Marriage & Divorce

Marriage & Divorce

Mark 10:1-12

Main Idea: Despite the world’s confusion and our own sin, Jesus calls us to honor God’s design for marriage

I. The Distortion of Marriage (10:1-5)

Matthew 19:3: And Pharisees came up to him and tested him by asking, “Is it lawful to divorce one’s wife for any cause?”

“You do not learn to fly an airplane by following the instructions for making a crash landing; you will not be successful in war if you train by the rules for beating a retreat. The same is true of marriage and divorce. The exceptional measures necessary when a marriage fails are of no help in discovering the meaning and intention of marriage. Jesus endeavors to recover God’s will for marriage, not to argue about possible exceptions to it. His opponents ask what is permissible; he points to what is commanded…The divine intention for marriage cannot be determined from a text about divorce.”
~James Edwards

II. The Design of Marriage (10:6-12)

Jesus quotes Genesis 1:27 and 2:24 to teach:

  1. Marriage is God’s idea, not a human invention

    “If the Bible is telling the truth about reality, then the universe we live in was created primarily with marital romance in mind. The heavens and the earth were created for the marriage of Adam & Eve. The new heavens & the new earth will be created for the marriage of Christ & his bride. The whole cosmic reality exists as the venue for the eternal honeymoon of the perfect husband with his perfect bride in marital bliss forever and ever. This is the breathtaking claim of the Bible.”
    ~ Ray Ortlund, Marriage and the Mystery of the Gospel 

  2. Marriage is between one man and one woman

  3. Marriage is intended to be a covenant, permanent relationship

III. The Mystery of Marriage (cf. Eph. 5:32)

Ephesians 5:32: This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church.

“The cross shows us the permanence of marriage, in a covenant sealed with blood. The cross also shows us that the nature of marriage is the sacrifice of self. That means we give ourselves to each other. We do not wield the threat of divorce as a means of self-protection. Instead, we build marriages that, as best as we can, reflect the one-flesh union of Christ and his church. And then we run to that cross-shaped gospel even when we fail.”
~ Russell Moore, The Storm-Tossed Family

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