Mark 10:1-12 Divorce in the modern day has become an epidemic of unprecedented proportions. The actual number of divorces range from about 6 to as much as 17 divorces per thousand in America, depending upon the state you live in.[1] That doesn’t sound bad. What is bad is that over the life of a marriage, 53% of first-time marriages end in divorce according to common statistics. Remarriages are worse, the rate of second marriages is 60%, while third marriages rake in at a whopping 73% divorce rate…[2] There is a myth out that says that Christians have a higher divorce rate than non-Christians. The Barna Group dispelled this myth through a survey in 2008 that shows numbers coming out almost the same.[3] Divorce rates among the millennials to date are showing to be lower according to statistics. This is because of two factors. Many are cohabiting thus; separation is not a divorce. This group is a lot younger than the national average, so time has not tested the marriages as much. If you were to call cohabitation marriage, and if the time given was the same as the normal group, the numbers would probably be much higher.

In today’s world there are many who will say that these verses do not apply to them. Every time I study what Jesus said regarding marriage, I lose readers. Sorry about that, I will write what I see in the scriptures. Time for sugar coating the truth is over. Many believers cling to a “get out of jail free” card by saying that Jesus condoned divorce in the case of infidelity (Matt 19:9). For some reason English composition goes out the window with this verse. Jesus is saying that whenever a man divorces his wife, he is responsible for her adultery except in the case where she had already committed adultery prior to the divorce. The authority for adultery falls back on her at that point. Let’s look at this passage now:

Yeshua taught Torah. He taught the instructions of God according to the original intent of those instructions. Moses gave instructions that once a man marries his wife and he finds that she had “some indecency in her” then he could write her a certificate of divorce. The idea behind the word for “indecency” is “nakedness” quite literally “having genitals exposed” which can also be translated as “cohabitation”. Moses’ instructions were for a newlywed husband that discovered that his wife was tainted sexually in some way. The implication of the phrase points to uncleanliness in some manner, the specific area is sexual uncleanliness.

The Rabbi’s took these verses and expounded on them. It came to mean by Yeshua’s day that if the wife burnt the toast, she was defective. Then he husband could write a certificate of divorce to satisfy the letter of the “law”. Stern summarizes the Talmud well:

“The School of Shammai say a man may not divorce his wife unless he has found unchastity in her, as it is said, ‘ … because he has found in her indecency in a matter.’ But the School of Hillel say he may divorce her even if she burns his food, as it is said, ‘ … because he has found in her indecency in a matter.’ ” (Mishna: Gittin 9:10) ^[4]

Yeshua turned the tables from Rabinnics to return to the truth of the scriptures. In the beginning, it was one man and one woman. The two became one flesh. Then he adds the final phrase “What therefore God has joined together, let no man separate” (Mark 10:9 NASB95). The meaning is very clear. No man, not court of law, no human entity can dissolve a marriage by God’s standard. Yet, for some reason these verses are ignored in our churches today.

Let’s look at application to practical life here. Biblical believers, Jews and Christians alike stand responsible for this principle. No one who holds the Bible to be true should ever even consider a divorce. The unbelievers do not have this standard to live by. When divorced people are welcomed into our fellowships, they are tainted by sin just like any other sin that hey have committed. They were torah-less prior to coming to know the Messiah as their personal savior. In other words, they were not following the principles found in the Word of God and did not claim to follow them. Expect the world to act like the world. Divorced people who come to the church should be welcomed with open arms. They sinned, yes, but that sin was covered when they accepted the Messiah. As these baby believers grow and develop in the Lord, they are welcomed to move into areas of leadership. Believers have a different standard. If a believer divorces, he has violated God’s word and should not be in an area of leadership (1 Tim 3:1-13; Titus 5-9). In this way, this is a very hard teaching.

Mark 10:10-13 The disciples wanted clarification on the subject. Yeshua stated plainly that if a divorce takes place and the spouses remarry, they enter into adultery before God. The only stipulation in this is who is the responsible party for the adultery. If the woman is the one who leaves, or has been involved in cheating on her husband, then she is responsible for her own adultery. If she were innocent of any sexual escapades outside of her marriage, and her husband divorces her, he is responsible for her adultery before God (Matt 5:32).

This is a very hard teaching today since it goes against the norms that we have accepted in our society. I almost feel that I should apologize since some who read this are going to get their feelings hurt. Yeshua set the standard. He clarified the instructions that He gave in the beginning of the scriptures. The question is what are we going to do about it…?

[1] https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/articles/2019-02-11/what-is-the-divorce-rate-by-state, accessed 7/3/19

[2] https://www.wf-lawyers.com/divorce-statistics-and-facts/, accessed 7/3/19

[3] https://www.barna.com/research/new-marriage-and-divorce-statistics-released/, accessed 7/4/19

^[4] David H. Stern, Jewish New Testament Commentary : A Companion Volume to the Jewish New Testament, electronic ed. (Clarksville: Jewish New Testament Publications, 1996), Mt 19:3.