Mark 10:6-9 - The Two Will Become One Flesh.
Mark 10:6-9 - The Two Will Become One Flesh.
Mark 10:6-9 (NKJV) But from the beginning of the creation, God
'made them male and female. For this reason a man shall leave his
father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become
one flesh'; so then they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore
what God has joined together, let not man separate.
Mark 10:6-9 (TNIV) But at the beginning of creation God 'made
them male and female. For this reason a man will leave his father and
mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.'
So they are no longer two, but one. Therefore what God has joined
together, let no one separate.
The Pharisees were trying to trap Jesus when they asked the
question, "Should a man be allowed to divorce his wife?" If Jesus answered
yes, then he would support the view of the Pharisees. If he answered
no, then not only would the people be upset, but he might anger King
Herod, who had already beheaded John the Baptist for speaking against
divorce.
Jesus, however, saw through their motives and used the
question to review God's intended purpose for marriage. As experts in the
law, the Pharisees knew what Moses had said about divorce; Jesus went
on to explain that it was God's intention that a man and a woman
make a commitment to permanence in marriage. In Deuteronomy, divorce
was instituted only for the purpose of protecting an injured party
within the marriage, and it required the approval of a judge. Yet
overtime, divorce had become easy and convenient.
Jesus quoted Genesis 2:24, reminding the Pharisees - and us -
that when two become one, no one should separate them. We should
never enter marriage with the idea that, if it isn't going as we had
hoped, we can just end it. Entering marriage with the idea of
commitment and permanence no matter what storms assail you will make your
marriage work. [The One Year Bible for New Believers re Mark 10:2-9]
God allowed divorce as a concession to people's sinfulness.
Divorce was not approved, but it was instituted to protect the injured
party in a bad situation. Unfortunately, the Pharisees used
Deuteronomy 24:1 as a proof text for divorce. Jesus explained that this was
not God's intent; instead, God wants married people to consider
their marriage permanent. [The One Year Bible Companion re Mark
10:3-9]
The rabbis didn't agree on their interpretation of the divorce
law (Deut. 24:1-4), one school being lenient and the other strict.
When you live "by permission," you are tempted to follow those who
tell you what you want to hear. Our Lord led the Pharisees back to
God's original plan and interpreted it for them. [Chapter by Chapter
Bible Commentary by Warren Wiersbe]
Fundamentally, Jesus' discussion of the marriage relationship
and its responsibilities is based on God's original plan for the
home as stated in Gen. 2:21-24 (see Matt. 19:8) and not on the Mosaic
law (see Deut. 24:1-4). In that plan, marriage was intended to meet
the need for companionship (Gen. 2:18), and to provide a home and
proper training for the children that would be born (see Gen. 1:28;
18:19; Prov. 22:6; Eph. 6:1-4). The home was thus established as an
ideal environment in which both parents and children might learn of
God and might develop characters that would measure up to the lofty
ideals inherent in the divine purpose that led to their creation....
As Christ later pointed out, divorce was not a part of God's
original plan, but came under the provisional approval of the law of
Moses because of the "hardness" of men's hearts (ch. 19:7, 8).... It
should be emphasized that the law of Moses did not institute divorce.
By divine direction Moses tolerated it and regulated it so as to
prevent abuses. Christian marriage should rest on the basis of Gen.
2:24, not of Deut. 24:1....
The liberal school of Hillel taught that a man might secure a
divorce for the most trivial cause, such as his wife's permitting his
food to burn. The more conservative school of Shammai, however,
interpreted the expression "some uncleanness" of Deut. 24:1 to mean "some
unseemly thing," meaning "immodest," or "indecent." But Jesus made plain
that there should be no divorce except in the case of marital
infidelity. The marriage relationship had been perverted by sin, and Jesus
came to restore to it the purity and beauty originally ordained by
the Creator....
In the providence of God the marriage institution was designed
to bless and uplift humanity. The companionship of husband and wife
was ordained of God as the ideal environment in which to mature a
Christian character. Most of the personality adjustments of married life,
and the difficulties encountered by many in making these
adjustments, call for the exercise of self-restraint and sometimes
self-sacrifice. True "love is patient and kind," it "does not insist on its own
way," it "bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things,
endures all things" (1 Cor. 13:4-7, RSV). When Christians enter into the
marriage relationship they should accept the responsibility of applying
the principles here stated. Husbands and wives who thus apply these
principles, and who are willing for the grace of Christ to operate in their
lives, will find that there is no difficulty, however serious it may
appear to be, that cannot be solved. Where dispositions are not
congenial, the Christian solution is to change dispositions, not spouses....
A wife put away would naturally seek to find a new home. But
by marrying another she would commit fornication, because her
previous marriage was not validly dissolved in God's sight (cf. Mark
10:11, 12). Christ boldly set aside the rabbinical tradition of His
day, especially that of the school of Hillel, which permitted divorce
for any cause. It has been observed that no marriage existed among
the Jews of the Mishnaic period from which the husband could not
abruptly free himself in a legal fashion. Jesus emphasized that marriage
was divinely ordained and, when properly entered into, was divinely
ratified. What God had joined together no rabbinical tradition or practice
could put asunder. [SDA Bible Commentary excerpts from Mat. 5:28-32]
MINI VIDEO RE THIS PASSAGE BY SHAWN BOONSTRA OF IT IS WRITTEN:
http://www.itiswritten.com/betterway/episode/2008/01/10
www.aBible.com
