Mark 10:1-12
Find a way to separate yourself from whatever’s going on around you so you can fully enter into today’s passage. if you haven’t read the introduction to Mark’s Gospel, read it here.
Read Mark 10:1-12 taking note of any questions that arise in you.
Read through 21st Century western eyes, this passage seems to be a fairly straightforward explanation of Jesus’ view of divorce, but if we consider the 1st Century Jewish context of Jesus’ remarks, we realize that he is once again disrupting social and hierarchical norms with his answer to the Pharisees.
Women in 1st Century Israel had no say in their marriage or divorce, because in that patriarchal society, men held all the power. Furthermore, the law of Moses gave men a way to legally divorce their wives, a situation that would have been disastrous for the women who had little to no way of securing a livable income for themselves.
In answering these male religious leaders, Jesus quotes from the creation account in Genesis indicating that God’s original design was for men and women to be partners and equals in creating a new family unit from two separate ones. Moses’ concession was not God’s perfect will and way, and the treatment of women as inferior to men was far from God’s original shalom design.
Read Mark 10:1-12 again with all of this in mind.
Considering women had no power to initiate a divorce, what effect did Jesus intend with his last statement in this passage?
What does Jesus consider more important: the law of Moses or God’s original intent for people and the world? How would your answer effect how you read the Old Testament Scriptures if at all?
Are there foundational beliefs that you hold either consciously or unconsciously that might be causing you to act in ways that are contrary to God’s perfect will and way?
As you end your time today, spend a few minutes in silence with Jesus asking him to make you aware of anything that might come between you and your full love and commitment to him. If you feel Jesus nudging you toward a particular action, write it down and make a plan for taking a first step.
If these meditations are helpful to you, please forward them to couple of friends.
Interested in going deeper? Check out The Everyday Jesus Follower’s Guide and blog.
