Hi First Presbyterian Church,
It’s time for our Mid-Week Meet-Up! We’re on Day 66 of our one-year Bible reading plan. This week, we’ve started reading the Book of Numbers. Today, I’d like to give you a little context to help you understand Numbers and provide you with some helpful commentary on some of the passages we’re reading in the Gospel of Mark.
Book of Numbers
The Book of Numbers is a continuation of the story of Genesis, Exodus, and Leviticus. The people of Israel continue their journey from Mount Sinai (where the majority of the Book of Exodus takes places) where they received the Law from God, and they make their way through the desert to the plains of Moab, east of their final destination - the Promised Land of Canaan. Throughout this book, the people are continuing to learn about who God is and what God expects of them. All along the way, they demonstrate just how fickle and self-centered people can be. We encounter lots of new religious laws and endless census details, which can sometimes feel monotonous and hard to relate to. However, there is meaningful content in this book. As you read Numbers, ask yourself: What do we learn about the nature of humanity in this book? Am I ever like the Israelites in this way?
Gospel of Mark
The following is going to be a bit lengthy, but if you had questions about what Jesus says about divorce and marriage in the Gospel of Mark, I think you’ll want to read it.
I want to reference two related but also difficult passages. In Mark 10:1-12 (which we read last Wednesday), Jesus is asked about the permissibility of divorce, and in Mark 12:18-27 (which we read on Monday), Jesus is asked about what marriage will be like in the resurrection. In my opinion, these passages have often been misunderstood and, in the case of Jesus’ remarks about divorce, have even been wrongfully used to shame and harm people whose marriages have ended in divorce. To be clear, I do believe that Jesus has a high view of marriage and thinks of it as a gift to society that, while at times very difficult, is worth fighting to maintain. But what Jesus says about these passages goes deeper than a simplistic interpretation of his words.
To understand what Jesus means about divorce in Mark 10:1-12, we have to understand three things: 1) first-century marriage was not the same institution that we know today, 2) the question he is responding to is a trap, not a sincere question, and 3) the original Greek language of this text helps us to understand a more accurate meaning of his words.
First, marriage in the ancient world was understood primarily as a necessary institution to ensure the stability of society. While it was not uncommon for men to be single in ancient Judaism, singleness was incredibly rare for women. Why? Society was patriarchal, and without a connection to men, women were vulnerable to being sucked into the socio-economic vacuum. Generally speaking, women did not have a source of income or ownership of property apart from a man. As children, girls were forced to be dependent on their fathers. As adults, women were forced to be dependent on their husbands. If their husbands died or divorced them, they were forced to be dependent on their adult sons or, in some cases, they were forced to go back to live with their fathers. An independent woman was virtually non-existent in the ancient world.
Second, the Gospel of Mark tells us that the Pharisees asked Jesus the question about divorce “in the region of Judea beyond the Jordan” (10:1). This happens to be the exact location where John the Baptist had been preaching. At this point in the Gospel of Mark, John the Baptist had already been murdered by Herod Antipas (Mark 6:14-29). Do you remember the reason he was murdered? Philip, the brother of Herod Antipas, was married to a woman named Herodias. Herod Antipas was also already married. However, Herod was attracted to Herodias, so he approached his brother Philip, and they made a deal: if Herod divorced his current wife, Philip would divorce Herodias so his brother could marry her instead. John the Baptist was an outspoken critic of this disgraceful situation, and it ended up with his imprisonment and execution. The Pharisees wanted Jesus dead; so it’s no coincidence that they ask him about his opinion about divorce in the vicinity of where John the Baptist had also been speaking out against the actions of Herod and Philip. The Pharisees are hoping Jesus would say something to get himself killed!
Third, the New Revised Standard Version of this passage says that, in response to the Pharisees’ question about divorce, Jesus says, “Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her.” However, I don’t like this translation of the Greek. The two verbs in this sentence “divorce” and “marry” are in a grammatical form called “the subjunctive mood.” Without getting too technical, when two Greek subjunctive verbs are used together like this, they describe a simultaneous action. In other words, what Jesus is really saying here is, “Whoever divorces his wife in order to marry another commits adultery against her.” That takes on a totally different meaning!
You see, Jesus isn’t giving a blanket teaching on divorce; he’s responding to a trick question. In his response, he’s actually invoking the very action that Herod Antipas had taken. He’s criticizing the actions of Herod, not formulating a doctrine on marriage and divorce. In essence, he’s saying is, “In our society where women are forced to be dependent on men, to divorce your wife because you intend on marrying another women (like Herod did) is a total disregard of the humanity of women and is a total lack of respect and love.” Jesus is showing us his high view of women in these words, which is also what he is doing in our other passage.
In Mark 12:18-27, we’re told that the Sadducees ask Jesus a question about marriage in the resurrection. There are two things you need to know about this passage. First, the Sadducees are asking about the resurrection, not about heaven. In other words, they aren’t asking about what will happen to people when they go to heaven after they die; they are asking about what will happen to people on that future day when God resurrects the dead and we will live eternally with new, physical bodies. The reason they are asking this question is because the Sadducees don’t believe there will be a resurrection and they want to trick Jesus.
Second, the practice the Sadducees are describing (of someone’s brother marrying his widow after he dies) was a real practice in Judaism. It was called levirate marriage. We read about it in Deuteronomy 25:5-10. This practice was, again, to try to protect women from being sucked into the socio-economic vacuum of a patriarchy. If a woman’s husband died and she had no sons, his brother was legally responsible to marry her. Why? To protect and provide for her and to try to produce male offspring with her who would carry on her first husband’s legacy.
The Sadducees are asking Jesus, “What if an unlikely situation occurred where multiple brothers were unsuccessful at fulfilling the requirements of levirate marriage? In the resurrection, who will be her husband of the seven men she had married?” When Jesus says, “In the resurrection, people will neither marry nor be given in marriage,” pay attention to the words he uses: “marry” and “given in marriage.” In a patriarchal society, who is “given in marriage?” Women. Who “marries?” Men. I don’t think Jesus is necessarily saying that marriage won’t exist in the resurrection. Jesus is saying that marriage as they knew it in the first century won’t exist in the resurrection. In the first century, women needed marriage in order not to succumb to poverty or violence. Jesus is telling us that that won’t be necessary in God’s perfect future, because women and men will be equal! In the resurrection, women won’t need to depend on men. Men and women will depend on each other as equal partners, mutually serving God together. This is another example of just how pro-women Jesus is! Amazing!
I love reading the Gospels and encountering Jesus in them. He pushes and challenges the people he lived among two thousand years ago, and he continues to push and challenge us today. He also gives us the strength and power we need to follow him. What an amazing Savior we serve!
Happy reading!
Peace,
Pastor Aaron