Mark 10:1-16

10:1-3 | In their attempt to trick Jesus, the Pharisees may have chosen the question about divorce because He had moved to the region controlled by Herod Antipas, who not long before had executed John the Baptist because John opposed the king’s divorce and remarriage (6:17-28). Jesus often replied to insincere questions with questions of His own, to discredit the questioners.

10:4-9 | Jesus brought the question of divorce back to God’s original intention for couples (Gen. 2:24): in marriage, God brings a man and a woman together, and human beings should not dissolve what God has united (1 Cor. 6:16; Eph. 5:31). Divorce is a concession to the reality of sin – the hardness of heart in the world – not part of God’s ideal for marriage.

10:10-12 | After the Pharisees left, the disciples sought to understand Jesus’ teaching. He replied that divorce and remarriage amount to adultery.

10:13-16 | Jesus was so indignant at His disciples’ behavior that He took the children into His arms and blessed them. The word translated bless has an intensive force: “to bless fervently.” Only those who come to God as children do – totally receptive to and dependent on Him – will be saved.