Divorce Permitted?

Mark 10:1-9 Jesus then left that place and went into the region of Judea and across the Jordan. Again crowds of people came to him, and as was his custom, he taught them. 2 Some Pharisees came and tested him by asking, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?” 3 “What did Moses command you?” he replied. 4 They said, “Moses permitted a man to write a certificate of divorce and send her away.” 5 “It was because your hearts were hard that Moses wrote you this law,” Jesus replied. 6 “But at the beginning of creation God ‘made them male and female. 7 For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, 8 and the two will become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two, but one. 9 Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate.”
 
THIS and the next lesson focus on the Pharisees’ question, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?” The question was loaded with danger to Jesus and his ministry.
   Jesus had traveled from Capernaum, and he was going toward Jerusalem and toward the cross. He was in the area John the Baptist specifically preached to Herod the Tetrarch, “It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.” (Mark 6:18) That preaching ultimately caused his death. The Pharisees hoped Jesus’ answer would lead to a similar fate. The Evil One is always raging against the Holy One.
   Another obstacle to Jesus’ answer is in God’s Word. Because Jesus, the Son of God, is the Word, his answer could challenge the Old Testament Scriptures. Jesus first referred to the law that instructed the people on particular restrictions regarding divorce. Divorce was widespread among all people. In Deuteronomy 24:1-4 Moses did not permit divorce. Instead, the law was to guide one’s behavior in response to divorce. God’s divorce laws were given to minimize the damage to relationships and prevent a casual view of marriage.
   Jesus reminds us divorce is against God’s will commanded at creation. It breaks God’s’ holy marriage command he set for mankind at Adam’s and Eve’s union (Genesis 2:24). Jesus could have given further evidence that God hates divorce if he had quoted Malachi 2:16 “For the man who does not love his wife but divorces her,” says the LORD, the God of Israel, “covers his garment with violence,” says the LORD of hosts. “So guard yourselves in your spirit, and do not be faithless.” Divorce is a rebellion against the LORD and the one divorced.
     Anything that corrupts God’s pure intent for marriage corrupts mankind. Divorce done on a whim or at the convenience of one party destroys families, infects the church and weakens a nation’s foundation. We can excuse divorce with as many reasons as our minds can create. But we must treat marriage as a holy union and do all we can to strengthen it.