Passage
Jesus left Capernaum and went beyond the Jordan. Another crowd gathered, and Jesus
taught. The Pharisees came up to Jesus
and ask if a person who is divorced can marry again. Jesus asks the Pharisees what Moses taught
them. They reply that Moses allowed a
man to write a certificate of divorce and send the woman away. Jesus tells the Pharisees that this is true
only because the human heart is so hard.
From the beginning, God made man and woman with the intention that a man
would eventually leave his parents, find a woman, and start a new family. They literally go from being two individuals
to one “family unit” because God joins them together. Jesus then cautions the Pharisees against
separating what God has put together.
When the disciples were with Jesus privately, Jesus told them that
whoever divorces a wife and marries another is guilty of adultery. The same sentence is bestowed upon a woman
who divorces her husband and marries another.
Thoughts for Today
First Thought:
The Pharisees come to Jesus with a question. Some people argue that they were trying to
trap Him in contradicting the Law – which in a round-about way He does by
calling out the hardness of the people’s hearts. Other’s claim the Pharisees were trying to
set Jesus up to be at odds with Herod, who had a divorce. But personally, I believe that the Pharisees
were genuinely interested to hear what Jesus had to say. Like now, divorce was a big topic in the days
of Jesus. Divorce was easy to
accomplish. Divorces were happening for
just about any kind of reason. I think
the Pharisees were genuinely curious to hear Jesus’ take on one of the bigger
social problems of the day. I think this
is validated by the fact that divorce is almost always one of the biggest
social problems of any day in any culture.
Why do you think divorce is always a “current” topic of
discussion? What does this tell us about
humanity?
Second Thought:
Jesus is clear that divorce is not in God’s original
plan. God did not create us with divorce
in mind. God created us with unity in
mind. Divorce happens when one or both
partners give up the joint quest for unity and decide to care more about
themselves than the other. Divorce
happens when one or both partners lose sight of their promise to love as God
loved and instead they choose to love their own desires. Divorce happens because we human beings are
sinful. It happens. It is a part of life. People can get through it and as with all
consequences of sin it can be forgiven with repentance. But that does not mean that it ever was part
of God’s design. It is necessary because
we are evil in heart and sinful in nature.
{I should note that in the
parallel passage of this story in Matthew, Jesus gives the exclusion that
divorce is permissible if there is adultery.
In such a case, the spouse who is free from adulterous behavior will not
be accountable for the divorce.}
How many people do you know who are touched by divorce –
either in their marriage or one of their parents? Why do you think it is important for us as
Christians to be able to speak about divorce as Jesus does here – frankly and
honestly but with an eye for repentance instead of judgment?
Third Thought:
Jesus does tell us that those who remarry after divorce
commit adultery. There are no exceptions
that Jesus lists. Now, this doesn’t
imply that a person who does this cannot be saved. Sin is sin and all sin for which there is
repentance can be forgiven. But the
reality is that remarriage is adultery, and it must therefore be confessed as
such and brought before the Lord.
Having said that, the reality is that it happens. If a Christian is in a second marriage – is
it better to teach them it is adultery or tell them to get a divorce so now
they have a second divorce on their record with God? I believe we as Christians need to encourage
people to stay in the marriages that they are in and live out Christ’s love
within those marriages. I never teach
that divorce is any kind of answer.
Marriage was a part of God’s design, divorce is not. I believe in the case of a remarriage the
proper thing to do is to teach repentance about the initial divorce and
encourage faithfulness in the already established new marriage while also
teaching that God expects repentance for the act of adultery. It is a very messy situation theologically
speaking. But it is not messy because of
God; it is messy because we as human beings make it messy. As Jesus says here, it is messy because of
the hardness of the human heart.
How does it make you feel to hear that a person who is
remarried after a divorce is committing adultery in God’s eyes? How does this whole topic have potential for
hurt feelings and separation from God?
How does this really point to our need to rely upon Christ and seek His
redemption of all of our sinfulness?
Passage for Tomorrow: Mark 10:13-16
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