1 Jesus came into the borders of Judea and beyond the Jordan. Multitudes came together to him again. As he usually did, he was again teaching them. 2 Pharisees came to him testing him, and asked him, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?”

3 He answered, “What did Moses command you?”

4 They said, “Moses allowed a certificate of divorce to be written, and to divorce her.”

5 But Jesus said to them, “For your hardness of heart, he wrote you this commandment. 6 But from the beginning of the creation, God made them male and female. 7 For this cause a man will leave his father and mother, and will join to his wife, 8 and the two will become one flesh, so that they are no longer two, but one flesh. 9 What therefore God has joined together, let no man separate.”

10 In the house, his disciples asked him again about the same matter. 11 He said to them, “Whoever divorces his wife, and marries another, commits adultery against her. 12 If a woman herself divorces her husband, and marries another, she commits adultery.”

Mark 10:1-12 - World English Bible

What does it mean to be married? Is it a divinely ordained covenant or merely a legal (hence, social) contract? Those are the two poles of our modern debate on the meaning of the institution, but what did it mean to be married in the time of Jesus? Strangely enough, the controversy between the Lord and the Pharisees rotated around those same understandings. Jesus took the spiritual sense; the religious leaders held to the legal sense.

Was it lawful for a man to divorce his wife? In an ancient society that was dominated by males and segregated by gender, the answer to that question was a matter of life and death. If a man could divorce his wife on a whim or as a means to shame her family or as a way to advance socially with a bride from a more powerful family, he had no responsibility for his ex-wife's fate. If her family did take her back into the fold, would she be treated with respect or shunned as "damaged goods?" Her odds at remarriage were low; would she face the unfair reputation as a failure? If her family would not receive her, would she be subjected to a life on the streets, begging, at best, prostituting herself, at worst? These were real life questions for the woman in ancient times.

Jesus responded to the leaders' question by trumping them in rabbinical debate. Yes, Moses did allow for divorce, but, by the rules of debate, an early ruling in the Law could modify (even effectively nullify) a later ruling. So, Jesus' quotes of Genesis 1:27 and 2:24 outweighed the passage of Deuteronomy 24:1 the Pharisees favored. In fact, Jesus insisted the marriage bond expressed in Genesis was the will of God that could not be broken. Indeed, the will of God defined marriage; if anyone broke the bond between man and woman committed adultery.

Of course, modern times do not spell dire consequences for the ex-wife. And most of us have experienced divorce directly in our lives or vicariously through the heart break of family or close friends. Yes, divorce is legal and even preferable in many circumstances. But, we must not forget the spiritual ramifications of marriage. They loom large in bond between joined partners.

Personally, my marriage with my wife is a true blessing, because the relationship I share with her has always been rooted in our faith. Our life together is something I truly cherish.

How have you experienced marriage? How have you experienced divorce?