Daily Bread 2011 Mark 10
Daily Bread 2011 – Wednesday February 24th, 2011 Mark 10
1 Jesus then left that place and went into the region of Judea and across the Jordan. Again crowds of people came to him, and as was his custom, he taught them. 2 Some Pharisees came and tested him by asking, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?” 3 “What did Moses command you?” he replied. 4 They said, “Moses permitted a man to write a certificate of divorce and send her away.” 5 “It was because your hearts were hard that Moses wrote you this law,” Jesus replied. 6 “But at the beginning of creation God ‘made them male and female.’ 7 ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, 8 and the two will become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two, but one flesh. 9 Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.”
What Does This Mean?
Meanwhile as Jesus returns to the public scene, the Pharisees are at it again trying to trap him into a lose/lose argument. As he has confronted their hypocrisy, they are now trying to turn the tables on him and label him a hypocrite.
They try to trap him with the issue of divorce. If he says divorce is not lawful, they would point to the exception in the Torah, in Deuteronomy, that permitted divorce on the grounds of adultery. If he accepted divorce, they would point to the verse in Genesis, where the writer says that when two people become one in God’s eyes they should never sever what God has joined.
Then, Jesus gives the exception given in the Law was on the basis of their hardness of hearts, it is not God’s ideal. Jesus, then re-affirms with his disciples in private that God’s desire is to keep the sacredness of marriage intact.
What Does This Mean For Us?
The subject of divorce is always a difficult, especially considering half the marriages in the world (and in the church) suffer the consequences of divorce. Some of you may have gone through the painful process of a divorce. While I don’t believe God’s will for us is to get a divorce, some do get divorced and the church needs to be a place of healing for those who do.
We all make bad decisions and there are consequences for our bad decisions, but God is a God of second chances. There are no sins that are worse than others. Jesus died for them all. There are many great resources being provided to the Church (like the Marriage Program) that can help couples strengthen their communication and conflict resolution, and use Jesus’ relational principles to get through the hardest of times. There are also good counselors that are trained to help couples cope with the stresses and strains in all of our lives.
Heavenly Father, thank you the blessing of marriage, where two become one in Your eyes and in the Church. Help those who are married to love their spouse like Jesus loved the Church, giving up his life for it. May the Church be a place of healing for those who have gone through divorce. Be with those who are single and help them to find a safe place to pursue healthy relationships as well. Amen.
1 Jesus then left that place and went into the region of Judea and across the Jordan. Again crowds of people came to him, and as was his custom, he taught them. 2 Some Pharisees came and tested him by asking, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?” 3 “What did Moses command you?” he replied. 4 They said, “Moses permitted a man to write a certificate of divorce and send her away.” 5 “It was because your hearts were hard that Moses wrote you this law,” Jesus replied. 6 “But at the beginning of creation God ‘made them male and female.’ 7 ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, 8 and the two will become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two, but one flesh. 9 Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.”
What Does This Mean?
Meanwhile as Jesus returns to the public scene, the Pharisees are at it again trying to trap him into a lose/lose argument. As he has confronted their hypocrisy, they are now trying to turn the tables on him and label him a hypocrite.
They try to trap him with the issue of divorce. If he says divorce is not lawful, they would point to the exception in the Torah, in Deuteronomy, that permitted divorce on the grounds of adultery. If he accepted divorce, they would point to the verse in Genesis, where the writer says that when two people become one in God’s eyes they should never sever what God has joined.
Then, Jesus gives the exception given in the Law was on the basis of their hardness of hearts, it is not God’s ideal. Jesus, then re-affirms with his disciples in private that God’s desire is to keep the sacredness of marriage intact.
What Does This Mean For Us?
The subject of divorce is always a difficult, especially considering half the marriages in the world (and in the church) suffer the consequences of divorce. Some of you may have gone through the painful process of a divorce. While I don’t believe God’s will for us is to get a divorce, some do get divorced and the church needs to be a place of healing for those who do.
We all make bad decisions and there are consequences for our bad decisions, but God is a God of second chances. There are no sins that are worse than others. Jesus died for them all. There are many great resources being provided to the Church (like the Marriage Program) that can help couples strengthen their communication and conflict resolution, and use Jesus’ relational principles to get through the hardest of times. There are also good counselors that are trained to help couples cope with the stresses and strains in all of our lives.
Heavenly Father, thank you the blessing of marriage, where two become one in Your eyes and in the Church. Help those who are married to love their spouse like Jesus loved the Church, giving up his life for it. May the Church be a place of healing for those who have gone through divorce. Be with those who are single and help them to find a safe place to pursue healthy relationships as well. Amen.
Comments
Post a Comment