A Non-Teachable spirit

April 7, 2018

Mark 10: 1-12

For a reason unknown to me, in that I’m ignorant in the area of English grammar I have a need even a calling to leave a record of what God has spoken to me through Scripture and life experiences.  Now my battle each day is time and what would be for some, minutes, but it requires hours for an unskilled person like myself to write correctly andit takes prayer, research, and Jan.

With that said we believe Jesus and the twelve are leaving Capernaum to Judea and that was an area under the control of King Herod Antipas.  He was the dude that had John the Baptist beheaded, and you will see soon how this plays into the hands of the Pharisees.

It seems that wherever Jesus goes He draws a crowd and as usual He begins to teach them.  So let’s pick up the story in verse 2-4, “And Pharisees came up and in order to test him asked  “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?” ³ He answered them, “What did Moses command you?” ⁴ They said, “Moses allowed a man to write a certificate of divorce and to send her away.”

Now it gets interesting; it is believed that the Pharisee's endgame was for Jesus to say what John the Baptist did and reported to King Antipas, hoping he would do to Jesus what he did to John.  But they have a problem; they are trying to trick Creator God in human form, and that’s not going to work.  Let’s look at verses 5-9; “⁵ And Jesus said to them, “Because of your hardness of heart he wrote you this commandment. ⁶ But from the beginning of creation, ‘God made them male and female.’ ⁷ ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, ⁸ and the two shall become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two but one flesh. ⁹ What therefore God has joined together let not man separate.”

They had done what so many in the church are doing, closing their hearts to God’s truth that is the hardness Jesus is referring to.  But Jesus is saying let's move pass Moses and look at what was God’s intention from the beginning.  And Jesus also made it clear that marriage is between a man and a woman, a male and a female.

Now as often was the case the disciples had a lot of questions, shall we look at verses 10-12, “ And in the house the disciples asked him again about this matter. ¹¹ And he said to them, “Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her, ¹² and if she divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery.”  Now it is clear from Scripture that one can divorce for adultery, but as one who was forgiven and has a beautiful wife and a life of almost 53 years of marriage that may not be your best path.  And Mark did not give us all of Jesus’ teachings on divorce and remarriage.

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice