Matthew 5: The Sermon on the Mount (18)
Pray Psalm 19.7, 8.
The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul;
The testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple;
The statutes of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart;
The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes…
Sing Psalm 19.7, 8.
(St. Christopher: Beneath the Cross of Jesus)
The Law of God is perfect, His testimony sure.
The simple man God’s wisdom learns, the soul receives its cure.
God’s Word is right, and His command is pure, and truth imparts;
He makes our eyes to understand; with joy He fills our hearts.
Read Matthew 5.1-32; meditate on verses 31, 32.
What should our attitude be toward divorce?
Prepare.
1. Did Jesus condone divorce “for any reason”?
2. What grounds for divorce did Jesus acknowledge?
Meditate.
God never intended that married couples should divorce, especially not those who enter this sacred union before Him and unto His glory. But sin changed everything, so that even something so important and sacred as marriage could be damaged beyond repair. God understood this, and in His Law, as Jesus explained in Matthew 19.8, He graciously provided a means for dissolving marriage under certain circumstances. The Law’s concession to divorce is not a weakness of the Law; it is a gracious provision of God’s Law which acknowledges the hardness of human hearts. Divorce, Moses taught, may be necessary at times.
In these verses, Jesus tightened the restrictions on divorce. But we would expect that. In the Kingdom of God, people are hungering and thirsting for righteousness, not for their own way. As we shall see, they have the power of God’s Word and Spirit to aid them in their Kingdom-seeking way of life. So we can stay in the stream of mercy and grace, and love one another as Jesus loves us. Sexual immorality—of all kinds—is a legitimate grounds for pursuing divorce (Paul will also add abandonment in 1 Corinthians 7). Those who engage in any unlawful sexual activity—beginning, as Jesus explained, with unfaithfulness in their heart (v. 28)—demonstrate that they are not hungering and thirsting for righteousness.
Jesus indicates that those who are guilty in a divorce because of sexual immorality should not remarry. And one should not seek to become married to one who was divorced because of their sexual immorality. These strictures will seem unreasonable and harsh to our modern world. But they come from the Prince of peace, the King of grace, and the Wisdom of God. We should listen to Him and His Spirit, and not the spirit of the age. If we want marriages that work to fill the earth with the goodness of God, we have to guard them assiduously against the corrupting powers of immorality.
Treasure Old and New: Matthew 13.52; Psalm 119.162
Jesus’ addition to the already solid teachings of God through Moses makes perfect sense:
You never want someone who is carrying a fatal disease to take it across state lines.
Ergo, if you have broken your marriage vows once, and divorce occurs, do not marry again.
Those who are guilty of never making a real commitment in the first place, should stop getting married.
Those who are adulterous in thought and action, should stop getting married.
Those who cannot leave their parents behind, and have not really committed to a marital relationship,
should stop getting married:
“Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife,
and they shall become one flesh” (Gen. 2.24).
Those who wander into marriage, merely checking out the possibilities of it possibly, maybe, working out, should never get married.
Those who get married and are faithful until…things get difficult financially, physically, or expectationally, then all bets are off… should never have gotten married.
Those with a perpetually unfaithful heart, really and truly, should never get married.
“It is a snare for a man to devote rashly something as holy,
and afterward to reconsider his vows” (Prov. 20.25).
But when those people do get married, their spouses have been set free from all those abuses of power and promise. Because really, there was never a promissory vow taken with sincerity of heart.
At least not on the guilty person’s part. It is all a sham—and a horrid witness to the watching world regarding “Christian” behavior.
“You reject all those who stray from Your statutes,
for their deceit is falsehood.
You put away all the wicked of the earth like dross;
therefore I love Your testimonies.
My flesh trembles for fear of You, and
I am afraid of Your judgments” (Ps. 119.118-120).
Just as choosing to follow Christ is a decision that should never be taken lightly, so too, marriage vows need to be taken with the utmost of sincerity and counting of the cost.
In both cases it is never acceptable to waffle or renege on the decision made:
“No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God” (Lk. 9.62).
In all cases of our lives in the Kingdom, it is not about us being happy, or blissfully fulfilled.
It is always all about giving glory to God. And obedience to Him is the pathway there.
And on that path, and within that paradigm, joy inexpressible is to be found.
“In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, that the genuineness of your faith being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ, Whom having not seen you love. Though now you do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, receiving the end of your faith—the salvation of your souls” (1Pet.1. 6-9).
That is our glorious inheritance. That is our goal.
Along the way, make sure you are obedient to God’s Word.
And make sure, that the vows you have made, you keep.
Reflect.
1. Why do vows matter so much to God?
2. Besides marriage, what other vows might you make?
3. Do you think it’s a good idea to review your vows from time to time? Explain.
[I]rresponsible action dissolves a marriage, even if the divorce is legal. For the whole teaching of Christ judges things according to one’s disposition. Theodore of Heraclea (d. ca. 355), Fragment 34
Thank You for the gift of marriage, Lord, and that we may glorify You in marriage as we…
Pray Psalm 19.9-14.
Can you see how keeping God’s Law strengthens us in the pursuit of righteousness? How can the Law of God help you improve your relationships today?
Sing Psalm 19.9-14.
(St. Christopher: Beneath the Cross of Jesus)
The fear of God is cleansing, forever shall it last.
His judgments all are true and just, by righteousness held fast.
O seek them more than gold most fine, than honey find them sweet;
Be warned by every word and line; be blessed with joy complete.
Who, LORD, can know his errors? O keep sin far from me!
Let evil rule not in my soul that I may blameless be.
O let my thoughts, let all my words, before Your glorious sight
Be pleasing to You, gracious LORD, acceptable and right.
T. M. and Susie Moore
If you have found this meditation helpful, take a moment to give thanks to God. Then share what you learned with a friend. This is how the grace of God spreads (2 Cor. 4.15).
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Other columns of interest: This week: The Read Moore podcast continues readings from our book, The Kingdom Turn. Our Crosfigell teaching letter presses ahead in a series on the state of the Church in Europe at the time of the Celtic Revival. The ReVision column finishes our study of the Church as Jesus envisions it. Check out our other excellent writers. Click here to see all the other columns and writers available to you.
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Except as indicated, all Scriptures are taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. All psalms for singing are from The Ailbe Psalter.
