Jason & Milayah Wedding

Passage

Matthew 19:4–6 ESV

4 He answered, “Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female, 5 and said, ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? 6 So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.”

Explanation

One Flesh

Jesus’, teaching on marriage, goes back to creation.

This was God’s original design in the beginning:

God made male and female...

and they have a family.

‌

The children then grow up,

and when a boy becomes a man, and a girl becomes a woman,

‌they leave their father and mother,

and hold fast to one another,

and the cycle repeats.

‌

When a man and a woman come together, they become… ONE FLESH!

‌They are no longer two, but ONE FLESH!

‌They are unified and complete as one.

‌

Since God has made this union possible,‌ and joined them together,

‌man is not to separate them.

‌This is because they are now ONE!

Jason & Milayah…

‌today you are becoming one.

Today you are leaving your father and mother,

and you will hold fast to one another.

‌

Before today, you were individuals,

all the decisions and plans you made were for yourselves.

But today, you are becoming one flesh.

‌You will share in the joy and comfort of having:

someone who is there for you…

‌someone to help you make good decisions…

‌someone to share responsibility with…

‌someone to support and encourage you…

‌someone to share goals and experiences with…

All of this and more is the blessing and benefit of becoming…

ONE FLESH!

But what about:

‌when things don’t go well?

‌when difficult times come?

‌when you don’t see eye to eye?

‌when you sin against one another?

‌when you are angry and disappointed in one another?

‌

The Pharisees Got It Wrong

This must have been what the Pharisees had in mind when they asked Jesus about divorce in the first place.

‌This is the reason we have Jesus’ teaching on marriage…

‌it was in response to the Pharisees question in verse 3…

‌

Matthew 19:3 (ESV)

3 “Is it lawful to divorce one’s wife for any cause?”

‌

These Pharisees did not always get things right,

‌but one thing they did get right…

‌MARRIAGE IS HARD!!!

‌

What they essentially wanted to know was…

“Is there a way out of marriage?”

They wanted to remove the risk from marriage!

‌The risk is that you will marry someone, and then regret you married them.

What if he doesn’t put away his laundry,

or put the toilet seat down?

What if she doesn’t have dinner ready when I get home,

or fold my underwear the way I like?

What if they don’t fulfill:

all MY hopes,

all MY dreams, and

all MY desires?

There’s still a way out right???

But the Pharisees had misunderstood the meaning of marriage.

They thought the purpose of having a spouse was to satisfy… ME!

So the Pharisees permitted divorce,

sometimes even for something as small as burning dinner.

The Meaning of Marriage

But is the purpose of marriage for the other person to satisfy me?

If not, what is the purpose of marriage?

Paul tells us in Ephesians 5:31-32…

Ephesians 5:31–32 ESV

31 “Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” 32 This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church.

What Paul is saying, is that

two people who give their lives to one another, become one flesh,

and this is a picture of the gospel…

The Man Models Christ

Jason, in the same way that Jesus willingly sacrificed Himself to save His people,

you are to sacrifice yourself for Milayah.

Jason, this means that you aren’t looking out for your best interest,

rather, you are willing to set aside what’s in your best interest,

to seek what’s in the best interest of Milayah.

And you should do it with joy, because you are no longer two, but one flesh!

To bless her is to bless yourself!

The Woman Models the Church

Milayah, in the same way that the Church willingly sacrifices itself to honour Jesus,

you are to sacrifice yourself for Jason.

Milayah, this means you are not looking out for your best interest,

rather, you willingly set aside what’s in your best interest,

to seek what’s in the best interest of Jason.

And you should do it with joy, because you are no longer two, but one flesh!

To bless him, is to bless yourself!

Summary

So the goal of marriage is not to seek to BE BLESSED...

but rather to seek to BE A BLESSING!

Rather than being focussed on how the other person can please and serve you,

you desire to find ways to please and serve the other.

This is what Andy Stanley refers to as a,

“Submission Competition. A race to the back of the line.”

From the outside looking in,

this does not make marriage sound like a lot of fun…

but that’s because we’re selfish and don’t understand true joy.

True joy and fulfilment does not come from receiving… but giving!

Christ

And this is exactly what Jesus did for us!

He didn’t seek His own best interest, but

left heaven to come down to earth… He

lived the perfect life we could never live… He…

died the death that we deserved… He…

rose to new life…

so that we could have new life through His Spirit,

and the promise of eternal life!

Jesus would have never done any of that if He was only concerned with what was in His own best interest.

But He willingly sacrificed Himself for our benefit…

and it brought Him great joy!

Hebrews 12:2 (ESV)

2 looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

Jesus was willing to endure the cross,

because of the joy of countless people who would be saved through His sacrifice.

Jesus, therefore, is our great example!

Paul says in Ephesians 5:21 that we…

Ephesians 5:21 (ESV)

21 submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.

Conclusion

Jason and Milayah…

Today you are becoming ONE FLESH!

God’s purpose in bringing you together,

is to make you holy…

to make you more like your Saviour, Jesus Christ.

And you are never more like Jesus

than when you willingly sacrifice yourself for the benefit of the other.

May God strengthen you by His Spirit to put one another first,

and give you the same joy as Jesus,

as you seek to serve one another,

and fulfill the purpose of marriage,

through being an example Christ’s love for His church!