Mark 10:1-5 1And after leaving there, he went to the region of Judea and beyond the Jordan, and crowds again gathered to him. And again, as was his custom, he taught them. 2And after coming, the Pharisees were asking him if it was lawful for a man to divorce his wife, with the purpose of testing him. 3But in answering he said to them, “What did Moses command?” 4And they said, “Moses allowed a man to write a certificate of divorce and to send her away.” 5But Jesus said to them, “Because of your hardness of heart he wrote you this commandment.”
Jesus and the disciples continued their journey toward Jerusalem and all that it held. Mark indicates the significant shift of location in verse 1. Judea would hold many challenges for Jesus and the disciples. Word about Jesus spread widely, indicated by people gathering to listen to his teachings even in Judea, where he did not spend a lot of time. The wide range of locations that had heard about him is significant as the storyline moves forward to the Jews’ rejection of their Messiah. The contrast between verse 1 and verse 2 is also noteworthy with Mark’s comparison between Jesus’ popularity and the continued controversy with the Pharisees.
Even the Pharisees recognized Jesus as a rabbi, teacher, but had a difficult time pinning him down with any false or inconsistent teaching. They put him to the test with a controversial subject that still divides people today. Jewish men had the power to divorce their wives, but wives had not reciprocal power. It was a man’s world, and women were often the victims of the capricious whims of their husbands. There were two schools of thought at that time. Rabbi Shammai taught that divorce should only be for issues like adultery, but the more liberal Hillel argued that a man could divorce his wife for any reason. The Pharisees likely knew of both opinions and so came to Jesus to test him and see if they could create dissent around him. Jesus would alienate some group no matter what he said.
Jesus turns the issue around and puts the spotlight on them to respond to a simple question about their knowledge of Scripture. Their answer is safe and neutral but not a full understanding of the historical context of the passage in Deuteronomy 24:1-4. Jesus corrects their poor exegesis and shows that the original command was given because the Israelite men were not listening to God because of their hardness of heart. Jesus indicates that divorce should be avoided and is not God’s will. What Moses said was intended to limit divorce, not make it an easy option.
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