Read Mark 10:2-16

Friday

Read Mark 10:2-16

2 Some Pharisees came to him and tried to trap him. “Tell us,” they asked, “does our Law allow a man to divorce his wife?”

3 Jesus answered with a question, “What law did Moses give you?”

4 Their answer was, “Moses gave permission for a man to write a divorce notice and send his wife away.”

5 Jesus said to them, “Moses wrote this law for you because you are so hard to teach. ⁶But in the beginning, at the time of creation, ‘God made them male and female,’ as the scripture says. ⁷‘And for this reason a man will leave his father and mother and unite with his wife,^{q 8}and the two will become one.’ So they are no longer two, but one. ⁹No human being then must separate what God has joined together.”

10 When they went back into the house, the disciples asked Jesus about this matter. ¹¹He said to them, “A man who divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery against his wife. ¹²In the same way, a woman who divorces her husband and marries another man commits adultery.”

13 Some people brought children to Jesus for him to place his hands on them, but the disciples scolded the people. ¹⁴When Jesus noticed this, he was angry and said to his disciples, “Let the children come to me, and do not stop them, because the Kingdom of God belongs to such as these. ¹⁵I assure you that whoever does not receive the Kingdom of God like a child will never enter it.” ¹⁶Then he took the children in his arms, placed his hands on each of them, and blessed them.

Think

God's heart for marriage is that couples should stay together.  Moses offered a compromise - a man could write a divorce notice and send his wife away.  This compromise was abused.

Jesus rewrites the rules:

1 - He reminds us that it is not God's will that people get divorced. 

2 - He eliminates polygamy and makes it possible for a man to be found guilty of adultery for unfaithfulness to his wife.

(Some marriages are so toxic and violent that after much prayer and effort separation turns out to be the only option.)

Pray

Pray for people who are in broken or breaking marriages.  Ask for God to restore them.

Pray for churches and organisations that exist to help people in their marriages.

If you are married - pray for your relationship to be strengthened.