March 6, 2024

Today's Reading: Mark 10:1-12

Daily Lectionary: Genesis 37:1-36, Mark 10:1-12

And Pharisees came up and in order to test him asked, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?”  He answered them, “What did Moses command you?” They said, “Moses allowed a man to write a certificate of divorce and to send her away.” And Jesus said to them, “Because of your hardness of heart he wrote you this commandment.” (Mark 10:2-5)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.  This is one of those hard passages of Scripture that makes people cringe at how out of date Jesus is. Surely Jesus isn’t telling us that divorce is unlawful, because Jesus understands that we all live in the real world. Even Moses and the Pharisees understood this reality, so surely Jesus would provide a little more leeway. But Jesus claps back, informing them that the only reason Moses allowed for the “certificate of divorce” loophole was because of their hardness of heart. 

Jesus doesn’t take the easy way out and try to untangle the legal mess, instead He points out that the primary issue here is the hardness of heart in regard to the will of God. Hard hearts are not receptive to the will of God, which means they cause us to sin, cause others to sin against us, and cause us to compound each other’s sins. Hard hearts are not hearts softened by the Word of God, cultivating the fruit of the Spirit, such as love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, and self-control.  Instead of treating each other according to the fruit of the Spirit, even in our marriages, hard hearts have marriages shaped by the works of the flesh marked by such things as idolatry, sexual immorality, jealousy, enmity, anger, etc. It’s easy to see why marriages formed this way would lead to divorce. 

Yet, it’s also clear that this supposed loophole isn’t really a loophole at all. This is because the answer to the fruits of our hard hearts and prevalent sin is not a loophole in the Law that we can claim to avoid accountability. In the face of God’s Law the answer is not a good lawyer to argue our case, pull some fancy legal maneuver, and get us acquitted on a technicality. No. The answer to the Law’s condemnation, to the hardness of all of our hearts, is to plead our guilt, and beg the mercy of our judge. But thanks be to God it is His joy to have mercy on His beloved in the name of Jesus, His only begotten Son.  In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

On my heart imprint Your image  Blessed Jesus, King of grace,

That life’s riches, cares, and pleasures  Never may Your work erase;

Let the clear inscription be: Jesus crucified for me,

Is my life, my hope’s foundation, and my glory and salvation (LSB 422)

-Deac. Eleanor Corrow, Higher Things Board Member and coordinator in LCMS Missionary Services. 

Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.

Unforgivable? Unforgiveness is a prison—mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. In a world full of turmoil, many use forgiveness as a coping mechanism without understanding what true forgiveness is. Learn what forgiveness from Christ looks like, and how He forgives His people.