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Suggested Texts for Sunday, October 6th - Proper 22

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Divorce

1 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."

10 When they were in the house again, the disciples asked Jesus about this. 11 He answered, "Anyone who divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery against her. 12 And if she divorces her husband and marries another man, she commits adultery."


Overview and Insights

Jesus’s journey to Jerusalem takes a major leap forward beginning in 10:1 as he moves into the region of Judea. The three episodes of Mark 10:1–31 share the common theme of relationships, especially family relationships. In 10:1–12 Jesus faces a test from the Pharisees related to divorce. He shifts the focus from what Moses permitted to what God originally intended for marriage (quoting Gen. 1:27; 2:24)—one man and one woman together permanently. Jesus later explains to his disciples that remarriage to another person after a divorce constitutes adultery (10:11–12). In the second episode, when the disciples rebuke people for bringing their small kids to Jesus, he in turn rebukes the disciples and welcomes the children with open arms (10:13–16). The kingdom belongs to people who are able to “receive” it “like a little child” (v. 15). In contrast to children who gladly receive gifts, the third episode describes a rich man who holds on tightly to his possessions (10:17–31). He asks Jesus what it takes to inherit eternal life. Although he has kept the commandments, Jesus says he lacks one thing. He must sell all he owns, give the money to the poor, and follow Jesus. The man walks away depressed, because he can’t let go of his stuff. Rich people have a hard time entering the kingdom, Jesus warns, but all things are possible with God, so there is hope. Peter asserts, “We have left everything to follow you!” (v. 28). Jesus reassures him that those who have left everything will receive plenty of present rewards and in the future, eternal life.

The Baker Bible Handbook by , Baker Publishing Group, 2016

Baker Commentary

Chapter 10 entails the call to discipleship in three fundamental aspects of life: marriage (10:1–12), children (10:13–16), and possessions (10:17–31). Near the end of the journey from the north and before entering Jerusalem, Jesus teaches in “the region of Judea and across the Jordan” in Perea (10:1). There the Pharisees question him about divorce (10:1–12). Divorce and marriage were burning questions in Jesus’s day, as they are in ours. The question of whether it was lawful for a man to divorce his wife (10:2) was a “test,” however; indeed, it was a trap, for Jewish law unambiguously permitted divorce (Deut. 24:1–3). The only question was on what grounds. Here opinions varied widely, from conservative rabbis like Shammai, who permitted divorce on the sole ground of adultery, to liberal rabbis like Hillel, who allowed divorce (at least in theory) for virtually any reason. In posing the question, the Pharisees desire both to maintain an easy divorce policy and to catch Jesus in violation of torah. Jesus asks what Moses (i.e., the law) commands (10:3). The Pharisees promptly quote from Deuteronomy 24:1–3, that “a man [may] write a certificate of divorce and send [his wife] away” (10:4). The law permits divorce, maintains Jesus, only “because your hearts were hard” (10:5)—that is, as a concession to human sin rather than as a true picture of God’s will.

The Pharisees focus on exceptions to marriage; Jesus focuses on how to fulfill God’s intentions for it. The purpose of Deuteronomy 24:1–3, according to Jesus, was to limit the consequences of sin by permitting divorce, but it does not reveal the divine intention for marriage. Going behind the authority of torah, Jesus cites the first and fundamental teaching on marriage: at creation God made them “male and female” (Gen. 1:27), and in marriage the two “become one flesh” (Gen. 2:24). God ordained marriage, in other words, to be a union of a man and a woman who become inseparably one. Unlike the Pharisees, who stacked the deck of divorce in favor of the male, Jesus portrays male and female as created mutually equal—and mutually responsible in the marriage union. The Pharisees considered the man the lord of marriage, but Jesus says God is the lord of marriage: “What God has joined together, let no one separate” (10:9). The mutual responsibility for marriage is accentuated in verses 10–12, when Jesus teaches the disciples in private that, in suing for divorce and contracting a second marriage thereafter, both men and women are guilty of adultery.

The Baker Illustrated Bible Commentary by Gary M. Burge, Baker Publishing Group, 2016

Dictionary Terms

Direct Matches

Adultery
Father
Husband
Wife

Secondary Matches

The following suggestions occured because Mark 10:1-12 is mentioned in the definition.
Bartimaeus
Child
Family
Household
Jesus Christ
Marriage
Nativity of Christ
Parenting
Parents
Perea
Polygamy
Transjordan