"When Jesus had finished these words, He departed from Galilee and came into the region of Judea beyond the Jordan; 2 and large crowds followed Him, and He healed them there.
Genesis 1:27-28 says, " God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. God blessed them; and God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that moves on the earth."
While I certainly make no claim to being a biologist, it would appear clear to me, that two human beings, of the same gender cannot "Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth." I say this with the utmost love, this is not intended in any way to be hate speech! What I cannot do, is force God’s Word to affirm sin and sexual immorality, in any form in which it presents itself! And, unless our society repents and returns to God, it is inevitable that it will ultimately collapse. A society built on shifting sand cannot stand against the test of time, history has proven that reality to be true. Only a kingdom built upon God’s Word will stand forever.
I want to thank all of you, for hanging in there in our study in the Gospel of Matthew. I realize we've been addressing some heavy topics such as rebuking sin and forgiving others. I wish that I were able to tell you that today's message would be any better, but I can't. Today, we'll be addressing the topic of divorce. A subject that has affected nearly all of us in some way. Many of us have friends and family who are divorced, some of us come from divorced parents, and some of us are divorced ourselves. Because this is such an important, heavy topic, this passage is going to be the topic of our study for the next several messages. I do not feel that we can simply gloss over it and move on. I trust that you will continue to hang in there with me as we study this profound teaching from our Lord.
Let us pray
Some Pharisees came to Jesus, testing Him and asking, "Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any reason at all?” And He answered and said, “Have you not read that He who created them from the beginning made them male and female, and said, ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? So they are no longer two, but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let no man separate."
Jesus’ predicted time and again that He must go to Jerusalem to suffer, that journey actually begins here in this passage.Let's look at verses 1 and 2, "When Jesus had finished these words, He departed from Galilee and came into the region of Judea beyond the Jordan; and large crowds followed Him, and He healed them there."
After Jesus finished teaching in the region of Galilee, He began moving into the region of Judea, on His way to Jerusalem for His arrest, trial, and crucifixion. As with most places that Jesus shows up, large crowds are sure to follow. Notice Jesus was willing to take time to heal them. These first two verses very significantly mark a transition in the life of our Lord. It marks the end of His Galilean ministry. They had their opportunity, they rejected Him and tried to kill Him. Now, He leaves Galilee, and heads south to Judah, a more populated area, where Jerusalem is. This is important because, rather than going straight down to Judah He goes east, down the eastern back side of the Jordan River, goes into the area that is known as Perea, an area that is called by the Jews "the beyond," because it was beyond the Jordan, where many Jews that had taken up residency. A territory under the control of Herod Antipas, who had John the Baptist beheaded. Even as Jesus would move towards the cross of His crucifixion, He is consumed with the needs of people.
As I look at the church today, speaking of those who proclaim to "follow Jesus," I have to wonder how closely they're following Jesus, as I notice them pass by or look the other way from people who are in obvious need of help, those who are "just beyond" the church and outside our comfort zone. People who, we may be the only example of Jesus Christ they may ever see. How poorly some Christians represent Him. God calls us to have the character and likeness of Christ, that the unbelieving would see Christ in us, we do this by living a life that is acceptable to God. By living a sinful life, we are affirming all the negative perceptions that people have about Christians. A Christian living out Christian values results in drawing people to Christ, rather than turning them away from Him. Beloved, as authentic followers of Christ, we have to be willing to raise the standard.
Verse 3, "Some Pharisees came to Jesus, testing Him and asking, "Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any reason at all?"
While this may sound like an innocent enough question, the Pharisees wouldn't leave Him alone, they are testing Him, because they wanted to do everything they could to trap Him, as they continued to plot to take His life. So, it's important that you understand the purpose behind their question, is they wanted him to fail the test. Divorce was a volatile issue among the Jews. There had been a rabbinical feud between Rabbi Shammai and Rabbi Hillel, who held a more liberal view, the dominant popular view that you can divorce your wife for literally any reason. Though Rabbi Hillel had died twenty years before Christ's ministry, his influential teaching was still the popular, dominant view.
Needless to say, is was that popular view that the Pharisees taught. I won't belabor the point, it is sufficient enough to say that you could divorce your wife for any reason. United in their hatred of Him, this was a loaded question. They knew Jesus that didn’t teach this view from His discourse in Matthew chapter 5, in which He said, "You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery’; but I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart." And in verses 31-32, He said "It was said, ‘Whoever sends his wife away, let him give her a certificate of divorce’; but I say to you that everyone who divorces his wife, except for the reason of unchastity, makes her commit adultery; and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery."
They already knew Jesus that didn’t teach the same view. They knew He took a very firm stand on divorce, teaching that God's Word does not recognize adulterous marriages. They were only looking to publicly back Him into a corner, to discredit Him, which by the way, always ended in failure. I imagine they thought that if they could sling enough mud, surely some would stick.
This is significant however, because as I mention early, this area was under the control of Herod Antipas, who had seduced his own brother’s wife, and married her. The reason he had John the Baptist beheaded, because he spoke up about God’s law of divorce. God's Word does not acknowledge the adulterous union with Herod and Herodias.
So, in verses 4-6, we see His response to their question. I love the way that Jesus marvelously evades them, by not seeking to answer their question on their terms, or even His owns terms. In fact, He doesn’t even address the issue of divorce initially; unintimidated, He goes beyond the traditions of the rabbi's and sarcastically says, "Have you not read?" going straight to God's Word. He talks about God's foundation for marriage. "And He answered and said, "Have you not read that He who created them from the beginning made them male and female, and said, ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? So they are no longer two, but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let no man separate."
He knew they spent all their time reading God's Word, He's pointing out their ignorance in misinterpreting it! When God created Adam and Eve, He did not create multiple people "just in case." There were no other options, in other words, work it out. God set in motion the pattern for all of human history, a bond that cannot be broken. In God's design, marriage is intended to be a lifetime commitment. Because all He is saying is what God said. This is sheer genius by our Lord.
By the way, I believe God's Word makes it clear, abortion is to child birth what divorce is to marriage, both are attempting to rip apart the work of God. The world is run by Satan, who tries to do what he does best and deceive the masses to accept his demonic standards. God creates marriages, and He creates the miracle of children, that is an act of God. Divorce and abortion should be a last resort after every other option has been carefully considered and exhausted, rather than the first choice, lest you are tampering with the work of God.
Marriage rates have continued to fall as cohabitation rates have significantly increased as men and women lose confidence in the institution of marriage. I believe we can attribute this to the no-fault divorce, which became the law of the land during the late 1960s, claiming to make the divorce process more open and honest. I believe this caused a number of unintended consequences, the effects of which are prominent today. It transformed the social construct, as well as the responsibility parents have to their children. Studies have shown that many children will see their parents split up by the time they reach adolescence. And, after divorce, the percent of children born to cohabiting couples has significantly increased.
A governments legal decisions have far reaching moral and social consequences. While I recognize the government has taken an interest in changing the laws as it pertains to the institution of marriage, as a man of God, a minister of the Gospel, I have no desire to be an agent of the government. Therefore, I will preach the Gospel as it was written, recognizing God's plan and design for marriage, with a call to faith to all, prepared to present the salvation that is offered in the Lord Jesus Christ, in order that they may live a life consecrated to the Son of the Living God. Beyond that, as result of my strong convictions and my strict policies on marriage, refusing to do anything that would hinder the advance of the Gospel, I am unwilling to be involved.
In 2 Corinthians 6, Paul wrote "Do not be bound together with unbelievers; for what partnership have righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship has light with darkness? Or what harmony has Christ with Belial, or what has a believer in common with an unbeliever? Or what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God.."
Jesus said in verse 4, "And He answered and said, "Have you not read that He who created them from the beginning made them male and female." I believe that all churches and pastors, who are answerable to God, would do well to implement God's design for marriage, in view of the modern context of marriage, rather than paying "lip service" to the truth Jesus stated! Despite the popular view, ministers of the Gospel are not accountable only to themselves, but to God. I submit to you, that simply knowing God's Word is not enough, lest we strive to uphold His teaching by applying God's Word to our own lives and to those whom we are entrusted to care for. Divorce, as with any marriage outside of God's design, is always the result of sin. Jesus' words strike right at the very heart of the contemporary view of marriage with His emphasis upon marriage being between a male and female. The lies of Satan in our society have reached epidemic portions. It is deeply disturbing to me, that they have infiltrated the church. You can’t be a true believer and do that.
Isaiah 5 says "Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; Who substitute darkness for light and light for darkness; Who substitute bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter! Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes and clever in their own sight!"
Though as a Christian I am compelled to advocate that believers to obey the laws of the nation, it is not the place of man or government to redefine the institution of marriage to cater to a godless sexual immoral society, if God's plan for marriage unites one husband and one wife, as a man and a woman.
That brings us to verse 6, "So they are no longer two, but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let no man separate." One man, one woman are no longer two, but become one. One is an indivisible number. Listen, if you're married and cheating with someone else, I don't want to hear any nonsense about that God brought the two of you together. God did not call upon you to violate the covenant of marriage. God's view of marriage in very clear, He takes is very seriously, "What therefore God has joined together, let no man separate." In Malachi 2:16, "For I hate divorce," says the Lord, the God of Israel, "and him who covers his garment with wrong," says the Lord of hosts."So take heed to your spirit, that you do not deal treacherously." This leaves no doubt about how God feels about divorce, He hates it. Marriage then, calls for forgiving love, and restoring grace.
In Closing..
Any sexual proclivity or deviation violates the sacred trust demanded by the marriage relationship. The power to live a holy life, comes from the indwelling Holy Spirit. If you are unbeliever, you cannot know that power unless you are born again from above. Apart from salvation through faith in Jesus Christ, Who died for your sin, and was raised to life again in order that He might declare you right with the Father, Who is in Heaven.
It is my prayer that you will turn away from embracing the attitudes of this dying world, and surrender trusting in your own wisdom. Repent of your sin, whatever it may be and turn toward Christ, giving Him reign and rule over your life. A relationship with Jesus Christ is the best of all relationships.
May it be so..
And now may the Lord bless you and keep you;
the Lord make His face shine upon you,
And be gracious to you;
The Lord lift up His countenance upon you,
And give you peace.
Now and forever, in Jesus' name
Amen