Mark 10:7-12 - They are no longer two, but one flesh

10:7-9

Jesus then speaks specifically of marriage, and it is between one man and one woman, and they will become one flesh. The latter is demonstrated by the sex act, but means much more than that. We live in a fallen world, and so accept the effects of sin as being “normal”. They may well be common, but that does not mean they are the way things should be. Divorce is “normal”, but that is not the way it should be. Mal 2:16 says that the man who divorces his wife “does violence to the one he should protect”. Some translations say that God hates divorce. “Therefore what God has joined let no one separate”. So should divorce be allowed at all? I would say that the answer is yes, but we need to recognise that that is only in the context of being the lesser of two evils. Elsewhere Jesus seems to allow it for adultery, and 1 Cor 7 allows it when an unbelieving partner refuses to live with a believing partner. I would also say that it is consistent with the spirit of Biblical teaching to say it is allowed if one partner is physically abusive .

10:10-12

Jesus’ teaching went against the spirit of the age, and goes against the spirit of the age today as well. The teaching Jesus had given had been given in public, but when they were back “in the house” the disciples inquired of Jesus.”Anyone who divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery against her. And if she divorces her husband and marries another woman, she commits adultery”. Note the balance here. In the society of the time it would normally be the case that the man would divorce the woman, but it was possible for it to be the other way around. Now refer back to my comments on 10:2. Jesus was concerned with the heart.