June 4, 2010
TO TEACH IS TO TOUCH A LIFE FOREVER!
Mark 10:1-12
Jeannie Lewis
Central Truth
Jesus' ministry on earth was short, but He took advantage of every opportunity to teach God's truth. In this passage the Pharisees were hoping to trap Him with a question on divorce, but once again Jesus turned it into a teachable moment.
Key Verse | Mark 10:1
Getting up, He went from there to the region of Judea and beyond the Jordan; crowds gathered around Him again, and, according to His custom, He once more began to teach them. (Mark 10:1)
Mark 10:1-12
Teaching About Divorce
1 And he left there and went to the region of Judea and beyond the Jordan, and crowds gathered to him again. And again, as was his custom, he taught them.
2 And Pharisees came up and in order to test him asked, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?” 3 He answered them, “What did Moses command you?” 4 They said, “Moses allowed a man to write a certificate of divorce and to send her away.” 5 And Jesus said to them, “Because of your hardness of heart he wrote you this commandment. 6 But from the beginning of creation, ‘God made them male and female.’ 7 ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, 1 10:7 Some manuscripts omit and hold fast to his wife 8 and the two shall become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two but one flesh. 9 What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.”
10 And in the house the disciples asked him again about this matter. 11 And he said to them, “Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her, 12 and if she divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery.”
Dive Deeper | Mark 10:1-12
I was born in the 1950's, a time when couples seldom got divorced. They swept their problems under the rug, smiled, and went on with life. Not my parents. They separated when I was an infant and divorced when I was 3 years old; I became the "oddball." Both continued to marry and divorce at an alarming rate, searching for something that would make them complete.
When I received my devotional assignment, I thought I'd contact the The Journey staff with a great excuse and bow out or ask for another passage. Lord, please don't ask me to do this. But I knew God would use my pain for His glory. He planned for me to share the sadness of watching my dad's six failed marriages, while he used alcohol to deaden the pain instead of seeking the Lord. The Lord would also use my feelings of abandonment that resulted when my mother withdrew from my life after their separation; she attempted marriage eight times without success and abused prescription medications instead of trusting God.
As I meditated on this passage, Mark 10:1b pierced my heart, "He once more began to teach them." Jesus' ministry on earth was short but He seized every teachable moment. Rather than debate opinions with the Pharisees, He responded with Scripture (Genesis 2:24, 5:2). As brothers and sisters in Christ, we should be prepared to respond as He did. To do that, we must be taught. And then, we must teach.
My parents grew up in "Christian" homes and made professions of faith as children. But they were never taught, never discipled, never mentored, not even by their own parents. They knew little about God or His Word and eventually went their own way. Scripture tells us to teach our children (see Deuteronomy 6:6-7). If my parents had received godly instruction from childhood, they would have been better equipped to handle the temptations Satan brought their way. Would they have remained "one flesh"? Only God knows. Would I still have been called "Oddball" at school when I was growing up? Probably!
Discussion Questions
1. Are you studying God's Word? Are you equipped? Psalm 119:11 says, "Your word I have treasured in my heart, That I may not sin against You."
2. Could you defend your faith using Scripture? Psalm 119:41-42 says, "May Your lovingkindness also come to me, O Lord, Your salvation according to Your word; So I will have an answer for him who reproaches me, For I trust in Your word."
3. If you're a parent, are you instructing your children in God's Word? Proverbs 22:6 says, "Train up a child in the way he should go, Even when he is old he will not depart from it." Ephesians 6:4b says, "[B]ring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord." (See also Deuteronomy 6:6-7.)
FAMILY DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1. Do you want to get married some day? What does verse 7 say you do when you get married?
2. Does that mean that your parents are no longer important in your life?
3. Once you get married, your husband or wife is the most important person in your life, after God. What are some ways you can still make your parents important in your life if you ever get married?