Daily Bread Mark 10
Daily Bread Mark 10
Divorce
1Jesus then left that place and went into the region of Judea and across the Jordan. Again crowds of people came to him, and as was his custom, he taught them.
2Some Pharisees came and tested him by asking, "Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?"
3"What did Moses command you?" he replied.
4They said, "Moses permitted a man to write a certificate of divorce and send her away."
5"It was because your hearts were hard that Moses wrote you this law," Jesus replied. 6"But at the beginning of creation God 'made them male and female.'[a] 7'For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife,[b] 8and the two will become one flesh.'[c] So they are no longer two, but one. 9Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate."
10When they were in the house again, the disciples asked Jesus about this. 11He answered, "Anyone who divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery against her. 12And if she divorces her husband and marries another man, she commits adultery."
Observation:
The Pharisees continued to try and trap Jesus in His teaching. Here are the actual verses from the OT they are quoting in Deuteronomy 24
1 If a man marries a woman who becomes displeasing to him because he finds something indecent about her, and he writes her a certificate of divorce, gives it to her and sends her from his house, 2 and if after she leaves his house she becomes the wife of another man, 3 and her second husband dislikes her and writes her a certificate of divorce, gives it to her and sends her from his house, or if he dies, 4 then her first husband, who divorced her, is not allowed to marry her again after she has been defiled. That would be detestable in the eyes of the LORD. Do not bring sin upon the land the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance.
There were two schools of teaching in the Jewish world. One was from Rabbi Shammai, who taught that “indecent” meant a woman was being adulterous, that was the strict interpretation. Another Rabbi, Hillel, had a much more liberal rendering of this verse, which allowed Jewish men to send away their wives for a lot reasons like as some have even quipped, “like burning a bagel”.
So the Pharisees thought if he advocated divorce he would be going against God’s law in Genesis, but if he advocated no divorce he would be nullifying Moses’ permission he gave in Deuteronomy 24. The key thing is that Jesus affirms that marriage is a sacred thing and that was God has joined no person should try and separate.
Luke’s version says the same thing and makes no provision for exceptions for divorce. It is only in Matthew where Jesus permits divorce on grounds of sexual immorality outside of the marriage in Matthew 5 and 19.
Application:
There is some argument over whether Jesus actually gives allowance for divorce under any situation, though clearly in Matthew he is settling the debate in the Jewish community that a man couldn’t send a woman out of the house for any old reason. Surely Jesus would have issue with the modern day divorce rate, even found in the Christian church. The prevailing attitude in our culture seems to say, “If you are not happy find someone else.”
The church needs to play the dual role of ministering to those with grace who have gone through divorces, but also lifting up the biblical value of staying in marriages even when it gets hard, extremely hard. We must teach our young people, that love, unlike the love portrayed in movies and on TV, is not just about lust, but love. To commit to marry someone is to commit to love them even when they seem un-loveable. Love is not a feeling it is a decision.
When we enter into a covenant of marriage it is a covenant to love our spouse as Christ loved the church, which means sacrificially. Sacrificial means to give up something. The opposite of selfish loves which is always looking at “what’s in it for me”.
I often wonder at the untold amount of damage that happens in our families and society due to divorce. Again I am not trying to shame those who have been in a divorce, I am sure that is a pain that no one would wish upon themselves. Hopefully the church can be an agent for change in our culture, and marriage can re-emerge with the kind of commitment they need to last.
Prayer:
God help those who are married to guard this sacred relationship that you have instituted. Help us to learn to love sacrificially as you have loved us. Help those who are not in a relationship to prepare by first being in a right relationship with you before they try to give the kind of love you require. In Jesus’ name.
Divorce
1Jesus then left that place and went into the region of Judea and across the Jordan. Again crowds of people came to him, and as was his custom, he taught them.
2Some Pharisees came and tested him by asking, "Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?"
3"What did Moses command you?" he replied.
4They said, "Moses permitted a man to write a certificate of divorce and send her away."
5"It was because your hearts were hard that Moses wrote you this law," Jesus replied. 6"But at the beginning of creation God 'made them male and female.'[a] 7'For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife,[b] 8and the two will become one flesh.'[c] So they are no longer two, but one. 9Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate."
10When they were in the house again, the disciples asked Jesus about this. 11He answered, "Anyone who divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery against her. 12And if she divorces her husband and marries another man, she commits adultery."
Observation:
The Pharisees continued to try and trap Jesus in His teaching. Here are the actual verses from the OT they are quoting in Deuteronomy 24
1 If a man marries a woman who becomes displeasing to him because he finds something indecent about her, and he writes her a certificate of divorce, gives it to her and sends her from his house, 2 and if after she leaves his house she becomes the wife of another man, 3 and her second husband dislikes her and writes her a certificate of divorce, gives it to her and sends her from his house, or if he dies, 4 then her first husband, who divorced her, is not allowed to marry her again after she has been defiled. That would be detestable in the eyes of the LORD. Do not bring sin upon the land the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance.
There were two schools of teaching in the Jewish world. One was from Rabbi Shammai, who taught that “indecent” meant a woman was being adulterous, that was the strict interpretation. Another Rabbi, Hillel, had a much more liberal rendering of this verse, which allowed Jewish men to send away their wives for a lot reasons like as some have even quipped, “like burning a bagel”.
So the Pharisees thought if he advocated divorce he would be going against God’s law in Genesis, but if he advocated no divorce he would be nullifying Moses’ permission he gave in Deuteronomy 24. The key thing is that Jesus affirms that marriage is a sacred thing and that was God has joined no person should try and separate.
Luke’s version says the same thing and makes no provision for exceptions for divorce. It is only in Matthew where Jesus permits divorce on grounds of sexual immorality outside of the marriage in Matthew 5 and 19.
Application:
There is some argument over whether Jesus actually gives allowance for divorce under any situation, though clearly in Matthew he is settling the debate in the Jewish community that a man couldn’t send a woman out of the house for any old reason. Surely Jesus would have issue with the modern day divorce rate, even found in the Christian church. The prevailing attitude in our culture seems to say, “If you are not happy find someone else.”
The church needs to play the dual role of ministering to those with grace who have gone through divorces, but also lifting up the biblical value of staying in marriages even when it gets hard, extremely hard. We must teach our young people, that love, unlike the love portrayed in movies and on TV, is not just about lust, but love. To commit to marry someone is to commit to love them even when they seem un-loveable. Love is not a feeling it is a decision.
When we enter into a covenant of marriage it is a covenant to love our spouse as Christ loved the church, which means sacrificially. Sacrificial means to give up something. The opposite of selfish loves which is always looking at “what’s in it for me”.
I often wonder at the untold amount of damage that happens in our families and society due to divorce. Again I am not trying to shame those who have been in a divorce, I am sure that is a pain that no one would wish upon themselves. Hopefully the church can be an agent for change in our culture, and marriage can re-emerge with the kind of commitment they need to last.
Prayer:
God help those who are married to guard this sacred relationship that you have instituted. Help us to learn to love sacrificially as you have loved us. Help those who are not in a relationship to prepare by first being in a right relationship with you before they try to give the kind of love you require. In Jesus’ name.
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