Mark 10:1-12

Mark 10:1–12 KJV (WS)

1 And he arose from thence, and cometh into the coasts of Judaea by the farther side of Jordan: and the people resort unto him again; and, as he was wont, he taught them again. 2 And the Pharisees came to him, and asked him, Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife? tempting him. 3 And he answered and said unto them, What did Moses command you? 4 And they said, Moses suffered to write a bill of divorcement, and to put her away. 5 And Jesus answered and said unto them, For 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 cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and cleave to his wife; 8 And they twain shall be one flesh: so then they are no more twain, but one flesh. 9 What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder. 10 And in the house his disciples asked him again of the same matter. 11 And he saith unto them, Whosoever shall put away his wife, and marry another, committeth adultery against her. 12 And if a woman shall put away her husband, and be married to another, she committeth adultery.

Introduction

How many of you remember your wedding day?

Alicia and I celebrated our anniversary last week, and we were reminiscing about our wedding day.

It was a hot one.

We had lots of good memories.

So many people get married every year, and most of them probably mean it when they give their vows to one another.

Statistics tell us that many of those marriages will not make.

Divorce is a reality for many people even many Christians.

Our passage tonight deals with this issue and helps us to know how God sees it.

Jesus embarks on a nice, peaceful day of teaching. vs 1

He heads to the Jordan river.

Of course, the people follow him, as they usually did.

As he usually did, Jesus began to teach them.

Jesus never passed up an opportunity to teach people.

He had the words of life, and he didn’t come to earth to keep them to himself.

Unfortunately, any serenity that existed was shattered when the you-know-who’s showed up.

It is not long before the Pharisees come to interrupt him.

You would think that these guys would get tired of having Jesus manhandle them any time they got in a discussion with them.

But no, they come at him again with a question intended to stump him.

This time their question has to do with marriage.

We know that these pharisees are not trying to be taught, they are trying to tempt Jesus.

They ask him if it is lawful for a man to divorce his wife.

This seems like a simple question.

What they were trying to do was to alienate Jesus from one of two groups of Jews.

One half of Judaism believed that divorce was only to be used if one spouse had been unfaithful.

The other half believed that a man could divorce his wife for any displeasure he might have for her.

Cook a bad meal? Divorce.

Not as pretty anymore? Divorce.

They were hoping to turn people against Jesus whichever way he answered.

Can you guess what happens?

Do you think there is a good chance they are disappointed by their scheme?

Jesus answers them.

As usual, he answers their question with a question of his own.

Jesus asks the Pharisees what Moses said in the law.

Jesus know that there is nobody more revered by the Pharisees than Moses.

He also knows how they like to read Moses so that he says what they want him to say.

That’s exactly what they do.

They tell Jesus that Moses allowed them to write a bill of divorcement and put her away.

This is a true statement, but it’s not the whole story.

Jesus, fills them in on the rest of the story.

The only reason this precept was given was because of the stubbornness of the Jewish people.

The men were treating their wives horribly.

They were divorcing them for anything.

So, the law gave protections to the women.

The law was not in any stretch a pro-divorce document, it was more of a protection for women so that their husbands couldn’t mistreat them.

Jesus corrects their focus by reminding them of how God views the matter.

In the beginning, God created men and women with the intention that marriage would be permanent.

Couples were to leave their parents and cling to each other.

The relationship is meant to be so close that they are essentially one.

The key with that is to show the difficulty of separating them.

Jesus reiterates that by telling them that what God has brought together no man should seek to separate.

So, there really is no room for misinterpretation.

Jesus is God.

God created marriage.

He doesn’t want any man to take apart what he has established.

They had a hard time with this.

People today have a hard time with this.

The disciples struggle with Jesus’ answers too.

They wait until they are back in the house with Jesus and they ask him about the same matter.

Jesus says something that further challenges their popular opinion.

He says that if a man puts his wife away and remarries, he commits adultery against her.

In their minds this was impossible.

A man couldn’t commit adultery agains his wife.

She could commit adultery against him.

He could commit adultery against another man by having a relationship with his wife.

In their culture, this was an eyebrow-raising statement.

Now in Matthew, he records the stipulation that this applies to divorces that are not predicated on one spouse being unfaithful.

Matthew 5:32 “32 But I say unto you, That whosoever shall put away his wife, saving for the cause of fornication, causeth her to commit adultery: and whosoever shall marry her that is divorced committeth adultery.”

What Jesus is combatting is the cultural inclination to put your wife away for any reason.

What is also interesting is that Jesus gives the same direction to women.

In their day, in Jewish culture, this was also a near impossibility for a woman to put their husband away.

But, shortly after Jesus’ ascension, Christianity would break into the gentile world, where this was more common.

These women would need Jesus’ words on this matter.

This passage is not recorded to beat up people that have been divorced.

It is recorded to emphasize the importance and the value that God places on marriage.

It is not something to be entered into lightly.

The will of God is that every marriage would be for a lifetime.

Application

What does this mean for those that have been divorced?

It means that your life now stands as an opportunity for God to demonstrate his mercy and grace in your life.

Just because your relationship with your spouse didn’t last, doesn’t mean your relationship with your Savior won’t last.

There is a good, blessed life for you on the other side of divorce.

Your life isn’t over.

Your usefulness to God isn’t over.

What does this mean for those that have not been divorced.

It means your marriage is a sacred precious thing.

God is very concerned about your marriage.

Deep down we all know that marriage is supposed to be special.

We’ve dealt with this before, but this feeling stems from the fact that marriage is a picture of the gospel.

Whether it’s divorce or same sex marriage, or adultery, or fornication all of these things attack the image that God gave us in heterosexual, monogamous marriage.

The other thing that should weigh on your mind is that, according to Jesus, your marriage is an act of God.

What God has joined, let no man put asunder.

When you made your vows to your spouse, God took you seriously.

You may have been too dumb or careless to know what you were doing, but God honored your vows.

You should too.

Regardless of whether you are in your first, second, or third marriage, make this one last.

Take your role seriously.

View your marriage as god views your marriage.

Talk with your spouse about the fact that divorce is not an option.

There is help and support for your marriage.

Many marriages that were on the rocks got back to a place of health, even after infidelity.

Conclusion

Your marriage is important.

God is not okay with divorce.

He can forgive and give you a fulfilling, blessed life even after divorce.