The Pharisees continue to ask Jesus questions, not to gain understanding, but to trap Him in His words. The question this time deals with divorce. Verses 3-6, "The Pharisees also came to Him, testing Him, and saying to Him, 'Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for just any reason?' And He answered and said to them, 'Have you not read that He who made them at 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 then, they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate.' ” It was only because of hardness of hearts that divorce was permitted, and Jesus makes it clear that you cannot divorce for any reason other than sexual immorality. Just because you can, doesn't mean you have to though. Hosea is an example of the love that God has for his bride, the church. He is instructed to marry a harlot, and after a season of "first love," she returns to her adulterous ways. Hosea 3:1, "Then the Lord said to me, 'Go again, love a woman who is loved by a lover and is committing adultery, just like the love of the Lord for the children of Israel, who look to other gods and love the raisin cakes of the pagans.' ” No matter how many times we play the harlot, God is still willing to forgive and take us back when we're ready to repent. Ephesians 5:25 says, "Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her." Hosea is a living example of a Godly principle.
Unfortunately, the Pharisees miss the point and come to the conclusion that if you cannot divorce, you shouldn't get married at all. They obviously want to fulfill their flesh desires, and do not want to consider sacrificing and dying to their flesh. Verses 11-12, "But He said to them, 'All cannot accept this saying, but only those to whom it has been given: For there are eunuchs who were born thus from their mother’s womb, and there are eunuchs who were made eunuchs by men, and there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven’s sake. He who is able to accept it, let him accept it.' ” There are some who are born without the ability to have intimacy with a woman, others who were made that way by men (usually to advance status within a kingdom with no threat of a takeover), and those who have a calling from God. Unless you are called to be this way, it is a mess when these desires are suppressed. Look at the Catholic priests who are not allowed to have a wife.
A rich young ruler asks Jesus this question: “Good Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life? (v16)” The answer Jesus gives is that if you want eternal life, you need to keep His commandments. Verses 18-22, "He said to Him, 'Which ones?' Jesus said, ' "You shall not murder," "You shall not commit adultery," "You shall not steal," "You shall not bear false witness," "Honor your father and your mother," and, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." ' The young man said to Him, 'All these things I have kept from my youth. What do I still lack?' Jesus said to him, 'If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.' But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions." The interesting thing about this ruler is that he was doing nearly everything right, but he was holding back one thing from God. We cannot keep our one little bad habit, or one little piece of the world, Jesus wants it all! In this case, his love of worldly riches was something that Jesus wanted removed, being a hindrance in his walk.
Money hinders many Christians from walking, making them unfruitful, and eventually taking them out of the race. Mark 4:18-19, "Now these are the ones sown among thorns; they are the ones who hear the word, and the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things entering in choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful." Verses 23-24, "Then Jesus said to His disciples, 'Assuredly, I say to you that it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. And again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.' ” Why is it so hard? It is way too easy to trust in your wealth and your ability to provide for yourself, storing up treasure on earth, and you no longer rely on God. Just the desire for money can ruin your focus and become the "god" you serve, and you don't even need to be rich for this to happen. There are plenty of poor coveters who serve the pursuit of money. Matthew 6:24, “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon."
Are you willing to walk away from possessions and money for the Lord? The ruler was lacking treasure in heaven and was instructed to sow his money into the kingdom. Matthew 6:21, "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." We can't be so concerned about what we're losing, but focus on what we're gaining spiritually. He IS worth it! Luke 18:29-30, "So He said to them, 'Assuredly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or parents or brothers or wife or children, for the sake of the kingdom of God, who shall not receive many times more in this present time, and in the age to come eternal life.' ”
Matthew 19:5-6, 8, 20-22
ReplyDeleteThe pharisees kept asking Jesus questions to try to catch him in his words. They asked about divorce and Jesus replied "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 then, they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate.” God created us to one day leave our father and mother and be joined to a husband or wife. Marriage is sacred and biblical. God hates divorce, "He said to them, “Moses, because of the hardness of your hearts, permitted you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so." God does not approve of getting a divorce, but this is so common among people today, even people who call themselves christians.
Also, God did not create male to be with male or female to be with female. Homosexuality is completely sin. Its rebellion to God's plan that he had set forth. God is not OK with homosexuality. He does not accept people's sin. Homosexuality is a choice to blatantly go against how God created us. Sadly, its becoming widely accepted, even the catholics now have their own gay pride group with all of these gay catholics. The end will truly be like the days of Noah or the days of lot when Sodom and Gomorrah were wicked and homosexuality was rampid. In both these cases, they were only a fee true believers who were protected or got taken out from God's wrath.
Then, Jesus was talking to a young man who said he had kept all of the commandments since his youth, yet he loved his possessions. "The young man said to Him, “All these things I have kept from my youth. What do I still lack?” Jesus said to him, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.” But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions." He was sorrow full because he loved his possessions more than God. He loved the things of this world. All of our possessions will burn, we won't take any of them with us. Not only that, but we need to be willing to lay everything down to follow Jesus. God may have blessed us with nice things, but he can take them all away if he wants.
9Matthew 19:16 NKJV
ReplyDeleteNow behold, one came and said to Him, “Good Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life?”
We cannot get eternal life by doing deeds. Some people think that they can get to heaven by being a good person or by doing good things, but it does not work like that. We will not enter the kingdom of heaven no matter how good of a person we are. It is only by the blood of jesus that we can enter, and if He asks us to give things up we need to willing to sacrifice all that we have for His sake.
Now it came to pass, when Jesus had finished these sayings, that He departed from Galilee and came to the region of Judea beyond the Jordan. And great multitudes followed Him, and He healed them there. The Pharisees also came to Him, testing Him, and saying to Him, "Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for just any reason?" And He answered and said to them, "Have you not read that He who made them at 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 on flesh'? So then, they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate." They said to Him, "Why then did Moses command to give a certificate of divorce, and to put her away?" He said to them, "Moses,, because of the hardness of your hearts, permitted you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so. And I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery; and whoever marries her who is divorced commits adultery." His disciples said to Him, "If such is the case of the man with his wife, it is better not to marry." Matthew 19:1-10
ReplyDeleteThe Pharisees again were trying to catch Jesus in His word. They were trying to entrap Jesus with there questions. Get Him to stumble over His word to build a case against Him but again they were unsuccessful. They had nothing on Him and it frustrated them to the point of hating Him, despising Him.
In the Mosaic law it says that if a man finds uncleanness in his wife he can give her a bill of divorce. This was not what God had intended for marriage to be by any means. God hates divorce. Right from the beginning when He created Adam and Eve He said that they are now one flesh. Eve was created to be a helpmate for Adam. God used the side of Adam to create Eve. Because of how our society values marriage and the safety of the home. Many families don't survive. God intended that marriage be a life long commitment. You only get married once and when you break those vows for another you are in sin. It doesn't matter whose at fault both the man and the woman are to blame in my opinion. The home starts with the head. We as women want a good strong leader especially as Christian women. Yes at times it take humility on our parts but to sit back and watch GOd work through the man of the house is such a blessing. There is power in being submissive to the authority of God and allow God to raise our men up into Godly leaders. When this starts to break down is when we creeps into our homes and causes division in relationships. By not having God in the center. TO me divorce is not an option it doesn't matter what the other person did or didn't do. Divorce is sin and God hates it. Yes there are times when unfortunately there is no reconciliation. But people give up way to easy and when they do everyone in the situation suffers, immediate family as well as extended family and friends. God is our marriage counselor. You ever have a problem or a hard time focusing on what God's view is on marriage get in His word. We know that Moses offered to the people a way out, because of their groaning and carrying on but God hated it. He never blessed a divorce. It is completely against all that He is. If we are truly God's we should view it the same way. Put other before self, be a godly spouse, praying for them, encouraging them in the word, and something that I think is most important even during rough times when you love them but don't really like them.:) View them through God's eyes. How can you make the situation better. The world says to run but God's say allow me to heal and overcome.