God’s ideal is for mankind to follow Him from the heart.
Jesus addresses a question about divorce by pointing to a deeper reality of the human heart. He says, “But Jesus said to them, ‘Because of your hardness of heart he wrote you this commandment.’” (v.5). In the surrounding context, the Pharisees tested Jesus by bringing up Moses’ allowance for divorce (Mark 10:2-4). Jesus, who lived during the early first century AD (roughly 4 BC-AD 30), acknowledges that Moses (a prominent leader of the Israelites around the 15th to 13th century BC) put this commandment in place, but He also reveals that it was never God’s ideal plan. Instead, Jesus highlights that the command was a concession because of human stubbornness, indicating that the condition of the heart was at the root of the problem.
By saying “Because of your hardness of heart he wrote you this commandment” (v.5), Jesus emphasizes that an unyielding nature toward God’s intentions leads to added rules which were not part of the original design (see also Matthew 19:8). The hardness of heart refers to an attitude that resists God’s loving guidance. This stands in stark contrast to the New Covenant fulfillment taught through Jesus in the New Testament, where believers are called to a heart transformation empowered by the Holy Spirit (Romans 12:2). Such transformation goes beyond adhering to external regulations and instead grows from an internal relationship with God.
In this moment, Jesus locates the true source of our struggles not in the commandments themselves, but in the human propensity to deviate from God’s ways. Rather than contenting ourselves with technicalities in the law, Jesus calls us to examine the condition of our hearts. When He addresses “hardness of heart,” He is showing that the real issue is the unwillingness to submit ourselves to God’s loving authority, which in turn hinders us from experiencing the fullness of His will.
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Mark 10:5 meaning
Jesus addresses a question about divorce by pointing to a deeper reality of the human heart. He says, “But Jesus said to them, ‘Because of your hardness of heart he wrote you this commandment.’” (v.5). In the surrounding context, the Pharisees tested Jesus by bringing up Moses’ allowance for divorce (Mark 10:2-4). Jesus, who lived during the early first century AD (roughly 4 BC-AD 30), acknowledges that Moses (a prominent leader of the Israelites around the 15th to 13th century BC) put this commandment in place, but He also reveals that it was never God’s ideal plan. Instead, Jesus highlights that the command was a concession because of human stubbornness, indicating that the condition of the heart was at the root of the problem.
By saying “Because of your hardness of heart he wrote you this commandment” (v.5), Jesus emphasizes that an unyielding nature toward God’s intentions leads to added rules which were not part of the original design (see also Matthew 19:8). The hardness of heart refers to an attitude that resists God’s loving guidance. This stands in stark contrast to the New Covenant fulfillment taught through Jesus in the New Testament, where believers are called to a heart transformation empowered by the Holy Spirit (Romans 12:2). Such transformation goes beyond adhering to external regulations and instead grows from an internal relationship with God.
In this moment, Jesus locates the true source of our struggles not in the commandments themselves, but in the human propensity to deviate from God’s ways. Rather than contenting ourselves with technicalities in the law, Jesus calls us to examine the condition of our hearts. When He addresses “hardness of heart,” He is showing that the real issue is the unwillingness to submit ourselves to God’s loving authority, which in turn hinders us from experiencing the fullness of His will.