Yes, the Pharisees asked Jesus a question about Divorce. But the underlying reason for the question wasn’t about a search for truth by the Pharisees. It was more sinister than that.

The video link is here:

Mark 10:1-12… it’s not REALLY about Divorce

The audio links for Spotify and iTunes are to the right.

Here is the transcript for today’s podcast:

Mark 10

Mark 10:1-12 It’s not Really About 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.’[a] 7 ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife,[b] 8 and the two will become one flesh.’[c] So they are no longer two, but one flesh. 9 Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.”

Jesus is referring to Deuteronomy 24:1 when He says:

1 If a man marries a woman who becomes displeasing to him because he finds something indecent about her, and he writes her a certificate of divorce, gives it to her and sends her from his house,

The Pharisees’ case was built on interpreting the “something” of Deut 24:1 as meaning “any matter” and thus constituting a separate category from “indecent”

Edited by Carson, D. A. (2018). NIV, Biblical Theology Study Bible. Zondervan

Therefore, the Pharisees believed divorce could be granted for any reason. Their definition of what could cause divorce was very broad. It could be because the wife didn’t cook meals suitable for the husband’s taste. Any reason would suffice for divorce.

By appealing to Genesis (see NIV text notes on vv. 6, 8), Jesus justifies his claim that Moses’ permission reflects Israel’s hardheartedness, not God’s original intention. God’s plan in creating two genders (“male and female,” v. 6) was precisely so that they would become one flesh and thereby procreate (cf. 12:25; Isa 45:12, 18). Since God’s intention was oneness and since divorce ruptures that unity, the willful abuse of one (spouse) to the other that leads to divorce constitutes idolatrous rebellion.

Edited by Carson, D. A. (2018). NIV, Biblical Theology Study Bible. Zondervan

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.”

In my mind, in keeping within the context laid out by the Pharisees who believed a man/wife could divorce his/her wife/husband for any reason, Jesus is saying the “any cause” divorce advocated by there Pharisees is wrong.

The same confrontation between Jesus and the Pharisees here in Mark 10 is repeated in Matthew’s Gospel with a little more detail:

Matthew 19

1 When Jesus had finished saying these things, he left Galilee and went into the region of Judea to the other side of the Jordan. 2 Large crowds followed him, and he healed them there.

3 Some Pharisees came to him to test him. They asked, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any and every reason?”

4 “Haven’t you read,” he replied, “that at the beginning the Creator ‘made them male and female,’[a] 5 and said, ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh’[b]? 6 So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.”

7 “Why then,” they asked, “did Moses command that a man give his wife a certificate of divorce and send her away?”

8 Jesus replied, “Moses permitted you to divorce your wives because your hearts were hard. But it was not this way from the beginning. 9 I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another woman commits adultery.”

The reason Mark’s Gospel (and Luke’s) does not contain the phrase “except for sexual immorality”  is most likely 

“…because both assume that adultery is a Scripturally valid ground for divorce and that neither Jesus nor the Pharisees are addressing that issue here.

Edited by Carson, D. A. (2018). NIV, Biblical Theology Study Bible. Zondervan

In spite of the subject matter, this is NOT a discussion about divorce. This is a deadly little dance between the Pharisees and Jesus.

The Pharisees don’t really care about the issue of divorce here – that subject matter is chosen as a trap to put Jesus at odds with John the Baptist who denounced Herod’s marriage to his brother’s wife Herodias or at odds with Herodotus and Herod. If He agreed with the Pharisee’s interpretation of Moses’ words on divorce, that would put Him at odds with John the Baptist and His followers. If He agreed with John’s interpretation of Moses, then that would make Him an enemy of Herod and Herodias. This would make Herodias and Herod a lethal enemies of Jesus.

The truth of this entire discussion is that it was NOT a search for truth. The Pharisees were not interested in a serious discussion on divorce. They wanted Jesus dead. This discussion had, as its goal, His demise. It was not about divorce – as I said this was a deadly little dance between Jesus and the Pharisees.

Without fail, almost every discussion I have found myself in with those who are NOT Christ-followers about my faith devolves into their looking for reasons to dismiss me personally or my faith. The Pharisees were not interested in truth. Their version of things was all they were ever going to believe. This discussion about divorce was not about truth. It was about affirming their supposed moral superiority over Jesus and His followers, and secondarily about setting Him up for destruction.

All of this has made me stop and think about how I represent God in my circle of influence. I used to love debating about Christianity and the veracity of the Gospel, and the myriad reasons why the Bible is dependable, and why the resurrection is a true historical event, and not a myth. But I have realized over the years that I have never once argued anybody into the Kingdom. Where I have been most influential has been in HOW I lived my life as a Christ-follower – never in the power of any argument I could put forth. As a result, my efforts have been redirected to loving God and loving my neighbor rather than becoming an apologist for the Gospel. I am determined to let my life speak more powerfully than any words I might speak. 

I am not dismissing the art of the apologist, nor am I dismissing the understanding of the apologetic truths as to why the Bible is the Word of God, or why Jesus is the Son of God. I study all of that. I find great comfort in all of that. But more and more, I find myself simply proclaiming the truth of the Gospel as I meander through life, letting the chips fall where they may, rather than arguing about it.

The enemies of God are NOT truth-seekers. The Pharisees were not seeking truth. They were looking for a fight. Their ulterior motive was the destruction of Jesus.

In His Grip

Paige