Mark 10:8
The joining into one flesh is a very interesting thought on the basis of how woman was formed. When God made everything, it was all very good until he made man. Man by himself, just a male, was not good. That in itself is a great mystery. But anyway, God fixed this problem by creating woman out of a part taken from the man.
Male and female, then, go together in a special way. You might say the male prototype would have been scrapped if it were not for the invention of the female. And, the female would not have been invented at all without the male. Marriage is then a celebration of the creative genius of Almighty God. The joining of the two into one is a beautiful and wonderful illustration of his intelligence. Two is twice the fun!

Heavenly Father, thank you for your awesome creativity. Unity in diversity is not a concept we really understand so well. But you do! You know how to make all the parts of your creation come together and sing. You are the composer of the cosmic orchestra. We see your handiwork everywhere. Thank you! In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise you, Amen.

Mark 10:7
Jesus reiterated what Genesis had established. Since man and woman were made to go together, marriage is a natural part of life. This is a foriegn concept to most people today. They act as if our bodies no more belong together than any thing else. This is foolishness, of course. But, when your worldview is not built on Scripture, then you get into this kind of confusion. Though the Jewish leaders did have Genesis as their starting point, they failed to apply it properly.

Heavenly Father, thank you for giving us the whole picture. In your Word we discover who we really are. Salvation enables us to grow. We can become something more through Christ. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise you, Amen.

Mark 10:6
Jesus is very different in his teaching because he teaches from a unique perspective. He was there at the beginning. He was involved in the creation of male and female. Thus, his words in this verse are kind of like Henry Ford explaining the workings of an engine. Jesus understands why we were made this way. He knows every consideration, every specific.
We think about things like this from inside the box, so to speak. Jesus looks at it from the outside. This is not because he is not human, however. It’s because he has the right perspective, one that we can have if we try.

Heavenly Father, we know that you have made everything in its place and for its own purpose. You have a beautiful plan for every one of your creations. We tend to forget that we are created beings, made for your enjoyment. Thank you for making us the way you have! In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise you, Amen.

Mark 10:5
Jesus is literally telling them that Moses did this because of their lack of spiritual perception. This is quite a disparaging comment! To say that divorce was allowed only because the Jewish men were not spiritually mature is pretty tough. But, this is an accurate picture. Jesus didn’t water it down.

Heavenly Father, thank you for the wonderful blessing of marriage! Though we see marriages fall apart all the time, the effort is still with it. A godly marriage is worth so much! Thank you for giving us this blessing. We give you all the glory for it. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise you, Amen.

Mark 10:4
Notice the little word here, suffered. It means that Moses allowed for a bill of divorce, but it was not a primary commandment. The Pharisees understood that, ideally, the marriage bond was not to be broken.
There was actually quite a bit of debate over what constituted a good enough reason to do this. This same kind of debate can be found among Christians today. Is divorce allowed in some circumstances? If so, what is a good reason? These kinds of questions always tend to crop up with laws that are so important to our daily lives. They become hotly debated.

Heavenly Father, thank you for your precepts. May we love all of them, regardless of how much they intersect with our lifestyle. We must give you the glory, for your law is perfect. You have made the right way clear, and we will do well to find it. Thank you for always being at work in our lives. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise you, Amen.

Mark 10:3
Jesus went straight to Moses. Now, this is exactly what the Pharisees did not expect him to do. They thought that he was trying to set himself up as a substitute for Moses and give a ‘new’ law. They were only half right. Jesus is Moses’ Lord, and the law’s author.

Heavenly Father, thank you for your law! It is perfect and holy. It gives us a path for our feet. It shows us the way in which we must go. Thank you for Christ, and salvation in him. Without him we would have no way to live by the law. It would be only a horror to us. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise you, Amen.

Mark 10:2
The Pharisees are once again hoping to find some slip up in Jesus’ theology. However, they were getting desperate.  They hoped that a hot-button issue like this would anger other groups among the Jews. They needed help in thier campaign against Christ.

Heavenly Father, thank you for your great mercy! In spite of the plans of men, you continue your great work of grace. You are truly worthy of all the praise, for you have done well in all things. You alone are good and just. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise you, Amen.

Mark 10:1
Ah, yet again we see the action of choice from Jesus. He was always teaching. Which would only be natural. If you were smarter than anybody on the planet, and you knew everything that could ever be known, you would do the same thing. It just makes sense. Even if you were asked a question about something that somebody thought you knew nothing about, you would end up teaching them.
And, that’s exactly how Jesus was. Though he also was very focused. He directed his teaching to the most important things. He touched on what would be the most vital to the situation at hand.

Heavenly Father, your teaching is of great blessing to all of us. You don’t play around, you get right to what is important. Thank you for guiding our lives! In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise you, Amen.

Mark 9:50
Jesus is highlighting the flavor-enriching nature of salt, and its preservative powers. The Christian life is to make a difference in this world, and that is what Jesus is concerned about. Just as the lost are condemned and manifest the works of darkness, the saved are to manifest the works of light.

Heavenly Father, thank you for your Word! The teaching we find in it challenges us every day to strive to be the Christian that we are supposed to be. The resources you give us are complete, but we must depend upon what you have given us. We must not trust in the flesh. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise you, Amen.

Mark 9:49
Sacrifices in the Old Testament were offered with salt. So, Jesus is saying two things here on the basis of this one principle of salting the sacrifice. First, the fires of hell serve as salt on the condemned. They are preserved from annihilation, but ever-tormented. Second, spiritual salt serves as a preservative in the life of Christians.

Heavenly Father, thank you for preserving us from condemnation! You are worthy of all of our praise. You have given us a way of escape, and I praise you for it and your goodness. Thank you! In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise you, Amen.