Matthew 19:1-12

Marriage and Divorce
Book of the Bible
Matthew
Speaker
Tony Ferguson
Sermon Date

We took note in this passage that as Matthew gives us Jesus teaching on marriage and divorce that he sets it directly after the parable of the unforgiving servant. Understanding how great a debt that God has forgiven us, and understanding that we are commanded to forgive others should be foundational truths that undergird our marriages. The Pharisees attempt to Jesus into making a controversial statement about divorce by asking Him if it was lawful for a man to divorce his wife for just any reason. 

Before Jesus addresses their question, He gives them the foundational truths of Genesis regarding God's original intent for marriage. Marriage is not merely a civil union with divine origin, it is a divine union, with divine origin. That being the case, mere paperwork from a human court can't dissolve what God has joined together. The disciples understood how strict a stance Jesus took on divorce, and said "If such is the case of the man with his wife, it is better not to marry."

The problem with that is not everyone has the gift of celibacy. Jesus gives us two paths in this passage:

  1. Heterosexual, monogamous, permanent marriage.
  2. Celibacy.

 

Description of the book of Matthew

As you come to the New Testament the first three books you encounter (Matthew, Mark and Luke) are referred to as the "synoptic" gospels. They are called the "synoptic" gospels because for the most part, they have a "similar view" of the life and ministry of Jesus. Though they account for much of the same narrative regarding the life and ministry of Jesus, they are not identical, nor are they intended to be. They assemble the accounts in different contexts, and contain different amounts of detail, but they are all important. God always seeks to establish a matter on the testimony of 2 or 3 witnesses, so having these 3 synoptic gospels about the life an ministry of the Son of God is in no way redundant.

Matthew’s gospel communicates to us the life, ministry, death and resurrection of Jesus in the fulfillment of the Old Testament Scriptures. From His lineage, to His birth, to His miraculous ministry, to His teachings, to His crucifixion, Matthew will time and time again point out that these things happened “that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet…”.