Mark 10

Jesus Teaches About Marriage, Divorce, “Putting Away”, and Hearts

Mark 10:2-12(NLT) Some Pharisees came and tried to trap him with this question: “Should a man be allowed to divorce his wife?”³ Jesus answered them with a question: “What did Moses say in the law about divorce?”
⁴ “Well, he permitted it,” they replied. “He said a man can give his wife a written notice of divorce and send her away.”
⁵ But Jesus responded, “He wrote this commandment only as a concession to your hard hearts. ⁶ But ‘God made them male and female’ from the beginning of creation. ⁷ ‘This explains why a man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, ⁸ and the two are united into one.’ Since they are no longer two but one, ⁹ let no one split apart what God has joined together.”
¹⁰ Later, when he was alone with his disciples in the house, they brought up the subject again. ¹¹ He told them, “Whoever divorces his wife and marries someone else commits adultery against her. ¹² And if a woman divorces her husband and marries someone else, she commits adultery.”

This incident is also covered in Matthew chapter 19 also where we read:

Matthew 19:3-9(NLT) Some Pharisees came and tried to trap him with this question: “Should a man be allowed to divorce his wife for just any reason?”
⁴ “Haven’t you read the Scriptures?” Jesus replied. “They record that from the beginning ‘God made them male and female.’” ⁵ And he said, “‘This explains why a man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one.’ ⁶ Since they are no longer two but one, let no one split apart what God has joined together.”
⁷ “Then why did Moses say in the law that a man could give his wife a written notice of divorce and send her away?” they asked.
⁸ Jesus replied, “Moses permitted divorce only as a concession to your hard hearts, but it was not what God had originally intended. ⁹ And I tell you this, whoever divorces his wife and marries someone else commits adultery—unless his wife has been unfaithful.”

The subject of divorce and the “putting away of women” in the NT times was complicated depending on the racial and cultural practices of different groups of people present there. For the Pharisees, who here are trying to trap Jesus in his words, the practice of divorce and remarriage was very common, and was justified by saying that the law of Moses allowed them to “put their wife away”. This was not necessarily giving her a bill of divorcement which would allow her to remarry which is what the law required.

Matthew 10:11(NLT) He told them, “Whoever divorces his wife and marries someone else commits adultery against her. ¹² And if a woman divorces her husband and marries someone else, she commits adultery.”

This “divorce” here is the “putting away”, not the required bill of divorce required by the law. But rather they would just put the wife away and leave her in a very precarious position culturally. It was a very tough place for a woman to live and prosper without a man to be with and protect her. Think of the Samaritan woman at the well and her marriage situation. She had had five husbands, and the man she was with she wasn’t married to. Jesus doesn’t judge her for this, but rather teaches her the gospel of the kingdom to change her life and those in that village.

One of the two categories of people that the NT promotes to us for charitable giving is for widows and for orphans. These persons would be women that had no husband because of death, and children because of death that had no father or parents to care for them. These are the true recipients of Christian charity we are admonished to care for.

When the Pharisees decided that their wife did not please them for any reason, they would put the woman into this precarious cultural and economic position. If she then went with another man, this would make her adulterous and she would be subject to death under the law of Moses. This would also be true of the husband taking another wife or living with a different woman without divorce. This place of uncertainty that the wife would be in would be the cause of her adultery, not remarriage if she was fully divorced. Read from Malachi 2 what God says through the prophet Malachi.

Malachi 2:13-17 Here is another thing you do. You cover the LORD’s altar with tears, weeping and groaning because he pays no attention to your offerings and doesn’t accept them with pleasure. ¹⁴ You cry out, “Why doesn’t the LORD accept my worship?” I’ll tell you why! Because the LORD witnessed the vows you and your wife made when you were young. But you have been unfaithful to her, though she remained your faithful partner, the wife of your marriage vows.
¹⁵ Didn’t the LORD make you one with your wife? In body and spirit you are his. And what does he want? Godly children from your union. So guard your heart; remain loyal to the wife of your youth. ¹⁶ “For I hate divorce!” says the LORD, the God of Israel. “To divorce your wife is to overwhelm her with cruelty,” says the LORD of Heaven’s Armies. “So guard your heart; do not be unfaithful to your wife.”
¹⁷ You have wearied the LORD with your words. “How have we wearied him?” you ask. You have wearied him by saying that all who do evil are good in the LORD’s sight, and he is pleased with them. You have wearied him by asking, “Where is the God of justice?”

This is a judgment of the hardness of the hearts of the Jews there and in Mark. This is put on top of a cultural acceptance of almost anything goes sexually for the Romans and Greeks surrounding them. The Gentiles had a very lax view of fornication, or even incest or homosexuality which was certainly not part of God’s plan for marriage and sexual relationships. The Pharisees desired to be able to have any woman that they wanted sexually, and found ways to make this seem good and godly.

Jesus brings us back to the standard set in Malachi 2. God intends for each to be in a marriage relationship with one man or one woman. This is set by vows of marriage which are made at the time of our marriage where we promise to be faithful. Jesus condemns not the woman for what is going on but rather calls out the Jews for the ways they perverted the law and the intent of God for marriage.

The law did give the woman a right for divorce if the husband would not support her and take care of her (Deuteronomy 24:1,3). It could also be for sexual reasons, either adultery on his part or refusal to be one with her sexually. Cruelty could also be the grounds for a divorce for the woman and God does not require that anyone in an abusive relationship needs to arbitrarily stay there regardless of actions or words by either side.

Luke 16:14-15,18 The Pharisees, who dearly loved their money, heard all this and scoffed at him. ¹⁵ Then he said to them, “You like to appear righteous in public, but God knows your hearts. What this world honors is detestable in the sight of God…..¹⁸ “For example, a man who divorces his wife and marries someone else commits adultery. And anyone who marries a woman divorced from her husband commits adultery.

The word “divorce” here is the word “putting away” and this is the problem. If there were true grounds for divorce for the woman or the man, then there should be a “bill of divorcement” given which would not result in adultery by either if they remarried. The problem is the hardness of hearts which is true until today where easy divorce because of sexual attraction to someone else or simply desire to be single in order to “play the field”, are symptoms of the hardness of hearts which is what God most judges. He cares about the condition of our thinking and our hearts before him.

God knows the evil that is in the hearts of mankind and desires for us to become like Him and His Son in every way in our lives including our marriages.

Colossians 3:5(NLT) So put to death the sinful, earthly things lurking within you. Have nothing to do with sexual immorality, impurity, lust, and evil desires. Don’t be greedy, for a greedy person is an idolater, worshiping the things of this world

Colossians 3:12-14(NLT) Since God chose you to be the holy people he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. ¹³ Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others. ¹⁴ Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds us all together in perfect harmony.

Jesus holds the Pharisees to this level of commitment, not the deceit of Malachi 2. If we want to walk with God, hearing Him and talking to Him, we need to purge our hearts of evil desire, and make the love of God be the standard for our lives. God knows our weaknesses and lack of godly desire, but forgives us for our sin and gives us fellowship with Him when we seek Him. Forgive others caught up in the cultural normalcy of divorce and remarriage and welcome the sinner to our fellowship if they are interested in change with God’s help and grace.

Our standard is the Word of God and the love that Jesus shows us to be the way we are to interact with others.

Reflection Questions

Does this discussion change your thoughts about marriage and divorce?

What is our moral position for those in the church?

How can we change our hearts to hear the voice of God?

Prayer

Father God help us to give our hearts to You this day. Thank you for the mercy and grace you have given each of us to make us whole. We lift our lives, families and marriages to You asking for guidance and help for us to make Godly decisions about all we do. Father we desire to become like Christ and be able to heal and bless others. In Jesus’ name we pray this day.

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The Question

*Deuteronomy 7-8

*Psalm 25

*Mark 10

“…Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” (Mark 10:17)

I suppose that this question directly and pointedly asks the question we all wonder at in our heart. Hebrews 11:6 clearly states “…for he who draws near to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.“. God doesn’t require blind and unthinking obedience, he is a God of reason, and wants you to understand that there is a reward for your obedience and faith; there’s a reason you should want to do what God tells us.

If this was not the case, this would have been the perfect opportunity for Jesus to say “Hey man, why are you being so selfish?”, but Jesus recognized the sincerity of the man’s question and answered him equally sincerely by saying, “…Why do you call Me good? No one is good except God alone. You know the commandments, ‘DO NOT MURDER, DO NOT COMMIT ADULTERY, DO NOT STEAL, DO NOT BEAR FALSE WITNESS, Do not defraud, HONOR YOUR FATHER AND MOTHER.’” (Mark 10:18-19 LSB).

There are 2 very important bits that we need to take away from this response. Firstly Jesus said “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone.”. This is (yet another) clear delineation between our King, the Christ (anointed one), and God Himself. If you have a more “complex” interpretation of God than is explicitly stated biblically, this verse creates complex issues, if you’re being honest. There’s a simpler reading. Secondly, Jesus’ first “go to” response is “what do the commandments say?” (Exodus 20, for reference).

Jesus then goes on to say the man should sell all that he has, and give to the poor. Keeping the commandments alone isn’t enough. This makes the man sad because it seems as if his priority is wealth. If you like, do a study on the Jewish concept of “tzedekah”; it’s a great understanding of how we should view worldly wealth conceptually (and most Christians have never even heard of it). We’ll have a devotion that focuses on that concept later.

In this present evil age, it is very difficult to keep our priorities straight. We are constantly bombarded with imagery and concepts that are intentionally designed to divert our attention from our Creator and towards…anything and everything else. Jesus gave us our priority, and told us to actively strive for our reward in Matthew 6:33 “But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” (LSB). Our entire life should be focused on seeking God’s kingdom, and striving to have and exhibit the character of God.

The word here used for righteousness is δικαιοσύνην and could be more accurately translated (as most places that righteousness is used) as “equity”, and I prefer that translation as it’s more accurate and has more depth and nuance to it. Here’s a handy definition of equity as a refresher:

Equity (noun): (from the American Heritage Dictionary of Common Language, 5^th ed)

1. The state or quality of being just and fair.

Something that is just and fair.
Justice achieved not simply according to the strict letter of the law but in accordance with principles of substantial justice and the unique facts of the case

So we are to seek the Kingdom of God AND His (God’s) righteousness, or equity. To be just and fair, not just by the letter of the law, but in our entire character and intent. Note that this latter command to seek the righteousness of God is not only a job, but is in itself a reward, and is a necessary component to entering His Kingdom. This character reflects not only how we are supposed to act, but how we are supposed to be, deep down inside where people can’t see.

“For you are a holy people to Yahweh your God…You shall know therefore that Yahweh your God, He is God, the faithful God, who keeps His covenant and His loving-kindness to a thousand generations with those who love Him and keep His commandments…Therefore, you shall keep the commandments…”(Deut 7:6&9-11, LSB) So, is it important to keep the commandments? Well, according to Jesus our King, it is. Then after we submit to this foundational obedience we must go even further, not just obeying the letter of the law, but actually modelling the character of our amazingly wonderful Creator, Yahweh God.

We’re easily misled, as humans. Sometimes by people, sometimes by traditions that people have elevated, and sometimes even our own hearts can lead us astray. We know from scripture that “the heart is more deceitful than all else” (Jer 17:9 LSB), and that we are to “Trust in Yahweh…lean not on your own understanding” (Prov 3:5-6 LSB). God gave us His word, the scriptures, to be our guide. All of the scriptures. In our reading of Psalms 25 today, we have some of our promises and instructions for being “qodesh”, or holy: “Make me know your ways, O Yahweh, teach me your paths…Good and upright is Yahweh, therefore He instructs sinners in the way…and may he teach the humble His way...for Your name’s sake, O Yahweh, pardon my iniquity for it is great…the secret of Yahweh is for those who fear Him, and He will make them know His covenant.” (Ps 25:4,8,9,11-14 LSB) This tells us clearly that even in this present evil age when we are so easily confused and misled, God Himself will instruct us, if we humbly and obediently seek Him.

When Jesus was tempted, after fasting for 40 days in the wilderness, the first thing he was tempted with was food. Have you ever fasted for more than a day or two? Towards the end did you find that you were pretty focused on getting something to eat? Jesus’ reply to the Accuser was to quote the scriptures, “…man does not live by bread alone, but by everything that proceeds out of the mouth of Yahweh” (Deut 8:3, LSB). Interestingly, every rebuttal that Jesus gives while being tempted was from the book of Deuteronomy. Jesus seems to have thought Deuteronomy was pretty relevant; when asked what the greatest commandment was, he quoted Deut 6:4-5 (The Shema, that story is found in Mark 12) first as the greatest commandment. Is the Old Testament relevant to Christians? Well, to the Christ, it was. Is a servant greater than his master? When you are tempted, follow Jesus’ example; quoting the scripture not only chastens our enemy, but edifies ourselves with our intent. Memorize some key verses to help you in defending yourself.

REFLECTION QUESTIONS

Jesus saw the 10 commandments as basic foundational requirements. Do you obey all 10 of the commandments, as they are explicitly written? Why, or why not?
We are to seek first the Kingdom of God, and His righteousness (or, “equity”). How is that going for you? What can you specifically do on a daily basis to more accurately reflect the magnificent love and character of God to your fellow creation?
We are all tempted in a manner that is specific to our weakness(es). Do you have at least 3 key scriptures memorized, to defend yourself from your specific temptations? What are they? If not, why?

PRAYER

Lord God Yahweh, please, teach me Your ways. Straighten my paths before me, Father, and lead me along the path that leads to Your kingdom. Circumcise my heart, and let me humbly seek your will through obediently following Your word and Your will, as given to us in scriptures and in the teachings of the Christ. Father, forgive me for when I fall short, please be merciful and loving towards me, and help me to reflect that mercy and love to all of Your creation. Thank you, Father, in Jesus’ name, Amen.

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Choosing to be Last

Matthew 19 & Mark 10

Devotion by Paula Kirkpatrick (Minnesota)

When I taught a primary Sunday School class many years ago, there were three eager learners in the class: a brother and sister, and another young boy who was their cousin. The brother and sister were blond and blue-eyed, a sharp contrast to their cousin’s thick dark hair and brown eyes, but each one was bright and engaging, and so fun to teach. They were also quite competitive.

“Who’s going to pass out the crayons?” I asked. “I will,” declared one student, only to be challenged by another voice chiming in, “No, I will!” Inevitably, the remaining student would declare, “I want to do it! It’s my turn!”

For several weeks, this vocal battle ensued each time a new task presented itself during our classtime. We tried to keep track of “turns,” but it still didn’t seem to quiet the noise, or the challenge of, “No, it’s my turn! He did it last week.” Our precious learning time was being shortened by these weekly squabbles.

I needed a solution and Scripture provided the answer. Matt. 19:30 says, “But many who are first will be last; and the last, first.” Mark 10:19 repeats the same sentence.

In Matt. 19:16-30 and Mark 10:17-31 we find the story of Jesus’ encounter with the rich, young ruler.

One day, as Jesus was walking along the road, a rich young man came up to him. “Teacher,” the man said, “what good thing should I do to have eternal life?”

Jesus answered, “You know the commandments.” Jesus then began to list several of them.

“I have obeyed all the commandments since I was young,” the rich young man replied.

Jesus looked at the young man and loved him. Then, he said to him, “You lack only one thing. Sell all you have and give the money to the poor so that you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” When the young man heard those words, he turned and walked away because he had many possessions.

As the rich young man sadly departed, Jesus declared to his disciples, “How hard it will be for those who are wealthy to enter the kingdom of God.” Jesus’ words amazed the disciples. Then he repeated again, “Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God. It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”

Jesus’ statement astonished the disciples. We can imagine them with eyes wide open, jaws dropped, and simply speechless for a few moments. Finally, they asked, “Then who can be saved?” Jesus responded, “with men it is impossible, but not with God; for all things are possible with God.”

The rich young ruler had followed the law. Yet Jesus wanted him to sell everything he owned. Jesus saw what the disciples could not see—the young ruler’s heart. His status, his possessions, were more important than following the example of Jesus, who came to serve mankind and ultimately sacrifice his life for all.

Peter, still trying to understand the meaning of his teacher’s words, exclaimed, “Behold we have left everything and followed you.”

Jesus’ loving response brought assurance.

The disciples’ present sacrifices would be rewarded in the age to come. They had left family and livelihood to follow their beloved Master and assist him in his ministry. To others, they appeared as common laborers, poor and at the bottom of society. But in the coming kingdom, their status would be undisputed.

Paul says it well in I Timothy 4:7-8. “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith;in the future there is reserved for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day; and not only to me, but also to all who have loved His appearing.”

When I shared this story with my students, a change happened. As we began our class the next Sunday, I asked, “Who’s going to pass out the crayons?”

I received these responses. “You go ahead and do it;” “No, you can go first;” “I want to be last!” Attitudes had changed!

All three children now wanted to be LAST each and every time!

“But many who are first, will be last; and the last first.”