Divorce
Matthew 19 and 1 Cor 7 have exceptions not listed in Mark
The Importance of Marriage
- We have made marriage vows before ourselves, others and God
- Jesus answers the question of divorce by speaking of marriage
- He wants to fix in people's minds the sanctity of marriage
- God hates divorce
- One man and one woman - a creation ordinance
- At the time of Jesus there was a very lax attitude to marriage and divorce
- Many followed the school of Hillel
- Rabbi Shammi thought you must get divorced if there was fornication or adultery
- Roman society had a very liberal attitude - Seneca
- Our setting today is that UK has the highest divorce rate in Europe
- About 46% of marriages end in divorce
- In 2012 there were 13 divorces every hour
- Many today are cohabitating rather than marrying
- This brings lots of complications
- This generally leads to a multiplication of partners
- This tends to lead to more sorrow and pain than love
Teaching on Divorce
- The Lord Jesus never wearied of teaching people (v1)
- When we feel people are rejecting or not accepting the word of God we should look to the example of Jesus
- Jesus was beyond the Jordan and in the area where John the Baptist had preached
- John the Baptist had spoken openly against Herod who had taken his brother's wife
- He was beheaded for this
- Maybe this is why the pharisees took this opportunity to test Jesus here
- Why does Mark write differently to Matthew?
- Matthew was writing to the Jews
- Mark was writing to the Gentiles
- Mark wanted to answer the big question about marriage
- Jesus answers and puts the onus on Pharisees to answer
- Jesus goes back to the law
- Jesus goes back to Scripture
- Deut 24:1
- Once there is a divorce it ruptures the one flesh union
- There had to be a certificate - a lawful, public procedure
- The teaching was to help regulate a sinful situation - God hates divorce
- The regulation encourages a woman to be pure
- The women should be free of uncleanness or fornication
- Men had to be sure before they could divorce so there was some protection for women
- Jesus states that this concession was given, but it was not what God wanted
- It was to do with the hardness of their heart
- The pharisees thought they were living okay but they had hard hearts
- Jesus goes back to first principles
- God made them male and female
- We believe in heterosexual monogamous marriage
- We have every right to do so and should never be ashamed of this position
- This was a wonderful institution that God created
- A new unit is established
- The marriage bond is more important than the relationship with your parents
- The two cleave together and become one flesh
- One flesh together in everything, each with our own personalities
- This is a mystical union like the relationship between Christ and the Church
- The Pharisees were very keen to divorce
- Jesus says be keen to stay together
- Don't divide
- One woman and one man married for life
- Sometimes we look for exceptions to validate our behaviour
- There are grounds for divorce
- The committing of adultery
- Be saying this He was repealing the Old Testament law of stoning
- Where there has been adultery there can be restoration and forgiveness
- Above all we should hold important the sanctity of marriage
- We should love as Jesus loved
- We should love our wives as Christ loved the Church
- The wife is to submit to her husband and the Church is to be obedient to Jesus
- If you are unmarried pray to God for guidance
- Christians should only ever marry in the Lord
- The disciples wanted to know more
- They asked Jesus in private
- There was a public answer in Matthew and a private answer in Mark
- Jesus is again emphasising the sanctity of marriage
- If you divorce your wife and take another you cause them to commit adultery - the Jewish society
- If a wife divorces their husband and takes another you cause them to commit adultery - the Roman society
Summary
- As Christians we uphold the (biblical) law
- As Christians we have a tremendous gospel
- As Christians we are ministers of grace