Sermon Tone Analysis

/*Divorce Proofing Your Marriage*/

Goal: Present Jesus’ clear teaching about divorce and show that in part his teaching was to reveal our inability to succeed without coming to Him.

/*Introduction*/

How’s this for a cartoon?1

\\ As we are working our way through the Sermon on the Mount and looking at /Radical Christianity/, we come to one of the most difficult verses: Jesus’ statement about divorce.

Before reading it, let me remind you of the flow of Jesus’ message.

Jesus begins addressing His disciples and the crowd that was listening with the Beatitudes.

When you read them, just at face value, Jesus is saying things that are diametrically opposed to what people believed.

"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

“Rejoice because people persecute you…”

“You are salt and light, let your light shine…”

“Your righteousness must surpass that of the Pharisees.”

Then Jesus ends the first part (5:48) with,

Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

Sandwiched between “your righteousness must surpass the Pharisees” and “be perfect” Jesus contrasts what the Pharisees taught and His teaching with, “you have heard it said, but I say to you…”

The overarching purpose of chapter 5 is to establish that no one can do what He is teaching.

*The standard is absolute perfec­tion.*

Let’s read our verses for today.

NAU *Matthew 5:31* ¶ "It was said, 'WHOEVER SENDS HIS WIFE AWAY, LET HIM GIVE HER A CERTIFICATE OF DIVORCE'; *32* but I say to you that everyone who divorces his wife, except for /the /rea­son of unchastity, makes her commit adultery; and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.

/*I.

Jesus’ Teaches about Divorce*/

*A.

Lust like divorce leads to adultery*

1.

The whole Greek construction brings to­gether the previous passage on lust with this one on divorce.

2. Both lust and divorce lead to adultery.

*B.

Basic Interpretations on Divorce2*

1.

There are 4 possible positions when it comes to divorce.

a. Divorce is not permitted under any cir­cumstance.

b.

Divorce and remarriage is permitted for any circumstance.

c.

Divorce may be permitted under certain circumstances but remarriage is never permitted.

d.

Divorce and remarriage are permitted under certain circumstances.

2. As always when sin is involved humanity tries hard to find ways around God’s teaching.

*C.

The Pharisee’s Teaching *

1.

The generally accepted teaching was the most liberal of the 4.

a.

A Jewish man simply needed to give a certificate of divorce to his wife.

b.

With that certificate she was divorced from him and had to leave.

2. The certificate read something like this:

Let this be from me your writ of divorce and letter of dismissal and deed of liberation, that you may marry whatsoever man you will.3

a.

The certificate needed to be given in the presence of two witnesses.

b.

But with it, she was required to leave.

3. Since a Jewish woman, especially at the time of Jesus, had no means of support, she would often become destitute.

a.

She would need to find a means of sup­port.

b.

If she could not return to her parents she had to remarry.

c.

If she could not remarry she had to find some way of supporting herself.

*D.

Key thoughts in vs. 32*

1. unchastity – Greek /porneia/

NLT – unfaithful

ESV, NKJV – sexual immorality

NIV – marital unfaithfulness

a.

The Greek word refers to sexual im­morality of any sort.

2. divorce – lit: to send away, to set free, to let go, to release, to divorce.

a.

The concept of divorce always carried with it the right to remarry.

b.

Even in this verse Jesus is making ref­erence to Deut.

24:1-4.

c.

A woman divorced would remarry, but in remarrying she could never return to the first husband.

3. Remarriage, except for adultery, is adultery.

a.

In making this statement, Jesus estab­lishes again the stark contrast between Him and the Pharisees.

b.

Remember, the standard is the perfec­tion of God the Father (5:48).

c.

Since Jesus always takes His listeners back to the beginning, what did God teach about marriage?

/*II.

God’s Teaching about Marriage*/

*A.

Marriage is a Divine Institution*

1. Unless you do not have any knowledge of the Bible you have heard of Adam and Eve.

a.

In Gen. 1 & 2 we have the account of creation.

b.

In ch. 2 we have the detail of the cre­ation of man.

(Turn to Gen. 2)

c.

God formed man from the dust of the ground.

NAU *Genesis 2:7* Then the LORD God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man be­came a living being.

d.

Adam is then given work to do and in accomplishing the task he would discov­er his uniqueness.

e. 2:20 tells us:

NAU *Genesis 2:20* … but for Adam there was not found a helper suit­able for him.

f.

God then “fashioned” Eve and brought her to Adam.

g.

Then in vs. 24 God institutes marriage:

NAU *Genesis 2:24* For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother, and be joined to his wife; and they shall become one flesh.