Mark 10:32-52, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: The King of Creation - December 20, 2021

“So this is he,” thought Gabriel. “This is God’s gift. A Savior. He shall save the people from their sins.” Gabriel’s heart was full. He turned to Mary as she cradled her child, and he spoke. It didn’t matter that she couldn’t hear him.

“Do you know who you hold, Mary? You secure the author of grace. He who is ageless is now moments old. He who strides upon the stars now has legs too weak to walk. The hands that held the oceans are now an infant’s fist. To him who has never asked a question, you will teach the name of the wind. The source of language will learn words from you. He who has never stumbled, you will carry. He who has never hungered, you will feed. The King of creation is in your arms.”

Mark 10:32-52

Back on the road, they set out for Jerusalem. Jesus had a head start on them, and they were following, puzzled and not just a little afraid. He took the Twelve and began again to go over what to expect next. “Listen to me carefully. We’re on our way up to Jerusalem. When we get there, the Son of Man will be betrayed to the religious leaders and scholars. They will sentence him to death. Then they will hand him over to the Romans, who will mock and spit on him, give him the third degree, and kill him. After three days he will rise alive.”
The Highest Places of Honor

35 James and John, Zebedee’s sons, came up to him. “Teacher, we have something we want you to do for us.”

36 “What is it? I’ll see what I can do.”

37 “Arrange it,” they said, “so that we will be awarded the highest places of honor in your glory—one of us at your right, the other at your left.”

38 Jesus said, “You have no idea what you’re asking. Are you capable of drinking the cup I drink, of being baptized in the baptism I’m about to be plunged into?”

39-40 “Sure,” they said. “Why not?”

Jesus said, “Come to think of it, you will drink the cup I drink, and be baptized in my baptism. But as to awarding places of honor, that’s not my business. There are other arrangements for that.”

41-45 When the other ten heard of this conversation, they lost their tempers with James and John. Jesus got them together to settle things down. “You’ve observed how godless rulers throw their weight around,” he said, “and when people get a little power how quickly it goes to their heads. It’s not going to be that way with you. Whoever wants to be great must become a servant. Whoever wants to be first among you must be your slave. That is what the Son of Man has done: He came to serve, not to be served—and then to give away his life in exchange for many who are held hostage.”

* * *

46-48 They spent some time in Jericho. As Jesus was leaving town, trailed by his disciples and a parade of people, a blind beggar by the name of Bartimaeus, son of Timaeus, was sitting alongside the road. When he heard that Jesus the Nazarene was passing by, he began to cry out, “Son of David, Jesus! Mercy, have mercy on me!” Many tried to hush him up, but he yelled all the louder, “Son of David! Mercy, have mercy on me!”

49-50 Jesus stopped in his tracks. “Call him over.”

They called him. “It’s your lucky day! Get up! He’s calling you to come!” Throwing off his coat, he was on his feet at once and came to Jesus.

51 Jesus said, “What can I do for you?”

The blind man said, “Rabbi, I want to see.”

52 “On your way,” said Jesus. “Your faith has saved and healed you.”

In that very instant he recovered his sight and followed Jesus down the road.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion   
Monday, December 20, 2021

Today's Scripture
Luke 2:8–14
(NIV)

And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. 9 An angelv of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid.w I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. 11 Today in the town of David a Saviorx has been born to you; he is the Messiah,y the Lord.z 12 This will be a signa to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

13 Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,

14 “Glory to God in the highest heaven,

and on earth peaceb to those on whom his favor rests.”

Insight

The verb translated “I bring you good news” in Luke 2:10 is euangelizo, from the same root as euangelion, the New Testament’s word for “gospel.” In its original context, it’s a word that would have carried tremendous weight, a forcefulness that we today might not notice due to overfamiliarity with it. A “gospel” proclamation was a royal announcement proclaiming that a particular king was in charge. At the time of Jesus, the Roman Empire described its own reign as good news.

In Luke 2, the heavenly choir proclaimed that a different King was really in charge and at work to restore God’s kingdom of justice and peace through the birth of Jesus Christ. After Jesus’ death and resurrection, His followers carried on the profoundly countercultural message of a different “good news” of the rule of Christ and a profoundly different kingdom than that of Rome. By: Monica La Rose

Fear Not

Do not be afraid . . . a Savior has been born to you.
Luke 2:10–11

Linus, in the Peanuts comic strip, is best known for his blue security blanket. He carries it everywhere and isn’t embarrassed at needing it for comfort. His sister Lucy especially dislikes the blanket and often tries to get rid of it. She buries it, makes it into a kite, and uses it for a science fair project. Linus too knows he should be less dependent on his blanket and lets it go from time to time, always to take it back.

In the movie A Charlie Brown Christmas, when a frustrated Charlie Brown asks, “Isn’t there anyone who knows what Christmas is all about?” Linus, with his security blanket in hand, steps center stage and quotes Luke 2:8–14. In the middle of his recitation, as he says, “Fear not,” he drops his blanket—the thing he clung to when afraid.

What is it about Christmas that reminds us we don’t need to fear? The angels that appeared to the shepherds said, “Do not be afraid . . . a Savior has been born to you” (Luke 2:10–11).

Jesus is “God with us” (Matthew 1:23). We have His very presence through His Holy Spirit, the true Comforter (John 14:16), so we don’t need to fear. We can let go of our “security blankets” and trust in Him. By:  Anne Cetas

Reflect & Pray

What are you afraid of? How can the Holy Spirit’s presence help you with what troubles you?

I’m still learning, God, that You’re the greatest Comforter. Help me to let go of the things that give me false security, and please guide me to cling to You.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Monday, December 20, 2021

The Right Kind of Help

And I, if I am lifted up…will draw all peoples to Myself. —John 12:32

Very few of us have any understanding of the reason why Jesus Christ died. If sympathy is all that human beings need, then the Cross of Christ is an absurdity and there is absolutely no need for it. What the world needs is not “a little bit of love,” but major surgery.

When you find yourself face to face with a person who is spiritually lost, remind yourself of Jesus Christ on the cross. If that person can get to God in any other way, then the Cross of Christ is unnecessary. If you think you are helping lost people with your sympathy and understanding, you are a traitor to Jesus Christ. You must have a right-standing relationship with Him yourself, and pour your life out in helping others in His way— not in a human way that ignores God. The theme of the world’s religion today is to serve in a pleasant, non-confrontational manner.

But our only priority must be to present Jesus Christ crucified— to lift Him up all the time (see 1 Corinthians 2:2). Every belief that is not firmly rooted in the Cross of Christ will lead people astray. If the worker himself believes in Jesus Christ and is trusting in the reality of redemption, his words will be compelling to others. What is extremely important is for the worker’s simple relationship with Jesus Christ to be strong and growing. His usefulness to God depends on that, and that alone.

The calling of a New Testament worker is to expose sin and to reveal Jesus Christ as Savior. Consequently, he cannot always be charming and friendly, but must be willing to be stern to accomplish major surgery. We are sent by God to lift up Jesus Christ, not to give wonderfully beautiful speeches. We must be willing to examine others as deeply as God has examined us. We must also be sharply intent on sensing those Scripture passages that will drive the truth home, and then not be afraid to apply them.

Wisdom From Oswald Chambers

Defenders of the faith are inclined to be bitter until they learn to walk in the light of the Lord. When you have learned to walk in the light of the Lord, bitterness and contention are impossible. Biblical Psychology, 199 R

Bible in a Year: Micah 1-3; Revelation 11

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Monday, December 20, 2021

The Unstoppable Plans of God - #9116

Our ministry summer outreaches in Native America are some of our daughter's most cherished weeks of the year. But the year her first child was due in late summer, there was no way she could get the doctor's green light to travel - especially when the destination was the villages of Native Alaska. Now that's one of the amazing aspects of the first Christmas - that Mary would travel by donkey from Nazareth to Bethlehem in her ninth month of pregnancy. I've traveled the road from Nazareth to Bethlehem by car, not by donkey or foot as Joseph and Mary did. It's a tortuous journey through hills and mountains. It's about 90 long miles. There's no way you're going to get a loving husband to go with his very pregnant wife on a trip like that on the eve of their baby's birth, right? Wrong.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Unstoppable Plans of God."

For almost 500 years, the prophecies of God had said that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem. Little problem: Joseph and Mary are living 90 miles away in Nazareth. There's apparently no way you'll ever get Mary to Bethlehem when the Messiah in her womb is full term. But the plan of God says Bethlehem. What God does is absolutely amazing, and a very special encouragement for you and me this Christmas.

Our word for today from the Word of God comes from these familiar verses, Luke 2:1-4. "In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world...and everyone went to his town to register. So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem, the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David."

Now the man seemingly making all this happen is the Roman Emperor, Caesar Augustus. History tells us that he murdered members of his own family, he actually was a mass murderer, and he instituted emperor worship. He was, in many ways, a monster. And here is little Joseph caught up in the great whirlpool of history. But it is Caesar Augustus who turns out to be the big player in this divine drama, and yet just a footnote to history. He thinks he's flexing his muscle with this universal census, but this most powerful man on earth is but an unsuspecting instrument in the hands of a sovereign God.

God will get His destiny couple to His destiny place, even if He has to move an empire to do it! The Christmas story is God's powerful statement that God's plans are unstoppable! Including His plans for you. Plans that He says in Jeremiah 29:11 are "plans to prosper you and not harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

Now it may be that right now there appears to be no way things can turn out right. The money isn't there, your health isn't there, the relationship looks impossible, the job frustrations are mounting, the mountain isn't moving, and the answer isn't coming. It looks like there's no way for things to work out, not enough time for an answer to come.

But you belong to the God who, with the stroke of an evil man's pen, moved an empire to place His kids, Joseph and Mary, right where they were supposed to be. Yes, there was a difficult process, but God delivered them exactly where they were supposed to be. And believe me, God will get His plans for you accomplished if He has to move an empire to do it, or use even a godless instrument to do it.

Jesus was born in Bethlehem. Just getting Him there was a miracle! So would you relax in the strong arms of the God of Bethlehem. He will move whatever He has to move to finish what He has started in your life!