Let No One Separate (Mark 10:1-12)
Last week, I had a conversation via text with an old friend from a previous ministry. Surprisingly, we discovered that we would both preach sermons this coming Sunday. When I told him I was preaching on divorce, he replied, "Why on earth would you do that?!?"
"The hazards of preaching sequentially through a book of the Bible," I quipped.
I'll admit that divorce can be an uncomfortable and painful topic to address. But preaching on the words of our Lord isn't hazardous at all. Jesus's words are life-giving and infinitely wise. They're of inestimable worth and should be considered and cherished by all who follow Him. So, I'm glad to think it through together with you!
With that said, I believe that Mark 10:1-12 is primarily about marriage, and Jesus takes us back to God's original design when He created marriage. Will we deal with divorce and other issues surrounding marriage in a fallen world? Yes. But, I hope we will come away from Sunday agreeing with Hebrews 13:4 that "marriage should be honored by all."
Looking forward to sharing with you this week at Grace,
-Pastor Chris
P.S. Since this week deals with more sensitive topics, we encourage you to use your discernment in bringing your children to this service.
And he left there and went to the region of Judea and beyond the Jordan, and crowds gathered to him again. And again, as was his custom, he taught them.
2 And Pharisees came up and in order to test him asked, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?” 3 He answered them, “What did Moses command you?” 4 They said, “Moses allowed a man to write a certificate of divorce and to send her away.” 5 And Jesus said to them, “Because of your hardness of heart he wrote you this commandment. 6 But from the beginning of creation, ‘God made them male and female.’ 7 ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, 8 and the two shall become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two but one flesh. 9 What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.”
10 And in the house the disciples asked him again about this matter. 11 And he said to them, “Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her, 12 and if she divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery.”
- Mark 10:1-12