Matthew 19:1-12
Matthew is helping us fall—into the kingdom of Christ.
1. We are not to be trusting in law, nor our ability to keep it.
Divorce and the 10 commandments are two of the best ways to convince the average heart that it needs cleansing and saving from the outside-in.
Rabbi Shammai and Rabbi Hillel:
“An ethic which is truly to reflect God’s will must be built, not on concessions, but on basic principles.” -R. T. France
2. The cause of marriage is in God’s creation.
We often have the same attitude: “Keep the line moving; file the paperwork.”
Jesus often has the same response: “Hold the line and listen to God’s design.”
3. Divorce is often a test-case for if people will explain sin away.
In other words, marriages are miracles.
What can we see from this text?
A. Marriage as a permanent, lifelong, one-flesh union between a man and a woman.
B. Marriage is designed by “he who created them from the beginning male and female.”
C. God joins the spouses at marriage.
D. Divorce is real.
E. Divorce is in the world due to hardness of heart.
F. Cynical hearts say “I can use this for my benefit and invent ‘adultery with paperwork’.”
G. Soft hearts say “I cannot make it without God’s miracle,”
H. The Kingdom is a gift, not an achievement.
1Tim. 3:16 Great indeed, we confess, is the mystery of godliness: He was manifested in the flesh, vindicated by the Spirit, seen by angels, proclaimed among the nations, believed on in the world, taken up in glory.
