SPEAKER_00: The scripture reading this morning is found in Matthew's Gospel, chapter 19, and I will be reading the uh first nine verses of that.
SPEAKER_00: Let me read uh the other passage that uh really is the catalyst for this message this morning.
SPEAKER_00: We've been going through the Gospel of Luke, and in Luke chapter 16, verse 18, um it says this everyone who divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery, and he who marries a woman divorced from her husband commits adultery.
SPEAKER_00: And now the scripture passage in Matthew 19, and you can find that on page 824 if you're using the Pew Bible.
SPEAKER_00: And as I mentioned, each week it is our desire that everyone have a copy of God's word for himself.
SPEAKER_00: And so if you don't own a copy of the Bible, uh please, as our gift to you, uh take that Bible home at the end of the service and make it your own.
SPEAKER_00: Read it and study it, and I hope and trust that you will come back each week as we study God's Word together.
SPEAKER_00: Matthew chapter 19, I will be reading verses one through nine.
SPEAKER_00: Now, when Jesus had finished these sayings, he went away from Galilee and entered the region of Judea beyond the Jordan, and large crowds followed him, and he healed them there.
SPEAKER_00: And Pharisees came up to him and tested him by asking, Is it lawful to divorce one's wife for any cause?
SPEAKER_00: He answered, Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female?
SPEAKER_00: And said, Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh?
SPEAKER_00: So they are no longer two but one.
SPEAKER_00: What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.
SPEAKER_00: They said to him, Why then did Moses command one to give a certificate of divorce and to send her away?
SPEAKER_00: He said to them, Because of your hardness of heart, Moses allowed you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so.
SPEAKER_00: And I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery.
SPEAKER_00: Thus ends the reading of God's word.
SPEAKER_00: This morning, there are a couple things that I wanted to say before I even go into my notes, and that is, first of all, uh I am going to stick closer to my manuscript than I usually do.
SPEAKER_00: Uh so if it comes across a little bit more uh teaching, um, that's the reason why.
SPEAKER_00: And then secondly, um even though I know it's early now, um, there is a lot that I want to say this morning.
SPEAKER_00: And so uh, if you will indulge me if I do go over our time, I do think it's important that we go through uh the entire passage and related issues.
SPEAKER_00: I will try not to, uh, but if I do, uh please uh bear with me a few extra moments.
SPEAKER_00: This morning we're delving into a very personal and very controversial topic.
SPEAKER_00: I know here that this morning there are many who've been touched by this issue of divorce, and the hurt, pain, and emotions run deep.
SPEAKER_00: I also know that there are many differences of opinion on this issue, and I want to be respectful of those interpretations of Scripture while sharing what I believe the text of the Bible is teaching on this issue.
SPEAKER_00: It's not my intention to water down God's word, what God's word says, in light of the prevalence of divorce in our culture and even within the church.
SPEAKER_00: My desire is to study the text and allow that to guide and govern our understanding of the issue.
SPEAKER_00: Also, it's not my intention to add requirements or restrictions beyond what the Bible teaches on this topic.
SPEAKER_00: There is no virtue going beyond what the Bible says and adding rules and regulations to appear more spiritual or holy.
SPEAKER_00: Also, please be careful to understand that what we talk about this morning in no way sanctions, encourages, authorizes, advises, or promotes ending any marriage.
SPEAKER_00: It is my heartfelt conviction that God intends every marriage to be for life, and that was his intention from the beginning when he created the institution of marriage.
SPEAKER_00: I also know that many here today have experienced a failed marriage or have seen that happen in their family or close friends.
SPEAKER_00: And I do not want to add to the pain and heartache of that traumatic experience.
SPEAKER_00: If, as what you hear today, what you hear said today, you discover that your divorce was not on biblical grounds, God is graciously calling you to repentance, to repent of that sin that you have committed and experience God's forgiveness and acceptance into fellowship with Him and within the life of the church.
SPEAKER_00: If you've been sinned against and through no desire of your own have been divorced, I pray that God will bring you comfort and encouragement through his word.
SPEAKER_00: Before we even delve into the passage, I also want to share with you some of my principles of interpreting these passages of Scripture and what guide my understanding of what the Bible says on the issue of divorce.
SPEAKER_00: First of all, I believe that the Bible is God's inerrant word so that there are no contradictions.
SPEAKER_00: The Holy Spirit guided every author within the Bible so that what he wrote, even though his own uh it's in through the personality of the human author and his writing style, it is the very exact words that God wanted communicated.
SPEAKER_00: We must also understand the grammar, syntax, and historic setting as we understand what Jesus is saying.
SPEAKER_00: Having said that, the plain, straightforward understanding is the correct interpretation unless there's compelling reason to reject it and move in another direction.
SPEAKER_00: That being said, we must interpret the Bible, particularly the gospels, in a way that harmonizes the teaching of the Lord.
SPEAKER_00: We should not pit one passage against another as if there is a conflict.
SPEAKER_00: Rightly understood, they agree with one another, and collectively they teach the full understanding of an issue.
SPEAKER_00: Having said that, the question arises: are the shorter passages normative?
SPEAKER_00: And must we find therefore another explanation for the fuller teachings, or is it the other way around?
SPEAKER_00: And it's my conviction that more detailed andor longer passages of Scripture explain and expand on shorter passages.
SPEAKER_00: This is an important consideration because Jesus says more in Matthew's Gospel on this issue than he does in the Gospel of Mark and Luke.
SPEAKER_00: In other situations, the fuller teaching informs us of things that the other writer may not have included or may not have had in view.
SPEAKER_00: For instance, and let me give you some examples outside of this issue before us today.
SPEAKER_00: In Matthew chapter 6, verses 9 through 13, we find a full account of the Lord's Prayer.
SPEAKER_00: In Luke chapter 11, verses 2 through 4, we find an abbreviated version the Lord gives on another occasion.
SPEAKER_00: These are not in conflict, and the longer passage expands and adds to what Jesus says in the shorter one.
SPEAKER_00: Another example in a different context, in Matthew chapter 8, verse 28, the Bible says that Jesus was approached by two demon-possessed men as he traveled through the garden, through the country of the Gadereans.
SPEAKER_00: Mark chapter 5, verse 2 only mentions one man who was demon-possessed and talked to Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: Are these passages in conflict?
SPEAKER_00: No.
SPEAKER_00: Is one of them incorrect?
SPEAKER_00: No.
SPEAKER_00: Matthew gives the fuller account telling us that there were two, and Mark reveals that only one of the two speaks and interacts with Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: Another example can be found at the end of Matthew's gospel.
SPEAKER_00: In Matthew 28:1, we are told that two women went to Jesus' tomb on the first day of the week.
SPEAKER_00: But in Mark 16, 1, he mentions three women who went to the tomb.
SPEAKER_00: So the question is, was it two women or was it three?
SPEAKER_00: It was three women, but Matthew in his gospel only mentions two of them.
SPEAKER_00: Doing that does not preclude the fuller revelation of Mark or contradict it.
SPEAKER_00: And let me give you a personal example.
SPEAKER_00: If I were to share with somebody and we were talking about my daughter Grace and how is she doing, and I said, Well, you know, last night we put up the tent downstairs and Grace slept downstairs in the tent and we had a camp out in our basement.
SPEAKER_00: And then a few minutes later you overheard me talking with somebody else, and they said, Oh, well, what did your kids do last night?
SPEAKER_00: And I said, Oh, well, Grace and Alex were downstairs and they and they camped out.
SPEAKER_00: Now, you might think to yourself, was that a contradiction?
SPEAKER_00: But upon further reflection, you would say, no, that wasn't a contradiction.
SPEAKER_00: Only mentioning one child at one point does not preclude a fuller explanation of that story at another time and another point.
SPEAKER_00: Why belabor this point?
SPEAKER_00: Because many people say that we must take the shorter passages of Mark and Luke and find another explanation for the words of Jesus in Matthew's gospel.
SPEAKER_00: Mark and Luke's gospel in no way contradicts Matthew, and I believe, rightly understood, they are in harmony saying the same thing on the issues that they address.
SPEAKER_00: Although other passages touch on the issue, there are five main passages in the New Testament that deal with the issue of marriage and divorce, and they are these.
SPEAKER_00: Matthew chapter 5, verses 31 and 32, Matthew chapter 19, verses 3 through 9, the passage in view this morning.
SPEAKER_00: Mark chapter 10 verses 3 through 12.
SPEAKER_00: And then Luke chapter 16, verse 18, the other passage that I read this morning.
SPEAKER_00: And 1 Corinthians chapter 7, verses 10 through 16, the passage that we will deal with and examine next week to see how it fits with what we have seen this morning.
SPEAKER_00: And so this morning we're going to look at what Jesus is teaching in the Gospels, and next Sunday we'll see how Paul's comments fit within the larger context of this issue.
SPEAKER_00: So we will be basing our study primarily on Matthew chapter 19, verses 3 through 9, because it is parallel in teaching to Mark, and it brings in all of the issues under consideration in Luke and in the earlier passage and addresses some issues that aren't addressed elsewhere, namely the issue of remarriage in some circumstances or a circumstance of divorce.
SPEAKER_00: And so turn with me, we'll begin looking then at Matthew chapter 19 and beginning in verse 3, the passage that I read earlier.
SPEAKER_00: And the first thing that we note in chapter 19, verses 3 through 6 is the perfect standard for marriage.
SPEAKER_00: And this is really what we talked about last week.
SPEAKER_00: The Pharisees ask an inappropriate question.
SPEAKER_00: The Pharisees came to Jesus desiring to test him.
SPEAKER_00: They wanted to give a controversial issue, and most likely they were trying to justify their own sinful practices.
SPEAKER_00: And so we see in verse 3, they asked this question: Is it lawful to divorce one's wife for any cause?
SPEAKER_00: In Jesus' day, there were two schools of thought regarding divorce by different rabbis.
SPEAKER_00: One rabbi, the school of thought, following Rabbi Shemai, took a more conservative view.
SPEAKER_00: He saw the passage from Moses where Moses makes a concession for divorce, and he saw that there was one acceptable reason, which was unchastity of behavior short of adultery.
SPEAKER_00: And so that was the reason that Rabbi Shemmai gave for divorce.
SPEAKER_00: The other rabbinic school in Jesus' day was led by Rabbi Hillel.
SPEAKER_00: And he was a religious liberal that held that a man could divorce his wife for any reason whatsoever.
SPEAKER_00: In fact, let me share with you a few of the reasons that he gave that were justifiable grounds for divorce, according to this liberal school of thought by Rabbi Hillel.
SPEAKER_00: He said some of the examples, some of the reasons that a man could divorce his wife, if she spoiled his dinner by adding too much salt.
SPEAKER_00: If she were seen in public with her head uncovered, if she talked with other men on the street, if she spoke disrespectfully to her husband's parents.
SPEAKER_00: But ultimately we're going to see that both schools misunderstand what Moses taught in Deuteronomy chapter 24, verses 1 through 4.
SPEAKER_00: Well, Jesus here answers their question and he gives them an emphatic answer.
SPEAKER_00: And so look at what Jesus says in the following verses.
SPEAKER_00: He answers them, Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female?
SPEAKER_00: And said, Therefore, a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.
SPEAKER_00: So they are no longer two, but one flesh, which therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.
SPEAKER_00: And so if you weren't here last week, or if you would like to review what was said on this portion of the passage, I do want to encourage you to go online and listen to that message again in its entirety, or if you don't have access to the internet, you may purchase a copy at the information desk following the service.
SPEAKER_00: But let me just highlight what we talked about last time and what Jesus says here in no uncertain terms regarding God's intention for the marriage union.
SPEAKER_00: And Jesus here says that from the beginning of creation, God's design for marriage is one man and one woman for life.
SPEAKER_00: That God's design and his intention for this marriage relationship is that a man and a woman would come together in a covenant relationship of marriage, pledging themselves to one another, and that relationship would be for life.
SPEAKER_00: God's intention, therefore, for marriage is that it is to be indissoluble and permanent, a permanent relationship as one flesh.
SPEAKER_00: And so from the creation, God's design intention for marriage is that it be permanent and not be dissolved, and that they be one flesh.
SPEAKER_00: And we also saw last time, and we spent a great bit of time talking about this last time, is that marriage is a covenant relationship before God, and ultimately it is God who has joined the two people together.
SPEAKER_00: And Jesus again emphatically tells us that this is not merely a human institution that we can decide and define on our own, but that God is the one who has joined these two people together, God is the one who has designed the marriage relationship, and that it is to be a covenant relationship before God, pledging each person to the other for the other's good, for life.
SPEAKER_00: And so this is the context where Jesus addresses this answer by talking about the reality of the perfect standard for marriage.
SPEAKER_00: This is God's intention for marriage.
SPEAKER_00: But now there's a question that is asked.
SPEAKER_00: A question that is asked by these Pharisees who are trying to trap Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: They say to him, why then did Moses command one to give a certificate of divorce and to send her away?
SPEAKER_00: Now notice the phrasing of this question.
SPEAKER_00: This is a second inappropriate question that they ask here.
SPEAKER_00: They're distorting what Moses said in Deuteronomy.
SPEAKER_00: And keep in mind here, and this is important to our understanding, the context of what Jesus is saying here is in addressing the questions that they ask in regards to this passage in Deuteronomy chapter 24.
SPEAKER_00: And so they're asking him, and they're saying, well, Moses commanded them, uh, commanded one to give a certificate of divorce and to send her away.
SPEAKER_00: And the implication here is there are some circumstances in which there is an imperative that the husband must send away the wife under certain circumstances.
SPEAKER_00: And that is what they're asking.
SPEAKER_00: But then he says to them, um So they're saying this.
SPEAKER_00: They said to him, Why did Moses command?
SPEAKER_00: And Jesus answers them, and he says, Because of your hardness of heart, Moses allowed you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so.
SPEAKER_00: So Moses never commanded divorce, um, is what Jesus says here.
SPEAKER_00: I want to show you another parallel passage just to address a question that may come up if you're comparing the passages uh together.
SPEAKER_00: If you look at Mark chapter 10 for a moment, and let me just draw your attention because it may seem like there's a contradiction in the text.
SPEAKER_00: There isn't, but it may seem so on a surface reading of the text.
SPEAKER_00: And so I want to draw your attention to it uh now uh in case you go back later and compare these various passages of Scripture.
SPEAKER_00: So in Mark chapter 10, uh we have the conversation and clearly uh representative of a longer conversation that's here, uh, but we see this interchange that is going on between Jesus and the Pharisees, and the Pharisees uh ask, is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?
SPEAKER_00: And Jesus answers him, verse 3, What did Moses command you?
SPEAKER_00: And so it may look on the surface that Jesus is saying here the same thing that Jesus is challenging them in Matthew's gospel, but a closer reading of this passage reveals that that isn't the case.
SPEAKER_00: If you notice, if you keep your finger here and you notice what Jesus says in Matthew's gospel, Matthew, the the Pharisees ask, why did Moses command one to give a certificate of divorce and to send her away?
SPEAKER_00: And so the Pharisees are asking, Jesus, what is your interpretation of Deuteronomy chapter 24, verses 1 through 4?
SPEAKER_00: Now, Jesus, on the other hand, when they bring up this issue, what Jesus asks is a more general question.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus asks, what did Moses command you?
SPEAKER_00: And we need to keep in mind that Moses wrote the first five books of the Old Testament called the Pentateuch.
SPEAKER_00: And what Jesus is asking is not particularly what did Moses write in Deuteronomy chapter 24, but what is the whole of Moses' teaching on the issue of marriage in his writing, beginning in Genesis chapter 1, and particularly, I believe, Genesis chapter 2 in view.
SPEAKER_00: And so what Jesus is drawing their attention to is not just this one passage of Scripture, but the whole body of writing that Moses gave, including the original institution of marriage to Adam and Eve, found in the book of Genesis, chapter 2.
SPEAKER_00: And so there isn't a conflict here between what the Pharisees say and what Jesus says.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus is pointing out a broader issue.
SPEAKER_00: The Pharisees here in Matthew's account of this are addressing a particular question, namely, why did Moses command a certificate of divorce and to send the person away.
SPEAKER_00: And so there is a difference here in what Jesus says and what the Pharisees say, and so there is no conflict in how Jesus addresses this question found in Matthew.
SPEAKER_00: What they're asking is the question of Moses commanding divorce.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus is answering the question of what does Moses as a whole say.
SPEAKER_00: Now, this is going to be important for us understanding what Jesus says and our interpretation of Jesus' answer here.
SPEAKER_00: And this is something that's that is often overlooked.
SPEAKER_00: I already read at the beginning Luke's passage, Luke chapter 16, verse 18.
SPEAKER_00: If we were to look again at that Mark passage, we notice that it is in the same context as our Matthew passage.
SPEAKER_00: And the question is in regards to the book of Deuteronomy, in particular, what is Moses saying in regards to marriage and divorce?
SPEAKER_00: And so Jesus says in Mark's gospel, Moses allowed them, or they answered Jesus, Moses allowed a man to write a certificate of divorce and to send her away.
SPEAKER_00: And Jesus says, because of your hardness of heart, he wrote this commandment.
SPEAKER_00: But from the beginning of creation, God made them male and female.
SPEAKER_00: And so Jesus in Mark is addressing the question of Deuteronomy.
SPEAKER_00: We see also, if you turn to Matthew chapter 5, verses 31 and 32, that there is a contrast that we have here.
SPEAKER_00: Matthew chapter 5, verses 31 and 32.
SPEAKER_00: Now keep in mind in Matthew chapter 5, this is the Sermon on the Mount.
SPEAKER_00: And Jesus is addressing the concept or the misapplication of some Old Testament ideas, and then he is giving a corrective of those ideas.
SPEAKER_00: And we see that in this pattern is followed through of you have heard it was said, you have heard it was said, and he goes through, and they had their misunderstandings of certain ideas and teachings in the Old Testament.
SPEAKER_00: And Jesus now gives a corrective and he adds greater force to God's ultimate intention in each one of these areas.
SPEAKER_00: So if you were to read through chapter 5, you would see this pattern over and over again in these different areas.
SPEAKER_00: And if you have a Bible that gives dividers, you can see anger in verse 21.
SPEAKER_00: You have heard that it was said to those of old.
SPEAKER_00: Verse 27, you have heard that it was said.
SPEAKER_00: Verse 31, it was also said.
SPEAKER_00: Verse 33, again you have heard that it was said.
SPEAKER_00: Verse 38, but you have heard that it was said.
SPEAKER_00: And verse 43, you have heard that it was said.
SPEAKER_00: And Jesus then gives their understanding of an Old Testament concept.
SPEAKER_00: This is not saying necessarily this is what the Old Testament taught, but he was addressing their perception and their understanding of what the Old Testament taught.
SPEAKER_00: And so Jesus again here brings up this Deuteronomy 24, 1 through 4 passage.
SPEAKER_00: It was also said, whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce, but I say to you that everyone who divorces his wife, except on the grounds of sexual immorality, makes her commit adultery, and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.
SPEAKER_00: And so in three passages here, in this passage in Matthew, in the Matthew 19 passage, and in the Mark passage, what is in view is the understanding of Deuteronomy chapter 24, verses 1 through 4.
SPEAKER_00: And so if we're going to understand what Jesus is saying here, let's turn to the Deuteronomy.
SPEAKER_00: You may have already been flipping back there.
SPEAKER_00: And let's look at what is actually said in this passage that Jesus is addressing.
SPEAKER_00: In Deuteronomy, chapter 24, verses 1 through 4.
SPEAKER_00: And I'll make a couple observations on it, and then we will tie it together with what Jesus says.
SPEAKER_00: In Deuteronomy 24, it says, When a man takes a wife and marries her, if then 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 of the house and she departs out of his house.
SPEAKER_00: And, verse 2, if she goes and becomes another man's wife, and the latter man hates 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 man dies, who took her to be his wife, then her former husband who sent her away may not take her again to be his wife after she has been defiled.
SPEAKER_00: For that is an abomination before the Lord, and you shall not bring sin upon the land that the Lord your God is giving you for an inheritance.
SPEAKER_00: And so this is the Old Testament passage, and let me make a few observations here.
SPEAKER_00: Notice, first of all, that Moses is dealing with a specific issue.
SPEAKER_00: The question in view is this May a woman who is divorced and has remarried go back to her former husband if her present husband divorces her or dies?
SPEAKER_00: So that is the context.
SPEAKER_00: That's the question that Moses is answering.
SPEAKER_00: Secondly, notice that Moses is not commanding or advocating divorce in any way.
SPEAKER_00: Divorce was practiced during the time of Moses.
SPEAKER_00: It was a practical reality, and Moses is dealing with the particular question in regards to that.
SPEAKER_00: So that we can see that divorce was not mandated or commanded, it was not encouraged or authorized, it was not advised or sanctioned.
SPEAKER_00: In fact, it is clear that divorce was a concession and it was tolerated or permitted.
SPEAKER_00: One author notes this he says, we must distinguish between suffrage and tolerance on the one hand and divine approval or sanction on the other.
SPEAKER_00: Permission, suffrage, tolerance was granted.
SPEAKER_00: But underlying the very notion is the idea of wrong.
SPEAKER_00: We do not properly speak of toleration or sufferance granted or conceded in connection with what is intrinsically right or desirable.
SPEAKER_00: And then this author concludes, when we say that divorce is intrinsically wrong, it's not just in the specific circumstances of divorce, but he goes on, but in the very act of divorce itself, there is an intrinsic wrong not compatible with the absolute standard of right.
SPEAKER_00: And so divorce is granted, if you notice the passage, uh, for some indecency, it says in verse 1.
SPEAKER_00: Literally, uh it says the nakedness of a thing.
SPEAKER_00: And we know, and we can know with certainty, that whatever is in view here, it is not adultery.
SPEAKER_00: And we can know that with 100% uncertainty, because the Old Testament uh gives the punishment of death for cases of adultery.
SPEAKER_00: In Leviticus chapter 20, verse 10, in Deuteronomy 22, 22, uh, chapter 22, 23 through 27.
SPEAKER_00: So in the case of adultery, uh the guilty party was put to death, and the innocent party in that relationship was therefore freed to remarry because her former or his former spouse uh was uh put to death.
SPEAKER_00: We also know that the Mosaic law had provisions for other types of uh of sexual immorality uh that uh that the that give a remedy other than divorce.
SPEAKER_00: In the Mosaic law, there's other provisions.
SPEAKER_00: For instance, for a woman accused of adultery without enough evidence.
SPEAKER_00: Uh in Numbers chapter 5, verses 11 and following, uh there's there is uh uh uh direction on what to do in those circumstances.
SPEAKER_00: Or if a newlywed is charged with uncleanness, in Deuteronomy chapter 22, verses 13 through 21, that issue is addressed.
SPEAKER_00: If a woman is unclean during her betrothal period, uh there is provision for that circumstance in Deuteronomy 22, verses 23 and 24.
SPEAKER_00: If a woman is forced against her will, if she is raped, there is a provision for that, she is not guilty, and the man is dealt with Deuteronomy 22, 25 through 27.
SPEAKER_00: And if a woman and a man uh commit uh premarital sex, there is a uh a dealing with that in Deuteronomy 22 as well, verses 28 and 29.
SPEAKER_00: And so as uh as uh author and theologian John Murray comments, he said, we conclude that this indecency is not an act of sexual uncleanness uh in any of the views of what is mentioned, uh what I mentioned previously.
SPEAKER_00: We must suppose something shameful or offensive that gives the husband some legitimate ground for displeasure and complaint.
SPEAKER_00: And so there was something there that was an indecency whereby uh divorce was uh suffered or permitted, uh, but it wasn't in any of these contexts that the Old Testament made different provisions, not the provision of divorce.
SPEAKER_00: And notice Moses' uh answer to this question, the question that's in view.
SPEAKER_00: Uh may that woman who has been divorced, has been remarried, and her her present husband divorces her or he dies, may she go back to her former husband.
SPEAKER_00: And the answer to that that Moses gives is no, uh that her former husband who sent her away may not take her again to be his wife after she has been defiled, for this that is an abomination before the Lord.
SPEAKER_00: And so there is some type of defilement that occurs that does not allow the woman to go back to her previous husband if her present husband divorces her, or if he dies.
SPEAKER_00: And so in the gospel accounts, Jesus is addressing this question about what Moses says, and what Jesus answers is that uh Jesus ends any and every reason that they might have had or they might have understood to be Moses' concession allowing divorce.
SPEAKER_00: Uh that there was a concession that Moses gave, and that uh under the circumstances of some indecency, which that is what they interpreted, were grounds for divorce, Jesus ends any and every reason that they might give for divorce based on an interpretation of Deuteronomy 24, 1 through 4.
SPEAKER_00: And so, rightly understood, Jesus rejects both schools of thought, both the school of Shemai, who said it was for some sexual indecency, but the Old Testament had other provisions for those, and he rejects uh Hillel's liberal school, and we saw that by what he says in regards to marriage proper.
SPEAKER_00: And so both uh schools of thought stand as incorrect.
SPEAKER_00: But then how do we deal with verse 9?
SPEAKER_00: Because it seems that Jesus gives an exemption for the case of adultery.
SPEAKER_00: And so let me address that.
SPEAKER_00: Having fully excluded any reason conceded previously under Moses, and this is what Matthew chapter 5, Matthew chapter 19, and Mark chapter 10 have in view, that he excludes any reason that they might have based on that on that passage of Scripture and that interpretation.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus here allows for one circumstance where a person is permitted divorce and remarriage without committing adultery.
SPEAKER_00: And that would be the straightforward understanding of what he says in verse 9.
SPEAKER_00: And I believe the passage is straightforward.
SPEAKER_00: Every reason for divorce, save one, uh any reason that they might have given based on Deuteronomy is closed, and then Jesus gives one uh permissible circumstance in which uh divorce and remarriage uh is allowed.
SPEAKER_00: And so this passage uh says every reason for divorce uh based on that Deuteronomy passage is closed, uh, but he gives this one exception, and he says, except for sexual immorality and marries another, uh, commits adultery.
SPEAKER_00: Because God does not recognize divorce uh in any other circumstance that they might have based it on, that means that any divorce that was given based on this interpretation of Deuteronomy is illegitimate.
SPEAKER_00: And therefore, a person who uh is divorced on unbiblical grounds, uh that is an illegitimate divorce.
SPEAKER_00: And so when that person enters into a second marriage, at that moment they enter into that second marriage and consummate their marriage, they are guilty of violating their vows of their first marriage and they become an adulterer.
SPEAKER_00: In fact, that's in view in Matthew chapter 5.
SPEAKER_00: Uh in Matthew chapter 5, 31 and 32, uh Jesus is saying that uh if a man divorces his wife and he sends her away, and it's for illegitimate reasons, um, and that woman uh he makes her, he puts her in a situation that when she gets remarried, at the moment that she is remarried, she has committed adultery, and whoever marries that woman in those circumstances uh also commits adultery.
SPEAKER_00: And so in Matthew chapter 5, 32, Jesus is dealing with that.
SPEAKER_00: But Jesus recognizes that sexual immorality, which is adultery, so violates the marriage covenant that the innocent party is permitted to divorce and has the freedom to remarry without committing adultery.
SPEAKER_00: Now, please understand me at this point.
SPEAKER_00: This is in no this in no way means that this should be the first course of action in the case of sexual immorality within marriage.
SPEAKER_00: As much as possible, God wants us to seek reconciliation.
SPEAKER_00: However, if that is not possible, then from what Jesus says here, uh divorce is permitted, and with that divorce, uh remarriage is allowed.
SPEAKER_00: In the divorce, the marriage relationship is dissolved and the innocent party is released from all obligations of that marriage and is permitted to remarry.
SPEAKER_00: But we have to recognize that the scripture remains silent on the situation of the guilty party, and the guilty party should have no assurance that there is sanction or confidence that God is blessing their new relationship, and there is a call for those who've entered into the relationship to recognize the sin, to repent of that, and to come to God for forgiveness and restoration.
SPEAKER_00: Notice what Jesus says here, though.
SPEAKER_00: Divorce occurs because of the hardness of hearts.
SPEAKER_00: So divorce involves sin by at least one partner.
SPEAKER_00: And that doesn't mean that each partner in the divorce is guilty of causing the divorce, or even if there is guilt, that the guilt is split equally between both of them.
SPEAKER_00: But is it possible to have a divorce without sin at some level?
SPEAKER_00: The answer to that is no.
SPEAKER_00: Clearly, Jesus says that even in the situation addressed by Moses, it was due to the hardness of the people's hearts.
SPEAKER_00: Well, let me answer two questions before we close that people might wonder.
SPEAKER_00: Why does Jesus use the more general term sexual immorality instead of the more specific term adultery when talking of the sexual sin committed?
SPEAKER_00: Notice what Jesus says here.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus says, uh, except for sexual immorality, the word there is the word uh pornea, which is uh illicit sexual contact uh including fornication.
SPEAKER_00: And why does he use a more general term rather than uh just using the term uh adultery, uh, which is a different word, uh moi, uh, in these passages?
SPEAKER_00: Well, I believe that there's a very practical reason why Jesus does that.
SPEAKER_00: And the fact is, is that we as sinners have a tendency to rationalize our sin, and it's very conceivable that if Jesus had used the more specific term for adultery, that one in his rationalization might argue that their illicit sexual relationship did not violate their marriage covenant because it was not technically sexual relations.
SPEAKER_00: And so they might say, um, as one president famously said, I did not have sexual relations with that woman, Miss Lewinsky.
SPEAKER_00: You may recall that.
SPEAKER_00: And technically he did not lie because he did not sleep with her.
SPEAKER_00: There was other illicit sexual interaction, and so I believe that Jesus here to put to rest any rationalizations that we might have in regards to sexual infidelity within the bounds of marriage, uh, Jesus uses the more general term rather than the more specific term that could be twisted uh to wrong ends.
SPEAKER_00: Well, some might also argue that isn't Jesus just talking about a very specific situation, uh, namely uh the situation that his mother and stepfather were in.
SPEAKER_00: Uh that is, that Jesus is addressing uh a situation during the betrothal period between the beginning of the engagement and the actual consummation of the marriage, and that this does not apply in the actual marriage relationship itself.
SPEAKER_00: Um and I don't believe that that understanding can stand.
SPEAKER_00: Um, and I don't believe that is what Jesus is talking about here, and there's a very specific reason why I uh I don't believe that Jesus has that in view.
SPEAKER_00: Keep in mind what we've been talking about in three of the four contexts that we've seen, Jesus is answering a question in relationship to Deuteronomy chapter 24, verses 1 through 4.
SPEAKER_00: And that is the context of Matthew chapter 5, verses 31 and 32.
SPEAKER_00: It's the context here in Matthew chapter 19, verses 3 through 9.
SPEAKER_00: It's the context in Mark chapter 10 as well.
SPEAKER_00: And so Jesus here is using the words of marriage and divorce in addressing the Pharisees, using the same language and making the same reference to the Old Testament in Deuteronomy.
SPEAKER_00: And so it would do gross violence to the text for us to say, well, in this in this particular passage, for instance, in Matthew chapter 19, up until verse 8, Jesus is talking about uh the circumstances in relationship to the question of marriage and divorce.
SPEAKER_00: But in verse 9, he changes the meaning of the word of marriage and the meaning of the word divorce without giving any indicators to his audience that he is in fact now moved to a different topic.
SPEAKER_00: And so we must understand that what he says in verse 9, and as he uses these words, they're in the larger context, both of his teaching here, as well as the question that was asked of him in Moses' uh passage in Deuteronomy chapter 24.
SPEAKER_00: Therefore, in three of the four contexts, the question is specifically the understanding of marriage and divorce in regards to the interpretation of Moses.
SPEAKER_00: The entire discussion here is regarding the intent of marriage and the application of divorce in response to Moses' teaching.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus gives absolutely no indication that he is changing the meaning of these words or that he has in view a very specific circumstance of divorce during the engagement period.
SPEAKER_00: If that were the case, Jesus being the master teacher would have given us indicators and would have given the audience to which he was talking to indicators that he was, in fact, changing the topic, and the writers of the scripture would give us indicators.
SPEAKER_00: That Jesus is in fact addressing a different issue than the issue that they asked him.
SPEAKER_00: So we must conclude that his words in verse 9 mean the same thing that they do in verses 3 through 8, and the same thing as they do in verses Deuteronomy, in Deuteronomy 24, verses 1 through 4.
SPEAKER_00: And that would apply as well in Matthew chapter 5, verses 31 and 32.
SPEAKER_00: So in conclusion, all of the passages under view, Matthew chapter 5, Matthew chapter 19, Mark chapter 10, and Luke chapter 19, all teach the same thing.
SPEAKER_00: In regards to any reasons that one might use Moses and Deuteronomy for, all four of those passages say the same thing that Jesus closes the door for any rationale for divorce based on an understanding of Deuteronomy 24, 1 through 4.
SPEAKER_00: In Matthew chapter 5 and in Matthew chapter 19, Jesus gives additional information to address a specific circumstance where he gives an allowance, an exception, in the case of sexual immorality.
SPEAKER_00: And we might note that in verse 9 of chapter 19, in Matthew 5, he only deals with the divorce proper.
SPEAKER_00: He doesn't address remarriage.
SPEAKER_00: But here in chapter 19, he does, and he says that whoever divorces his wife, now keep in mind, whoever divorces his wife for any other cause that they might have commits adultery.
SPEAKER_00: But there is an exception, and that exception is under the grounds of sexual immorality and marries another.
SPEAKER_00: And so what Jesus says here is any other cause for divorce and remarriage is adultery.
SPEAKER_00: However, in the case of sexual immorality, the divorce is permissible and the remarriage is not an instance of adultery.
SPEAKER_00: But we must not lose sight that of everything Jesus says here, Jesus, the weight of it in all of these passages is God's intention that marriage be for life.
SPEAKER_00: And it's easy for us when we delve into a question like this that we can begin to try to find all of the reasons why, but the weight of everything that Jesus says in every one of these passages is that on God's original intention that marriage be for life.
SPEAKER_00: And second, we must not see that Jesus is encouraging or mandating divorce, even in the cases of sexual immorality.
SPEAKER_00: God's desire is for the sinning partner to repent and to seek restoration, and for the innocent spouse to words to work forgiveness and full restoration in that marriage if that is possible.
SPEAKER_00: However, the Bible does teach at this point that in the case of sexual immorality, the innocent partner may divorce, that the marriage relationship is dissolved, and that that innocent party is permitted to remarry without having committed the sin of adultery.
SPEAKER_00: But that same cannot be said for the person who has violated their marriage covenant or has had a divorce under grounds that are not outlined here in Jesus' teaching.
SPEAKER_00: And so let me close this now in a word of prayer.
SPEAKER_00: Again, I know that this is a very weighty and emotional and controversial topic.
SPEAKER_00: I know that many here, maybe everyone here, has been touched by this issue.
SPEAKER_00: Um I know personally in my own family I have seen uh the situations with my own sisters, uh, all four of whom uh went through divorce.
SPEAKER_00: I saw the pain that it caused them for years and years even to this day.
SPEAKER_00: I saw the pain and the injury to their children and the scars that they have.
SPEAKER_00: And so I know that this is not an easy topic.
SPEAKER_00: Uh, it is one that uh I come with uh in weight, with a weightiness, and also I do not want to be misunderstood to be taken then in any way uh that I am encouraging uh anyone to move in that direction, uh, regardless of the circumstances that he or she may find himself or herself in.
SPEAKER_00: So let me close this in prayer.
SPEAKER_00: If you would stand and let me close this and dismiss our time together, Father, it is our heart's desire to understand what your word says, not in view of the culture to be swayed and influenced by that, not to have standards and convictions that go beyond your word, but to accurately understand what your word says, and to know that you do give us uh word to guide our lives even in the most difficult of circumstances.
SPEAKER_00: But Father, I pray for us now.
SPEAKER_00: I pray for each one here who hears this message, either uh live or uh later in recording, that they in no way take this to say that they are being encouraged to seek a divorce under any circumstances.
SPEAKER_00: And so, Father, I pray that you will impress upon our hearts of those who are married and those who are single and considering marriage, that your intent for marriage is to be one man and one woman for life, and that what you have joined together let no man separate.
SPEAKER_00: We pray these things in Christ's name.
SPEAKER_00: Amen.
SPEAKER_00: You are dismissed.