Pentecost 20 (5)

Mark 10:2–12 (NIV84)

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.’ 7 ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, 8 and the two will become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two, but one. 9 Therefore what God has joined together, let man not 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.”

Our text begins with a loaded question. What does this mean?

A loaded question is a complex question that contains a controversial assumption, and is often used as a rhetorical device to trick the respondent into answering in a way that serves the questioner's agenda.

Here are some examples of loaded questions:

"Have you stopped beating your wife?,

"Have you stopped stealing from your employer?,

“Do these jeans make my hips look fat?,

and "Are you happy?.

Loaded questions are considered a type of logical fallacy because they are based on unfounded presumptions, and can be manipulative and underhanded. Answering a loaded question without reframing it can imply agreement with the question's assumption.

Loaded questions can be used to: Throw the respondent off guard Make the respondent reveal a secret Get the respondent to agree with a statement that doesn't represent their views Make the respondent defensive and lose credibility.

Have you witnessed any loaded questions this past week? Maybe during the Vice Presidential debate or interviews of presidential candidates. It is not a new technique and one which is still used by opponents even today.

Jesus himself was the recipient of loaded questions as our text shows us today.

What was the question and why could we describe it as being loaded?

“Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?”

Loaded because it was a controversial question and the Pharisees knew that no matter how Jesus answered the question, his followers would be divided in his answer.

Why was it controversial?

It had become a common practice.

It went against God’s original intent for the most intimate of relationships.

The religious community offered several opposing answers to this question.

In his usual response to loaded questions, Jesus, the great teacher, answered their question with a question of his own.

“What did Moses command you?” If you are asking a question about the law, then what did Moses, the great law giver have to write about this important subject? Well, the Pharisees knew the Scriptures and were quick to give a correct answer — although part of the controversy was how it had been applied. “Moses permitted a man to write a certificate of divorce and send her away.”

Deuteronomy 24:1–4 (NIV)

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.

Believer’s Study Bible Chapter 24

24:1 No O.T. law deals comprehensively with the issue of divorce. In the texts that mention it, the focus is to place limitations on the practice (cf. 22:19, 29). The conditions which permitted a bill of divorcement are first presented (vv. 1–3) as the circumstances for the law in v. 4, which is the focus of this passage. These verses do not institute, encourage, or approve divorce, but treat it as a practice already operating (cf. Matt. 19:6, note). The precise meaning of “uncleanness” (the same word used in 23:14, lit. “nakedness”) is no longer clear. It may refer to “indecency” or “improper behavior.” It could not include adultery, which was punishable by death (except in cases where, for lack of evidence, a wife’s guilt was only indicated by the curse of barrenness—cf. Num. 5:21, note). In any case, if the man had presented his wife the bill of divorcement, and she left his house, remarried, and then found herself divorced again, she could not return and be reunited to her first husband (v. 4). This law would have stopped the practice of “loaning” wives for procreation, if such a practice was occurring or being contemplated in ancient Israel. Without restriction and legislation, divorce could become “legal” polygamy or “sanctioned” adultery.

V. 1. Some uncleanness—Some hateful thing, some distemper of body or quality of mind not observed before marriage: or some light carriage, as this phrase commonly signifies, but not amounting to adultery. Let him write—This is not a command as some of the Jews understood it, nor an allowance and approbation, but merely a permission of that practice for prevention of greater mischiefs, and this only until the time of reformation, till the coming of the Messiah when things were to return to their first institution and purest condition.

Wesley, J. (1765). Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament (Vol. 1, pp. 657–658). William Pine.

This practice was debated by the liberals and the conservatives of Jesus’ day. Liberals saw it as an opportunity to divorce a wife for burning dinner or yelling at him so loudly inside the house that her voice could be heard by the neighbors or just the husband finding someone younger and more attractive. Conservatives applied this to extreme cases limiting the number of divorces which seems to be the original intent.

So if Jesus just said “Yes”, the conservatives would be against him and if he just said “No”, the liberals would be. Therefore, a loaded question not seeking answer but a feeble attempt to discredit Jesus.

Application: How would you answer the same question today? “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?”

Answer the question with a question. “What does the state of Wisconsin law have to say?”

Yes, it is legal to get a divorce in Wisconsin: No-fault divorce Wisconsin is a "no-fault" divorce state, which means that neither spouse must prove that the other is at fault. Irretrievably broken The only requirement for filing for divorce is that the spouses believe the marriage is "irretrievably broken" and there is no chance of reconciliation.

But just because man’s law permits something, that doesn’t mean that it is right in God’s eyes.

Time of Grace Facebook question. Is Living Together Before Marriage an Option for a Christian?

There is no longer a social stigma against such a living arrangement, is there? In fact, those who oppose it are often branded as being narrow minded, insensitive, and judgmental.

The purpose of that provocative question from Time of Grace is to promote a book that guides people on how to have a meaningful conversation about “taboo” subjects and to redirect those in the conversation to the Word of God in an attempt to submit to God’s will without judging or demeaning others to bring them to repentance.

Jesus moves the conversation on divorce forward by reiterating God’s original intent for the intimate relationship between a man and woman.

Mark 10:5–9 NIV

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.’ 7 ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, 8 and the two will become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two, but one flesh. 9 Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.”

Point: Marriage has developed cross culturally over time even among societies that are not Judeo/Christian. But as Christians, our belief is that God created mankind and started with Adam and Eve and his original blue print for this relationship is intended for all people of all time. Certainly it was intended for the characters in our text since they were Judeo/Christian.

Jesus emphasizes the unity and intimacy of marriage and that it is intended to be a lifelong union. He declares that it is not to be separated by man.

1.Outside people breaking up the marriage.

2.Participants in the marriage dissolving it — in this context by divorce.

Exception not mentioned here but indicated elsewhere. Adultery and malicious desertion.

Matthew 5:31–32 (NIV)

31 “It has been said, ‘Anyone who divorces his wife must give her a certificate of divorce.’ 32 But I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, makes her the victim of adultery, and anyone who marries a divorced woman commits adultery.

1 Corinthians 7:10–16 (NIV)

10 To the married I give this command (not I, but the Lord): A wife must not separate from her husband. 11 But if she does, she must remain unmarried or else be reconciled to her husband. And a husband must not divorce his wife. 12 To the rest I say this (I, not the Lord): If any brother has a wife who is not a believer and she is willing to live with him, he must not divorce her. 13 And if a woman has a husband who is not a believer and he is willing to live with her, she must not divorce him. 14 For the unbelieving husband has been sanctified through his wife, and the unbelieving wife has been sanctified through her believing husband. Otherwise your children would be unclean, but as it is, they are holy. 15 But if the unbeliever leaves, let it be so. The brother or the sister is not bound in such circumstances; God has called us to live in peace. 16 How do you know, wife, whether you will save your husband? Or, how do you know, husband, whether you will save your wife?

We are reminded of several teachings in this section.

Be wary of the loaded question. There are times when the one asking the question doesn’t really want an answer but they are using it as an opportunity to discredit the person they are asking. The response is to re-frame the question and get to the original intent of the question. The Pharisees didn’t really want to know if divorce was legal or not, they wanted to put Jesus on the hot seat. Jesus responded by using this as a teaching point.

In answering such a question, be respectful of the person asking the question and use the truth to give an answer. In this case, Jesus used the truth of God’s Word. When asked questions that seek an answer given by God, it is best to respond with what God’s Word has to say on the matter and to use it correctly. With some questions, the answer may depend on other sources of accepted facts.

The questions regarding marriage and divorce and the intimacy between two consenting adults can be complex. This example shows that even by the time of Moses, people no longer were willing to accept and follow God’s original design for marriage. How much more so today! Intimacy before marriage with sequential or even coexisting partners, unfaithfulness in marriage, unwillingness to keep the marriage vows, actions that lead the spouse to seek a divorce, intimacy between same sex partners are just some examples of how complex this can be. Rather than blindly accept what the norm has become in our society, we do well to search the Scriptures for God’s original attempt and seek to follow his will in our relationships and to promote morality.

Hebrews 13:4 (NIV)

4 Marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral.