Mark 10:5

THE BARREN FIG TREE CURSED WITH LESSONS FROM IT--SECOND CLEANSING OF THE TEMPLE, ON THE SECOND AND THIRD DAYS OF THE WEEK. ( = Mat 21:12-22; Luk 19:45-48). (Mark 11:11-26) And Jesus entered into Jerusalem, and into the temple: and when he had looked round about upon--surveyed. all things, and now the eventide was come, he went out into Bethany with the twelve--Thus briefly does our Evangelist dispose of this His first day in Jerusalem, after the triumphal entry. Nor do the Third and Fourth Gospels give us more light. But from Matthew (Mat 21:10-11, Mat 21:14-16) we learn some additional and precious particulars, for which see on Luk 19:45-48. It was not now safe for the Lord to sleep in the city, nor, from the day of His Triumphal Entry, did He pass one night in it, save the last fatal one. The Barren Fig Tree Cursed (Mar 11:12-14).

In this chapter, we have, I. Christ's dispute with the Pharisees concerning divorce (Mar 10:1-12). II. The kind entertainment he gave to the little children that were brought to him to be blessed (Mar 10:13-16). III. His trial of the rich man that enquired what he must do to get to heaven (Mar 10:17-22). IV. His discourse with his disciples, upon that occasion, concerning the peril of riches (Mar 10:23-27), and the advantage of being impoverished for his sake (Mar 10:28-31). V. The repeated notice he gave his disciples of his sufferings and death approaching (Mar 10:32-34). VI. The counsel he gave to James and John, to think of suffering with him, rather than of reigning with him (v. 15-45). VII. The cure of Bartimeus, a poor blind man (Mar 10:46-52). All which passages of story we had the substance of before, Mt. 19 and 20.

10:5-9 God permitted divorce as a concession to the hard hearts of the people. But God’s will is more aptly expressed in the passages that Jesus quotes from the law of Moses (Gen 1:27; 2:23-24; see also Mal 2:16). Jesus shows that God delights in marriage, which is the creation of a new union in which two become one. No one should rebel against God’s will by seeking to split apart what God has united.