Aug 7-13, 2022

Compiled by Dr. "Joey" Alan Le, Ph.D.

Teaching about Divorce

v2 Some Pharisees came, and to test him they asked, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?”

From what is known of Jewish culture during Jesus’ time, there was no question about the validity of divorce. Men could divorce their wives. The issue was on what grounds a man could divorce his wife (see Matt 19:3). But Mark’s version asks the broader question: Is divorce even lawful at all? The Pharisees know Jesus is an extremist, a radical. He is like a “second John the Baptist” who condemned Antipas’ divorce. John got himself killed. So now, the Pharisees attempt to entrap Jesus by asking a question that might get him killed. If Jesus says that divorce is wrong no matter what, he would anger the royals, and they would have him executed. Another tactic might be that they wanted Jesus to lose his popularity. If Jesus taught that divorce was always wrong, then all the Jewish men in the crowd would dislike him because he would be removing their right to divorce their wives, as well as opening up the possibility of allowing wives to divorce their husbands. Reading between the lines of these verses, how did the religious leaders of Jesus’s day approach the issue of divorce?

v3 He answered them, “What did Moses command you?”

Why did Jesus cite Moses as the source of authority?

v4 They said, “Moses allowed a man to write a certificate of dismissal and to divorce her.”

Only the husband had the right of divorce. The most that a wife could do was to ask her husband to divorce her. This certificate of dismissal was issued to the woman as a form of protection, verifying her release from marriage and giving her the right to remarry (Coleman 2019, 1615). What is the difference between a command and an allowance?

v5 But Jesus said to them, “Because of your hardness of heart he wrote this commandment for you.

Jesus provides a strategy for understanding the Law in the OT. In noting the tension between Moses’ legislation and God’s ethical ideal, Jesus sets a precedent for a suspicious reading of Scripture itself. Some parts of the Law express ideals while others make allowance for human sin. Regarding divorce, Jesus points to the beginning as the ideal (10:6). Thus, Moses’ allowance for divorce was an accommodation to human hard-heartedness. The problem was that the Pharisees misunderstood Scripture, believing that Moses’s law reflected God’s ideal will in every respect. But Jesus rejects that understanding. The law does not always reflect God’s ideal will (Westfall and Dyer 2016, 25). Why would God make such accommodation? Why wouldn’t God just push us directly towards the full ideal?

In your opinion, are all of God’s Laws in Scripture perfect and ideal? Or do they leave room for improvement? In actuality, the Mosaic law raised the ethical bar compared to other Ancient Near Eastern laws. It moved towards greater protection for the rights of the wife, who in an ancient patriarchal society needed to remarry in order to survive. Thus, Moses’ law attempted to minimize the damage of living in a fallen world. While it showed a move towards compassion and support for the vulnerable (the woman who was being divorced) it also accommodated itself to human sinfulness. The law, as it was, benefited the vulnerable woman, but also supported the powerful man in allowing the divorce and gave the man the power to divorce his wife (a power which the wife did not possess) (Westfall and Dyer 2016, 25).

Jesus’ technique of interpreting the Scriptures teaches Christians to re-read the Scriptures with care. Whose interest does this particular law serve? In what ways does this law allow for human sinfulness? Without this careful analysis, Christians run the risk of using the Scriptures to justify slavery and maintain other ideologies that keep certain groups of people oppressed. The Law is redemptive but also limited. It moves towards God’s ideal, but it accommodates human stubbornness (Westfall and Dyer 2016, 25). How does this principle – that the laws and commands in Scripture point toward God’s ideal but are still bounded by human rebellion – change your perspective on reading Scripture?

v6 But from the beginning of creation, ‘God made them male and female.’

Jesus refers to Gen 1:27 with God creating both male and female in the divine image, perhaps as a signal to human dignity, and the equal worth of male and female before God (Gushee and Stassen 2016, 273). Before the Fall, man and woman were equal. After the Fall, man and woman were unequal. Which is God’s ideal: equality or inequality?

What new information did Jesus offer about Moses’s instructions in Deuteronomy 24? How would you describe Jesus’s teaching on marriage and divorce? What do these verses mean for Christians today who are divorced or who are considering divorce? (Coleman 2019, 1615)

v18 Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone.

Do you ever call God something without knowing what you’re saying?

v21 Jesus, looking at him, loved him and said, “You lack one thing; go, sell what you own, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.”

What do you make of Jesus’ love for the man as the driving force behind his instruction? How would a feeling of love change how you talk to others?

Jesus is not trying to deter the man. He wants him on board as one of his closest disciples. But to do that, he needs to divest himself of all possessions completely, and join Jesus’ itinerant group of disciples, sharing in their communal resources, and depending on the material support of others. The one thing that prevents the man from following Jesus with all his heart…is his wealth (France 2009, 403). What thing(s) prevent you from following Jesus with your whole heart?

As the example of Job shows, a pious man was expected to prosper and then serve as a benefactor for those in need (see Job 1:1-5; 29:1-25). Being a benefactor in turn won gratitude from the beneficiaries and a good reputation in society at large. Jesus is asking the man to divest himself of all his goods once and for all and so deprive himself of the role of benefactor, and the honor that comes with it (Donahue and Harrington 2002, 303). Why would a beggar in need of help have a better standing with God than a wealthy benefactor?

But Jesus does not ask the man to give up everything for nothing. He beckons the man with an even greater reward: treasure in heaven. It’s a matter of perspective (France 2009, 403). Which is more valuable: worldly or heavenly treasure? What pattern/trend do you see in your bank account?

v22 When he heard this, he was shocked and went away grieving, for he had many possessions.

Technically, this man was a well-to-do, law-abiding person. He was not living in sin or corruption. It’s just that his reliance on material possessions and social honor made it impossible for him to join Jesus. There are many people in the church who are good people, but they still cannot follow Jesus wholeheartedly.

Earlier in Mk 4:19, Jesus warned of the seed that could not grow because it was choked by the lure of wealth and the desire for material goods. Now, we see a man whose wealthy lifestyle blocked him from following Jesus.

Take a look at how simple and unburdened the disciples were when they went on mission (Mk 6:7-13). The man’s possessions prevented him from joining Jesus’ mission. Those who follow Jesus should voluntarily cultivate a simple lifestyle for the sake of service (Donahue and Harrington 2002, 307).

v23 Then Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How hard it will be for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!”

Is this story a description or a prescription? Was Jesus instructing just this wealthy man, or was he instructing all people everywhere?

This verse makes it clear that wealth as such, and not just this man’s wealth, is an insurmountable barrier to the Kingdom of God. The saying about a camel going through the eye of a needle (10:25) is a reference to an impossibility, not merely a difficulty (France 2009, 400). Why do you think riches pose such an obstacle to entering God’s kingdom?

By rejecting Jesus, the rich man rejects the kingdom of God. Contrary to popular opinion, possessions are not an advantage but are an obstacle to entering the Kingdom of God (France 2009, 404). What evidence do you see for this principle in real life?

v26 They were greatly astounded and said to one another, “Then who can be saved?”

Jesus has led the disciples to ask the most basic theological question about entering God’s kingdom and inheriting eternal life. Salvation is God’s gift (Donahue and Harrington 2002, 305). For this rich man and for us, it was not simply observing the law, but about giving up and surrendering himself to God’s ways. How do you explain what God does versus what humans do to bring about salvation?

v27 Jesus looked at them and said, “For mortals it is impossible, but not for God; for God all things are possible.”

The capacity to respond in obedience is a mysterious possibility granted by God (Hays 1996, 83). Do you know of someone who seems impossible to work with or to change? Pray for them, that God would do the impossible with them.

The story of the rich man is more than Jesus’ condemnation of wealth at large; it is part of a broader critique of conventional human values. Like each of the preceding passages, it both contributes to the overall re-education of the disciples and carries its own specific and uncomfortable message. In Jewish society, it was generally taken for granted that wealth was to be welcomed as a mark of God’s blessing. But this quite natural valuation is turned on its head by Jesus (France 2009, 399). How has Jesus’ teaching made you uncomfortable?

v30 who will not receive a hundredfold now in this age—houses, brothers and sisters, mothers and children, and fields, with persecutions—and in the age to come eternal life.

Both obedience to God’s call, and the great reward for responding to that call, are God’s initiative and gift. It will remain a mystery for us (Hays 1996, 84). How have you experienced God’s blessing as a result of your obedience?

v31 But many who are first will be last, and the last will be first.”

Explain this in your own words, and how does it compare with how the world runs?

The Request of James and John

v35 James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came forward to him and said to him, “Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you.”

In Mk 9:2, Peter, James and John were invited to see Jesus’ transfiguration. Perhaps their vision of Jesus’ glory granted them a certain sense of entitlement. What is “entitlement,” and how do you know it when you see it?

v37 And they said to him, “Grant us to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your glory.”

How do you normally define greatness?

They expected Jesus’ to be exalted to a throne. They had no idea that Jesus’ exaltation would be on the cross, and two bandits/revolutionaries would be on Jesus’ left and right.

Even though Jesus has been clear about his mission and serving others, welcoming the least, and being the least, the disciples -- especially James and John -- show a remarkable lack of awareness of what Jesus has been saying, and their personal ambition is totally misaligned with the revolutionary values of the kingdom. According to Jesus, true greatness involves the service of others (Donahue and Harrington 2002, 315). How would Jesus’ ethic of service determine how you work?

v44 and whoever wishes to be first among you must be slave of all.

Jesus died an excruciating and humiliating death, the death of a slave. This death is a model for the disciple's life. Jesus does not condemn the institution of slavery. What he demands is something unexpected: his followers are to become a community of slaves serving one another (Glancy 2011, 27). What would happen to our communities and societies if we all learned to serve one another?