The Challenge (Mark 10:1-10)

It was to be a place to know and to be known, a place where you could be completely vulnerable and safe because you were loved. It was God’s design; a miracle where He would take that which was ordinary and by His presence make it extraordinary. It was a subject close to the heart of God, a perfect target for the Pharisees to strike. “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?” (Mark 10:2)

Into whose face did the Pharisees spit this challenge, this question about their right to break the covenant of marriage and send away one whom they had promised to love and cherish? It was Jesus, whose first miracle was to change water into wine at the wedding feast. Jesus, who represented God’s faithful unfailing love despite His creation’s unfaithfulness. Although Jesus knew the law He asked, “What did Moses command you?” (Mark 10:3)

Jesus asked what was commanded by Moses, but they responded with what was permitted, not commanded. The law written on stone tablets had been given to show an unholy people how to relate to a holy God. Jesus used this exchange to expose the hardness of their self-righteous hearts. The Greek word that Jesus used for hardness of heart is sklerokardia. It means “hard because dry”, hardness of heart because of a lack of moisture (lubricant); an obstinate, hard heart which lacks the oil of the Holy Spirit and hence implies rebellion -- i.e., someone refusing to be receptive ( obedient) to God’s inworking of faith.*

Then Jesus took them back to the garden before man’s heart had become hardened by sin, before the rebellion. He took them back to the time when the Creator had surveyed all that He had made and had declared with great satisfaction that it was very good. He had given to the man someone who was bone of his bones and flesh of his flesh. The gift of love was given, a place to know and be known, where they could be naked and unashamed. 

What the Pharisees didn’t know was that this same Jesus with whom they spoke was the very one who spoke the world into being. He had been there after the serpent came to tear the hearts apart that He had joined together. He had grieved when the dream of love had turned to shame. They had sought permission to rip two hearts apart, but Jesus had come to restore what was lost in the garden. He came to heal every broken heart. He came to turn the water into wine.

*HELPS Word-Studies