Crossing Church

Preached on 6.29.08 by Dustin Neeley
Sermon Notes

MARK: Jesus on Family

“And he left there and went to the region of Judea and beyond the Jordan, and crowds gathered to him again. And again, as was his custom, he taught them. 2 And Pharisees came up and in order to test him asked, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?” 3 He answered them, “What did Moses command you?” 4 They said, “Moses allowed a man to write a certificate of divorce and to send her away.” 5 And Jesus said to them, “Because of your hardness of heart he wrote you this commandment. 6 But from the beginning of creation, ‘God made them male and female.’7 ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, 8 and they shall become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two but one flesh. 9 What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.”
10 And in the house the disciples asked him again about this matter. 11 And he said to them, “Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her, 12 and if she divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery.” 13 And they were bringing children to him that he might touch them, and the disciples rebuked them. 14 But when Jesus saw it, he was indignant and said to them, “Let the children come to me; do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God. 15 Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.”16 And he took them in his arms and blessed them, laying his hands on them.
Mark 10: 1 -16 ESV

“Pharisees came up and in order to test him” Bad guys. Jesus’ enemies. Hist. context.
“Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?” Debated. Divorcing for everything!
“What did Moses command you?” Ref. to Deut. 24:1. They were misapplying it.
“a certificate of divorce and to send her away.” Done for the protection of the woman.
“Because of your hardness of heart he wrote you this commandment.” The Why. Not optimal.

P: The greatest emphasis here isn’t on what Jesus has to say about divorce, but what He has to say about marriage.

Jesus On Marriage:
1. Marriage was God’s idea and is rooted in creation.
2. Marriage is for a man and a woman. What should our response be in regard to gay marriage? Grace and Truth.
3. Marriage is to be the most intimate of relationships—closer than parents. Does our marriage reflect this kind of intimacy? Do we need to have any difficult conversations about boundaries/family dynamics?
4. ‘Becoming one’ ‘glues’ us together. Does our current experience reflect this kind of oneness? Are we weakening the glue in any way? (affairs of all kinds, pornography, wandering eyes, overpursuit of activities, etc.)
5. Marriage is to be permanent. Do I understand God’s intention and treat my marriage as permanent or disposable? If I am currently single, am I becoming the kind of person I want to marry and setting myself up for success in these areas?

The Bible On Divorce (Mk. 10, Lk. 16, Matt. 5, 19, 1 Cor. 7):
1. Always tragic and never optimal. Marriage for life is God’s intention.
2. Permitted in cases of sexual immorality.
3. Permitted in cases of the desertion of an unbelieving spouse.
4. Should be pursued only as a last resort after all other hopes are exhausted.
5. All other cases should be slowly, carefully, prayerfully addressed.

Jesus (and Paul) on Remaining Single:
1. It is a gift from God. For some, this is a season. For others, for life.
2. For however long e have this gift, we should leverage it for the Kingdom.

P: If we want to be a part of Jesus’ Kingdom, we must receive it as a little child.

P: Jesus loves children.
Do we love children? Do we love our children as Jesus loves children? Are we willing to serve children both in the church and beyond?

P: Jesus has a heart for the marginalized and oppressed.
Do we have a heart for the marginalized and oppressed?

What changes are these truths calling for in your life?

*Some Hints for Rightly Interpreting Scripture (for personal study):
1. Solid interpretation always begins with examining the verse/passage in light of its historical/grammatical elements. Word study tools, commentaries, solid websites, other members of your community, etc. can all be helpful.

2. The next step is to move to seeing the verse/passage in light of what is immediately around it in (reading it in context). Be careful to read it in light of the book it is in as well as the whole Story of Scripture.

3. Next, look for what other passages in the Bible might say about this particular verse/passage or this topic. (Today’s passage is a great example). In doing so, remember the following
a. The Bible does not contradict itself.
i. There are difficult passages and certain truths may be hard to reconcile. We honestly acknowledge and wrestle with them.
ii. If there is a problem, it is on our end, not with God or the Bible.

4. Throughout the process, we should be praying for the Spirit’s illumination.

Works Consulted : Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Life Application Bible, MacArthur Study Bible, Messages by Steve Hart, Hunter Beaumont, Tim Keller, Numerous Other Commentaries on Mark