Divorce & Marriage (Reflection on Mark 10)
1
23
5
This Blog Post accompanies my
video reading of Mark 10 published on the Circular Grace
YouTube channel.
Getting to the Heart of the Matter!
There's a lot packed into this chapter and I'll try and draw out as much as I can alongside links to respected commentaries.
The chapter begins on the topic of divorce. A subject as controversial in Jesus' day as it often is today amongst Christians. Apparently, different Jewish Rabbis had different opinions on how to interpret the law God had given them through Moses. There's a familiar theme we've seen throughout from the religious leaders of the time, there is a lot of hypocrisy. On this subject, like others it seems to hinge on what they think they can get away with rather than what is righteous before God. The focus is on the letter of the law and not the heart of the matter.
Enduring Word Commentary
This commentary provides a good overview of the situation during Jesus' time, pointing back to Moses and the Book of Deuteronomy. The key to understanding the exchange in context is to know that divorce was being passed off by some leaders as a religious duty and Jesus was challenging this.
i. The rabbis of that day had a saying, “If a man has a bad wife, it is a religious duty to divorce her.” Jesus went against this way of thinking.
Personally, I found these verses hard hitting. I have been divorced. It's not something I'm proud of and I repent of my lack of faith, obedience and understanding when I was younger. I didn't understand God's plan for man, woman and matrimony. I didn't understand that just like we are incapable of faith without God's grace, we are incapable of becoming one flesh without the grace and mercy of God in our marriages. It's something I've only begun to understand through experiencing it, this late in life and through asking for and recieving God's hand in my marriage. My experience is that God will bind two people together and weave them into one flesh if each are willing to love, honour and obey God as the central pillar of their communion together.
I'm not painting the picture of a perfect marriage, my marriage has what I'd call an average degree of ups and downs, bickering, nagging and falling out. The thing that I've noticed however is that when we look to God to step in when things are challenging He does. I think of it as the living waters of Christ cleansing and binding. We seem better somehow than ever and on it goes becoming closer to that, one flesh ideal.
I'm not sure I've explained that at all well. If I'm honest, I've never attempted to describe my feelings on the subject of biblical marriage before. I recommend having a read of this commentary for more clarity than I can manage. Here are a couple of snippets:
d. From the beginning of the creation, God made them male and female: God’s real purpose for marriage is not fulfilled in divorce but only in seeing God’s original plan for marriage. In saying, “God made them,” Jesus asserted God’s ownership over marriage; it is God’s institution, not man’s, so His rules apply.
e. And the two shall become one flesh: By bringing the issue back to the foundation of marriage, Jesus made it plain that couples must forsake their singleness (a man shall leave his father and mother) and come together in a one flesh relationship that is both a fact (they are) and a goal (shall become).
There's loads more covered in this commentary. Follow the link to read it in full.
https://enduringword.com/bible-commentary/mark-10/
Bible Ref Commentary
I don't always include a link to this commentary but it often provides a helpful, clear and somewhat shorter summary of a chapter compared to other more lengthy commentaries. I liked the clarity provided at the beginning on how Mark's Gospel differs to Luke and John. Here it points out some of what Mark leaves out.
Where Luke and John give an extensive account of Jesus' teaching between Galilee and Perea, Mark skips ahead to the action. He leaves out Jesus' exhortation to forgive seventy-times-seven (Matthew 18:15–35), the Feast of Tabernacles (John 7:11–31), controversial teachings in Jerusalem (John 8:12–59; Luke 11:14–36), the story of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25–37), the death and resurrection of Lazarus (John 11:1–44), and several confrontations with the Pharisees that incited the religious leaders to try to find a way to kill
It's a useful commentary, follow the link if you want to read it in full. Remember there is a little pop up link to the commentary after you arrive using the following link.
https://www.bibleref.com/Mark/10/Mark-chapter-10.html
Blue Letter Bible Commentary
Matthew Henry is the author of this commentary from Blue Letter. I like that he often paints a picture of the location, putting the map of where Jesus walked into context.
Our Lord Jesus was an itinerant Preacher, did not continue long in a place, for the whole land of Canaan was his parish, or diocese, and therefore he would visit every part of it, and give instructions to those in the remotest corners of it. Here we have him in the coasts of Judea, by the further side of Jordan eastward, as we found him, not long since, in the utmost borders westward, near Tyre and Sidon. Thus was his circuit like that of the sun, from whose light and heat nothing is hid. Now here we have him,
Here's a couple of maps I found that may help to picture it.
I liked how this commentary covered Jesus' teaching on the little children. I've often considered the teaching from the perspective of the character Christ desired in us. Here the point is made that we are to embrace the children as part of the Kingdom of God. Jesus came to save us all, including the children.
3. He owned them as members of his church, as they had been of the Jewish church. He came to set up the kingdom of God among men, and took this occasion to declare that that kingdom admitted little children to be the subjects of it, and gave them a title to the privileges of subjects. Nay, the kingdom of God is to be kept up by such: they must be taken in when they are little children, that they may be secured for hereafter, to bear up the name of Christ.
This was a cherished reminder of my first encounter with Jesus as a child. When I cried out in an agony of tears when I read the account of Jesus' distress when praying in the garden of Gethsemane just prior to His arrest. I was young and didn't understand that Jesus must die. It brings to mind the anxiety that the disciples are experiencing in these chapters as Jesus begins to share his destiny with them. It seems they just can't take it in. They won't fully understand until Jesus comes back to talk to them after the resurrection.
It's a great commentary for getting into how the disciples must have felt and how Jesus handled their emotions.
3. See here what method he took to silence their fears. He did not go about to make the matter better than it was, nor to feed them with hopes that he might escape the storm, but told them again what he had often told them before, the things that should happen to him. He knew the worst of it, and therefore went on thus boldly, and he will let them know the worst of it. Come, be not afraid; for,
This commentary is definitely worth a fuller read for more context and understanding. You'll find a very clear outline to help your understanding of the whole chapter.
https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/mhc/Mar/Mar_010.cfm
Bible Hub Comment
I often link to this commentary and pull up a note on the text. Here I'm going to flag up some of the other resources available alongside the commentary on chapter and verse. Here's a snippet from their useful guidance on prayer points relating to this chapter. I thought they were very good!
Pray for strength and wisdom to honor and protect the sanctity of marriage.
Ask God to help you cultivate a childlike faith, free from pride and self-reliance.
Seek God's guidance in prioritizing eternal treasures over earthly possessions.
Pray for a heart of servanthood, willing to serve others selflessly.
Ask for increased faith and persistence in prayer, trusting in Jesus' power to heal and transform.
To read this commentary in full, please follow the link.
https://biblehub.com/study/chapters/mark/10.htm
I'll leave it there for this week. I'm running behind in my post surgery not quite yet, organised life. I'm determined to keep on schedule and upload both video and commentary today. It's Friday and I'm trying to make it my regular upload day.
God be with you all, until I upload again. Thank you for reading along with me!
Mark 10:12 - I wonder what blessing Jesus said over the children as he put his hand on their heads? In Jewish tradition it is common for the father (and mother) to place their hands on their child’s head and pray a blessing over them. The blessing is said at every Shabbat or on special Jewish observances, but I don’t think the blessings are restricted to only those occasions. Often the prayer said is the priestly blessing found in Number 6: 24-26. Jesus is our High Priest so I wonder if he prayed this blessing over the children. One of the commentaries said the parents were bringing their children to Jesus for dedication. My church’s tradition is baby dedication, not christening. Baby dedication is a ceremony for the parents, who are making a public declaration and commitment to raise their child in the faith.
Jesus loved children and they loved Him. It must break the Lord’s heart that adults are confusing children about their true biological sex. I note that Mark 10:6 clearly indicates that God created male and female - only 2 sexes and there is no such thing as gender. The controversial sexologist, John Money, first used the term gender in 1955. A lot of people are going to have “a millstone hung around their neck and drowned in the depths of the sea” if they do not repent.
I really love hearing what others think about these verses. There is so much that can be learnt and shared. I don't even scratch the surface. Add your thoughts on a comment :)