No Longer Two, But One

Opening Prayer: “Father, what we know not, teach us; what we have not, give us; what we are not, make us; for your Son's sake. Amen.”—An Old Anglican Prayer

Read Mark 10:2-12.

Some things are easier to take apart than to put back together.

Anyone who has worked with wood knows that when two pieces have been firmly glued together, pulling them apart rarely leaves them unchanged. The separation tears fibers from both pieces. What was joined together cannot simply be pulled apart without damage.

That picture helps us approach Mark 10.

The Pharisees come to Jesus asking about divorce. They want to debate when a marriage may be dissolved. But Jesus takes them back beyond their arguments, beyond Moses, and all the way to creation. Before discussing how marriage might end, Jesus reminds them why God created it in the first place.

His words are unmistakable: “What God has joined together, no one is to separate.”

So this passage is ultimately not about finding an easier way out of marriage. It is about recovering God’s beautiful and serious design for marriage.

Is my heart hardening or softening before God’s design?

Jesus answers based on intention. (v. 2-4)

The old familiar questioners—The Pharisees—come back into the picture, as Jesus is making his way toward Jerusalem. Here the misguided question is whether or not a man is ever lawfully allowed to divorce his wife. This is a set up to get Jesus to loose his head (literally). (See Mark 6:21-24.)

Jesus does not ignore the question, nor does he get heated with these wandering teachers of the law. He questions their understanding of what God commanded by asking what Moses taught them in the law. The question is a masterful move to expose their wicked hearts and intentions. (See Deuteronomy 24:1-4.)

The Pharisees only focus on what gives them wiggle room for sinning, not what God actually calls them to do in light of his perfect and immutable law. The Law, as the Pharisees saw it gives loopholes to be observed to squeeze into heaven. Meanwhile, God intends his law to shine the light for righteous living that upholds the intrinsic value of his creation. (See Leviticus 21:6-7.)

Is my heart hardening or softening before God’s design?

God’s intent is greater than words. (v. 5-9)

Now, Jesus gets to the core of the problem and he explains in detail how God intended marriage to work. First, Jesus confronts the Pharisees and everyone else who thinks divorce is a valid alternative—“It is your hardness of heart.” This is a hard pill to swallow, but it is clear Jesus does not move into “nuanced” territory.

Second, Jesus moves from Deuteronomy back to Genesis. The problem is not in the application of the law, but in the understanding of God’s holy and beautiful design for marriage, family, and community. the one who holds authority in all these areas is the LORD, our God, not the civil magistrate, or the church. God alone holds authority in all these spaces of life. ( See Genesis 2:20-25.)

Jesus makes the point clear in verses 7-9, as he moves from the idea of how he blesses communities by his constant blessing of family. First, marriage creates a new family unit, which is the foundation of a larger community. Here we see the idea that God brings people together when the individuals are led by him and nothing else. (See 1 Corinthians 6:12-20.)

Finally, here is the catch—What God brings together, do not let men separate. Marriage is not to be a union out of lust, interest in outward or physical components of life, not even a financial transaction. Marriage is supposed to be the union of two lives that are centered around the creator and sustainer of the souls seeking to be ONE. When marriage and intimacy take place we are no longer two people, but one with our partner for life. (See Exodus 20:12; 14; 17.)

Is my heart hardening or softening before God’s design?

Jesus exposes God’s heart and purpose. (v. 10-12)

Again, here we see how Jesus deals with the intent of the question. Where the Pharisees are looking for a way to wiggle out of commitment to God and to adhere to their interpretation of the law, the Disciples are seeking to understand and live in accordance to God’s purpose.

Jesus then makes it clear to the Disciples that God hates divorce because it causes people to sin and to mock what God intended as a picture of what eternity will be for him and his people. One for all time.

Jesus is at the same time elevating the status of women, also. Here notice how he introduces the clause about causing the wife to commit adultery. This was no where near the concern of the Pharisees, but Jesus makes a masterful display of how one sin is not contained to the individual, but leads others in the community to sin, whether intentionally, or unintentionally. (See Malachi 2:16.)

Is my heart hardening or softening before God’s design?

Marriage is…

A gift from God.

A foundation of Family.

A picture of something greater.

Closing Prayer: “We beseech You, Master, to be our helper and protector. Save the afflicted among us; have mercy on the lowly; Raise up the fallen; appear to the needy; heal the ungodly; Restore the wanderers of Your people; Feed the hungry; ransom our prisoners; Raise up the sick; comfort the faint-hearted.”—St. Clement of Rome