Mark 10:7Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

In a metaphorical sense, this can be interpreted in the following way: The teaching of the Gospel, which plants righteous seeds within the heart of a believer, serves as a figure akin to a husband for the receptive soul. He departs from his father, representing the doctrine of instruction, signifying his elevated intellect, and his mother, symbolizing his elaborate expressions, and he unites with his wife, which represents the nurturing aspect of the soul. He adjusts himself to her, often embracing humble thoughts and straightforward language. As a result, they merge and become one flesh; thus, the soul acknowledges that ‘the Word (of God) became flesh’ (John 1:14), and no human reasoning can sever the soul from such belief.

After numerous probing inquiries, the Pharisees sought His permission to address one final contentious question: Is divorce allowable? The two leading rabbinical schools, Hillel and Shammai, approached this issue from differing perspectives. Hillel permitted divorce for even the slightest cause, while Shammai imposed stricter limitations. The Lord contrasted both positions with His own teaching, which was rooted in the original, divine intention for marriage. He stated that divorce should not occur except in cases of infidelity. What God has united, let no one separate. When challenged with the question of how Moses permitted divorce, He explained that this was accommodated due to the inability of His contemporaries to uphold the original law.

The inquiry posed by the Pharisees—“Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife for any reason?”—was a challenge, especially since during this period, Christ was under the jurisdiction of Herod Antipas, condemned by John the Baptist for living with his brother’s wife. The Pharisees anticipated that Christ would provide a vague reply rather than a straightforward denial of the permissibility of divorce. A direct answer denying that divorce was allowed, as He had indicated in Matthew 5:31-32, would lead to a contradiction. Furthermore, within rabbinical circles, there were differing opinions on this issue: some maintained that a man could divorce his wife for any reason, while others allowed it solely in cases of infidelity.

The Pharisees approached Him, testing Him with the question, "Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any reason?" This query, along with a subsequent one from the disciples, prompted Jesus to clarify His teachings on the permanence of marriage and the concept of celibacy. His significant revelations regarding the unbreakable bond of marriage and the allowance for divorce in cases of infidelity are addressed earlier (Ch. 12: p. 313) in the context of the Sermon on the Mount (Mt. 5:31-32). It is also important to convey Jesus' perspective on celibacy: He firmly opposed the Jewish practice that allowed men to dismiss wives who had fallen out of favor at their discretion. Instead, He affirmed the lifelong commitment of marriage and acknowledged divorce only in instances of adultery.

The narrative of Christ's dialogue with the Pharisees concerning the holiness of marriage closely parallels that found in Matthew, albeit with some differences in expression and a rearrangement of statements. Nevertheless, this variation does not affect the fundamental message (cf. Matt. 19:1-12). The question posed—'Is it permissible for a husband and wife to separate?'—is influenced by the phrase 'for any reason' (Matthew 19:3), as the Law of Moses did allow divorce under specific circumstances. Consequently, the straightforward inquiry of whether divorce is permissible held little significance for the Pharisees.