Pray For The Peace of Jerusalem
Mark 10
Divorce
10 Jesus 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.
2 Some 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.
4 They 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] 8 and the two will become one flesh.’[c] So they are no longer two, but one flesh. 9 Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.”
10 When they were in the house again, the disciples asked Jesus about this. 11 He answered, “Anyone who divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery against her. 12 And if she divorces her husband and marries another man, she commits adultery.”
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New International Version (NIV) Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Some of you may have figured out that we are going through the Four Gospels together. This is a monumental task, but since this thread has been going on for thirteen years, I think we can handle it. The Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke cover most of the same material. They differ in style, emphasis, details, and intended audience, but they can be lined up in columns to show that they "see" the same incidents. That's why they are called the "Synoptic" Gospels because they show the same things. The Gospel of John is more Theological in content, so does not line up neatly with the others. Yet, John still has a detailed account of The Passion, from the Last Supper to the Resurrection. Although it is not considered a "Synoptic" Gospel, John's Gospel is still a True Witness to the Life of Christ.
Since Matthew, Mark, and Luke include the same incidents, I get to discuss today's difficult Passage THREE TIMES. Oh My.
In the Ancient Middle East, Divorce was always initiated by the man. There were no courts or councils that could assist the woman, even if she was the aggrieved party. All the man had to do was throw her out, for any reason, including burning dinner. We saw instances of this in the Old Testament, when Abraham threw out Hagar and Ishmael, for the simple reason that Ishmael was mocking Baby Isaac. (Scholars try to mitigate Abraham's actions by interpreting the verb "mocking" as "teasing", "abusing", or even "molesting"). We don't know for sure what the boy did, but Sarah, Abraham's #1 Wife, insisted that Abraham throw them out. Sarah couldn't do it herself. She had to get Abraham to do it. Hagar and Ishmael were rescued by the Lord, and were allowed to start their own families, but the wound of the "divorce" was never healed. Arab Muslims claim to be the descendants of Ishmael and the enmity exists to this day, thousands of years later.
Because of the hardness of man's heart, the Torah offers a judicial process for divorce. (Deuteronomy 24) Instead of just throwing out a woman for a bad plate of lambchops, a man now had to get a "Certificate of Divorce". The reason for the split should not be trivial, and even Jesus includes the caveat "...except for cases of adultery..."(Matthew 19:9) when discussing the prohibition against divorce.
Nevertheless, the Torah Scholars were still arguing over this question in Jesus 's time, and the Pharisees thought that this would be a great "Trick Question" to discredit Jesus.
Jesus's answer is brilliant and is an example for us all when confronted with trick questions. He goes back to the Scriptures:
“It was because your hearts were hard that Moses wrote you this law,” Jesus replied. “But at the beginning of creation God ‘made them male and female.’ ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.”"
Paul gives another exception in 1 Corinthians 7:15, citing abandonment by an unbelieving spouse as a valid reason.
So, while these words of Jesus may seem harsh, they were actually warnings to men to respect their vows of marriage, and not feel free to throw out their wives for any reason, including burning dinner.
Once again, Context makes all the difference.
Come and Pray For the Peace of Jerusalem, For Our FRiends in Need, For Persecuted Believers, and For Our Beloved Nation.
"He was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification." (Romans 4:25)
God Bless America.
Blessings To All Who Visit This Garden of Prayer.
Hallelujah and Amen
ML/LTOS