Daily Devotionals
Day by Day Devotional - Year 3 of 5
Devotional: December 16th

Mark 10:35-52

Let us especially notice the faith of James and John. They knew that their Master was the Messiah, the Heir to the kingdom and that they would have part with Him there. But their request betrays the ignorance and vanity of their natural hearts. Very graciously, the Lord calls His disciples around Him and uses this unfortunate intervention by the two brothers for their instruction (and thus for ours too). Do they not understand that they have before them the greatest Example of humility? He who had every right to be served, voluntarily made Himself a servant in order to deliver His creature and to pay with His own life the ransom required by the sovereign Judge. V. 45 could be called the key verse of the gospel; it is a summary of the whole book.

The Spirit shows us three very different attitudes in this chapter: the man whom the Lord invites to follow Him and who goes away (vv. 21, 22); the disciples, who were also called, who followed Him trembling (v. 32) and who boast of how much they have given up (v. 28); and finally this poor blind man, of whom the Lord Jesus asks nothing when He healed him, but who, without a word, and throwing away his garment which might hinder his progress, followed Him "in the way" (v. 52).

Notice the inconstancy of the crowd who first rebuke the blind man, but moments later call after him, "Be of good comfort".