Mark 10:1-12 Jesus’ Teaching about Divorce

Getting up, He went from there to the region of Judea and beyond the Jordan; crowds gathered around Him again, and, according to His custom, He once more began to teach them. Some Pharisees came up to Jesus, testing Him, and began to question Him whether it was lawful for a man to divorce a wife. And He answered and said to them, “What did Moses command you?” They said, “Moses permitted a man to write a certificate of divorce and send her away.” But Jesus said to them, “Because of your hardness of heart he wrote you this commandment. But from the beginning of creation, God made them male and female. For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother, and the two shall become one flesh; so they are no longer two, but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together let no man separate.” In the house the disciples began questioning Him about this again. And He said to them, “Whoever divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery against her; and if she herself divorces her husband and marries another man, she is committing adultery.”

It is important to remember that marriage is a covenant, a mutual promise to give of ones-self to the other unconditionally. Of course breaking a covenant is sin! This is why it is important to be married in the church – a reminder of the promise you are making. Those who are in the church are not in the world and vice versa. In the world, sin is the norm, but in the church, it remains sin.

Daily Prayer: Father, You indeed unite man and woman into one flesh, just as Jesus is one with You. In Your realm, it is called indwelling. In mine it is called promise. Grant me unwavering faithfulness to the woman You have given to me. In Jesus name I pray Amen.