Mark 10:5 Commentary - Dr Peter Masters

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Mark 10:5

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Christ then makes a statement which supports the very strict interpretation of the allowance that Moses made. ‘Jesus answered and said unto them, For the hardness of your heart he wrote you this precept. But from the beginning of the creation God made them male and female.’ So the explanation he gives them is this: no kind of divorce is pleasing to God. Divorce was brought because of sin and because of the hardness of the human heart. If a man was betrayed by the adultery of his wife, or a woman betrayed by the adultery of the husband, then some provision must be made for the innocent party. He is not bound to her forever if she is an adulteress, a betrayer. She is not bound to him for ever if he is an adulterer or betrayer. So, Moses explains, God makes a provision for the innocent so that the innocent can be released. But don't think that that means that God views divorce lightly. His anger is towards the offender. God is against the offender, and he gives the provision for the innocent, so that the innocent is not compelled to be bound and to suffer.Matthew adds, ‘Moses because of the hardness of your hearts suffered you to put away your wives: but from the beginning it was not so. ⁹ And I say unto you, Whosoever shall put away his wife, except it be for fornication, and shall marry another, committeth adultery: and whoso marrieth her which is put away doth commit adultery’ (Matthew 19:8-9). Christ here gives one valid reason for divorce and it is to protect the innocent party. A man may divorce his wife, or a woman may divorce her husband, if the spouse has committed adultery. In that case the marriage bond has already been broken in the eyes of God, and the divorce simply recognises what is already true.

Application

We see much hardness of heart in an unbelieving world. Affection fails. Selfishness takes over. Lust and self-gratification are expressed, rather than love. Out of human hearts comes disloyalty, betrayal, deceit, cruelty, and care dries up. Hardness of heart is seen in all those things, and divorce is therefore provided for.

Believers must keep their heart! Husbands, wives, you must exercise your affections. Never let yourself get even the tiniest bit into hardness of heart, an implacable, cruel heart – the organ of love allowed to turn into a stone, calloused affections, obligation and respect for husband and wife whittled away. What a terrible thing it is when someone says, ‘I no longer love him; I no longer love her.’ The pastor who hears that has to swallow hard and say, ‘Whatever he or she may have done, you are guilty. Love is a choice. You never kept your heart. You never exercised your affections. You never maintained the flame of love.’ If you say, ‘I just no longer love him or her,’ the sin is yours.’

Appreciate and respect your husband, your wife. Every day give thanks to God for your husband, for your wife. Every day substitute bad thoughts for good thoughts for the other party. Every day express in some way love and gratitude. ‘Oh, but I do love him; I do love her.’ Yes, but you never show it, you never do anything to show it. That is wrong. Love is something which must be expressed. It must be exercised. Kill ill-temper against husband or wife: the snappy response. When it arises, kill it, mortify the deeds of the body. End it straightaway and pray to God for help. Abrasive remarks – never allow them. Sincerely repent every day of words that contravene these things.

How do I keep my affections alive? I maintain loyalty. There must be no lust after anyone else. No looking, nothing of that kind. Remember the 7^th Commandment, ‘Thou shalt not commit adultery.’ Adultery in the heart and in the mind is included and God will hold us to account. Remember Job’s words, ‘I made a covenant with mine eyes; why then should I think upon a maid?’ Make that covenant with your eyes. You will not look at anybody for sexual attraction but you will love and esteem your own husband and your own wife. Is it easy to do this? Yes, it is by the help of God. It is not hard. Listen to these words in Ephesians chapter 5: ‘But fornication, and all uncleanness, or covetousness, let it not be once named among you, as becometh saints.’ Paul does not say that about lying. Paul doesn’t say that about pride. Paul doesn’t say that about a lot of sins, which cling and repeat and must be fought with all our being. But when it comes to one or two sins (and adultery is among them, adultery of the heart), he says this, ‘Let it not be once named among you’ and we learn from that, that if we pray for help and if we make a covenant with our eyes we need not succumb to these temptations.

Care for one another – every day there will be opportunities when you need to show care. Remember your duty and obligation before God. To be good to each other is a debt. We read that in 1 Corinthians 7 it is called ‘due benevolence,’ a debt of benevolence which we have in marriage, one toward the other. Remember your own devotions and remember this often – you will give an account before God of how you have treated your believing wife or your believing husband.

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Mark 10:5 Commentary and Bible Study