Mark 10:1  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.

There is quite a gap in time between Mark 9 and Mark 10. Luke records much activity of Jesus in the interval between these two chapters. God chose the writers of the Scriptures. He guided them in recording the events He wanted them to write.
In our text, Jesus took His disciples and began His final journey toward Jerusalem prior to the fulfilment of His primary purpose in coming the first time. Jesus did not waste any time. He was travelling from Galilee to Judaea. Galilee was the northern rural part of Israel and Judaea was to the south and to the more populated part of Israel. Of course that is where Jerusalem, the capital city of Israel was located. That is where Jesus would keep the Passover and then literally lay down His life for the sheep. We note here that there were people who travelled along with Jesus. They too would be heading to Jerusalem for the Passover.
As was usual, the Pharisees were always trying to run interference for Jesus. The more Jesus taught and healed people, the more vocal the Pharisees were against Him. He taught the truth because He was and is the Truth. He exposed them for their hypocrisy. He gave them opportunity to repent and trust in Him, but they chose not to do so. Their hatred for Him grew and would lead to them convincing the Romans to arrest Jesus and put Him on trial. They would convince many Jews to demand His crucifixion. None of this was a surprise to Jesus.
In verse 2 we read that the Pharisees came to Him, tempting Him. We learn from the Gospels, that even when Jesus’ enemies tried to trap Him, He used it for a teaching opportunity. He was never caught off guard.
I think back to my second and third year of Bible School. We had a theology instructor who was quite alert. Sad to say, there were always some students who wanted to waste time and get the instructors off topic. This one instructor was wiser than the rest. He warned us as students that even if some would try to lead him off on a “rabbit trail”, he would make that material part of the exam material. He kept his word. I did not go to school to waste time. I wanted to learn how to study the Bible. I appreciated that instructor. His teaching was more “meaty” than some of the others. I learned much in his classes.
Of course he was not as good as Jesus, but he understood the nature of man and he had some good discernment as to who was trying to waste precious time. In our text, the Pharisees came to Jesus with a question regarding divorce. They wanted to know if it was lawful for a man to put away his wife. Why would a man want to put away his wife? Did he not pray and ask God for wisdom in choosing a wife? Even if he was so foolish as to not ask God, why would he want to put away the woman he had grown attached to? Did he not love her? Was it just lust? Divorce is contrary to God’s law and Jesus would re-establish that fact.
Jesus took their question and asked them to tell Him what Moses had commanded them. Jesus did something very important here. He helped us all to see the importance of distinguishing between man’s opinion and God’s law. Even though Moses was God’s chosen leader of the nation of Israel, he was still a man and he was fallible.
In verse 4 they demonstrated a rare bit of honesty in their answer. They admitted that Moses “suffered” to write a bill of divorcement, and to put her away. There is quite a difference between Jesus’ question of a “command” and their answer of “suffered”. A command is something that is absolute and must be done. To suffer something is to allow for it or give permission. It is not the same.
In verse 5 Jesus answered them on this difference. He pointed out that it was due to their hard heartedness that Moses wrote this precept. Moses took matters into his own hands in this situation. He did not get his instructions from God. Moses had quite a rowdy crowd to deal with and he admitted on several occasions that it was more than he could handle. God never intended for Moses to handle things on his own. He would be successful when he walked humbly with the Lord and simply stood by what God declared. Jesus did not accept Moses’ failure on this matter. He simply pointed out what Moses did.
In verse 6 Jesus took the Pharisees back to the beginning. We have mentioned before that when we deal with any Bible doctrine, we must look at where God lays down the doctrine. Then we look at how God continues to build the teaching on that doctrine.
Jesus began by reminding the Pharisees that God made them male and female. The gender issue is settled in Genesis 1 and Jesus referred back to that here. The confusion in our world today is due to a rejection of God. I listened to a brief interview of a 15 year old girl who had allowed her teachers and doctors to begin the process of trying to turn her into a male. She stated she had been abused as a little girl and due to the wickedness of that experience she did not want to be a girl. She had allowed the doctors to begin mutilating her body, but as she was going through that process, she received some counsel that helped her to see that her emotional problems could be addressed and she did not need to change who she was.
The sad fact is that she did not get any Biblical counsel, but what she did receive helped her to stop torturing herself and to accept that she was a female who needed to get past her anger and frustration with what had happened to her as a young girl.
It is so important for children to be protected by God-fearing parents who can help them to see themselves as God wants them to see themselves. Jesus reminds us in this passage that God made them male and female. He made them that way.
In verse 7 He taught that because of that fact, a man shall leave his father and mother, and cleave to his wife. There is no such a thing as a prenuptial agreement. There is no clause that allows for a breakup after the marriage is consummated. Jesus declared that when the marriage is consummated, the two become one flesh. That is what God says. That couple is no longer two distinct individuals. They are now joined and become one flesh. When a divorce takes place there is a ripping apart of that which is intended to remain together until death parts them. It does not matter how hard the couple tries to get beyond that when they tear that bond apart, there will always be scars and hurt. Again, due to hardened hearts, some can put that hurt in the back of their minds, but there is still the hurt there. God’s answer is not to find some other spouse to try to cover over the hurt. God’s answer is turning to Him and making reconciliation in that broken relationship.
In verse 9 Jesus warned of those who would try to tear that union apart. A proper marriage should take place in a true local church under the direction of a godly pastor. However, it must be understood that marriage was designed by God. Any time a couple gets married, it is because God designed marriage. The governments have no business in marriage. They do not even know what a marriage is. Two men or two women or other scenarios are acceptable, according to the government. Having said that, when a man and a woman choose to try to avoid God and they go to the J.P. to get “married”, they are still married, because God designed marriage. God directed the apostle Paul to further explain that when a man joins himself with a harlot he causes confusion because in that act of immorality, they become one flesh. There are many men and women who have severely messed up lives because they have rejected God’s Word and defiled themselves.
God is a God of forgiveness. With forgiveness comes the ceasing of the sin. That will be a challenge in a promiscuous society. God’s way is still the right way. Rather than run to a deceiver like the Pharisees to get approval for something that God is against, people need to humble themselves and get right with God and follow His way.
It is important to understand that in the end, each person will meet the Lord, not Moses. The same Lord that answered the Pharisees here, is the same Lord Who will deal with each one of us.
In verse 10 we see that Jesus’ teaching on this had quite the impact on His disciples. They asked Him again on this matter. They were not tempting Him. They had never heard this teaching before. In verse 11 Jesus made it clear that the man who puts away his wife and marries another commits adultery against his wife. He is sinning against God and he is sinning against his wife. His wife remains his wife until death parts them. This does not mean that the person should go and murder his wife. It means the man needs to fix the broken marriage. It takes two godly people to make a marriage work properly. The devil likes to break the marriage. It takes the grace of God to fix the broken marriage. When a couple humbles themselves before God, whatever caused the breakup can be fixed and forgiven.
Adultery is not the fix for a broken marriage. Adultery just adds more problems.
In verse 12 Jesus also taught that the woman is equally responsible. If she wants to run out on her husband and find another man, she is guilty of committing adultery. There is no such thing as an amicable divorce. There is no such a thing as a threesome, etc. Marriage is not a prison. It is not a dreaded thing. For too many, it becomes that because they do not approach it properly. Just because a union was created through lust, does not mean it can be broken and a new start made. There is no new start. There is just heaping more sin upon past sin. The solution is found in trusting in the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation and then fixing the broken relationship.
Jesus taught the truth on all things. God instituted marriage. God directed the apostle Paul to teach that marriage is a picture of what the gift of salvation looks like. The Bible is clear that a saved person cannot lose their salvation. When the person is saved they are “married” to the Lord Jesus Christ. That is a spiritual bonding that is eternal. The physical act of marriage is designed by God to be a picture of that spiritual bond that is all important.
Jesus clarified this matter because He loves us. He wants us to know His peace and His blessing in our hearts and lives. Try as man may, he cannot improve on what God has declared. He cannot erase what God has declared either. As we mentioned, each person will stand before the Lord Jesus Christ one day. Be sure you can stand before Him in the white robe He wants to give you.
Pastor Bartel