At this point in time, Jesus left
Galilee and came into the region of Judea, this is probably the region widely known
as Perea. And as usual, crowds gathered around Him and He again began to
teach. Mark made it clear that among the
crowds were also some Pharisees with questionable motive. They came asking for
His view concerning divorce. The basis of the discussion was based on what
Moses said in Deuteronomy 24:1. There were apparently two schools of thoughts
on this issue. One school led by Rabbi Hillel advocated that so long as a man
is unhappy with what a wife had done, he could divorce her. Another school led
by Rabbi Shammai had a stricter adherence to Deuteronomy 24:1. At least he emphasized
the indecency and felt that divorce would only be permissible for any act that
could lead up to an adultery.
Notice how the Pharisees approached the
Lord. They did not go directly to what Deuteronomy said. They began with a
question, asking “Whether it was lawful for a man to divorce his wife.” If Jesus had said no, they would have said he
was advocating something that contradicts Moses’ law. If Jesus had said yes, He
would be seen to be encouraging divorce. It was a no-win situation for the Lord
either way. But the Lord wisely directed them to the Law of Moses. They then
pointed to Deuteronomy 24:1 claiming that Moses gave permission for divorce.
The Lord then corrected them. He told
them that divorce never was and is still never on God’s agenda for any marriage
that had broken down. He pointed to the creative order to show God’s purpose at
the onset. God’s intention was for the oneness between the husband and wife to
last. For He had joined the two, the man and the woman, and made them
inseparably one. Jesus declared that what God had joined together, man was not
to put it asunder. Then He went on to tell them that Moses gave it as a
concession because of the hardness of man’s heart. But what is this hardness of
heart, that it should be a reason for Moses to permit a divorce? It is a heart
that is bent on resisting God’s will and intention. It is not gentle or
mellowed and would not change. Out of the hardness of heart, cruelty could be
generated. So Moses gave it as a concession to protect the woman.
When Jesus and His disciples returned
home, they questioned Him on the subject again.
The Lord’s stand remained the same. Based on this passage in Mark,
divorce is not on God’s plan for broken marriages. To go ahead and find a new
partner would be to commit adultery. In
the parallel account in Matthew 19, we find the exceptional clause. Apparently,
the Lord is seemed to say that divorce and remarrying would be allowed on the
ground of marital infidelity. There’s quite another matter which we’ll deal
with when we come to Matthew.
Marriage is a relationship that
requires understanding from both partners. Respect and honor must be accorded.
Where there is a problem, both should be willing to come together and resolve
it. Each partner must give the other the opportunity to work out the problem
and difficulty. God’s grace will gird every situation where there’s
willingness. If both would not allow pride to dictate, there will always be a
resolution. Ultimately it’s about being obedient to the Lord and the
willingness to work at it.
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