WEBVTT 00:00:04.639 --> 00:00:12.880 You have heard it said that 50% of marriages, even Christian marriages, end in divorce. 00:00:13.679 --> 00:00:20.640 And when you hear a statistic like that, you might wonder if your marriage is doomed to fail. 00:00:21.359 --> 00:00:27.839 What most people don't realize is that this statistic isn't based on hard data. 00:00:28.239 --> 00:00:42.479 It came from a statement from the Barna Research Group back in 2008, which projected divorce rates to be this high after states passed no fault divorce laws. 00:00:43.600 --> 00:00:48.640 Recent studies have shown the real number to be closer to 30%. 00:00:49.600 --> 00:01:03.039 And when you narrow that down to Christians who regularly attend church, read God's Word, and pray together, the divorce rate is as low as 15%. 00:01:04.879 --> 00:01:12.959 It might be even lower than that if we were to narrow it down some more based on certain theological convictions. 00:01:14.159 --> 00:01:26.799 But if we think that 50% is the real statistic, we'll continue to have this perception that divorce is somehow normal even amongst Christians. 00:01:27.359 --> 00:01:34.719 And that's not just a problem in our own day, it was a problem even in the time of Jesus. 00:01:35.280 --> 00:01:44.400 The culture of his day upheld a view about divorce that was the equivalent of no fault divorce. 00:01:44.959 --> 00:01:52.000 Most Jews even believed that Scripture made provision for divorce and felt justified. 00:01:52.480 --> 00:02:05.519 But as we'll see in our passage today, Jesus challenges the status quo and reinterprets what the people of his day thought they knew about marriage and divorce. 00:02:06.079 --> 00:02:15.680 He presents a view that requires radical commitment, no different than anyone on the path of discipleship. 00:02:16.000 --> 00:02:19.759 Let's open our Bibles to Mark chapter 10. 00:02:21.919 --> 00:02:26.639 Our passage today is short, but certainly packs a punch. 00:02:28.080 --> 00:02:34.560 As we enter into a sensitive topic, let's go before the Lord in prayer. 00:02:36.080 --> 00:02:54.639 Heavenly Father, we pray that as we turn to your word this morning, that your Holy Spirit would teach us, to give us eyes to see, to give us hearts to respond, to believe and trust your word, to believe and trust your design. 00:02:55.599 --> 00:02:58.400 We ask for your help this morning in Jesus' name. 00:02:58.719 --> 00:02:59.360 Amen. 00:03:03.199 --> 00:03:07.280 Mark chapter 10, verses 1 through 12. 00:03:08.240 --> 00:03:13.680 And standing up, he went from there to the region of Judea and beyond the Jordan. 00:03:14.240 --> 00:03:20.319 Crowds gathered around him again, and according to his custom, he once more began to teach them. 00:03:20.800 --> 00:03:30.240 And some Pharisees came up to Jesus, testing him, and began to question him whether it was lawful for a man to divorce a wife. 00:03:30.639 --> 00:03:34.879 And he answered and said to them, What did Moses command you? 00:03:35.199 --> 00:03:41.360 And they said, Moses permitted a man to write a certificate of divorce and send her away. 00:03:41.680 --> 00:03:48.319 But Jesus said to them, Because of your hardness of heart he wrote for you this commandment. 00:03:48.639 --> 00:03:53.840 But from the beginning of creation God made them male and female. 00:03:54.319 --> 00:04:04.879 For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother, and the two shall become one flesh, so they are no longer two, but one flesh. 00:04:05.199 --> 00:04:10.000 What therefore God has joined together, let no man separate. 00:04:10.400 --> 00:04:22.720 And in the house the disciples began questioning him about this again, and he said to them, Whoever divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery against her. 00:04:23.040 --> 00:04:30.240 And if she herself divorces her husband and marries another man, she is committing adultery. 00:04:32.160 --> 00:04:35.519 Once again, Jesus is on the move. 00:04:36.079 --> 00:04:45.439 This continues an important pattern of Jesus arriving at a new location and teaching large crowds of people who gather around him. 00:04:46.480 --> 00:04:56.800 Teaching is the central focus of his ministry, and as our gospel writer Mark notes, it had become customary for Jesus. 00:04:57.519 --> 00:05:15.519 However, it's also worth noting that Jesus has begun his last journey to Jerusalem, where he is on the way to accomplish his ultimate mission: to suffer, to die, and to be raised back to life again. 00:05:16.800 --> 00:05:28.879 Mark notes that some Pharisees came up to Jesus testing him and began to question him whether it was lawful for a man to divorce a wife. 00:05:29.839 --> 00:05:33.279 Without a doubt, their motives were evil. 00:05:33.680 --> 00:05:38.720 This was no innocent query, but a ploy to trap Jesus. 00:05:39.199 --> 00:05:52.560 After seeing what happened to John the Baptist for being outspoken about Herod, Antipas, and Herodias on this topic, the Pharisees had similar hopes about Jesus. 00:05:52.959 --> 00:06:01.120 They wanted to trap Jesus by getting him to say something about divorce that could be used against him. 00:06:02.399 --> 00:06:07.439 Jesus responds to their question with a question of his own. 00:06:35.519 --> 00:06:42.000 This is also relevant because it gets to the heart of what the Pharisees were really asking. 00:06:42.879 --> 00:06:51.600 The possibility of divorce, as well as the permissibility, was never really in question in those days. 00:06:52.160 --> 00:07:29.279 This reference to Moses and even the response of the Pharisees about Moses permitting a man to write a certificate of divorce and send her away is in direct reference to Deuteronomy 24, verses 1 through 4, which says, If a man takes a wife and marries her, and it happens that she finds no favor in his eyes, because he has found some indecency in her, and he writes her a certificate of divorce, and puts it in her hand, and sends her out from his house, and she goes out of his house, and goes and becomes another man's wife. 00:07:29.600 --> 00:07:50.800 And if the latter husband turns against her, and writes her a certificate of divorce, and puts it in her hand, and sends her out of his house, or if the latter husband dies, who took her to be his wife, then her former husband who has sent her away is not allowed to take her again to be his wife, since she has been defiled. 00:07:51.279 --> 00:08:01.279 For that is an abomination before Yahweh, and you shall not bring sin on the land which Yahweh your God gives you as an inheritance. 00:08:02.399 --> 00:08:10.319 Deuteronomy 24, 1 through 4, had been used as a proof text to permit divorce. 00:08:10.879 --> 00:08:25.199 However, varying interpretations of this text led to the formation of two different views about the permissibility of divorce, and it was an issue of considerable debate. 00:08:26.399 --> 00:08:37.919 In Jesus' day, there were two well-respected Jewish religious teachers who weighed in on this topic, Rabbi Shemai and Rabbi Hillel. 00:08:38.559 --> 00:08:46.720 Rabbi Shemai argued that divorce was permissible only on the basis of sexual immorality. 00:08:47.279 --> 00:09:00.559 Whereas Rabbi Hillel, in what became the majority view, decided that the offending matter which allowed for divorce could be anything that displeased the husband. 00:09:00.879 --> 00:09:14.480 A poorly cooked dinner, finding a more attractive prospect, a wife's refusal of the husband's control, the husband not liking her behavior, or for whatever cause. 00:09:15.600 --> 00:09:21.360 And so there were two camps when it came to matters of divorce. 00:09:21.600 --> 00:09:28.639 The adultery only camp, following Shemai, and the any cause camp, following Hallel. 00:09:29.519 --> 00:09:39.440 It wasn't the permissibility of divorce that was questioned, but rather on what grounds divorce was considered permissible. 00:09:39.919 --> 00:09:48.080 The Pharisees held to the majority view of their day, the any cause camp following Hillel. 00:09:49.039 --> 00:10:01.360 Here we have religious leaders and teachers who already believe that divorce is permitted, yet ask Jesus to answer a question that will surely be divisive. 00:10:02.559 --> 00:10:11.519 What they were really asking Jesus was whether he sided with the teachings of Rabbi Shemmai or Rabbi Hillel. 00:10:12.639 --> 00:10:18.399 Would Jesus uphold the majority view of divorce being permitted for any cause? 00:10:18.799 --> 00:10:22.480 Or would he take the more strict view of divorce? 00:10:23.279 --> 00:10:26.480 What Jesus says next is profound. 00:10:26.960 --> 00:10:28.080 Verse 5. 00:10:28.480 --> 00:10:35.039 But Jesus said to them, Because of your hardness of heart, he wrote for you this commandment. 00:10:37.120 --> 00:10:50.159 Instead of playing into the trap the Pharisees set for him and declaring which camp that he was in, Jesus goes a step further and reinterprets the passage altogether. 00:10:50.480 --> 00:10:59.360 Jesus says that Deuteronomy 24, 1 through 4 has to do with the hard-heartedness of that stiff-necked generation. 00:11:01.120 --> 00:11:16.159 Interestingly enough, Jesus even says, because of your hardness of heart, which included the Pharisees themselves, it's as much of an indictment on them as it is for the generation Moses was addressing. 00:11:16.879 --> 00:11:26.799 Some scholars suggest that Jesus is siding with Rabbi Shemai when it comes to the interpretation of Deuteronomy 24, 1 through 4. 00:11:27.120 --> 00:11:36.080 However, the immediate context which follows seems to suggest an interpretation even more strict than Shemai's. 00:11:36.480 --> 00:11:45.919 Jesus answers the question about divorce by upholding what God designed for marriage from the very beginning of creation. 00:11:46.879 --> 00:11:54.399 He says in verses six through nine, but from the beginning of creation, God made them male and female. 00:11:54.639 --> 00:12:04.879 For this reason, a man shall leave his father and mother, and the two shall become one flesh, so they are no longer two, but one flesh. 00:12:05.360 --> 00:12:11.759 What therefore God has joined together, let no man separate. 00:12:12.960 --> 00:12:24.799 This combines Genesis one twenty-seven, which states, And God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him, male and female, he created them. 00:12:25.279 --> 00:12:36.799 In Genesis two twenty four, which also states, Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and cleave to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. 00:12:38.080 --> 00:12:45.519 Jesus answers the question of divorce by introducing the topic of marriage and sexual identity. 00:12:46.080 --> 00:12:48.559 This goes far beyond divorce. 00:12:48.799 --> 00:13:00.799 This has to do with God's design for creation, specifically his design for humanity and the beautiful institution of marriage and the family. 00:13:01.519 --> 00:13:09.840 Not to be overlooked is Jesus upholding the clear teaching that there are only two genders, male and female. 00:13:10.960 --> 00:13:20.879 If you ever hear someone make a claim that Jesus was pro-LGBTQ, you can show them this passage which clearly states otherwise. 00:13:21.679 --> 00:13:25.600 Furthermore, we are created in God's own image. 00:13:26.080 --> 00:13:30.639 To be made in the image of something is to represent that something. 00:13:31.039 --> 00:13:35.120 Therefore, to be made in the image of God is to represent God. 00:13:35.759 --> 00:13:44.159 Connecting this to Genesis 224, when a man and woman come together in marriage, they become one flesh. 00:13:44.720 --> 00:13:50.480 This union of two image-bearers is meant to represent the union of God. 00:13:51.279 --> 00:14:00.399 Just as the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are three persons united as one God. 00:14:01.200 --> 00:14:09.360 So a husband and wife are to be united together as one flesh, as Genesis 2.24 describes. 00:14:10.080 --> 00:14:22.240 This union has further significance, as the Apostle Paul describes the union of marriage as pointing to the union between Christ and his bride, the church. 00:14:22.639 --> 00:14:33.840 Paul writes in Ephesians 5 31-32 for this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh. 00:14:34.159 --> 00:14:40.480 This mystery is great, but I am speaking with reference to Christ and the Church. 00:14:50.720 --> 00:14:58.000 Just as God is indivisible, the union of Christ and the Church is indivisible. 00:14:58.480 --> 00:15:02.159 Marriage is intended to be indivisible. 00:15:02.480 --> 00:15:09.840 That's why Jesus says in verse 9, What therefore God has joined together, let no man separate. 00:15:10.799 --> 00:15:15.919 When two people get married, they make a covenant together before God. 00:15:16.559 --> 00:15:23.360 This vow to uphold the reality that marriage is a permanent union. 00:15:24.399 --> 00:15:33.679 Husbands are to be like Christ, to love their wife, just as Christ has loved the church and gave himself up for her. 00:15:34.720 --> 00:15:42.399 As the church is subject to Christ, wives are to be subject to their husbands in everything as to the Lord. 00:15:42.720 --> 00:15:49.759 For the husband is the head of the wife, as Christ also is the head of the church. 00:15:50.320 --> 00:16:01.759 These are the direct words of the Apostle Paul as he describes marriage as a mystery that represents the union of Christ and his church. 00:16:03.120 --> 00:16:06.480 Do you have this kind of view of marriage? 00:16:07.279 --> 00:16:10.080 Do you have this kind of view about your marriage? 00:16:10.960 --> 00:16:21.840 Husbands, do you see your role in your marriage as being like Christ, whose love extended so far that he gave his own life for her? 00:16:22.480 --> 00:16:31.759 Wives, do you see your role in your marriage as being like the church in humble submission to the headship of Christ? 00:16:33.600 --> 00:16:40.799 And together, do you view your marriage as a representation of this union between Christ and His church? 00:16:41.279 --> 00:16:50.799 The unwavering love, the unyielding sacrifice, and unbreakable commitment to one another. 00:16:52.480 --> 00:16:56.639 People often think of marriage as two people coming together at the hip. 00:16:57.120 --> 00:17:00.320 I am one person connecting to another person. 00:17:00.799 --> 00:17:04.799 I am still me, and the other person is still the other person. 00:17:05.359 --> 00:17:11.039 And if things go south, we can just break off from each other like a kitcat bar. 00:17:12.640 --> 00:17:15.759 But that's not what the Bible teaches us. 00:17:16.720 --> 00:17:22.640 Becoming one flesh is the union of two people becoming indivisibly one. 00:17:23.599 --> 00:17:33.680 Just as flour, sugar, salt, eggs, and milk come together to make batter and into a cake. 00:17:33.920 --> 00:17:40.640 There's no way to separate those ingredients from each other once they are joined together and baked into a cake. 00:17:41.519 --> 00:17:44.480 That's what happens in marriage. 00:17:45.440 --> 00:17:52.000 And as we see clearly in verse 9, God joins a man and woman together in marriage. 00:17:52.240 --> 00:17:56.160 And what God joins together, let no man separate. 00:17:56.880 --> 00:18:01.680 God joins together, man tries to separate. 00:18:02.000 --> 00:18:05.680 Divorce is not part of the design for humanity. 00:18:06.079 --> 00:18:08.880 It is not the defect of marriage. 00:18:09.200 --> 00:18:17.279 Rather, divorce is the sinful reality of people in rebellion to God and his perfect design. 00:18:17.839 --> 00:18:21.839 Divorce is an attack against God's creation. 00:18:22.559 --> 00:18:28.720 God makes something new in marriage by joining together a man and a woman. 00:18:29.039 --> 00:18:35.759 Divorce seeks to decreate and thereby destroy the handiwork of God. 00:18:36.799 --> 00:18:40.880 Furthermore, marriage is always a good thing. 00:18:41.359 --> 00:18:44.160 In fact, it is a blessing of God. 00:18:44.960 --> 00:18:56.160 Marriage is the way humanity images the union of God, how husbands image Christ, and how wives image the church. 00:18:56.640 --> 00:19:05.200 All of these things are good things, because they are of God and lead to human flourishing. 00:19:06.000 --> 00:19:11.440 It is the sin of humanity that turns it into something that leads to evil. 00:19:11.920 --> 00:19:17.519 Sinful husbands and sinful wives lead to sinful marriages. 00:19:17.920 --> 00:19:22.559 God is not to blame, nor the institution of marriage. 00:19:23.359 --> 00:19:28.720 We live in a day and age where many people have a low view of marriage. 00:19:28.960 --> 00:19:36.240 They find it unnecessary, or even a hindrance to a romantic relationship. 00:19:36.720 --> 00:19:47.119 People put off getting married for a variety of reasons, but at the heart of it, it's because they don't truly believe that marriage is a good thing for them. 00:19:48.000 --> 00:19:56.720 It's no surprise since most people have a pessimistic view that marriage will inevitably end in divorce. 00:19:57.279 --> 00:20:02.480 Why get married if it's likely to end in divorce? 00:20:04.000 --> 00:20:17.839 I don't need to tell you how painful and devastating divorce can be, not only for those who go through it themselves, but also for the children who are often left to carry its scars. 00:20:18.799 --> 00:20:20.480 It's devastating. 00:20:20.799 --> 00:20:23.440 It literally divides families. 00:20:23.680 --> 00:20:28.559 It's not just breaking off a union, it breaks a part of you. 00:20:29.839 --> 00:20:40.000 Even worse, the sin that often leads to divorce can have effects that persist even long after the divorce papers are finalized. 00:20:40.559 --> 00:20:49.359 There are many reasons why people get divorced, and I personally sympathize with those who suffer in abusive marriages. 00:20:49.920 --> 00:20:55.279 It's understandable to leave when the situation becomes unsafe. 00:20:56.240 --> 00:20:58.960 God does not forbid separation. 00:20:59.519 --> 00:21:03.839 It's certainly not ideal, and the goal is that it is never final. 00:21:04.720 --> 00:21:12.559 The hope is that separation will eventually lead to reconciliation and faithful marriages. 00:21:13.119 --> 00:21:21.599 After all, that is the hope of the gospel, that sinners would be reconciled to God and to each other. 00:21:22.559 --> 00:21:34.079 But that doesn't mean that a person is forced to stay in an abusive situation that puts themselves, especially children, in harm's way. 00:21:35.599 --> 00:21:43.440 I recognize that this topic of divorce is very sensitive, and there are varying viewpoints within the church. 00:21:44.160 --> 00:21:57.519 I also acknowledge that sometimes pastors, in an effort to be faithful to Scripture and in obedience to God, will counsel people to remain in marriages even when it involves abuse. 00:21:58.400 --> 00:22:01.440 This has caused a lot of Spiritual damage. 00:22:02.160 --> 00:22:17.359 Some situations are truly traumatic, and instead of protecting those who are vulnerable and afflicted, the church sometimes enables abuse to continue all in the name of God. 00:22:18.400 --> 00:22:31.680 While this maintains a high commitment to preserving marriage, it neglects other commands of Scripture to rescue the weak and the needy and deliver them from the hand of the wicked. 00:22:32.559 --> 00:22:38.319 Oftentimes, when it comes to sensitive topics like this, we think of exceptions. 00:22:39.039 --> 00:22:44.160 But does the Bible offer any exceptions that make divorce permissible? 00:22:44.799 --> 00:22:54.880 Looking back at our passage today, it is clear that in Mark 10, 1 through 12, Jesus does not offer any exceptions for divorce. 00:22:55.279 --> 00:23:07.359 He doesn't side with Rabbi Hillel, the any cause camp, nor does it appear that he sides with Rabbi Shemai, the exception in the case of sexual immorality camp. 00:23:08.400 --> 00:23:14.400 Our passage in Mark offers no indication that divorce is ever permissible. 00:23:14.720 --> 00:23:29.119 Rather, Jesus makes it clear that Moses' instruction in Deuteronomy 24, 1 through 4 was not a divine endorsement of divorce, but a concession to the hardness of human hearts. 00:23:29.759 --> 00:23:38.400 It was not a provision for dissolving marriage, but a recognition of sin's devastating effect upon it. 00:23:39.200 --> 00:23:44.559 Importantly, Deuteronomy 24 does not establish grounds for divorce. 00:23:44.799 --> 00:23:54.319 It underscores that the one flesh union created in marriage is not nullified by divorce, nor even by remarriage. 00:23:55.359 --> 00:24:01.920 The covenant bond remains a reality, despite man's attempts to sever it. 00:24:02.400 --> 00:24:15.599 In other words, the so-called proof text for those who believed that divorce was permissible by God turns out to uphold what God has already said about marriage from the very beginning. 00:24:16.319 --> 00:24:20.799 What God has joined together, let no man separate. 00:24:21.119 --> 00:24:25.039 And when man attempts to separate it, it becomes sin. 00:24:26.079 --> 00:24:35.200 As Jesus says in verses eleven and twelve, whoever divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery against her. 00:24:35.440 --> 00:24:41.599 And if she herself divorces her husband and marries another man, she is committing adultery. 00:24:42.640 --> 00:24:49.440 Some people not only believe that divorce is permissible, but that there is no issue with remarriage. 00:24:49.920 --> 00:24:56.400 But shockingly, Jesus says that divorce and remarriage commits the sin of adultery. 00:24:56.640 --> 00:25:08.480 It is considered adultery because it acknowledges that nothing can truly dissolve marriage, that what God has brought together, man is unable to truly separate. 00:25:09.119 --> 00:25:14.880 Consider Luke sixteen eighteen, a parallel to our passage today. 00:25:15.200 --> 00:25:27.039 Everyone says everyone who divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery, and he who marries a woman who is divorced from a husband commits adultery. 00:25:27.680 --> 00:25:37.759 Taking Mark and Luke together, there are simply no conditions where divorce and remarriage does not result in adultery. 00:25:38.880 --> 00:25:49.680 We are not only commanded against divorce, but according to these passages, we should not pursue remarriage either, because it's considered adultery. 00:25:50.160 --> 00:25:57.839 Even a person who was previously unmarried is said to have committed adultery by marrying someone who was divorced. 00:25:59.680 --> 00:26:04.240 And I understand that this is an incredibly difficult teaching to receive. 00:26:04.720 --> 00:26:12.400 Even Jesus' disciples have a hard time with this teaching, as we see in Matthew's version of this passage. 00:26:13.039 --> 00:26:24.000 In Matthew 19, verses ten through twelve, the disciples said to him, If the relationship of the man with his wife is like this, it is better not to marry. 00:26:24.400 --> 00:26:31.440 But he said to them, Not all men can accept this statement, but only those to whom it has been given. 00:26:31.759 --> 00:26:44.160 For there are eunuchs who were born that way from their mother's womb, and there are eunuchs who were made eunuchs by men, and there are also eunuchs who made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. 00:26:44.480 --> 00:26:48.880 He who is able to accept this, let him accept it. 00:26:49.519 --> 00:27:05.359 In other words, in order to avoid committing the sin of adultery, a person who gets divorced is to commit themselves to a life of singleness, similar to a eunuch, unless the person they were married to dies. 00:27:06.480 --> 00:27:10.400 Only then is their marriage truly dissolved. 00:27:10.880 --> 00:27:14.000 Paul writes in Romans 7, 1 through 3. 00:27:14.319 --> 00:27:23.279 Or do you not know, brothers, for I am speaking to those who know the law, that the law is master over a person as long as he lives. 00:27:23.599 --> 00:27:28.640 For the married woman has been bound by law to her husband while he is living. 00:27:28.880 --> 00:27:33.519 But if her husband dies, she is released from the law concerning the husband. 00:27:33.839 --> 00:27:49.279 So then, if while her husband is living, she is joined to another man, she shall be called an adulteress, but if her husband dies, she is free from the law, so that she is not an adulteress, though she is joined to another man. 00:27:50.799 --> 00:28:06.480 Although there is a culture within the church that doesn't think twice about the topic of remarriage, passages like Mark 10, Matthew 19, and Romans 7, amongst others, should cause us to consider its implications. 00:28:07.759 --> 00:28:18.480 There is a distinction between someone who is asking for counsel about divorce and remarriage versus someone who has already been divorced and remarried. 00:28:18.960 --> 00:28:28.880 By no means, by no means does the Bible say that a person who is remarried should somehow renounce their marriage and become single again. 00:28:29.200 --> 00:28:30.559 Absolutely not. 00:28:31.279 --> 00:28:38.960 If you are remarried, you are still married, and God calls you to honor him in that marriage. 00:28:39.279 --> 00:28:50.799 There is a mystery that goes beyond my understanding when it comes to the one-flesh nature of marriage, being also true in remarriage, even while your first spouse is still alive. 00:28:51.359 --> 00:28:58.559 But husbands who are remarried are still called to love their wives as Christ loves the church. 00:28:58.960 --> 00:29:07.039 And wives who are remarried are still called to submit to their husbands as the church submits to the headship of Jesus Christ. 00:29:07.680 --> 00:29:11.839 You are not continuing to live in sin by being remarried. 00:29:12.079 --> 00:29:20.079 The sin of adultery has already been committed, and if you are in Christ, that sin is already forgiven. 00:29:20.559 --> 00:29:44.480 However, if this is the first time that you have become aware that remarriage, while your spouse is still alive, your first spouse, that that's considered adultery, or that marrying someone who is divorced from someone who is still alive is considered adultery, even for you, you still need to confess and bring this to God. 00:29:45.359 --> 00:29:53.759 All you need to do is ask for his forgiveness and trust that forgiveness was accomplished by Christ on the cross. 00:29:54.559 --> 00:30:04.799 But if you are unwilling to accept these teachings of Jesus about divorce and remarriage, then perhaps your heart is hardened, and that is a deeper problem. 00:30:06.160 --> 00:30:12.400 I'm sure many of you have questions that will likely go unresolved by the end of this sermon. 00:30:13.119 --> 00:30:23.039 One resource that has truly been a blessing to me in my study on this topic is John Piper's position paper on divorce and remarriage. 00:30:23.279 --> 00:30:30.720 You can easily find it with a quick Google search by typing John Piper Divorce and Remarriage. 00:30:31.200 --> 00:30:36.319 It goes deeper into these passages than I have time for in one sermon. 00:30:36.960 --> 00:30:48.079 It also more comprehensively addresses what many believe to be a biblical exception for divorce based on what Jesus says in Matthew 19 9. 00:30:48.319 --> 00:30:56.160 And I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another woman commits adultery. 00:30:56.480 --> 00:31:04.640 The clause, except for sexual immorality, is only found in Matthew, not in Mark, not in Luke. 00:31:05.119 --> 00:31:19.440 The interpretation of this verse has led to a variety of viewpoints within the church, similar to how Deuteronomy 24, 1 through 4, has led to the two camps of Rabbi Shemai and Rabbi Hillel. 00:31:20.319 --> 00:31:39.839 Piper does a bit of a deep dive on this passage and concludes that it is not truly a provision or exception for divorce, but rather has to do with the permissibility of breaking off a Jewish engagement, which was considered far more binding than we like to think of engagement today. 00:31:40.480 --> 00:31:57.759 That's why in Matthew 1, when Mary becomes pregnant with Jesus, Joseph, who she was not yet married to, but only engaged with at this point, considers divorce for suspected sexual infidelity. 00:31:58.559 --> 00:32:04.640 The word used for sexual immorality is different than the word used for adultery. 00:32:04.960 --> 00:32:09.920 Adultery can only be committed when a married person is involved. 00:32:10.240 --> 00:32:18.960 But in Matthew 1 and Matthew 19, the word used has to do with sexual immorality in general, not adultery. 00:32:19.359 --> 00:32:28.160 Like I said, John Piper has a better treatment and explanation of these passages than I am able to get into today. 00:32:28.400 --> 00:32:38.559 But I bring all of this up because it has direct implications for Mark 10, 1 through 12 and the topic of divorce as a whole. 00:32:39.039 --> 00:32:41.680 I don't want to leave you completely hanging. 00:32:41.920 --> 00:32:50.559 It's worth taking a moment to share what John Piper concluded based on these passages as well as application for today. 00:32:51.119 --> 00:33:35.920 He writes, In the New Testament, the question about remarriage after divorce is not determined by the guilt or innocence of either spouse, nor by whether either spouse is a believer or not, nor by whether the divorce happened before or after either spouse's conversion, nor by the ease or difficulty of living as a single parent for the rest of life on earth, nor by whether there is adultery and desertion involved, nor by the ongoing reality of the hardness of the human heart, nor by the cultural permissiveness of the surrounding society. 00:33:36.720 --> 00:33:49.119 Rather, it is determined by the fact that marriage is a one flesh relationship of divine establishment and extraordinary significance in the eyes of God. 00:33:49.920 --> 00:33:54.960 Only God, not man, can end this one flesh relationship. 00:33:55.519 --> 00:33:59.680 This is why remarriage is called adultery by Jesus. 00:34:00.079 --> 00:34:03.759 He assumes that the first marriage is still binding. 00:34:04.480 --> 00:34:10.480 God ends the one flesh relationship of marriage only through the death of one of the spouses. 00:34:11.599 --> 00:34:23.119 The grace and power of God are promised and sufficient to enable a trusting, divorced Christian to be single all this earthly life if necessary. 00:34:23.840 --> 00:34:38.559 Temporal frustrations and disadvantages are much to be preferred over the disobedience of remarriage and will yield deep and lasting joy both in this life and the life to come. 00:34:39.920 --> 00:35:07.599 Those who are already remarried should acknowledge that the choice to remarry in the act of entering a second marriage was sin, and confess it as such and seek forgiveness, should not attempt to return to the first partner after entering a second union, should not separate and live as single people, thinking that this would result in less sin because all their sexual relations are acts of adultery. 00:35:07.840 --> 00:35:17.280 The Bible does not give prescriptions for this particular case, but it does treat second marriages as having significant standing in God's eyes. 00:35:17.679 --> 00:35:23.199 That is, there were promises made, and there has been a union formed. 00:35:23.519 --> 00:35:26.239 It should not have been formed, but it was. 00:35:26.559 --> 00:35:33.519 It is not to be taken lightly, promises are to be kept, and the union is to be sanctified to God. 00:35:34.239 --> 00:35:45.360 While not the ideal state, staying in a second marriage is God's will for a couple, and their ongoing relations should not be looked on as adulterous. 00:35:47.760 --> 00:35:59.599 I am thankful for John Piper and the amount of work, prayer, and courage expended to present this paper and controversial viewpoint. 00:36:00.000 --> 00:36:14.400 Just as Rabbi Shemai's view was a minority compared to Rabbi Hillel, John Piper's viewpoint is a minority compared to the broader teachings of divorce and remarriage in the church today. 00:36:14.960 --> 00:36:25.119 But this is what Scripture as a whole teaches about marriage, divorce, and remarriage, whether we like it or not. 00:36:26.639 --> 00:36:30.880 The teaching of Jesus in Mark 10 is not easy. 00:36:31.280 --> 00:36:44.400 It confronts us with a high and holy view of marriage, one that runs against the grain of our culture and often against the desires of our own hearts. 00:36:45.440 --> 00:37:01.519 Marriage, Jesus says, is not a human contract to be broken when it becomes difficult, but a divine covenant, a one-flesh union joined by God and designed to endure until death. 00:37:02.480 --> 00:37:09.280 There are no shortcuts here, no loopholes to ease the discomfort of obedience. 00:37:09.760 --> 00:37:14.320 Jesus calls us to something higher, something sacred. 00:37:15.199 --> 00:37:18.719 But this teaching is not given to crush us. 00:37:19.039 --> 00:37:21.199 So don't let it crush you today. 00:37:21.519 --> 00:37:23.519 It is given to heal us. 00:37:24.159 --> 00:37:30.239 Jesus does not speak hard truths to shame us, but to lead us into life. 00:37:30.719 --> 00:37:32.559 He knows our pain. 00:37:32.960 --> 00:37:45.519 He knows the brokenness many carry from a marriage that has grown cold, from a divorce that still wounds, or from choices made in confusion or sorrow. 00:37:46.559 --> 00:37:51.119 He does not turn away from those who are hurting, he draws near. 00:37:51.760 --> 00:37:58.159 Our hope is not in our perfect obedience or in fixing everything that we've done wrong. 00:37:58.400 --> 00:38:14.559 Our hope is in Jesus, in his mercy, his power to redeem, and his grace that is sufficient for every failure, every regret, and every heavy heavy burden. 00:38:15.360 --> 00:38:20.480 He gives commands, yes, but he also gives strength. 00:38:20.800 --> 00:38:23.360 And he binds up the brokenhearted. 00:38:23.840 --> 00:38:27.199 He restores what sin has fractured. 00:38:27.599 --> 00:38:30.159 He makes all things new. 00:38:30.880 --> 00:38:36.239 So, if your marriage is struggling, don't lose heart. 00:38:36.639 --> 00:38:51.760 Today's passage is a call to cling to what God has joined, to pursue reconciliation, to forgive, to endure, and to love with the love Christ has shown you. 00:38:52.719 --> 00:38:55.440 You are not alone in that fight. 00:38:55.760 --> 00:38:57.360 Christ is with you. 00:38:57.840 --> 00:39:00.480 The church is here to help you. 00:39:01.119 --> 00:39:08.239 And if you've been through divorce, perhaps with sorrow, perhaps with sin, know this. 00:39:08.800 --> 00:39:12.239 Jesus is a merciful Savior. 00:39:12.639 --> 00:39:18.719 Come to Him, bring your past, your wounds, your confusion. 00:39:19.199 --> 00:39:21.199 He does not cast you out. 00:39:21.679 --> 00:39:24.000 There is forgiveness in Him. 00:39:24.320 --> 00:39:25.920 There is hope. 00:39:26.480 --> 00:39:33.119 And if you are now remarried, bring your current marriage under the Lordship of Christ. 00:39:33.760 --> 00:39:35.519 Live in faithfulness. 00:39:36.159 --> 00:39:41.760 Let this season be one of repentance, renewal, and new obedience. 00:39:42.239 --> 00:39:47.679 God is gracious, and his mercies are new every morning. 00:39:48.719 --> 00:40:02.559 And for all of us, whether you're single, married, divorced, remarried, widowed, let us look to the one who has never broken covenant with us. 00:40:03.440 --> 00:40:08.719 Though we are faithless, he remains faithful. 00:40:09.440 --> 00:40:29.039 Christ came to restore what was lost, to reconcile sinners to himself, to make the church his spotless bride, and in doing so, to transform our lives, our homes, and yes, our marriages. 00:40:29.920 --> 00:40:37.119 May we be a people who show the watching world what covenant love looks like. 00:40:37.679 --> 00:40:43.760 Not because we have it all together, but because we follow a Savior who does. 00:40:44.480 --> 00:40:50.159 Let us trust him, obey him, and rest in his grace. 00:40:50.400 --> 00:40:51.760 Let's pray. 00:40:57.119 --> 00:41:08.880 Some teachings are hard, hard to accept, hard to preach, but your word is truth, and your ways are always good. 00:41:10.320 --> 00:41:21.760 We thank you that because of what you've done for us, through your son Jesus on the cross, we have nothing to be ashamed about. 00:41:22.639 --> 00:41:30.960 Jesus has took on anything, all sin that could possibly haunt us. 00:41:32.320 --> 00:41:39.840 And God, we thank you that you make all things new, that there is hope in your son Jesus. 00:41:40.320 --> 00:41:41.679 We thank you for marriage. 00:41:41.760 --> 00:41:47.599 We thank you for for the ways that that we get to image you. 00:41:50.960 --> 00:41:58.320 That we would be like your son Jesus, to love our wives as he loves his church. 00:41:58.880 --> 00:42:12.480 I pray for the wives here, that they would also love their husbands and submit to their husbands as your church submits to your son Jesus as the head. 00:42:13.440 --> 00:42:20.639 I pray for the marriages in this room, especially those marriages that might be struggling. 00:42:20.960 --> 00:42:30.000 God, would you intervene and bring reconciliation in those marriages? 00:42:30.320 --> 00:42:44.719 And God, for those in this room that are not married, would you continue to be the all in all that you are, knowing that you are sufficient for any season of life. 00:42:46.719 --> 00:42:48.480 And pray in Jesus' name.