GREAT THINGS ENTERPRISE
CLAUDE BLACK
Mark 10:2
Conundrum
There are famous questions whose answers present a dilemma—a conundrum. For example, “Are you still beating your husband?” (This question is usually framed as being asked of a wife, so I thought it would be interesting to change it.) Or consider the psychologist who asks, “What does this inkblot look like to you?” I recently asked ChatGPT, “Are you human?” Another question I like is, “What was God doing before He created the world?” Or, “What existed before God?”
There are also questions designed to lead a person to a position they do not support. In trials, for example, a lawyer will try to lead a witness to their position. For example, “What were you doing before you stole the money?” An alert defense lawyer might object, “That’s a leading question,” or “Asked and answered.”
Jesus and his disciples walked about sixty miles from Galilee to Judea, on their way to Jerusalem. “And coming to him, some Pharisees asked if it is lawful for a husband to divorce his wife, testing him.” (Mark 10:2) There were two rabbinical schools. On the one hand, the disciples of Shammai held that a husband should seek a divorce only if his wife had committed some notorious unchastity, such as adultery. On the other hand, the disciples of Hillel taught that divorce was at the husband’s discretion. Jesus was in the territory of Herod, who had divorced his wife to marry his sister-in-law. She arranged for the murder of John the Baptist because he had criticized Herod’s marital entanglement.
Answering this question would seem to place Jesus in a position of either opposing the received law, condoning an act that permitted husbands to engage in serial marriages, or landing him in political trouble with the tetrarch Herod.
One definition of wisdom is “knowing the essence.” When faced with a dilemma, such as the Pharisees’ question, it is good to remember James’ principle: “If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.” (James 1:5)
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