Marcos 10:10-12

The disciples wanted clarification of Jesus’ view, so they asked Him for it in private. Mark recorded His straightforward reply. Neither husband nor wife should divorce their partner and remarry someone else. To do so constitutes committing adultery against the spouse.

Mark 10:12 is unique in Mark. Under Roman law a wife could divorce her husband, but under Jewish law she could not. [Note: Nineham, p. 266, footnote.] There were exceptions, however, as in the case of Herodias who had divorced Philip to marry Antipas (Mark 6:17-18). Herod the Great’s sister also divorced her husband. [Note: Josephus, Antiquities of . . ., 15:7:10.] Jesus viewed all divorce followed by remarriage as constituting adultery no matter who initiated it. Divorce is wrong, but divorce followed by remarriage is worse.

"The new element in this teaching, which was totally unrecognized in the rabbinic courts, was the concept of a husband committing adultery against his former wife. According to rabbinic law a man could commit adultery against another married man by seducing his wife (Deuteronomy 22:13-29) and a wife could commit adultery against her husband by infidelity, but a husband could not be said to commit adultery against his wife. . . . This sharp intensifying of the concept of adultery had the effect of elevating the status of the wife to the same dignity as her husband and placed the husband under an obligation of fidelity." [Note: Lane, p. 357.]

Mark’s omission of the exception clause that Matthew included was also due to his audience (cf. Matthew 5:32; Matthew 19:9). He did not want to draw attention to the exceptional case because to do so would weaken the main point, namely, that people should not divorce. Divorce was very common in the Greco-Roman world. Apparently Matthew included Jesus’ permission to divorce for fornication because the subject of how to deal with divorce cases involving marital unfaithfulness was of particular interest to the Jews, his primary audience.