Welcome to episode 75 of Grasp the Bible.  In this episode, we continue our study in the Book of Mark, covering chapter 10:1-16.  The series is called “Get in, buckle up, and hold on!”  Today, we discuss: 

• Jesus teaching on divorce (vv. 1-12) 
• Jesus teaching on children (vv. 13-16) 

Key takeaways: 

• Jesus’ followers must not abandon difficult marriage relationships simply because they are not meeting their personal needs. Authentic discipleship is not about self-gratification, but about giving oneself in sacrificial service for the kingdom of God. 
• Reading Deut. 24:1-4, we see that God was not putting His approval on divorce or even encouraging it. Rather, He was seeking to restrain it and make it more difficult for men to dismiss their wives. He put sufficient regulations around divorce so that the wives would not become victims of their husbands’ whims. 
• Not only is divorce contrary to God’s purpose, Jesus says, but it results in adultery when the divorced spouse remarries.  If the first marriage is permanent in God’s eyes, then remarriage after divorce is equivalent to adultery against the former wife. 

Quotable: 

• The marriage relationship reflects the nature of God, who is all-loving, all-giving, and working constantly toward reconciliation with his wayward children. 

Application: 

• While Jesus acknowledges that divorce happens (and so is regulated in the OT law), it was always a condescension to human fallenness. 
• Jesus points out that divorce is neither a right nor a privilege. It is always contrary to God’s will, even though it is “permitted” in certain circumstances. 
• The kingdom of God belongs to those who are childlike in their faith. 
• We enter God’s kingdom by faith, like little children: helpless, unable to save ourselves, totally dependent on the mercy and grace of God. 
• To receive the kingdom like a child means by faith and in complete dependence on God. 

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