorrowful. … And we are left to wonder what intimacies [closeness] he might have shared with the Son of God, what fellowship he might have enjoyed with the apostles, what revelations and visions he might have received, if he had been able to live the law of a celestial kingdom” (“Obedience, Consecration, and Sacrifice,” Ensign, May 1975, 51).

Mark 10:25. “Easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle”

“Some have asserted that the eye of the needle was a small door in the Jerusalem city wall, requiring a camel to be stripped of its load in order to enter. There is no evidence that such a door ever existed. Others have proposed that altering one letter in the Greek text would change the scripture to mean that a rope, not a camel, would have to pass through the eye of a needle. However, when Jesus Christ referred to a camel passing through the eye of a needle, it was likely an example of hyperbole, an intentional exaggeration to teach ‘that a rich man shall hardly [with difficulty] enter into the kingdom of heaven’ (Matthew 19:23). The Joseph Smith Translation adds, ‘With men that trust in riches, it is impossible; but not impossible with men who trust in God and leave all for my sake, for with such all these things are possible’ (Joseph Smith Translation, Mark 10:26 [in Mark 10:27, footnote a])” (New Testament Student Manual [Church Educational System manual, 2014], 63).

Mark 10:38–39. “Can ye drink of the cup that I drink of?”

“Elder Bruce R. McConkie explained that the phrase ‘drink of the cup’ was ‘a metaphorical expression meaning, “To do the things which my lot in life requires of me.”’ He explained that the phrase ‘be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with’ means ‘to follow my course, suffer persecution, be rejected of men, and finally be slain for the truth’s sake’ (Doctrinal New Testament Commentary, 1:566). By asking the questions, ‘Can ye drink of the cup that I drink of? and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?’ (Mark 10:38), the Savior refocused the attention of James and John on carrying out the Father’s will, rather than on receiving glory and honor” (New Testament Student Manual [Church Educational System manual, 2014], 126).

Mark 10:45. “The Son of man came … to minister”

President Ezra Taft Benson testified that Jesus Christ is the perfect model of greatness:

“That man [or woman] is greatest and most blessed and joyful whose life most closely approaches the pattern of the Christ. This has nothing to do with earthly wealth, power, or prestige. The only true test of greatness, blessedness, joyfulness is how close a life can come to being like the Master, Jesus Christ” (“Jesus Christ: Gifts and Expectations,” Ensign, Dec. 1988, 2).