The Servant King
Some Pharisees came to test Him. “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?” they inquired. Mark 10:2 · Berean Standard Bible
Some Pharisees came to test Jesus by asking, 'Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?' It wasn't an honest question — it was a trap.
This was dangerous territory, literally. John the Baptist had been killed for speaking about marriage and divorce to the powerful. The Pharisees were hoping Jesus would make the same mistake.
The Pharisees ask a loaded question.
They weren't looking for wisdom — they were looking for a way to get Jesus in trouble. But Jesus was about to turn their trap into a teaching moment.
The Pharisees' question about divorce is framed as a 'test' (peirazontes), attempting to trap Jesus in a politically dangerous position given Herod Antipas's divorce and remarriage, which had led to John the Baptist's execution.
The question is loaded: any answer risks offending either the stricter school of Shammai (divorce only for adultery) or the more lenient school of Hillel (divorce for any reason).
The Pharisees pose a testing question to Jesus.
The Pharisees approach with a question designed as a trap. In the territory of Herod — who killed John for criticizing his divorce — asking about the lawfulness of divorce is not an innocent theological inquiry.
1Then Jesus left that place and went into the region of Judea, beyond the Jordan. Again the crowds came to Him and He taught them, as was His custom.
2Some Pharisees came to test Him. “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?” they inquired.
3“What did Moses command you?” He replied.
4They answered, “Moses permitted a man to write his wife a certificate of divorce and send her away.”
Read all of Mark 10 — Jesus redefines greatness. The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve — and to give His life as a ransom.
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