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Some Pharisees came to him to test him. They asked, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any and every reason?”
Jesus replied, “Moses permitted you to divorce your wives because your hearts were hard. But it was not this way from the beginning. I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another woman commits adultery.”
The disciples said to him, “If this is the situation between a husband and wife, it is better not to marry.” Matthew 19
The Pharisees frequently tested Jesus with tough questions and this was a really tough one. Obviously the Pharisees saw some inconsistencies in their marriage and divorce practices or they would have never asked this question.
I guess the Pharisees expected Jesus to either say… Moses had it right you can divorce your wives or Moses had it wrong you can’t divorce your wives.
What they didn’t expect Jesus to say was that if they divorced their wives (except for fornication) and married another woman then the man and the new wife were both guilt of adultery.
You see under the Law of Moses the sin of adultery was punishable by death. In other words if you divorce your wife and marry another you will both be stoned to death.
Even the disciples were shocked and exclaimed… it would be better to not even marry than to risk the possibility of the death penalty.
Jesus basically responded… well boys… marriage isn’t for everybody but if you decide to marry you better take it seriously because I sure will.
There is no example in the New Testament of anyone being killed for committing adultery. In 1 Corinthians 5 a guy had sex with his father’s wife. That was adultery and it severed his relationship with the church and with God… but he wasn’t killed.
I suspect Jesus is still dead serious about people remaining true to their marital vows. We should be serious about our vows as well. After all… it could have deadly consequences.
In Ezekiel 16 God describes in figurative language how he found the nation of Israel and made her his wife.
- he describes her as newborn baby… a neglected baby.
- he took the neglected baby and made her grow.
- she grew into a beautiful young woman and he clothed and adorned her and married her.
- but she turned into a prostitute and sacrificed her children to idols.
so he turned her over to her adulterous lovers and they used and abused her and she was ashamed and disgraced for what she did.
Jesus uses similar language about his wife the church in Ephesians 6… she was unclean and blemished, spotted and wrinkled but Jesus loved her just like God loved his wife Israel.
- Jesus gave himself up for her because he loved her.
- He set her apart as his one true bride and cleaned her up with his word.
- She like Israel was “glorious” and without any defect.
- He continually cherished her and nourished her and he was “one” with her.
But like God’s wife Israel some of Jesus’ people rebelled against him and…
- left their first love (Rev 2:4)
- left the teachings of Jesus and followed after others (Rev 2:15)
- became followers of Jezebel and her teachings of fornication (Rev 2:20)
Jesus warned them if they didn’t repent they could no longer be his wife. (Rev 2:5)
He portrayed himself as having eyes like fire and a loud angry voice and a sharp sword coming out of his mouth. (Rev 1:13-17)
Don’t forget when we were lost in sin and Jesus cleaned us with his very own blood and gave us the great honor and privilege to be his wife.
Don’t forget that he won’t tolerate adultery against him and allow us to be abused by the demons we might find so attractive.
Remember how handsome and loving Jesus Christ is and don’t take your eye off of him… or things could be bad… very bad.
The New testament reveals that Jesus had some people that he cared about more than others. For instance… Mary, Martha and Lazarus. Mary told Jesus “the one that you love” is sick. Jesus didn’t correct her so i assume that she hit the nail on the head. The Apostle John referred to himself in the third person in his Gospel as the one who Jesus loved. Jesus certainly showed that he favored John.
What a great feeling that must have been to know and understand that even though Jesus loved all that there were some that he loved more. And what it must be like to be that guy/gal.
It makes me wonder if from his seat in Heaven today if there are some that he just likes to watch a little bit more because of his love for them. And what it might take to be that guy/gal.
I also wonder if at the end of time when all the saved are gathered together and after the newness of it wears off a little bit if Jesus would find a few that he liked to hang out with. Some like Lazarus or the Apostle John who he had some special feelings for.
Even if I am not that guy it’s okay… I still get to be in his presence and that’s enough.
I learn a little bit about myself from time to time. Recently I had a surgical procedure and kept it kind of quiet. Like a need to know basis… my kids, my office and some Volleyball players who wanted me to play in a tournament with them.
I didn’t ask for a bunch of prayers because first of all I have a lot of confidence in the surgeon and the anesthesiologist. Plus, I have a lot of confidence in God. The morning of the surgery I prayed to him and requested that I live a long life with my wife surrounded by my kids and my grand kids. I know he heard me.
Logically, I know that probably I am not God’s favorite son but I do feel like I might be his favorite… its possible… maybe not probable but possible. After all he has blest me and blest me and there is no other explanation except that he must like me.
So, for me, it felt a little bit like an insult to Him that I would beg for the prayers of others when I know that he is watching me and listening to me. I hope you understand that.
When I was in recovery and in some pain my first thought was about Julie and I felt the emotions well up in me. In fact I told the nurse… I think I’m going to cry. Every time I thought about Julie I felt emotional until finally I did some sobbing. Julie told me later that the nurses said “He’s asking for you”.
Totally surprising to me… I had not anticipated that.
I guess that thing about the two shall become one flesh must be true. Neither one of us is perfect and in fact we annoy each other from time to time but we have learned that those feelings are of little consequence compared to the deep love we have for each other. And I guess I understand that a little bit better when I sat in a recovery room with pain and only a stranger who had no idea who I was to keep me company instead of the love of my life.
Sometimes I think she understands me better than I understand myself.
Like I said… sometimes I discover things about myself and that makes me appreciate my friend and Father all the more.
Luke 13:6-9, contains the story of the fig tree that didn’t have any fruit on it. The master wanted to cut it down put the gardener wanted to fertilize it first and see if that would do any good.
I made the point to my Bible class that God wasn’t interested in trees that just looked good. You know stately tress with a lot of beautiful foliage. God wants trees that produce a fruit. He’s fruit oriented.
One of my students asked a good question. He said what about the young Christian who is just a sapling and needs to learn his Bible better to become more productive?
That’s a great question but its based on a faulty premise. The premise that you have to be Bible experts to produce fruit. You see… you don’t have to be a great biblical genius or a spiritual brainiac to produce the kind of fruit that God wants. You just have to live according to biblical principles and let your light shine.
The example I gave was of the newest christian at Parkway baptized just a few weeks ago. Her husband has since been baptized and the last two Sundays she has had several family and friends in attendance. She is not the little Einstein of Bible knowledge… yet. But she knows enough and is spiritually smart enough to be productive. You see… her family asked her what she wanted for her birthday and she said I would like you to go to church services with me. Smart… very smart. But wait! They were at services the next Sunday too! I asked her… is it still your birthday?!?
Let’s make some Figs.
In Luke 12 Jesus tells a parable about being ready for when the Son of Man comes. Then in verse 41 Peter asks a great question…
“Lord are you telling this parable for us or for all?”
That’s a question we should always ask ourselves while reading the scriptures… for instance, are all christians supposed to sell all of our goods or was that specifically for a few? Were all christians supposed to go to all the earth (the great commission) or just some specific individuals? Like I said it was a great question.
It was a simple question and could have been answered simply. Yes Peter just for you disciples or no Peter to all the multitude. It was a simple question.
Jesus, however, didn’t give simple answers. Instead he told another parable. In that situation I, for instance, might have been a little frustrated and thought… can you just answer my question plainly and succinctly?
Let me suggest that Jesus answering with a parable was by design. It was designed to stimulate Peter’s brain and make him think because if you just give answers then you will always be answering. But if you can make someone think they can come up with their own answers.
Kind of like if you feed a guy a fish every day you will always be doing that but if you teach him to fish then he can feed himself and more importantly he can teach others how to fish.
So in short what was Jesus’ answer? In verse 48… “Everyone to whom much was given (the disciples), of him much will be required. And from whom they entrusted much (the disciples), they will demand the more”
I’m sure Peter went home and thought and thought about Jesus’ answer and was better off for the process and was prepared for when the Son of Man might come… even if the Son of Man came unexpectedly because the Son of Man had entrusted him much and Peter knew that much was expected of him.
So the next time someone asks you a question… consider, like Jesus, answering with a parable. That will exercise your brain too.
In Luke 12:1, Jesus told his disciples… “Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees which is hypocrisy”
In the preceding verses Jesus had illustrated some characteristics of the Pharisees… they liked to look good on the outside but inwardly were rotten, they were over zealous for the relatively minor points of the law but neglected the major points and they loved attention.
A friend of mine told me that she used to attend one of the mega churches locally but quit attending because the leaders acted one way during the assembly but behaved the opposite way outside the assembly.
Instead of assembling with fellow christians my friend now prefers just to listen to preachers on the radio.
This particular church my friend attended (in her opinion) was like the Pharisees… it looked good on the outside but with closer inspection was … rotten.
Hence Jesus’ warning to his disciples who were the future leaders of his people. Sometimes leaders and preachers are affected by their position of prominence and the adulation that accompanies and let it go to their heads… please don’t.
I asked my Bible class how you might recognize Pharisee-like leaders today. They said those who liked to look good on the outside, those who liked to sit in the best seats, those who loved attention and those who neglected kindness, love and compassion.
That certainly fits the text but another way to tell is if people leave the congregation because of the rottenness of hypocrisy.
An old adage is that congregations will never rise above the level of its leadership. If true, and I suspect it is, fellow leaders let’s see how high we can set that bar.
