Jesus on Gender, Marriage, and Divorce

INTRO

Jesus is our spokesman today (Heb 1:1-2; Mt 17:5)

He alone is our authority today—not family, friends, religious figure, popular opinion

What did Jesus say about Gender, Marriage, Divorce, and Remarriage?

Discussion

God made them male and female (Mt 19:4)

Facebook lists 58 gender preferences to choose from (perhaps more now, that number is from 2014 ABC news report)

No difference between sex and gender—gender is not something

God determines gender—he made only 2 and you can’t switch

God made them at the beginning (Mt 19:4)

A subtle rebuke of the idea of evolution

Evolution is an old idea going back to the Greek philosophers

Jesus: man and woman (and marriage) created at the beginning

Man is to leave his parents and cleave to his wife (Mt 19:5)

Marriage is one man and one woman for life

To refer to this arrangement as “traditional” implies there is another kind of marriage that is different but just as acceptable

Homosexuality is a shameless deed (Rom 1:26-27; 1 Cor 6:9-10)

Two become one (Mt 19:5)

Leaving—mature enough to be on one’s own

Cleaving—to adhere closely to, to glue on to (IGEL)

Two become one not just physically but also...

financially—not your money and my money—ours

spiritually—married couple not on the same page religiously destined for difficulty

goals—retirement, work, travel

God joins a man and a woman in marriage (Mt 19:6)

Divorce was never in God’s plan (Mt 19:8)

To divorce and marry another is to commit adultery (Mk 10:11-12; Lk 16:18)

To divorce one’s spouse to cause them to commit adultery (Mt 5:31-32)

To marry one who is divorced is to commit adultery (Mt 5:31-32)

The exception is a divorce for the cause of fornication (Mt 19:9; Mt 5:32). epi in Mt 19:9-- “of the reason or motive underlying words and deeds...for, on account of...” (Thayer)

Some situations call for some to remain unmarried (Mt 19:10-12)

CONCLUSION

Summary: Who will we hear on this subject? The world or Christ?

Heb 3:15 “While it is said, To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts, as in the provocation.”