“And Jesus said to them, “Because of your hardness of heart he wrote you this commandment.” Mark 10:5 ESV
Reflection: why are laws needed?
If you spend a bit of time looking at how quickly a society breaks down, falls into chaos, when laws or law enforcements are removed, you will be amazed. We see this during wars, during large conflicts and riots, and we saw much of this during the recent pandemic. People who you thought you knew, suddenly behave based on a different set of rules. In some cases, almost as if they had been set free, in a way. No morals, no ethics, no values for anyone or anything. The extremes of selfishness come out, and a lot of bad things happen as a result. It wasn’t like this in the beginning, when God walked among man, with Adam and Eve. There wasn’t a need for any laws. Except one. Sadly we know what happened.
Man’s rebellion against God.
Against what God has created, all that is true, that is right, that is pure, that is holy. Man’s desire to follow his own selfish ways. Today’s verse is Jesus’ response to some Pharisees who wanted to test Him. Let’s read the starting point “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.”” Mark 10:3-4 ESV. Why in the world did the Pharisees ask Him this? They clearly knew the legal answer, as they answered that back to Jesus when asked. They knew the law of Moses.
So why did they consider this a “test” for Jesus?
Could it be that they knew the law Moses had given them, was also frequently misused in the society, as an excuse to divorce and remarry someone new for whatever reason? What we would consider finding “loopholes” in the law, instead of focusing on what the “intent” of the law. Jesus answered with what is our focus verse today “And Jesus said to them, “Because of your hardness of heart he wrote you this commandment.” Mark 10:5 ESV. But then He goes on, explaining God’s intentions behind the law, behind the joining of a man and a woman in marriage. “But from the beginning of creation, ‘God made them male and female.’ ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.”” Mark 10:6-9 ESV.
When we seek the heart of God, laws are not needed.
Marriage is not about laws and rules. It is a union of two who desire to be one. Two who desire to love, honor and respect each other. To sacrifice for each other, as Christ sacrificed Himself for the church. Breaking the union, or divorce, is not about a legal paper. It is much deeper. Eve and Adam broke the union with God, the covenant relationship they had with God, by rebelling against Him. Against the one rule He had set, which was not to mingle with the serpent. As a result, God had to separate from Man, to “divorce” from Man because of Man’s actions. It wasn’t God’s doing, but Man’s doing. But the plan for atonement and reconciliation was already underway, through Jesus Christ.
Because of our sinful nature, we need God’s commandments to guide us in this life. But when we look deeper at God’s intention of the commandment, to understand His heart, it doesn’t just become a bunch of rules to follow. It becomes an act of love. Just like a marriage is not about a legal paper. It is about a willing union of two wanting to be one. Jesus said “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” John 14:15 ESV
