Bible Study series: Mark 10:1-12. God himself set up marriage. We trifle with it to our own hurt.
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I also translate to learn. The translations are mine, unless otherwise noted. If you would like to see many others, please click here:
If you would like to see the original Greek, please click here:
At that link, I also offer more commentary and a Summary and Conclusion, geared towards discipleship. Scroll down to the bottom and check it out!
Let’s begin.
Scripture: Mark 10:1-12
1 Setting out from there, he went into the regions of Judea, beyond the Jordan River, and again the crowds flocked to him. And again, by custom, he was teaching them. 2 The Pharisees approached and asked him, in order to test him, whether it was legal for a husband to divorce his wife. 3 In reply, he said to them, “What did Moses command you?” 4 They said, “Moses allowed a person ‘to write a certificate of divorce and to divorce.’ [Deut. 24:1, 3] 5 But Jesus said to them, “Because of the hardness of your heart he wrote this command for you,
6 But from the beginning of creation ‘he made them male and female.’ [Gen. 1:27; 5:2] 7 ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and cling to his wife. 8 And the two shall be one flesh, so then they are no longer two but instead one flesh. 9 Therefore what God has joined together let not a person split apart.’” [Gen. 2:23-24]
10 Then inside the house again, the disciples asked him about this matter. 11 He said to them, “If he divorces his wife and marries another woman, he commits adultery against her. 12 And if she, having divorced her husband, marries another man, she commits adultery.” (Mark 10:1-12)
Comments:
It is imperative that you belong to a Spirit-filled, Bible-respecting church and ask them about their divorce policy. I’m just a teacher with no pastoral oversight, but I merely teach what I believe the Scriptures tell us.
Please note: Many of my comments here are taken from my earlier one at Matt. 5:31-32, but with some edits for this pericope (pronounced puh-RIH-koh-pea) or section of Scripture. You can click back there for different emphases.
1:
Jesus had been up north, but now he went south to the province of Judea and beyond the Jordan River. “From there” probably means from Capernaum. He went through Samaria. He was not avoiding it, so this eliminates any belief that Mark did not seemingly know his geography (Strauss). The Jordan runs from north to south and is on the east side of Israel. Traveling east of the river, he is taking the long route to Jerusalem, before his triumphal entry in Mark 11.
2:
“Pharisees”: You can learn more about them at this link:
Quick Reference to Jewish Groups in Gospels and Acts
This group, among others, was the Watchdogs of Theology and Behavior (David E. Garland, Luke: Zondervan Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament [Zondervan, 2011], p. 243). The problem which Jesus had with them can be summed up in Eccl. 7:16: “Be not overly righteous.” He did not quote that verse, but to him they were much too enamored with the finer points of the law, while neglecting its spirit (Luke 11:37-52; Matt. 23:1-36). Instead, he quoted this verse from Hos. 6:6: “But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” (Matt. 9:13; 12:7). Overdoing righteousness, believe it or not, can damage one’s relationship with God and others.
However, Craig Keener notes in his commentary in Matthew’s Gospel that the Pharisees were very loose about divorce, to the point of scandal. So righteousness was followed only when it suited them.
Now let’s move to the emotional topic of divorce.
Please see my post on divorce and remarriage in the NT:
Brief Overview of Divorce and Remarriage in New Testament
3-12:
“divorce”: this verb could be translated as “put away” and even “release” or “set free.” But in this context, “divorce” is intended.
Jesus answered their question with a question. They summarized the passage in Deut. 24:1-4.
Jesus gave himself permission to explain the true meaning of Moses’ permission to write a certificate of divorce. This shows a high Christology. You or I would not be so bold as to permit ourselves to do this. Hold on! Many Progressive Christians are doing just that. This reveals how arrogant they are. They are rewriting the Bible to suit and satisfy their own postmodern needs and sexual drives.
Four-part series on how one should not practice lawlessness, particularly church leaders:
Warning to Evolving, Progressive Churches: Danger Signs
Warning to Evolving, Progressive Churches: Authority of Scripture
Warning to Evolving, Progressive Churches: Marriage and Sex
Warning to Evolving, Progressive Churches: Judgment Is Coming
In vv. 4-5, in Judaism at the time, remarriage was permitted after the divorce, for both the man and woman. Jesus is about to tighten this up, though my comments at Matt. 5:31-32 expands this idea of seemingly not allowing remarriage.
How would Jesus answer the Pharisees’ question? He endorsed the Edenic model of one man and one woman, and they should stay together, because they made a covenant before God. He joined them together. The Pharisees replied by asking why Moses permitted the certificate of divorce. He said that Moses accommodated their hardness of heart, but at the beginning it was not so (Matt. 19:7-8). Then Jesus revealed that divorce is allowed only for sexual misconduct.
Once again, please see this post, where I cover Mark’s version more thoroughly:
Brief Overview of Divorce and Remarriage in New Testament
In the church today, each couple or the single divorcee must get counsel from wise leaders in the church who can look at the unique set of circumstances.
Bottom line: Marriage is a covenant not only between the man and the woman, but between God, the man and the woman. Involve God in your marriage. If you do not, then sin enters and destroys the covenant, and civil, legal divorce may ensue.
Go to church, get counseling, and pray! Divorce is the last resort! The above triangle says that the closer the couple draws near to God, going upward, the closer they draw towards each other.
GrowApp for Mark 10:1-12
1. If you got divorced for unbiblical reasons, how has God redeemed your life anyway?
2. Do you believe God forgives divorce and restores people to a new life, after divorce? Do you have a story to tell?
RELATED
10. Eyewitness Testimony in Mark’s Gospel
2. Church Fathers and Mark’s Gospel
2. Archaeology and the Synoptic Gospels
14. Similarities among John’s Gospel and the Synoptic Gospels
1. The Historical Reliability of the Gospels: Introduction to Series
SOURCES
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