WHAT DOES JESUS SAY ABOUT MARRIAGE?
Matthew 5:31-32

One of the most difficult subjects that faced the evangelical church in the closing days of the last century was that of divorce and remarriage.  We are living in a society with a marked increase in the rate of divorce, much of that being attributable to the no-fault divorce laws many states have enacted. 

Allow me to refresh our memories with what we promise our marriage partners at the altar.  You remember those vows:  to have and to hold from this day forward, for better for worse, for richer for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and cherish, till death us do part, according to God’s holy ordinance. 

Those are precious vows, and yet, I am aware that some of you listening to this Village Line chat have gone through the pains of a divorce.  Some of you have witnessed a family member go through that experience.  The time for casting blame has long since ceased.  The time for healing is now. 

What did Jesus teach about divorce?  More importantly, what did Jesus teach about marriage?  These questions will guide us in our study of this next portion of the Sermon on the Mount found in Matthew 5 and verses 31 and 32.

The Old Testament understanding of divorce was based upon a passage in Deuteronomy 24 which read in part, If a man finds some uncleanness in his wife and divorces her, giving her a certificate of divorce, and she then married someone else, who in time also divorces her, then her first husband cannot remarry her.  The uncleanness included every kind of improper, shameful, or indecent behavior unbecoming to a woman and embarrassing to her husband.  It did not include adultery because that was punishable by death.

In Jesus’ day there were two interpretations of this Old Testament text.  There were those who said that divorce could only be granted for causes of adultery and unchastity.  Others were more liberal in their interpretation stating that there were many grounds for divorce, some of them very ridiculous.  For these people, divorce could be granted for behavior as innocent as burning a husband’s toast in the morning.  The result was that in Jesus’ day many young women were actually unwilling to marry because marriage was so insecure. 

I am sure that, as Jesus began His teaching on this subject, He had the ears of His listeners and their rapt attention.  In our next study we shall observe just what Jesus taught about this important subject.

Father, You are the one who commanded the first man and the first woman there in the Garden that they should leave their fathers and mothers and cleave to each other becoming one flesh.  It was Your intentions that marriage was to be an indissoluble relationship except by death.  Father, how we need to hear Your words today.  I would ask that You would bring healing to those who have gone through the pains of a divorce.  I pray especially for those young children who have struggled with a divided home.  I pray for those whose marriages are going through tumultuous times that You would grant reconciliation and healing.  I pray this in the name of the one who blessed a marriage in Cana with His presence.  Amen.

 

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