Sermon on the Mount: Jesus, Divorce and Marriage.

INTRO> WE continue in our sermon series on the Sermon on the Mount and Jesus has been dealing with ALL of life’s issues it seems like, today he handles a very sensitive topic of divorce and marriage.

ILL> This past weekend some people in the church took me and my son fishing. Roman loves fishing right now. What he loves almost more than fishing, is getting new fishing baits and lures. He thinks when he cast’s one time and doesn’t catch a fish, he needs a new lure. I kept telling him, “You need to listen to our guide, we have never fished here before, you don’t know these waters, you have to listen to the guide to what will work best.”

APP> That’s how we have to view marriage, it’s isn’t our invention, it’s God’s. So for us to properly understand is, we have to listen to him as our guide as to what works best. 52% of marriages end.

CONTEXT> We are going to have to do something a little different today, we are going to jump to Matthew 19:1-12, there Jesus gives us a greater expansion of what he says in Matthew 5. We will look at this under 3 headings, The centrality of marriage, the certificate of divorce, The caution for disciples.

1. The centrality of marriage. v1-6

• • • “The Pharisees came to test him… can a man divorce his wife..” Do you notice how they phrase the question? The word test means like a trap. Jesus either says Mosses was wrong or he gives them permission. This comes from Deut 4 where Mosses speaks to the issue of divorce. It was for actually the safety of the woman.
    • “Have you not read…” I LOVE this! These guys had this memorized the whole book that Jesus quotes from!

APP> We need to see something here and it is this principle: The Pharisees are concerned about permission to divorce and Jesus’ concern is the priority of marriage.

• • • Also, we have to note, people always say, “Well, Jesus was pretty silent when it comes to marriage in the NT.” Really? Here Jesus gives us literally the blue print of marriage:

1. Marriage is Important: Leave. Do you understand the weight of what Jesus is saying, this is about identity. It’s a new life. You suppose is your number 1 priority.
2. Marriage is permanent: Cleave. I use the word cleave because the KJV translates that. The word literally has it roots is the word Covenant. APP> Marriage is not built on the present feeling of love, marriage is built on the future promise to live.
3. Marriage is intimate: Weave. Jesus speaks of complete oneness. This is oneness financially, physically, spiritually everything.

APP> Do you see Jesus’ own view of marriage, Jesus holds to Genesis 2 and God’s design. But our text moves us to our second point.

2) The certificate of divorce. v7-9

• • “because of your hardness of hearts, but from the beginning it was not so…” Again, Jesus get’s right to the heart, have you noticed these last 3 weeks, the word heart keeps appearing right? Jesus again takes them back to the “Beginning”

APP> I am going to lean heavily on a quote by a pastor named Kevin D. Young, “Not all divorce is sinful but all divorce is a result of sin.”  *ILL> Working at Funeral Home and selling baby caskets, because of the brokenness of the world.

Divorce is PERMITTED but not REQUIRED on the grounds of:

• • Sexual Immorality. v9
  • Abandonment by an Unbelieving Spouse. 1 Corinthians 7:10-15
  • Physical, Physiological or Emotional Danger.

*Fellowship General Baptist Church Divorce Recovery Group (PIC)

APP> I need to be very careful here, this isn’t a check list or a permission slip, this is to bring clarity and help to. God has strong words against divorce. “For the Lord God of Israel saysThat He hates divorce,For it covers one’s garment with violence,”Says the Lord of hosts.“Therefore take heed to your spirit,That you do not deal treacherously.” Malachi 2:16 APP> Divorce isn’t like changing your clothes, divorce is like ripping your arm off.  APP> Divorce is devastating because divorce is a distortion of the Gospel. “Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh. This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the Church.” Ephesians 5:31-32

3) The caution for disciples. v10-12

• • • “ it is better to not marry…” The disciples have the proper response! Oh, if we could here Jesus’ word like they did! And you know what? Jesus doesn’t correct them.

APP> This is an application to single people… you are not less because you are not married. There are two principles here:

1. 1. Marriage is serious.
   2. Singleness is a gift given by God to be stewarded well.

Close> What is the big idea? What can we take away from our King’s teaching here?

Big Idea> Jesus is the perfect spouse.

I want to close by speaking to 4 types of people:

• • Single- Marriage is serious. Take your time, know Christ first.
  • Married– It’s interesting in Genesis 3 that the first thing that Satan attacked was a marriage. Fight for your marriage not in your marraige.
  • Divorced – Divorce does not define you. Jesus hates divorce not the divorcee.
  • Everyone- God is wooing you in Christ: “But then I will win her back once again.I will lead her into the desert and speak tenderly to her there. I will return her vineyards to her and transform the Valley of Trouble into a gateway of hope She will give herself to me there, as she did long ago when she was young, when I freed her from her captivity in Egypt.” Hosea 2:14-15 (NLT)

“ Everyday you and I reject the holiness of Jesus in a million different ways, only a fraction of which are we even conscious of. If Jesus were keeping a list of our wrongs, none us us would stand a chance. At any second of any day, even on our best days, Jesus could have legal grounds to say. “Enough of this, I can’t do it anymore, You’ve violated my love for the last time.” The truth is, you’ve never met a wronged spouse like Jesus. You’ve never met a disrespected spouse like Jesus. You’ve never me a spouse who more than carried their weight like Jesus. He’s carrying the entire relationship on his back. This thing is totally one sided. And yet: he loves. And he gives. And he serves. And he approves. And he washes. And he delights. And he romances. And he doesn’t just tolerate us, he lavishes his affection on us. He justifies us and sanctifies us and we will glorify us.” Jared Wilson