What is the meaning of Mark 10:4? They answered - The Pharisees respond to Jesus’ question about what Moses commanded (Mark 10:3), revealing the debate was not about God’s original design but about permissible loopholes. - Their answer shows they knew Deuteronomy 24:1–4, yet they chose a concession rather than God’s intention first set in Genesis 2:24. - By citing Moses, they attempt to anchor their position in Scripture, yet Matthew 19:7–8 records Jesus exposing the hardness of heart behind that concession. Moses permitted - Deuteronomy 24:1 begins, “If a man marries a woman but she becomes displeasing to him… he may write her a certificate of divorce.” Moses did not command divorce; he “permitted” it to regulate broken marriages and protect women from worse outcomes. - Jesus clarifies in Mark 10:5 that this permission was “because of your hardness of heart.” Permission is not endorsement; it is divine accommodation to human sin. - God’s unchanging standard still holds: “What God has joined together, let man not separate” (Mark 10:9). A man to write his wife - Responsibility rests on the husband; he initiates covenant, and, tragically, he can initiate its dissolution. - Scripture consistently places headship alongside accountability (Ephesians 5:25–28). - The verse reminds every husband that his choices affect his wife’s future, echoing Malachi 2:14 where the Lord calls marriage a covenant “with your wife.” A certificate of divorce - The certificate served several purposes: • Prevented impulsive abandonment by requiring formal action. • Provided legal freedom for the woman to remarry, shielding her from accusations of adultery (Deuteronomy 24:2). • Documented the husband’s decision, making future reconciliation more deliberate. - Though protective in function, it also underscored the tragic reality of a broken covenant, contrasting God’s hatred of divorce in Malachi 2:16. And send her away - “Send her away” reflects the severing of a one-flesh union (Genesis 2:24) that God intended to be lifelong. - The phrase carries weight: relational, economic, and spiritual loss for the woman, who often had limited means of support (Ruth 1:8–9 illustrates vulnerability after marital loss). - Jesus’ teaching immediately following (Mark 10:11–12) reasserts that divorce followed by remarriage equates to adultery, restoring God’s original, permanent ideal. summary Mark 10:4 records the Pharisees citing Moses’ concession on divorce. Jesus will soon reveal that this was never God’s heart; it was a temporary allowance made because of human sinfulness. The verse highlights human tendency to look for loopholes, God’s protective concern for the vulnerable, and the solemn responsibility placed on husbands. Its ultimate purpose in the passage is to set up Jesus’ reaffirmation that marriage is designed by God to be a lifelong, unbreakable covenant. |
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