Pharisees came up and in order to test him asked, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?”
Mark 10:2
The purpose of the Pharisees’ question is to test Jesus. Their questions always have an angle. They ask Jesus about divorce, but Jesus answers with teaching about marriage.
Later, when the disciples ask about divorce, He answers them in private (10:10). This is significant. Jesus did not come to load guilt on people for their past failures. Remember how He spoke to the woman of Samaria who had gone through five divorces. Jesus did not condemn her. He spoke to her about becoming a true worshipper of God.
Jesus does not focus on past failures, but on present realities and future possibilities. The focus of our Lord’s teaching is on the dignity and value of marriage.
What is marriage? Here is Jesus’ answer to the Pharisees: “From the beginning of creation, ‘God made them male and female.’ ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two but one flesh” (10:6-8).
Notice God’s pattern for marriage:
A man: Singular. Marriage is an exclusive union between two people.
Will leave: Marriage is a public attachment, not a private arrangement.
And be united: Marriage is a lasting relationship characterised by love.
To his wife: It is a relationship between one man and one woman.
One flesh: The union of their hearts is sealed and strengthened by the union of their bodies.
Those God has joined together, let man not separate. Marriage is an exclusive, public, lasting, loving union of one man and one woman sealed by God.
What do you think about God’s pattern for marriage? What comfort do you find in Jesus’ focus on the dignity and value of marriage?
