Daily Devotional
By Pastor Jerry Teboe
A Closer Walk with Christ in 2026
A Walk with the Master Series
Marriage Relationships
Mark 10:1-12
And he arose from thence, and cometh into the coasts of Judaea by the farther side of Jordan: and the people resort unto him again; and, as he was wont, he taught them again. ar 10:2 And the Pharisees came to him, and asked him, Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife? tempting him. Mar 10:3 And he answered and said unto them, What did Moses command you? Mar 10:4 And they said, Moses suffered to write a bill of divorcement, and to put her away. Mar 10:5 And Jesus answered and said unto them, For the hardness of your heart he wrote you this precept. Mar 10:6 But from the beginning of the creation God made them male and female. Mar 10:7 For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and cleave to his wife; Mar 10:8 And they twain shall be one flesh: so then they are no more twain, but one flesh. Mar 10:9 What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder. Mar 10:10 And in the house his disciples asked him again of the same matter. Mar 10:11 And he saith unto them, Whosoever shall put away his wife, and marry another, committeth adultery against her. Mar 10:12 And if a woman shall put away her husband, and be married to another, she committeth adultery.
In this portion, we see the Lord’s teaching on the divorce issue in His day. The following is a commentary on what the Pharisees taught in comparison to the teaching of Jesus.
The rabbis did not agree in their interpretations of Deu_24:1-4, so they kept asking (Mar_10:2) what Jesus thought the passage taught. They were not questioning the legality of either divorce or remarriage, for Moses made it clear that God permitted both. The big question was, “For what cause may a man put his wife away and take another?” Of course, their motive was not to learn truth but to try to get Jesus into trouble. The disciples of the rabbi Shammai held to a strict interpretation (divorce only for unfaithfulness) while the disciples of Hillel held to a lenient interpretation (divorce for almost any reason). The Law commanded that those who committed adultery be stoned (Deu_22:22; Lev_20:10); but in Jesus’ day, this law was rarely obeyed (Mat_1:18-25).
Instead of taking sides with either Shammai or Hillel, Jesus went back to Moses and the first marriage (Gen_1:27; Gen_2:21-25). From the beginning, marriage meant one man and one woman becoming one flesh for one lifetime. Moses’ commandment in Deu_24:1-4 was a concession to the Jews because of their hardness of heart. It does not represent God’s ideal for marriage. The parallel passage (Mat_19:1-12) indicates that Jesus did permit divorce on the grounds of sexual immorality (Mar_12:9). Divorce for any other reason — even one permitted by the courts — leads to adultery if the parties remarry (Mar_10:11-12).
Marriage is fundamentally a physical relationship (“one flesh”) and can be broken only by a physical cause, either death (Rom_7:1-3) or adultery (Mat_19:9). In the OT, the guilty party was stoned to death, thus leaving the other party free to remarry. Today, the church does not have the authority to kill people, so divorce is the NT equivalent of death, leaving the opportunity for remarriage. Of course, before getting a divorce, the husband and wife should do everything possible to rescue the marriage and rebuild the relationship. God established marriage, and He is the only one who can regulate it (Mar_10:9). Man cannot divide that which God says is “one flesh,” but God can.
God established marriage to be a lifelong relationship. It takes work and commitment to keep a marriage whole and lasting. Sometimes men and women do not fulfill their vows, and a marriage fails. By God’s grace, He sometimes allows a second marriage to be a blessing, and the couple is allowed to serve Him for His glory.
Bible Reading for the Year
April 27th, 2 Samuel 19-20; Luke 21:20-38
Prayer Needs
Please pray for Shirley and Kenny Deans. Shirley has learned that the lymphoma cancer has returned, and she will have a PET scan and a biopsy done to determine future treatment. Kenny will have an ultrasound on May 1st . He will also be seeing a doctor for a sore on his right leg that will not heal.
Please pray for Dr. Joe Jordan. Saturday night they had to call 911 because he was struggling to breathe. He is back in the hospital.
Please pray for Carolyn Tyson’s niece and her husband Pam and Joe Wobbleton. Joe had open heart surgery Friday morning because of a heart attack. The surgery went well, and he is recovering in the hospital. Pam has had several mini-strokes and will need surgery at Chapel Hill.
Please pray for Judith Tyson, Carolyn’s sister, who has lung problems from smoke inhalation caused by her furnace.
Praise the Lord! Thank you for praying for Jennifer Teboe Buchamer. She had a CT scan on Friday, April 17th. All of the tumors had shrunk except for 2 that remained stable. The doctors were greatly surprised. Please continue to pray for complete healing.
Please pray for Robbie Harvey, who has MAC lung disease. He fell and broke several ribs. He is now home from the hospital but in a lot of pain. He has started a new medication for his lung disease.
Please continue to pray for Carter Crandell (Corey’s Dad). He is home from the hospital, but he still has infection and two kidney stones. Once the infection clears up, he will go back to have the stones removed.
Please pray for Peggy Warren. She is in a lot of pain from a partially crushed disc in her lower back. However, surgery is not recommended.
Please continue to pray for Marvin Silverthorne for his eyesight to improve.
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Pray for our Missionaries!
Sue Singleton and the mission in Cambodia
Dr. Joe Jordan and the CBM (Cross and Bible Ministries)
Travis and Caroline Fennessy – IBM missionaries to Southeast Asia