What does Jesus teach about divorce?
In part 1 of “Maybe, I Do,” we see the Pharisees challenge Jesus with questions on divorce in Mark 10:1-12. J. Mark explores the cultural and religious views of divorce that the Pharisees had, and Jesus’ response to these views. Jesus takes us back to the beginning, in the Garden of Eden, where God created marriage, and clarifies God’s original plan and purpose for marriage.
Transcript
It is a privilege to open the Word of God and learn from its author. This program is produced by Heralds of Hope; our goal is to use media to make disciples. Disciples doing what Jesus did means walking in obedience to Him, no matter what, especially when His teaching goes against what my flesh wants.
Today, we are looking at a conversation between the Pharisees and Jesus. We are in Mark 10, and they are testing Jesus with questions about divorce. Listen carefully as J Mark explains the two ways of thinking about divorce at the time. Like it is today, it was a controversial topic back then.
Take your Bible and turn to Mark 10, where Jesus takes us back to the beginning, in the Garden of Eden, where God created marriage. These principles are foundational to our view of marriage, and our lesson and J. Mark will expound on them today.
Do you know the secret to a lasting marriage? I’m sure there are as many answers as opinions, and some will be right. Some would say that love is the most critical component for a successful marriage. Do you agree? I don’t!
Marriage, designed by God, requires total commitment; that is the most critical component. When we enter the marriage covenant, we commit to each other 100 percent. Our vows include our promise to love and care for each other in sickness and health, in poverty or wealth, through the successes and reverses of life until death finally separates us. We promise an unequivocal “I do!”
In this study, we’re looking at the opening verses of Mark 10, where the Pharisees confront Jesus with a question relating to marriage. As we’ll see, their commitment to marriage was “Maybe I do.” That’s the title of my teaching.
Listen now as I read the text, Mark 10:1-12. This is God’s unchanging Word.
1Then He arose from there and came to the region of Judea by the other side of the Jordan. And multitudes gathered to Him again, and as He was accustomed, He taught them again.
2 The Pharisees came and asked Him, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?” testing Him.
3 And He answered and said to them, “What did Moses command you?”
4 They said, “Moses permitted a man to write a certificate of divorce, and to dismiss her.”
5 And Jesus answered and said to them, “Because of the hardness of your heart, he wrote you this precept.
6 But from the beginning of the creation, God made them male and female.
7 ‘For this reason, a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife,
8 and the two shall become one flesh’; so then they are no longer two, but one flesh.
9 Therefore, what God has joined together, let not man separate.”
10 In the house, His disciples also asked Him again about the same matter.
11 So He said to them, “Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her.
12 And if a woman divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery.”
If you were with me for the two previous episodes from Mark chapter 9, we looked at kingdom values followed by radical discipleship. The kingdom values we looked at in Mark 9:30 to 41 were anonymity, humility, and inclusivity. The concepts of radical discipleship in Mark 9:42-50 were radical love, radical purity, and radical obedience. This is the context of our study today.
In this conversation with the Pharisees and His disciples, Jesus corrects their misconceptions and clarifies His plan and purpose for marriage.
First, Jesus HIGHLIGHTS
The Confrontation
Our text points out that Jesus was traveling through Perea. In this area, ruled by Herod, the Pharisees confronted Jesus with their question. We know their motives were not honorable. They were trying to trap Jesus. They wanted to use His answer to make Him look bad in the eyes of the people and the religious leaders. Perhaps they hoped Jesus’ stance on divorce would lead to a similar outcome to that of John the Baptist!
The Pharisees’ intent seems to have been to force Jesus to choose sides in the debate between the rabbinical schools about permissible grounds for divorce. One faction, led by Rabbi Hillel, was embraced by the Pharisees. That’s why, in Matthew 19:3, they asked Jesus, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for just any reason?” Hillel permitted divorce for trivial reasons. The other school of thought was led by Rabbi Shammai, who taught that divorce was only allowed in cases of extramarital sexual activity.
Evidently, the followers of Hillel had the mistaken idea that many people have today: God designed marriage to make us happy. I don’t find that teaching anywhere in the Scriptures. What I do see is that God designed marriage to make us holy and to glorify Him. That isn’t to say that marriage has no happiness; it does. I’ve experienced it. But it is not the primary purpose.
Anyone who enters marriage with happiness as the primary goal will most likely fail. God takes two individuals with very different personalities, giftings, temperaments, and intellects and commands them to become one. That is hard work! Marriage will not fulfill His purposes without radical love, purity, and obedience to Jesus Christ.
If the primary goal of your marriage is happiness, you will eventually ask the same question the Pharisees asked. “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?” As He often did, Jesus asked them a question in response. “What did Moses command you to do?” Jesus took them back to the Mosaic Law to which they claimed complete allegiance.
Notice how they answered Jesus. They said, “Moses permitted a man to write a bill of divorce and dismiss her.” They were referring to Deuteronomy 24:1-4. The bill or document was “a written statement in which a plaintiff sets forth the cause of action or the relief sought.”
The word “divorce” in the original is “apostasion“. Synonyms are defection and desertion, as a slave from his master. In today’s language, it means “a falling out of love.” As you may have guessed, this word is related to apostasia (apostasy), a falling away or desertion from the faith. Divorce is a form of apostasy, a falling away from one’s marriage partner and a falling away from God and His Word. As we will see, these words bear heavily on Jesus’ teachings on this subject.
So, this is the confrontation: “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?”
Next, Jesus HIGHLIGHTS
The Concession
A concession is something agreed to, often grudgingly, to reach an agreement or improve a situation. That is precisely what Moses’ law was. Divorce was NEVER God’s intention!
Jesus’ explanation begins in verse 5. He told them, “Because of the hardness of your heart, he wrote you this precept.” Their hardheartedness was the disease; a certificate of divorce was the prescription. However, like many prescriptions, it reduces the symptoms but doesn’t cure the underlying disease.
How serious is the hardness of the heart? Will God overlook, sanction, or save those who possess hard hearts? Will anyone in heaven possess a hard heart? To ask is to answer. Hence, Jesus’ pronouncement that the Mosaic provision pertained to “hard hearts” underscores that it was not intended as a divine approval of divorce.
Paul wrote about this hardness of heart in Romans 2:5. “But because of your hard and impenitent heart, you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed.” The only escape is genuine repentance.
Therefore, Moses’ law was not a command; it was a concession. The Law neither commanded divorce nor established divorce as a right. It was legal, but, like many laws today, it wasn’t necessarily moral. God allowed divorce, but He didn’t command it.
As I understand, the prescription in Deuteronomy 24 was for the woman’s protection. If this Old Testament passage provides a suitable answer to the Pharisees’ question, Jesus undoubtedly would have used it. Instead, His response to their query demonstrates that this passage does not provide the proper answer to their question about the propriety of divorce.
The prescription did, however, offer some protection for women. The certificate of divorce protected the divorced wife from false allegations of adultery from her ex-husband or others. The remarriage rules also prohibited the former husband from treating his wife as disposable property. Once she remarried, she was lost to him forever. He could not try to reclaim her after another man married her. It is also likely that the divorce certificate specified the property rights of the ex-wife so that she would not be left destitute after the divorce. God’s protection of women’s rights was revolutionary at the time.
This was the concession God granted to His people because of their hardheartedness. Many today still try to grasp it.
The Final HIGHLIGHT is,
The Clarification
In verses 6 to 12 of our text, Jesus returns to God’s design and purpose for marriage from the Creation. In Gen 2:24, “for this cause” did not refer to God’s making the first human beings “male and female,” but to God’s making Eve out of Adam’s rib. Since a woman came from a man, a man should unite with a woman to recapture their original unity. It takes both male and female to represent God and His attributes accurately and fully.
In discussing male leadership in First Corinthians 11, Paul writes, “For this reason, the woman ought to have authority on her head, because of the angels. Nevertheless, neither is man independent of woman, nor woman independent of man, in the Lord. For as woman came from man, even so, man also comes through woman; but all things are from God.” The point is that neither man nor woman is independent. They are mutually dependent on God and each other.
The man is commanded to leave behind his father and mother, those closest to him in flesh and blood. He forms a new union and family unit by cleaving to his wife. To cleave means to glue, bond, or adhere. This creates an unbreakable bond.
This is where we end today. However, this is not the end of our lesson. On the first two points, the confrontation and the concession, J Mark did a great job of explaining how the Pharisees viewed divorce and what factors caused them to think the way they did. This historical context is helpful to us, as it helps us understand what influenced their view. In the last section, the clarification, we will look at what God intended in Genesis. We just got started on this point, and time ran out, but we will finish this in the next lesson. Please make sure you can join us next time for the rest of this study on marriage.
Matthew 19 has another account of Jesus teaching on marriage. Suppose you can compare this account with Jesus’ teaching here in Mark 10. They are not the same, but check them out, can you see the differences? What are the reasons for these differences? Also, make sure you look up other passages that address this topic; it is important, and we must wisely use all scripture.
We would love to hear your takeaways. Did your understanding change, or did it affirm your current view? If you have any other comments or questions about today’s lesson, please let us know. Our email address is hope@heraldsofhope.org, and our website is heraldsofhope.org. There you will find “contact us,” under the partner tab on the top right. Click that to message us directly. Till next time, blessings as you study His Word and live it out. Lessons like this remind me of the parable of the wise and foolish men. The wise man heard Jesus’ teaching and put it into practice; the foolish man heard but did not do. May all of us go and be like the wise man.
