Sermon Study Questions | February 23, 2020

“Family Life in the New Kingdom of God”

Mark 10:1-12
Senior Pastor, Kevin Flannery

1
Jesus then left that place and went into the region of Judea and across the Jordan. Again, crowds of people came to
him, and as was his custom, he taught them. 2 Some Pharisees came and tested him by asking, “Is it lawful for a man to
divorce his wife?” 3 “What did Moses command you?” he replied. 4 They said, “Moses permitted a man to write a
certificate of divorce and send her away.” 5 “It was because your hearts were hard that Moses wrote you this law,” Jesus
replied. 6 “But at the beginning of creation God ‘made them male and female.’ 7 ‘For this reason a man will leave his
father and mother and be united to his wife, 8 and the two will become one flesh.’ So, they are no longer two, but one
flesh. 9 Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.” 10 When they were in the house again, the
disciples asked Jesus about this. 11 He answered, “Anyone who divorces his wife and marries another woman commits
adultery against her. 12 And if she divorces her husband and marries another man, she commits adultery.”

I. Ice breaker. Getting to know each other questions. (10 minutes)

Considering all the married couples you know; whose marriage do you most admire and why?

II. Read Mark 10:1-12 out loud, slowly, either in unison or using a designated reader and move into
scripture quiet reflection. (3 minutes)

III. Scripture quiet reflection: (5-10 minutes)

This is a time to personally reflect on this week’s scripture. Have a paper and pen available.
1. Read. Read through the passage silently.
2. Reflect. Notice any words or phrases that particularly draw your attention and stand out to you.
How do these words/phrases speak directly to you and your present situation? Write your insights.
3. Respond. As God has spoken to you in the Scripture, respond back to God in prayer. What do you
want to say to God? What else does God want to say to you?

IV. Sermon and Scripture Application Discussion. (20-30 minutes)

A. As you reflectively engaged the Scriptures, what stood out to you from this passage?

B. We see in verses 1 & 2 that there was a trap being set for Jesus. “Some Pharisees came and tested him
by asking, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?” Everyone in Judaism agreed that divorce was
permissible; the issue was the grounds for divorce. So, they pressed to find out what school of
thought Jesus followed. Jesus was now in the jurisdiction of Herod Antipas and it is likely that the
Pharisees were hoping he might answer the question of divorce in a way like John the Baptist and so
suffer the same fate.

• Read Mark 6: 17-19 for John the Baptist’s answer to divorce as given to Herod Antipas.
• Why was Herod’s wife so furious with John and desirous of revenge?

1
Intellectual materials are the property of Church of the Saviour. All rights reserved.
Sermon Study Questions | February 23, 2020
“Family Life in the New Kingdom of God”
Mark 10:1-12
Senior Pastor, Kevin Flannery

C. It is helpful for your group members to know that some Rabbi’s like Hillel interpreted divorce in
scripture broadly and granted divorce easily. Other Rabbi’s like Shammai had a narrow interpretation
of divorce and granted divorce more narrowly.

1
If a man marries a woman who becomes displeasing to him because he finds something indecent about her, and he
writes her a certificate of divorce, gives it to her and sends her from his house, 2 and if after she leaves his house she
becomes the wife of another man…Deuteronomy 24
• Jesus avoids the trap by not siding with either school of rabbinic interpretation.
• How does Jesus masterfully answer the question without falling into their trap?

D. Read and discuss Moses discussion on divorce found in Dt. 24: 3-5.
• Note that Jesus asks in our text: “What did Moses command you?” And the Pharisees
responded that “Moses permitted a man to write a certificate of divorce and send her away.”
• What explanation does Jesus give that explains why Moses permitted a man to write a
certificate of divorce?
• Why is Jesus answer to them a response of concession and not a text of intention? Discuss the
differences.

E. The greatest difference between Jesus and the rabbis, is this: By giving a husband principal control
over his wife, the Jewish divorce policy made the man the lord of the marital relationship. According
to Jesus, however, it is neither man nor woman who controls marriage, but rather God who is lord of
marriage. “Therefore, what God has joined together, let no one separate.”
• If you are married how does knowing that it is God who joins you and your spouse together
bring you hope and give you strength?
• How does this same realization help you to be merciful toward those whose marriages have
not held together?

F. Jesus wants to show that God’s original intention is that marriage is supposed to be permanent.
Kevin DeYoung says: “The Pharisees want to talk about acceptable reason for a divorce. Jesus wants to
talk about the sanctity of marriage. They want to talk about when a marriage can be broken. He
wants to talk about why marriages shouldn’t be broken.”
• Describe a marriage you admire where the couple are clearly bound together by the Lord and
there is obvious love for each other with His kindness of sacrifice and delight.
• What are some of the assaults to the permanence of marriage that you have seen or
experienced?
• How does God’s intention and grace for marriage keep married couples together and thriving?

G. Review and Discuss the following application principles of marriage.

2
Intellectual materials are the property of Church of the Saviour. All rights reserved.
Sermon Study Questions | February 23, 2020
“Family Life in the New Kingdom of God”
Mark 10:1-12
Senior Pastor, Kevin Flannery

1. Marriage is a sacred union of one man and one woman and is supposed to be permanent.

2. Divorce is permitted, but not required, on the ground of sexual immorality (Mt 19:9).

3. Divorce is permitted, but not required, on the ground of desertion by an unbelieving spouse (1 Cor
7:15).

4. In situations where the divorce was permissible, remarriage is also permissible.

5. Improperly divorced and remarried Christians should stay as they are, but repent and be forgiven of
their past sins and make whatever amends are necessary.

H. Pray for one another.

3
Intellectual materials are the property of Church of the Saviour. All rights reserved.