A Journey Through the Bible: Mark 9 and 10

Mark 9:43—“If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter into life maimed, rather than having two hands, to go to hell, into the fire that shall never be quenched.” Jesus is certainly not being literal here. Heaven and hell are not physical places so it doesn’t matter how many hands we have. But the principle is clear and unequivocal. This section in Mark starts out with Jesus discussing who is truly great in God’s eyes, and He tells us that the supreme manifestation of the Christian religion is serving others. Even the smallest thing is seen and rewarded by Him (v. 41). But if we cause others to stumble, that is a frightening sin: “it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were thrown into the sea” (v. 42). We are either serving the Lord or we are serving Satan; there is no middle ground. We are either leading others in the proper direction or we are taking them down the wrong path to perdition with us. And there is nothing worse than going to hell for eternity. Thus verse 43. Whatever it takes—hyperbolically represented by cutting off your hand if necessary, or foot (v. 45), or eye (v. 47)—whatever it takes to avoid going to hell, do it! There is no price too high to pay to avoid eternal damnation. “For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?” (Matt. 16:26). The fact that Jesus uses three examples in Mark 9 (hand, foot, eye) tells us of the emphatic nature of this admonition. Jesus came down from heaven; He knew the beauties thereof and the horrors of hell. And there is nothing—nothing—worse than the latter. Whatever the cost, avoid sin.

Mark 10:11-12—“So He said to them, "Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her. And if a woman divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery." That’s a pretty simple teaching, and if it didn’t involve something as emotional as marriage, would not create much controversy. But in an age (ours) when about half of marriages end in divorce, and then many remarry a second (or third or fourth) time, this doctrine is far from pleasant. But that doesn’t mean it’s hard to understand. If a person divorces his wife (or visa-versa) and marries another, that constitutes adultery. Why? Because “what God has joined together, let not man separate” (v. 9), and when man tries to separate what God has joined together, He isn’t going to recognize it, and it matters not one whit whether the state sanctions it or not. If a man “divorces” his wife without just cause (and there is one exception to this strict teaching found in Matthew 19:9), then God will not approve of that “divorce;” in His eyes, the two are still married. So if man “marries” another, in God’s view they really aren’t married, and thus any relations they would have would be “adultery.” The one exception to this is fornication, or marital infidelity (Matt. 5:32; 19:9). A man (or woman) is allowed to divorce and remarry if their mate has been unfaithful in sexual matters. That’s the only reason. Otherwise, the remarriage is an adulterous union. And since adultery is a sin which will keep us out of the kingdom of God (Gal. 5:19-21), the only option is to cease that relationship. Again, easy to understand, hard to apply because of the deep emotions that are often involved.

It is easy to see why such would not be a popular doctrine in today’s world, and why many, many polemical gyrations have been performed to try to get out from under it. An awful lot of people today are living in marriages contrary to God’s word. But, indeed, it is a simple word: “Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her. And if a woman divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery." And God’s word cannot be gainsaid.