Jesus' Leadership: Mark 10

Divorce
vv 1-12. This event begins with crowds coming Jesus. v1 Says that, as was His custom, He taught them. This demonstrates Jesus' readiness to teach whenever the opportunity might arise.

Concerning divorce, Jesus points the Pharisees away from legality and toward the heart. This is a great principle: just because something is legal doesn't mean it's good to do. Gambling is legal, drunkenness is legal, strip clubs are legal, abortion is legal, and yes, divorce is legal. This is a reminder to seek first His Kingdom and the associated values. It is dangerous to accept as authoritative for our live that which the state calls legal, especially if the culture is regularly indulging in it.

The Little Children
vv 13-16. Children were not socially valued in this culture. To become like a child would be to become weak and dependent. And in a sense, this is what we admit when we come to Christ! In His upside down Kingdom, the values are reversed. So what does a child do well? They have unquestioned trust in their parents. This is huge to recognize for leaders. We do not become great by figuring it all our independently, but rather, by depending on our Father and trusting Him with that which we cannot explain.

The Rich Young Ruler
vv 17-31. Jesus cuts to the chase - what do we value most? We should be willing to sacrifice for that which we value most. This is indeed a difficult teaching.

Foreshadowing
vv 32-34. Jesus does not leave any surprises for the disciples, though they might not have understood all He said. I appreciate that He let them know how the passion week would proceed to give them hope through the dark periods.

James and John
vv 35-45. Jesus lays out the leadership paradigm for those in His Kingdom. Worldly leaders lord their authority over their followers, leveraging their influence for personal gain. But leaders in the Kingdom leverage their influence for the benefit of their followers, serving with their very lives as Christ did for the church.

Blind Bartimaeus
vv 46-52. Right after teaching on servant leadership, Jesus demonstrates it. While the disciples wanted to quiet this blind man, Jesus asks him, "what do you want me to do for you?" Wow, imagine a high powered CEO leading like that! And this was God! Wow!