Is it Lawful For a Man to Divorce His Wife?

Topic: Divorce

Passage: Mark 10:1–12

November 29, 2020

Commentary

These verses in Mark give us the teaching of our Lord on the subject of divorce. Jesus had left Galilee and crossed over into Judea on the east side of the Jordan River (v. 1). As crowds gathered around Him to hear Him teach, a group of Pharisees asked Him a very controversial question: “Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife?” (v. 2). It may have been designed to get Jesus into trouble with Herod, who had divorced his own wife to marry his brother’s wife. In answer, Jesus asked them what Moses had commanded, since he was their highest authority (v. 3). This is like asking today, “What does the Bible say?” The Bible is always the final authority for our faith and daily living decisions. There is no evidence in Scripture that God created divorce; it was something man permitted because of human weakness and sinful choices over time.

Their answer came from Deuteronomy 24:1, where Moses allowed a written notice of divorce (v. 4). At that time, divorce was already happening among the Israelites. Moses was not encouraging it but limiting harm in a broken situation. Jesus explained that this allowance was because of the “hardness of your heart” (v. 5). Men were divorcing their wives for almost any reason. Some even claimed that burning food or speaking loudly was enough cause. Jesus pointed back to God’s original design for marriage in Genesis 1:27–28 and 2:24 (vv. 6–9). Marriage is meant to be a lasting union of one man and one woman joined together by God in a sacred covenant relationship. No temporary rule could change God’s perfect plan. We also read in Malachi 2:16 that “He hateth putting away”, because of the pain it brings and the sin behind it. Jesus clearly affirmed this truth again to His disciples (vv. 10–12).

Application

Do I follow God’s design for relationships, or do I follow culture? Am I treating marriage as sacred and lasting? If I am single, am I preparing my heart well? If I am married, am I choosing love, patience, and forgiveness daily? May the Lord help us to honor Him in our commitments, with humility, faith, and a willing heart.

Mark 10:1–12 (NET)

¹ Then Jesus left that place and went to the region of Judea and beyond the Jordan River. Again crowds gathered to him, and again, as was his custom, he taught them. ² Then some Pharisees came, and to test him they asked, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?” ³ He answered them, “What did Moses command you?” ⁴ They said, “Moses permitted a man to write a certificate of dismissal and to divorce her.” ⁵ But Jesus said to them, “He wrote this commandment for you because of your hard hearts. ⁶ But from the beginning of creation he made them male and female. ⁷ For this reason a man will leave his father and mother, ⁸ and the two will become one flesh. So they are no longer two, but one flesh. ⁹ Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.”

¹⁰ In the house once again, the disciples asked him about this. ¹¹ So he told 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.”

Divorce Statistics

Probably no subject causes so much interest and is so important to deal with in our day as divorce. Over one million people a year experience divorce in America. Five out of nine marriages end up in divorce. Sixty percent of divorces involve child … Continue