{"id":4507,"date":"2024-02-23T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-02-23T06:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/handstotheplow.org\/reading-plan\/february-23\/"},"modified":"2025-08-16T08:08:17","modified_gmt":"2025-08-16T13:08:17","slug":"february-23","status":"publish","type":"reading-plan","link":"https:\/\/handstotheplow.org\/am\/reading-plan\/february-23\/","title":{"rendered":"February 23"},"content":{"rendered":"

Insight from Mark 10:1\u201331<\/span><\/p>\n

The Pharisees aren\u2019t looking for help from Jesus in order to better understand the Scriptures. They are hardhearted. They are looking for any way that they might trap Jesus in his words (see also Mark 12:13-17). But what the Pharisees mean for evil, Jesus uses for good. Mark records their question and Jesus\u2019 answer because Jesus\u2019 answer is helpful for all of Jesus\u2019 followers. Followers of Jesus need to know how they are to think about marriage and divorce. Their thoughts about marriage and divorce are not to be based on the constantly changing standards of the world. Rather, they are to be based on the Scriptures. Fortunately, as Jesus demonstrates in these verses, Scripture says a great deal about these topics. As may be seen in this passage, hardhearted people tend to twist the Scriptures so that they can continue living for their own pleasures (even though they pretend to love God\u2019s words). In this case, the Pharisees use God\u2019s good words in Deuteronomy 24:1-4 to justify their sinful attitudes and actions in regard to marriage. They demonstrate that they don\u2019t care about the purposes God had when he made mankind \u201cmale and female\u201d (Genesis 1:27). They don\u2019t care about God\u2019s original intent for marriage. Rather, they are looking for reasons to break apart marriages. Godly people, however, do not twist God\u2019s word. Rather, they meditate on God\u2019s word day and night (see Joshua 1:8 and Psalm 1:2), so that they might learn God\u2019s will and live for his pleasure and for his good purposes. <\/span>Tom Kelby, <\/span>The Book of Mark with Study Notes: A Preacher\u2019s Guide to the Book of Mark<\/span><\/i>, second printing (Webster, WI: Hands to the Plow, 2017), 52.<\/span><\/p>\n

–<\/p>\n

In these verses, Jesus is telling the Apostles the general principle regarding divorce and remarriage after divorce. The general principle is that divorce and remarriage after divorce are not permitted. Some have wondered if Jesus\u2019 words here (and in Luke 16:18) contradict his words in Matthew 5:31-32 and Matthew 19:1-12 and contradict Paul\u2019s words in 1 Corinthians 7:13-16. This is not the case. There is no contradiction. All of these passages are true. In Matthew 5:31-32, Matthew 19:1-12, and 1 Corinthians 7:13-16, Jesus and Paul go beyond the general principles regarding divorce and remarriage after divorce and discuss exceptional circumstances. The verses describing exceptional circumstances should not be seen as contradicting the verses that outline the general principle. Old Testament passages related to this topic include Genesis 1:27, Genesis 2:18-25, Exodus 21:10-11, and Deuteronomy 24:1-4. <\/span>Tom Kelby, <\/span>The Book of Mark with Study Notes: A Preacher\u2019s Guide to the Book of Mark<\/span><\/i>, second printing (Webster, WI: Hands to the Plow, 2017), 53.<\/span><\/p>","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"give_campaign_id":0,"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","_crdt_document":""},"class_list":["post-4507","reading-plan","type-reading-plan","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/handstotheplow.org\/am\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/reading-plan\/4507","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/handstotheplow.org\/am\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/reading-plan"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/handstotheplow.org\/am\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/reading-plan"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/handstotheplow.org\/am\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4507"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}