1. The kingdom has come: Divorce as a test case (10:1-12)

Ch. 10 is specifically devoted to discipleship, and this passage appears first since it outlines the context in which discipleship is lived out. Three “times” are recorded: the time of the beginning, when the marriage bond was unseverable; the time of hardness of heart, when divorce was permitted but regulated; and this new time, when hardness of heart is overcome and the original ideal of marriage is again upheld. How can Jesus set aside the Mosaic regulation? The answer is clear: Jesus has come and with him the long-expected time of God’s kingdom (1:15). New possibilities for discipleship are available.

On the other hand, inasmuch as Jesus goes on to talk of divorce, he recognizes the continuance of hardness of heart. In light of Jesus' coming, divorce is “out of date” (as are other acts working against God’s new creation). Nevertheless, we live “in the middle,” in tension, in the time between hardness of heart and the new creation. Thus we are called to live according to the ideals of the kingdom of God, and we are enabled to do so by its presence. But the battle with evil continues.