Thursday, March 18: The two will become one flesh

Read Mark 10:1-12

 

The last days of Jesus' earthly life are filled with significant events and teachings. During these weeks leading up to Easter, we'll travel with Jesus toward Jerusalem and his crucifixion, marveling at his determination to finally fulfill his destiny as the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.

Read Mark 10:1-12

Jesus then left that place and went into the region of Judea and across the Jordan. Again crowds of people came to him, and as was his custom, he taught them.

Some Pharisees came and tested him by asking, "Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?"

"What did Moses command you?" he replied.

They said, "Moses permitted a man to write a certificate of divorce and send her away."

"It was because your hearts were hard that Moses wrote you this law," Jesus replied. "But at the beginning of creation God 'made them male and female.' 'For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.' So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate."

When they were in the house again, the disciples asked Jesus about this. He answered, "Anyone who divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery against her. And if she divorces her husband and marries another man, she commits adultery."

 

Reflect

As Jesus makes his way to Jerusalem, he crosses to the east side of the Jordan River, and even there crowds follow him. In responding to the question about divorce, Jesus affirms that it was God who established and defined marriage, and that God desires that all marriages be life-long. Reflect for a moment on how disappointed God must be with the current state of marriage in our culture.

Respond

The sin and failure in our marriages is symptomatic of the sin that mars all parts of our lives. Let God bring to your mind sinful areas in your life. Do you need to tell God that you're sorry and to ask for his forgiveness?

 

 

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