COMMENTARY ON MARK
LESSON NUMBER 107
“ Mark 10:1 And He arose from thence, and cometh into the coasts of Judaea by the farther side of Jordan: and the people resort unto Him again; and, as He was wont, He taught them again. 2 And the Pharisees came to Him, and asked Him, Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife? tempting him. 3 And He answered and said unto them, What did Moses command you? 4 And they said, Moses suffered to write a bill of divorcement, and to put her away. 5 And Jesus answered and said unto them, For the hardness of your heart he wrote you this precept.”
(Mark 10:1-5; Matthew 5:31-32; 19:1-6)
JESUS TEACHES, AND IS TEMPTED
INTRODUCTION
While men are prone to back away from sensitive subjects, Jesus is not. In our text we have a classic example of straightforward teaching on an unusually tender matter. As we view the words of Jesus it is important to remember that He speaks in the role of a Savior. He is not speaking as a heartless lawyer or a stern judge, seeking for a reason to condemn. He will speak the truth, and those who have received the love of the truth will be able to accept it. Further, Jesus does not speak in view of the Old Covenant alone, which would render His words obsolete following the inauguration of the New Covenant. Because Jesus is “the Truth,” no word spoken by Him can be discarded as though it was irrelevant for us today. Even when addressing matters relating specifically to the Old Covenant – like presenting a gift at the altar (Matt 5:24) – Jesus will speak in such a way as to make the matter relevant to those living under the greater light of the “new and living way” (Heb 10:20). Furthermore, we must resist any temptation to think that grace offsets the teaching of Jesus. His words are to be heard with the utmost sobriety, knowing that God will always be inclined toward those who have a “contrite spirit” and “tremble” at His word (Isa 66:2).
THE TEACHING JESUS
“ Mk 10:1 And He arose from thence, and cometh into the coasts of Judaea by the farther side of Jordan: and the people resort unto Him again; and, as He was wont, He taught them again.”
HE AROSE FROM THENCE. Jesus has been in Capernaum (9:33), and has instructed His disciples extensively concerning the matter of offences. However, as precious as His disciples were, the Lord must be about His Father’s business. Matthew says of this occasion, “and when Jesus had finished these sayings, He departed from Galilee” (Matt 19:1). Jesus is heading toward Jerusalem (Lk 9:51), to lay down His life for His sheep (John 10:15). This work would take the precedence over all other works. Jesus lived in view of His ultimate mission, and the appointed purpose of God. He was never turned from this. He provided us an example of living with a proper focus – keeping the main thing ever before us.
HE COMES INTO THE COASTS OF JUDEA. Luke tells us that Jesus, knowing He would pass through Samaria, sent messengers before Him to “make ready for Him.” However, the Samaritans sensed that He was determinedly headed for Jerusalem, and therefore did not receive Him (Lk 9:51-53). What a tragedy! Those people could have spent some time with Jesus and gained much from it. However, because Jesus had a higher priority than them, they rejected Him. There are still people who refuse to welcome Jesus unless he treats them as the most important thing. They are unwilling to yield to the will and purpose of God.
THE PEOPLE RESORT TO HIM. “The people resort unto Him again.” Other versions read, “gathered to Him again,” NKJV “gathered around Him again,” NASB and “converged on Him.” CSB Matthew reads, “And great multitudes followed Him; and He healed them there” (Matt 19:2). In both Matthew and Mark it is evident that the people were not thinking of convenience, ease, and comfort. For genuine profit to be realized, there must come a time when being with Jesus becomes more important than anything else. This is lived out in our text.
When there is a genuine interest in the Lord Jesus, people will come to Him. Jacob prophesied of the Messiah, “unto Him shall the gathering of the people be” (Gen 49:10). Because we are living in a spiritually cold and decadent age, it may appear as though such a gathering is not possible. However, think how the world was when Jesus entered into it. Apart from the preparatory ministry of John the Baptist, the spiritual ground was dry and parched. That is why the Messiah was described as “a root out of dry ground” (Isa 53:2). Yet, our text speaks of crowds who would not be denied – “the people resort unto Him again.” No one invited them, but they came. The Samaritans rejected Him, but other crowds came. They were being drawn by the Father to the Son. As Jesus affirmed, “No man can come to Me, except the Father which hath sent Me draw him” (John 6:44). Whatever deficiencies may be found in this multitude, their very presence with Jesus confirms the effectiveness of Divine power.
HE TEACHES THE PEOPLE AGAIN. “ . . . as He was wont, He taught them again.” The word “wont” means “to be accustomed.” THAYER Other versions read, “as He was accustomed,”NKJV “according to His custom,” NASB “as was His way,” BBE “as He usually did,” GWN “as usual,” NLT and “as He always did.” IE It was the manner of Jesus to teach the people - that is what He did. It is still His manner to do so. Speaking of advancing in the life of faith Paul wrote, “But ye have not so learned Christ; if so be that ye have heard Him, and have been taught by Him, as the truth is in Jesus” (Eph 4:20-21). Fifteen times the Gospels say of Jesus, “He taught” (Matt 7:29; 13:54; Mk 1:22; 2:13; 4:2; 9:31; 10:1; 11:17; 12:35; Lk 4:15; 19:47; 20:1; 6:59; 7:28; 8:20). There are at least fifteen references to Jesus “teaching.” This was the manner of the Savior – to teach the people. Nicodemus referred to Him as a “Teacher come from God” (John 3:2). Jesus was not an entertainer. He was a teacher. No standard version of the Scriptures ever refer to Jesus as a “Healer” – even though He healed multitudes.
What does it mean when it says Jesus “taught”? The word itself means “to hold discourse with others in order to instruct them, deliver didactic discourses.” THAYER Teaching has to do with the communication of knowledge that is not within the cognitive grasp of the people. In the case of Jesus teaching, He acquainted the people with hitherto unknown realities and their implications.
In the record of Christ’s teaching, there are no less than ninety-eight references to the Kingdom (Kingdom of heaven, Kingdom of God, and the Kingdom). His teaching related to that Kingdom, defining it, showing its nature, and declaring its priority: i.e. “Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness” (Matt 6:33).
Today, there is an astounding amount of teaching that relates only to this world, having little to do with an “everlasting Kingdom” (2 Pet 1:11). Such teaching, however impressive it may be, is not related to the Teacher sent from God – the Lord Jesus Christ. He came to deliver us from this present evil world according to God’s will (Gal 1:4). It ought to be apparent that the thrust of His teaching would not center in the world from which He has delivered us. It goes without saying that we still need a teaching Jesus. That is why we have one.
JESUS IS TEMPTED WITH A QUESTION
“ 2 And the Pharisees came to Him, and asked Him, Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife? tempting Him. 3 And He answered and said unto them, What did Moses command you?”
THE PHARISEES CAME TO HIM. Jesus did not only attract sincere inquirers. His teaching was so unique and powerful that it also got the attention of His critics. The teaching of Jesus contradicted both the thrust and the content of the Pharisees instruction. Convinced that they were right and He was wrong, they came to Him.
IS IT LAWFUL? These men did not come to Jesus inquiring about eternal life, as “a certain ruler” did (Lk 16:18). They did not ask for mercy, as Bartimaeus did (Mk 10:47). They asked for no explanation of his teaching, as His disciples did (Matt 13:36). They did not ask where He was dwelling, as two of John’s disciples did(John 1:38). Instead, they asked Jesus if it was right for a man to put away his wife. Of this occasion Matthew says they asked, “Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife for every cause” (Matt 19:3).
Such questions were put to Jesus on at least two other occasions. “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath day?” (Matt1 2:10). “Is it lawful to give tribute to Caesar, or not?” (Matt 22:17). Peter once asked Jesus, “Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times?”(Matt 18:21). Once a Pharisee tempted Jesus asking, “Master, which is the great commandment of the Law?” (Matt 22:35). Once the Pharisees and scribes asked Jesus, “Why walk not Thy disciples according to the tradition of the elders, but eat bread with unwashen hands?”(Mark 7:5). Once the Sadducees asked Jesus an elaborate question concerning a woman who had been the wife of a man and seven of brothers – all of them dying before she remarried (Mk 12:18-23).
A lot can be known of a person by the questions that come to his mind when he is standing before Jesus or one of His representatives. Questions like those above were driven by a quest for self-justification. They fell short of a quest for the Kingdom of God and His righteousness.
TEMPTING HIM. This reveals the ignoble motives of the Pharisees. They were trying to draw Jesus into, what they conceived to be, great difficulty. Perhaps they could debate with Him, imaging that their own wisdom could upstage that of Jesus. Here was Truth incarnate before them – the Son of God come down from heaven – and what do they ask Him? They are not in search of genuine knowledge, wisdom, or understanding. They are seeking to trap Jesus into saying something false. Here is an area in which they imagined they had more knowledge than Jesus. It is evident that they were not present when Jesus specifically addressed this matter in, what is called, the sermon on the mount (Matt 5:31-32).
One of the utterances of the Lord to Israel was, “Ye shall not tempt the LORD your God” (Deut 6:16). That is, “You shall put the Lord your God to the test,” NASB as though you doubted His integrity and faithfulness. In this text, the Pharisees doubted the wisdom of the Prophet from Nazareth. On another occasion they were “tempting” Jesus desiring “that He would show them a sign from heaven” (Matt 16:1). It is written that the Lawyer who asked Jesus what was “the great commandment of the Law” was actually “tempting Him” (Matt 22:35-36). Another lawyer once asked Jesus, “Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” Luke says that man was tempting Jesus (Lk 10:25). On yet another occasion the scribes and Pharisees brought a woman “taken in adultery,” reminding Him that Moses said she should be stoned. They then asked Him, “but what sayest Thou?” John adds, “this they said tempting Him” (John 8:3-6). It is a serious transgression to question the wisdom or ability of Jesus.
WHAT DID MOSES COMMAND YOU? Matthew provides an even more extensive record of the account, stating that Jesus asked if they had read that at the beginning God “made them male and female,” that they became “one flesh,” and that man should not “put asunder” what God had “joined together” (Matt 19:4-6). In Mark, Jesus throws the question back at them. He makes them begin with what they know. He did something similar when a lawyer asked him about inheriting eternal life: “what is written in the Law? How readest thou?” (Lk 10:26).
It is still the manner of Jesus to send us to what we know in answering thorny questions. Therefore we read in the New Covenant Scriptures, “For what saith the Scripture?” (Rom 4:3). “But what saith the answer of God unto him?” (Rom 11:4). “Nevertheless what saith the Scripture” (Gal 4:30). All of this is meaningless to a Scripturally illiterate society – especially a church that is not familiar with the Word of God.
Why does the Lord speak in such a manner? It is because God has “magnified” His Word above all His name (Psa 138:2). His nature, power, and purpose are revealed in His Word. There the nature of sin is unveiled, and the fallenness of mankind becomes apparent. However dimly the will of God may be reflected in certain sections of Scripture, it is still there. Enough of God is seen in His word to properly direct our thinking, and lead us to think more soberly, and even ask the right questions.
ONE OF THE REASONS FOR MOSES’ INSTRUCTIONS
“ 4 And they said, Moses suffered to write a bill of divorcement, and to put her away. 5 And Jesus answered and said unto them, For the hardness of your heart he wrote you this precept.”
Being self-proclaimed experts in the Law of Moses, the Pharisees quickly respond concerning Moses’ words. They have in their minds what they think Moses meant, and are no doubt prepared for some extensive argumentation. This is the manner of the legalists. They place a high value on their own reasoning, even equating it with Scripture. However, these men are dealing with Him in whom all wisdom and knowledge are hidden. They have entered into a controversy that will not turn out well for them. What they did not realize is that all controversies cannot be settled by Law – as confirmed in the case of the woman taken in the very act of adultery (John 8:3-11).
A BILL OF DIVORCEMENT. The words of Moses are found in Deuteronomy 24:1-4. They have to do with a man whose wife no longer has “favor in his eyes, because he hath found uncleanness in her” (Deut 24:1). The man was to give her a bill of divorce. The woman was then free to be another man’s wife (24:2). He continued that if the second husband put her away, or died, “her former husband who sent her away may not take her again to be his wife, after that she is defiled.” That, Moses continued, “is abomination before the Lord,” and would “cause the land to sin”(24:3-4; Jer 3:1). An example of this procedure is found in Joseph’s determination to put away Mary when she was found with child. At the time, he did not yet know she was bearing the Son of God. “Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not willing to make her a public example, was minded to put her away privily” (Matt 1:19). Even then, driven by a right heart, Joseph determined to do this privately, not making a public example of Mary. It was as he thought upon these things, not moving hastily, that God sent an angel to explain the circumstances to Joseph and tell him not to fear taking Mary to be his wife (Matt 1:20-21).
Moses was not at all specific about the cause for divorce – simply stating that the husband found “uncleanness in her.” Jewish teachers were divided over the meaning of this expression. At the time of our text two influential rabbis had formulated static interpretations of the text. “The school of Shammal seeming to limit it to a moral delinquency in the woman, while that of Hillel extended it to trifling causes.” McCLINTOK-STRONG’S
The “bill of divorcement” was a formal and legal document, the drawing up of which Moses “suffered,” permitted, or allowed. Even though the Pharisees took this as a Law, it was not so in the strictest sense. This is confirmed by Jesus’ words on this matter in the sermon on the mount: “It hath been said, Whosoever shall put away his wife, let him give her a writing of divorcement: But I Say unto you . . .” (Matt 5:31). This is not to be taken as a refutation of what Moses said. There was, as we will see, another factor in this to which Jesus will not refer.
FOR THE HARDNESS OF YOUR HEART. Jesus affirms that Moses wrote this “precept” “because of the hardness of your heart.” NKJV Moses permitted this procedure, not commanded it! In other words, there was enough inconvenience associated with putting away one’s wife to allow for some more serious thought on the matter. Every outburst of hatred and fickleness was not allowed to dictate the action of a discontent husband. Some thought had to be given to the matter – both to its cause and the action that would follow it.
The hardheartedness of the men would have given them license to treat their wives inhumanely, as though they were nothing more than vassals, and sources of carnal pleasure. Therefore, Moses wrote this precept to restrain their inconsideration and harshness.
Under the Law, a number of precepts were written to protect women who were put away. If a man had purchased a wife, and she did not please him, he could not sell her to a “strange nation” (Ex 21:8). If the man took another wife, he could not diminish the food, raiment, or “duty of marriage” for the despised wife (Ex 21:10). The man who despised his wife could not “make merchandise of her” (Deut 21:14).
These, and similar, laws are not intended to be guidelines for those who are in Christ Jesus. They were written for those with hard hearts, not those with new hearts and spirits (Ezek 36:26). They reflect the very nature of a conduct that must be regulated by Law. Individuals who are unregenerated must have certain restrictions imposed upon them in order to suppress the outbreak of their depraved wills.
This is precisely why righteousness cannot come through the Law. As it is written, “But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident: for, The just shall live by faith” (Gal 3:11). Doing what is right is not the issue under the Law, but NOT doing what is wrong. Only one of the Ten Commandments directed that something be done: “Honor thy father and mother” (Ex 20:12). All of the other comments dealt with what was not to be done: “no other gods,” “not make,” “not bow down,” “not take the name,” “not do any work,” “not kill,” “not commit adultery,” “not steal,” “not bear false witness,” and “not covet” (Ex 20:1-17).