Mark 10:4 reminds us that divorce was a gracious provision for people corrupted by sin, but God’s ultimate plan for marriage far exceeds a mere legal permit to separate.
"They said, 'Moses permitted a man to write a certificate of divorce and send her away.'" (v.4)
In this verse, the Pharisees mention Moses as the authority behind divorce, because Moses lived during approximately the 15th-13th century BC, leading the nation of Israel in the exodus from Egypt and giving them God’s law (Exodus 12:40-41). When the Pharisees say They said, 'Moses permitted a man to write a certificate of divorce and send her away' (v.4), they refer to Moses’s command in Deuteronomy 24:1-4, which describes the procedure for granting a certificate of divorce in ancient Israel. This certificate protected the woman by allowing her to be remarried legally instead of being left in limbo without provision. Moses "permitted" divorce due to human hardness of heart, but that was never God’s original intention for marriage. In Deuteronomy, Moses merely laid out guidelines to minimize harm and give women legitimate standing if their husbands sent them away.
By bringing up Moses’s law, the Pharisees attempt to trap Jesus into contradicting the respected Old Testament figure. Yet, later in Mark 10:5-9, Jesus clarified that this command exists not because divorce is good, but because of the people’s sinfulness. Jesus also pointed out that God’s original plan for marriage (Genesis 2:24) did not include divorce. This conversation thus underscores the deeper moral point that marriages are meant to exhibit faithfulness, unity, and mutual care, rather than a quick dismissal of one spouse under trivial circumstances.
Jesus goes beyond the regulation, restoring marriage to the design God intended “from the beginning,” pointing to an unbreakable covenant rather than a legal loophole to dissolve the union. Mark 10:4 is part of a larger gospel theme illustrating that the Pharisees often relied on a superficial and self-justifying interpretation of Scripture, while Jesus drew them back to the heart of God’s commands, which was to love one another and be faithful to commitments.
God allowed Moses to provide these instructions because people were already sending their wives away. The certificate brought some measure of protection and decency to difficult situations where a husband’s heart was hardened. However, Jesus’s overarching message is that marriage is sacred, and treating divorce casually or for frivolous reasons disregards God’s plan for the union of husband and wife.
Divorce in the time of Moses served as a concession in a fallen world, but Jesus reminds us that God’s desire is to guard marriage and the welfare of both partners. The Pharisees' reference to Moses in Mark 10:4 highlights how God’s law accommodated human weakness to protect vulnerable spouses while aiming to preserve the holiness and sanctity of marriage whenever possible.
It shows the Pharisees claimed Moses allowed a written dismissal of a wife, yet Jesus taught that this was never the ideal.
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Mark 10:4 meaning
"They said, 'Moses permitted a man to write a certificate of divorce and send her away.'" (v.4)
In this verse, the Pharisees mention Moses as the authority behind divorce, because Moses lived during approximately the 15th-13th century BC, leading the nation of Israel in the exodus from Egypt and giving them God’s law (Exodus 12:40-41). When the Pharisees say They said, 'Moses permitted a man to write a certificate of divorce and send her away' (v.4), they refer to Moses’s command in Deuteronomy 24:1-4, which describes the procedure for granting a certificate of divorce in ancient Israel. This certificate protected the woman by allowing her to be remarried legally instead of being left in limbo without provision. Moses "permitted" divorce due to human hardness of heart, but that was never God’s original intention for marriage. In Deuteronomy, Moses merely laid out guidelines to minimize harm and give women legitimate standing if their husbands sent them away.
By bringing up Moses’s law, the Pharisees attempt to trap Jesus into contradicting the respected Old Testament figure. Yet, later in Mark 10:5-9, Jesus clarified that this command exists not because divorce is good, but because of the people’s sinfulness. Jesus also pointed out that God’s original plan for marriage (Genesis 2:24) did not include divorce. This conversation thus underscores the deeper moral point that marriages are meant to exhibit faithfulness, unity, and mutual care, rather than a quick dismissal of one spouse under trivial circumstances.
Jesus goes beyond the regulation, restoring marriage to the design God intended “from the beginning,” pointing to an unbreakable covenant rather than a legal loophole to dissolve the union. Mark 10:4 is part of a larger gospel theme illustrating that the Pharisees often relied on a superficial and self-justifying interpretation of Scripture, while Jesus drew them back to the heart of God’s commands, which was to love one another and be faithful to commitments.
God allowed Moses to provide these instructions because people were already sending their wives away. The certificate brought some measure of protection and decency to difficult situations where a husband’s heart was hardened. However, Jesus’s overarching message is that marriage is sacred, and treating divorce casually or for frivolous reasons disregards God’s plan for the union of husband and wife.
Divorce in the time of Moses served as a concession in a fallen world, but Jesus reminds us that God’s desire is to guard marriage and the welfare of both partners. The Pharisees' reference to Moses in Mark 10:4 highlights how God’s law accommodated human weakness to protect vulnerable spouses while aiming to preserve the holiness and sanctity of marriage whenever possible.
It shows the Pharisees claimed Moses allowed a written dismissal of a wife, yet Jesus taught that this was never the ideal.