Jaw-dropping Jewels about Jesus
Rarely does Jesus, God the Son, do exactly what we expect of Him. It seems odd that He so frequently surprises us, given that He never changes. Hebrews 13:8 makes this absolute statement: “Jesus the same yesterday, and today, and forever.” Still, though He is blessedly consistent in His goodness, Jesus does unforeseen things. Even when He does what is expected, He does not always do it in the way that we anticipate. Let us join with Jesus on a jaw-dropping journey. (I will be using this opening paragraph for each of the brief messages in this series. The following material will change daily.)
In Mark 10:11-12, Jesus speaks of the controversial matter of divorce: “And He saith unto them, ‘Whosoever shall put away his wife, and marry another, committeth adultery against her. And if a woman shall put away her husband, and be married to another, she committeth adultery.’” There are four main views on this subject. First, some believe that divorce is absolutely forbidden. However, Jesus specifically used the word “except” in Matthew 19:9: “And I say unto you, ‘Whosoever shall put away his wife, except it be for fornication, committeth adultery: and whoso marrieth her which is put away doth commit adultery.’” Second, some believe that divorce is permitted but remarriage is not. However, I Corinthians 7:10-15 explores this issue in some detail, reaching the conclusion that, if divorce does occur, “a brother or sister is not under bondage in such cases” (verse 15b) – that is, that a wronged spouse is not prohibited from remarriage (in this specific case, a believer who had been divorced by an unbeliever). Third, most scholars who interpret the Word carefully reach the conclusion that both divorce and remarriage are permitted (not encouraged!) under the specific exceptions only. The contexts of Genesis 24:1-4, Matthew 5:31-32 and 19:3-12, and I Corinthians 7:10-15 all indicate the possibility of remarriage (note especially Genesis 24:2b – “she may go and be another man’s wife”). Fourth, some teach that divorce and remarriage can occur for any (or no) reason; this was the view of the Pharisees, who taught that a man (not a woman) could divorce if his wife burned his meal. This interpretation makes divorce the first option, not the last. The third view has the best Scriptural support.