Faithfulness in Our Relationships
Mark 2026 • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
0 ratings
· 2 viewsNotes
Transcript
And he arose from thence, and cometh into the coasts of Judaea by the farther side of Jordan: and the people resort unto him again; and, as he was wont, he taught them again. And the Pharisees came to him, and asked him, Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife? tempting him.
And he answered and said unto them, What did Moses command you? And they said, Moses suffered to write a bill of divorcement, and to put her away.
And Jesus answered and said unto them, For the hardness of your heart he wrote you this precept. But from the beginning of the creation God made them male and female.
For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and cleave to his wife; And they twain shall be one flesh: so then they are no more twain, but one flesh.
What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder. And in the house his disciples asked him again of the same matter.
Introduction
Introduction
In our passage this morning, we find the teaching of Jesus on the topic of marriage. Jesus uses Scripture to point to the importance of faithfulness. We will see that Following in the Life of Faith includes faithfulness.
Mark was likely the first Gospel written. Under the inspiration of God, he writes with an intent to point his readers toward the Cross and the Empty Tomb. Those who read are faced with a question: who is this Jesus? All of the miracles of Jesus point to the answer that He is God Himself come as the Suffering Sacrifice for the sins of the world.
As we grow in our walk with God this year, we want to be Following in the Life of Faith. The Life of Faith begins with salvation through the Gospel and carries on toward the daily life of service to Jesus. Mark gives us the message of Jesus to all people.
Now after that John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.
Will you look to Jesus for your salvation today? Will you live as a faithful disciple of Him? Will you look with eagerness to His return to establish His earthly kingdom? Let’s Follow in the Life of Faith this year and see God do something amazing!
Chapter 10 is the final chapter in the book of Mark before Passion Week. Jesus has been showing His disciples that He will die and rise again. Jesus now is entering the area nearer to Jerusalem. The final journey is beginning toward the Cross. Along the way, Jesus is still addressing the heart of His disciples and calling them to a life carrying the cross.
In this first section of the chapter, Jesus is asked about marriage and divorce. This is a hot topic today as it was then. The pattern of Jesus is the one that we ought to follow ourselves when asked tough questions. Jesus asks, “what does the Bible say”?
And the Lord God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him.
Marriage was designed by God to meet a need. That need was the companionship and service of man carrying out God’s will. In Ephesians 5, we also learn that marriage pictures the care that Jesus has for His church. In fact, the Bible has a lot to say about marriage,
Mark Jesus Teaches About Marriage and Divorce / 10:1–12 / 173
WHAT THE BIBLE SAYS ABOUT MARRIAGE
The sad truth is that marriage has been affected by the entrance of sin into the world. In our passage this morning, we see a question asked about divorce. With carefulness and the wisdom of the Spirit working inside of us, let us see what the Bible has to say on marriage and divorce. The key idea for all people this morning, whether married or unmarried, is faithfulness.
Declaration
Declaration
God created marriage as a permanent picture of His love for His people. In the beginning, God created two genders that would be joined as one flesh in marriage. Today, we need to be faithful people who are quick to confess sin and follow God's will in our lives.
Jesus teaches with several points on faithfulness, especially marriage in this passage.
1. Scripture is Primary
1. Scripture is Primary
And he arose from thence, and cometh into the coasts of Judaea by the farther side of Jordan: and the people resort unto him again; and, as he was wont, he taught them again. And the Pharisees came to him, and asked him, Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife? tempting him. And he answered and said unto them, What did Moses command you?
Jesus is traveling over the Jordan River into a different area of Judea. This area is governed by Herod Antipas. Jesus shows us here that on the subject of marriage, Scripture is primary.
The Bible is our source of doctrine (teaching) and practice (living.) We need to read the Bible, understand what it says, and then apply it in our daily lives and in our weekly worship. Without the wisdom of the Bible, we are not going to be able to interact with and honor God as we ought to.
All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.
Jesus comes into this area on the other side of the Jordan River. When He arrives, He begins teaching the people. Often, Mark records that Jesus was teaching but does not give the specifics of what He was teaching. Jesus’ teaching is interrupted by a question in verse 2. Jesus has been carrying out the teaching in the north and now He is coming into the south nearer to the city of Jerusalem.
The Pharisees find Jesus and ask Him a question about divorce. Marriage is one of the three great institutions that God created. The family, the government and the church were created by God. The family begins with a marriage and continues with children. The Pharisees ask if a marriage agreement can be dissolved.
What Jesus replies to this question is important for us today. Jesus asks them, “What did Moses command you?” Moses wrote the first five books of the Bible: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. Jesus is asking these experts in the Scriptures, “what does the Bible say on this topic?”
How often is that our pattern when we face a question that we cannot answer? Do we look for the truth of the Bible on how we treat a person in a challenging situation at work? Do we look at a passage for how we can be a better friend to someone else? Do the principles of Scriptures lived out show forth in our lives?
For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all. For he that said, Do not commit adultery, said also, Do not kill. Now if thou commit no adultery, yet if thou kill, thou art become a transgressor of the law. So speak ye, and so do, as they that shall be judged by the law of liberty. For he shall have judgment without mercy, that hath shewed no mercy; and mercy rejoiceth against judgment.
Jesus asks them what the Bible says. The Bible points to Jesus, even when discussing marriage. Jesus has taught the Pharisees this before.
Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.
The Bible is our authority. Let us live by the Word of God. Let us be sure to read it, study it, and apply it. When it comes to God’s plan for marriage, we find help in the Word of God.
The Pharisees are using this as an opportunity to challenge Jesus. The work of those who opposed Jesus was to stop Him from restoring all things. Here, Jesus is going to restore marriage to its biblical foundations.
Are you making sure that what the Bible says guides your life? Faithfulness includes reading the Bible and living out what it says. We need to be sure that we are faithful in what the Bible teaches for us.
2. Sin Affects Relationships
2. Sin Affects Relationships
And they said, Moses suffered to write a bill of divorcement, and to put her away. And Jesus answered and said unto them, For the hardness of your heart he wrote you this precept.
In response to Jesus’ question, the Pharisees quote a passage from Deuteronomy. Jesus helps them to understand the underlying problem that sin affects relationships. This is the reason for the Law and for this passage that they quote from.
When a man hath taken a wife, and married her, and it come to pass that she find no favour in his eyes, because he hath found some uncleanness in her: then let him write her a bill of divorcement, and give it in her hand, and send her out of his house. And when she is departed out of his house, she may go and be another man’s wife. And if the latter husband hate her, and write her a bill of divorcement, and giveth it in her hand, and sendeth her out of his house; or if the latter husband die, which took her to be his wife; Her former husband, which sent her away, may not take her again to be his wife, after that she is defiled; for that is abomination before the Lord: and thou shalt not cause the land to sin, which the Lord thy God giveth thee for an inheritance.
This passage in Deuteronomy was addressing how a man would interact with a woman who had already been divorced from him. It was not a command allowing or explaining the method of divorce. The bill of divorcement was necessary to make clear the ability to remarry and the permanent severance of the relationship.
The Pharisees were part of a debate about what was a sufficient reason to allow divorce. Jesus is being asked this same question. The topic though is greater because it is a question about marriage itself.
The custom in Israel at this time was to allow a man to divorce his wife for very trivial reasons. The only requirement was that there was a bill of divorcement. Marriage had become an arrangement of convenience instead of what God intended. Marriage had been degraded by the Fall.
And the Lord God said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat. And the Lord God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life: And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel. Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee. And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.
The hardness of their heart pointed to the affect of sin and the result of not allowing the gospel to affect their lives. The disciples have been called hard hearted before. So have the religious leaders. Here, all those who were Jewish are called hard hearted. Sin results in pride, selfishness, and impatience in a person. As a result of the Fall of man, marriage became harder because of the sinfulness of the husband and wife.
In the Old Testament, God uses marriage often to illustrate the relationship of His people with Him. They are called His “unfaithful wife”. Idolatry is worshipping someone other than God. The heart is often drawn away from the right to the wrong because of not seeing God and what He is doing. As Ezekiel says,
Therefore speak unto them, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God; Every man of the house of Israel that setteth up his idols in his heart, and putteth the stumblingblock of his iniquity before his face, and cometh to the prophet; I the Lord will answer him that cometh according to the multitude of his idols; That I may take the house of Israel in their own heart, because they are all estranged from me through their idols.
Jesus moves from the discussion of marriage to the heart of the problem. Man is sinful. Sin affects everything. Sin affects relationships. One writer points out,
Commentary on the New Testament Use of the Old Testament Mark 10:6–8
For Jesus, the problem underlying people’s divorcing of one another was their idolatrous adultery against God (France 2002: 391).
Sin is our ultimate problem. We are lost and we are away from God following our own desires. Yet, Jesus sought us on the hills and in the valleys because He loves us. He saw us in our sin and He died for us.
For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.
Have you ever received that free gift of salvation? Jesus died for you and He rose again. When we place our trust in Him alone for the permanent removal of our sin, we are saved. He took our place and He accomplished redemption.
Our hearts are prone to wander. He does not move but we do. We turn from the truth and follow lies. Jesus is clear here that we must have a receptive heart to the truth of the Scripture. What does the Bible say and what is God’s plan? We need to find out!
3. Marriage was Created as Permanent
3. Marriage was Created as Permanent
But from the beginning of the creation God made them male and female. For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and cleave to his wife; And they twain shall be one flesh: so then they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.
Jesus then gives us the message of faithfulness from the passage. God created marriage requiring faithfulness. Marriage was created as permanent.
The world of the First Century had problems with a permanence in marriage. Today, we have returned to that problem. There is no shortage of people that are not content with who they are with now. They are always moving to someone new.
God’s plan for marriage is faithfulness. God’s plan for the relationship that we have with Him is faithfulness. Are we faithful people?
Jesus had asked the Pharisees what Moses had commanded. Now, He answers His question by quoting from one of the books that Moses wrote, Genesis. However, it is God that He is quoting.
So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.
Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.
The creation of God was male and female. This was what God designed and what God intended. God created them and placed them together in the Garden of Eden. Jesus quotes here what Adam says that the two people become one person. This is what God did.
After quoting the verses, Jesus gives the explanation in verse 8. The marriage relationship means that these two people are now one person. They have the same last name. They have the same house. They have the same identity. For example, Melody and I go together because we are married.
After quoting the Scripture and explaining the Scripture, Jesus applies the Scripture. In verse 9, Jesus gives a principle about marriage. The command of Jesus is a principle for marriage. Do not cut apart something that God had united. This phrase “hath joined together” gives us a good picture of what God did in the institution of marriage. One dictionary (BDAG) defines it this way, “to make a pair”.
God has created something that we recognize at each wedding we go to. A man and a woman are joined together before God in a covenant. As Christ is joined to His Bride, the Church, the bride and groom are now one. The circle of their wedding rings pictures this. One writer helps us to see this significance,
The Gospel of Mark Mark 10:9
Jesus’ final pronouncement grounds the sanctity of marriage in the authority of God himself. This is consistent with the biblical perspective, which never considers husband and wife alone but always in the presence of God, subject to his commands and aided by his grace.
Because of what God has said and done, we are faced with a choice to obey or disobey. God wants us to be faithful in our lives. Faithfulness takes work. Marriage was created as permanent and Jesus calls us back to the origin of marriage to show us that the vital component is the interaction between the bride, the groom and God Himself. Permanence involves a vibrant relationship with Him.
4. Faithfulness is Everyone’s Responsibility
4. Faithfulness is Everyone’s Responsibility
And in the house his disciples asked him again of the same matter. And he saith unto them, Whosoever shall put away his wife, and marry another, committeth adultery against her. And if a woman shall put away her husband, and be married to another, she committeth adultery.
Jesus has answered the question of the Pharisees. Later, His disciples again ask for more specifics. Jesus instructs them that faithfulness is everyone’s responsibility.
Being faithful is not something that we have to doubt God about. God is always faithful. The Bible is clear that this is part of the character and actions of God.
Know therefore that the Lord thy God, he is God, the faithful God, which keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love him and keep his commandments to a thousand generations;
Being faithful is something that we have to choose to be each and every moment. Jesus gives the disciples two verses here about the idea of remarriage. Both the wife and the husband are addressed on equal terms. They both have a responsibility to be faithful to what they have committed to. One person has written that,
Mark Mark 10:9
Jesus recognized Moses’ law, but held up God’s ideal for marriage and told his followers to live by that ideal.
In keeping with the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus is going for the higher Law or the higher road. Jesus calls us to go above what is culturally acceptable to what is redemptively possible. The change in the life of a saved person is seen in his actions.
It hath been said, Whosoever shall put away his wife, let him give her a writing of divorcement: But I say unto you, That whosoever shall put away his wife, saving for the cause of fornication, causeth her to commit adultery: and whosoever shall marry her that is divorced committeth adultery.
Jesus tells the disciples that a person who is divorced and no longer married needs to stay unmarried. This is a tough subject that requires much study and clarity. The application for us is that together as men and women, we both have a responsibility to serve God together. God wants us to be faithful.
The woman here is placed on the same footing as the man. She could only initiate a divorce in Roman society. Jesus turns this back on it head. The woman and man are both responsible for being faithful. Paul explains further,
And unto the married I command, yet not I, but the Lord, Let not the wife depart from her husband: But and if she depart, let her remain unmarried, or be reconciled to her husband: and let not the husband put away his wife.
How is your faithfulness? Are you a faithful person? God is always faithful to us. Are we faithful to one another? Are we faithful to Him? Marriage and discipleship both require faithfulness.
Conclusion
Conclusion
God created marriage as a permanent picture of His love for His people. In the beginning, God created two genders that would be joined as one flesh in marriage. Today, we need to be faithful people who are quick to confess sin and follow God's will in our lives.
Are you a faithful person? Are you faithful to your spouse? Are you faithful to God? We all need to be full of faith and faithful.
Jesus is clear here that marriage is to be permanent. It is God’s plan that when a person gets married, they stay married to that person. Are we faithful in our marriage today?
Jesus is also clear that sin affects our relationships. If we are alive today, we have sin. We struggle. Are you faithful to God today as you should be? Only you know the answer to that question.
The passage this morning is a challenging one. But we know that Jesus is making it clear that a life of a disciple involves some hard choices. Being faithful is one of those hard choices. Let’s be faithful people. Let’s be growing people. Let’s be loving people.
Today, we have an opportunity to show the love of Jesus to others. Will you do that through being faithful in your relationships. God is honored when we carry out His perfect will and the will of God is that we are faithful!
