Discipleship and Divorce

Look with me again at verse 1.

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.

So in the structure of Mark's gospel,

Jesus has now officially left Galilee for the final time,

and he is on his way to Jerusalem.

We noted a few weeks ago, Luke, at this point in his narrative,

is using phrases like, his face was set toward Jerusalem,

meaning, not that that's directly where he was going from this point,

but that his mind was on the cross.

His mind was on the purpose for which he came.

And everything that Jesus is doing is moving closer and closer to the cross.

But before going to Jerusalem for his crucifixion,

Jesus made one final tour through the region of Judea,

and then across the Jordan in the area of Perea.

Perea was still a part of Palestine in the day.

You'll remember back when John the Baptist was murdered by King Herod.

It was actually Herod's palace and prison inside the area of Perea,

where John was kept and where he was murdered there.

But though Jesus was getting closer and closer to the cross,

notice that his pattern of ministry doesn't change at all.

What is it that he does?

Everywhere he went, people came to him.

And what did he do?

Well, he taught them.

He preached the gospel to them.

What gospel?

The same gospel he always preached.

The kingdom of heaven is at hand.

Repent and believe the good news.

Matthew 19 tells us that at the same time as he was teaching the crowds,

he was also healing the people.

So even as he got closer and closer to his final days,

just before the cross,

Jesus is doing what he always did.

He was steady.

He was faithful.

He was preaching the gospel.

And during one of these occasions of preaching,

he was confronted with a question about divorce.

And Mark records for us some of the details of Jesus' teaching.

But if you're like me,

you come to this point in your reading of Mark's gospel,

and this passage feels out of place,

at least on the surface.

It's like, where is this coming from?

Because we know that Mark's goal,

his purpose in this gospel,

is to do what?

Mark 1.1.

To declare that Jesus is the Christ,

the Son of God.

That he is the Messiah.

He's proclaiming the gospel through this book.

And then we get to a passage like this,

and it's like this whole discussion of divorce and remarriage

really kind of comes out of nowhere.

Like, why is it here?

And why is Mark,

and then also Matthew,

and then in short order,

Luke,

all included this particular teaching of Jesus?

We need to remember that in this section of Mark's gospel,

it's really kind of a subsection.

Jesus is, of course, moving towards the cross,

but it's zeroing in on his training of the 12 disciples.

He's teaching them not only the truth about his own messiahship,

but he's teaching them the truth of what is real discipleship.

What does it really mean to follow Christ?

What is it that the life of a disciple looks like?

And then we begin to understand,

well, actually,

this lesson fits kind of perfectly in this section,

doesn't it?

Biblical marriage is the foundation on which a healthy family,

church,

and society are built.

Following the disintegration of a marriage

comes the collapse of the home.

Following the collapse of the home

is the devastation of society as a whole.

So God's design for marriage

is not a random piece of teaching,

but it's actually something that every disciple of Christ

must take seriously.

Now, what has Jesus been telling these men?

He's been telling them that they're salt.

And if we are the salt that God uses

to preserve righteousness in the world around us,

to purify the wickedness and depravity

that is all around us in this world

that rebels against God,

if that's our responsibility,

then we have to get this right.

We have to get this idea of biblical marriage,

of the biblical home.

We have to get it right as faithful disciples.

So what we're going to do this morning

is take just a few minutes,

and we won't be able to explore

every possible discussion on this.

It would take us weeks to do that.

We're going to stick as close to these 12 verses as we can,

and we're going to step into a short counseling session with Jesus.

Let's say that we really wanted to find out

what is really God's mind about marriage,

what is really his thoughts on divorce and remarriage,

and how can we be obedient to what he wants?

Well, Jesus gives us a good look at that here, okay?

The first thing I would write down,

if you're keeping notes,

is write down this from verses 2 through 5.

Debating divorce.

Debating divorce.

Look at verse 2.

The Pharisees came up,

and in order to test him,

asked,

is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?

And he answered them,

what did Moses command you?

And they said,

Moses allowed a man to write a certificate of divorce

and to send her away.

So as Jesus was teaching the crowds in Judea,

these Pharisees approach him with this question about divorce.

Matthew gives us an extra detail

that brings a little more clarity to their question.

Matthew chapter 19 and verse 3.

Matthew 19 · chapter mention

The Pharisees came up to him and tested him by asking,

is it lawful to divorce one's wife?

And then he adds,

for any cause.

That brings some clarity to the question.

They weren't necessarily asking about divorce as a practice in general.

What they're asking the Lord is,

can a man divorce his wife for any reason

that he wants to divorce his wife?

Are there stipulations?

What can we do and what shouldn't we do?

And the question was related to an ongoing dispute

that was prevalent in this particular day among the Jews.

The dispute had to do with what made divorce permissible.

And it's interesting the way Jesus responds.

He doesn't automatically go to answer their question.

The first thing Jesus does,

as he often did,

was he asked them a question.

But why?

He says,

well, what did Moses command you?

Is that because he didn't know?

Of course not.

But Jesus asked these questions

to draw things out of people, didn't he?

What's he drawing out of these Pharisees?

The true intent of their heart.

Because then he got directly to what they were trying to get at.

And that was this debate that was so common.

It's centered on various interpretations of Deuteronomy chapter 24.

Deuteronomy 24 · chapter mention

In fact, if you're keeping notes,

I would write that in the margin.

You can look at this later.

Deuteronomy chapter 24, verses 1 through 4.

Deuteronomy 24:1–4

This is what the debate centered on.

It's the only passage in the Old Testament law

that deals with divorce directly.

Let me read these four verses to you.

Let me read these four verses.

who took her to be his wife.

Then her former husband, who sent her away,

may not take her again to be his wife

after she has been defiled,

for that is an abomination to the Lord.

And you shall not bring sin upon the land

that the Lord your God has given you for an inheritance.

This is the passage that the debate was over.

But most of those four verses,

they were in agreement on.

It's not hard to figure out what Moses was getting at

once the divorce was final,

and he was giving instructions there.

What the debate focused on in particular

was the very first verse,

that if a man found some indecency in her

and gave her a certificate of divorcement,

and then it carries on.

What they debated is,

well, what does that word indecency actually refer to?

And there were two schools of thought in Jesus's day.

First, there was a rabbi named Shammai.

So there was the Shammai school.

The Shammai school took a stricter approach to this passage,

and it defined indecency as an offense

that is in the realm of sexual misconduct,

but comes just short of adultery.

Now think about this.

Adultery in the Mosaic law was punishable by death.

Everyone agreed on that.

Everyone knew that that would be the end of a marriage

if that were to take place,

because it would be the end of the life

for one of the parties that were involved.

So it's not referring specifically to adultery.

It had to be something just short of that.

So the Shammai group said,

well, it must be something in the realm of sexual impropriety

that doesn't quite reach full-on adultery,

but it's at least headed in that direction.

Perhaps exposure in some way

or a flirtatious personality with other men

or signaling that they are available in some way.

The Shammai group said,

well, that's really the only way

that divorce would be appropriate

and that this certificate should be provided.

Well, there was a second school of thought.

This was from Rabbi Hillel,

and it was the liberal approach

that actually took the exact opposite approach.

They defined indecency in the widest possible manner.

And even an excerpt from the Mishnah in this time says

that Rabbi Hillel taught

that even if the wife spoiled a dinner for her husband,

that was reason enough for him to find indecency in her

and to divorce her.

Now, some of you are laughing

because it's just kind of funny, isn't it?

But that was in their Jewish guidelines.

This guy was saying,

even if you don't like the way she cooks,

that's enough to find indecency,

therefore you can divorce her.

And then there was another extreme wing

of the Hillel school.

It's also recorded in the Mishnah.

One man said,

actually, indecency can be defined as

seeing another woman that is fairer than your wife,

and that's enough to find indecency in her,

therefore you can divorce her

and pursue the other woman.

This was a common debate in Jesus' day.

This is what the Pharisees were trying

to drag Jesus into in this moment.

And as usual, the crowds are coming to Jesus.

The Pharisees are coming for Jesus

because they're not asking this question

to gain any kind of insight.

What they're actually trying to do

is turn people against the Lord.

Think about it.

If he were to automatically jump into the debate

and take a side,

he automatically excludes a portion of people

that are probably in the crowd that day.

He turns people against himself.

That's what they were trying to get him to do.

Because he's in the region of Judea and Perea,

that's the place where John the Baptist was murdered.

Perhaps Herod is still in the area.

Maybe what they were trying to do

is get him to take the stricter approach

in what he was saying

in order that they could pull the Herodians into it

and could actually have him imprisoned

just like John was imprisoned

for speaking against Herod's marriage.

So don't take this passage

as if the Pharisees are actually trying

to learn Jesus' opinion.

They don't actually care about that.

In fact, Mark tells us.

They came in order that they might test him.

They're trying to destroy him,

not actually gain any kind of insight.

And then look at verse five.

This is how Jesus initially responds.

Jesus said to them,

because of the hardness of your heart,

he wrote you this commandment.

No, Jesus says.

Moses didn't write that

so that you could find

whatever reason possible to divorce your wife.

He wrote that as a protection for the wives

because of the hardness

and the rebellion of your own heart.

Deuteronomy 24, 1 through 4

isn't meant to condone the practice of divorce.

That's not God saying that he gives approval

to the ending of marriage.

It was given as a means of protection

because there were going to be a lot of wives

who inevitably were going to be mistreated

in this process.

Think about it.

Some were saying,

just because someone else is prettier,

just because someone else cooks better,

that's enough for you to abandon this woman,

for you to send her away,

which would have radically altered her life.

If her parents were dead at that point,

she literally has nothing,

no place to live,

no source of income,

all of her security is gone,

and there's a huge group of people

saying that that's okay.

And God, knowing the hardness

and the rebellion of the hearts of these men,

adds a law in that would provide

some type of protection for these women.

So Jesus' first step here

was to insist that the debate itself was wrong.

They were debating the wrong thing

about Deuteronomy 24.

Instead of trying to determine

how easy it is to divorce their wives,

they should have been thinking about

why the law was actually given

in the first place.

But they'd gotten distracted.

So Jesus reminds them,

that's there because of your hardness of heart,

because of your sin, that's there.

So we see the debate of divorce.

Secondly, look with me at divine design.

Divine design.

Jesus goes on from there

and he begins to explain

a biblical approach,

a godly approach to marriage.

Verse six,

but from the beginning of creation,

God made them male and female.

Therefore, a man shall leave his father

and mother and hold fast to his wife

and the two shall become one flesh.

So they are no longer two,

but one flesh.

So instead of appealing

to the popular positions

of the other rabbis,

Jesus neither fixated on the law,

nor did he fixate

on the opinions of others.

He appealed to God's intended design

for marriage

as a creation ordinance.

Did you notice that?

Jesus doesn't go back to Deuteronomy

as he deals with this.

He goes back to Genesis

as he deals with this.

And immediately,

he reminds the people gathered there that day

that marriage is not man's idea.

Neither is marriage simply a social construct.

Marriage is God's idea

and it is by God's design.

It was instituted by him.

It was designed by him.

Therefore, our thoughts on marriage

and divorce and remarriage

must be governed by God's intention

in establishing marriage

in the first place.

So Jesus doesn't go back

to Deuteronomy 24.

He goes back to Genesis chapter 1

Genesis 1 · chapter mention

and Genesis chapter 2.

Genesis 2 · chapter mention

And he quotes two verses there.

The first one is Genesis 127.

So God created man in his own image.

In the image of God,

he created him.

Male and female,

he created them.

And then he quotes Genesis 2.24.

Therefore,

a man shall leave his father

and his mother

and hold fast to his wife

and they shall become one flesh.

So much can be said about these verses,

including the fact

that God's design for marriage

is both heterosexual

and monogamous.

God set the boundaries

of this institution,

not man.

He determined that marriage

must be between a man

and a woman

and it must be exclusive

to that particular man

and woman.

So then beginning there

and following all throughout

the scripture,

all notions of homosexuality

and polygamy

are perversions of God's design

and they issue only

as a result of our sin.

But Jesus' main point

in quoting these verses

is not just to establish

heterosexual monogamous marriage.

His main point

in quoting these verses

is to show God's intention

for permanence

in the marital bond.

And he says,

because two people

become one flesh.

One flesh.

It's not merely a reference

to the sexual relationship

within marriage.

It relates to the whole human existence.

Marriage,

two people unite

in every facet of life.

It's not two individuals

functioning within a social,

construct,

but marriage

is the unique

one flesh union

that is superior to

and unlike

every other relationship

in life.

Those of you who have children

remember the experience

of holding your children

in your arms

for the first time

after their birth.

And in that moment

you feel something

unlike you've ever felt before.

You sense a love

for something

that has never even known you,

that has done nothing

for you

and there's a uniqueness

to that relationship.

But I am not one flesh

with Ashlyn and Harper.

As much as I love them,

as much as I care about them,

as unique as our relationship is

as father and daughter,

it will never be anything

like my relationship

to Julie.

Why?

Because in marriage

God takes two people

and makes them one.

It's not merely an agreement.

It's not a living situation.

It is something supernatural

that takes place

in those moments

as God

brings this union together.

And this union

is never

meant

to be severed.

that's Jesus' point.

In fact,

it was only

after sin

entered the world

that divorce

was even a possibility.

It's never something

that pleases the Lord.

And he goes on

to say it

in verse 9.

What therefore

God has joined together.

Now wait a minute,

I thought that

I thought that

Julie and I were married

because

I

pursued her

and I wooed her

and I did all the things

that you're supposed to do

and she

was convinced

in some way

and we hurried up

and got that taken care of.

We got that contract signed

so we could lock her in.

Isn't that why we're married?

Isn't that what makes us married?

Well no,

that's not what Jesus says actually.

Jesus says

it's not Jared and Julie

that have brought

this union together.

He says

what God has joined together.

God has done this work

in your marriage.

God has done this

one flesh action

and he says

therefore

what God has joined together

let no man separate.

God designed marriage.

God sovereignly unites

two people together

in that bond of marriage

and it's not for man

to destroy

the work

that God has done.

That's Jesus' point here.

Start arguing over

what's

permissible

when it comes to divorce.

Moses only wrote that

because of your sin.

Start worrying about

God's design in marriage

Jesus says

and what God

has brought together

no man

should separate.

James Edwards

insightfully writes

on this verse

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.

Before we move on

I want you to notice

something in this exchange

between Jesus

and the Pharisees.

I want you to notice

how they both

use the phrase

amen.

Amen.

Not amen

but a man.

Verses 2 and 4

the Pharisees use it.

Look at verse 2.

And the Pharisees

came up in order

to test him

and asked

is it lawful

for a man

to divorce his wife.

And then again

in verse 4.

They said

Moses allowed

a man

to write

a certificate

of divorce

and to send

her away.

There's a clear

sense of superiority

even in the way

that they think

about the issue

isn't there?

In their minds

their wives

were lesser people

meant only

to service

their desires.

And if they failed

to do so

these men

considered them

disposable.

So when they

come to the conversation

with Jesus

all they're concerned

about is what

they can do

as husbands

to find an out

should they find

the indecency

that they want

to get out of

in marriage.

But then notice

how Jesus uses it

in verses 7 and 9.

Look first

at verse 7.

Therefore

a man

shall what?

Leave his father

and mother

and hold fast

to his wife.

And again

in verse 9.

What therefore

God has joined

together

let not

a man

separate.

So then

Jesus here

puts the

responsibility

of preserving

and protecting

the marriage

squarely

on the shoulders

of husbands.

Do you see that?

They thought

I'm superior

to my wife

therefore

whatever displeases

me about her

I have the power

to get rid of her

and to pursue

something different.

And Jesus says

no you've actually

got the responsibility

to hold this together.

This is on you

husband.

He insisted

that it's first

man's responsibility

to forsake

father and mother.

To do what?

Hold fast.

Not look

for the loopholes

but to cling

to her.

The King James

as I have it memorized

in the book

of Genesis

says cleave.

To cleave

to her.

To grab her.

To hold tight

to her.

To never let her go.

This is on us men.

He insists

that that responsibility

falls to us

and then he declares

that no man

should endeavor

to separate

what God

has brought together.

Men

the responsibility

of preserving

and protecting

our marriages

falls on us

and shame on us

if it's our wives

that are the ones

fighting to keep

things together.

What did God say

in Malachi chapter 2?

Malachi 2 · chapter mention

For the man

who does not

love his wife

but divorces her

says the Lord

the God of Israel

covers his garment

with violence

says the Lord

of hosts

so guard yourselves

in your spirit

and do not

be faithless.

What do we discern

from Malachi's writing?

God hates divorce

and he expects

that men

would be the ones

working

to preserve

and protect

their marriages

and this doesn't

absolve

our wives

from their part

but I do believe

that men

will face

the greater judgment

in this.

Bottom line

is God

hates divorce

and as his disciples

so should we.

What God

has joined together

let no man

separate.

Thirdly

discussing

remarriage

discussing

remarriage

we've seen

debating divorce

we've seen

divine design

and then finally

with the disciples

in verses 10

through 12

we see discussing

remarriage

and in the house

the disciples

asked him again

about this matter

and he said

to them

whoever divorces

his wife

and marries

another

commits adultery

against her

and if she

divorces her husband

and marries

another

she commits

adultery

those are

shocking statements

who of us

would ever think

that that would be

the accusation

brought against us

for an unbiblical

marriage

divorce

and remarriage

but that's what

Jesus tells his

disciples

we won't go into

it now

but it's clear

that the 12

had largely

adopted

the view

of the culture

around them

in fact

in Matthew's

account

they're so

alarmed

and shocked

by Jesus'

statement here

that they say

well

it's probably

better to

never get married

and Jesus

corrects that

view as well

but in their

minds it would

be impossible

to live that

way

how could you

live in a

lifelong

monogamous

relationship

the disciples

are thinking

so influenced

by the culture

that they're

surrounded by

and yet I think

this is the

reason that the

gospel authors

include this

teaching on

divorce

because Christians

must be faithful

to God's

design

if we aren't

who will be

how will God

be glorified

in his

design for

marriage

and the

family

and the

home

and the

church

and society

at large

if disciples

ignore

his command

in marriage

so the

conversation

inevitably

turns later

in the house

to the issue

of remarriage

after divorce

has taken

place

not only

did Jesus

teach that

divorce

in general

is a sin

but that

those who

remarry

are guilty

of adultery

against their

former spouse

there's three

things I want

to note here

just to bring

some clarification

first thing

is this

Jesus'

references

to divorce

in verses

10-12

relate to

divorce

for unbiblical

reasons

such as the

Pharisees had

earlier

argued

he's not

saying that

every possible

divorce

is unbiblical

despised by

the Lord

and therefore

you are in

adultery

if you

remarry

that's not

what Jesus

is saying

he's referring

back to what

the Pharisees

said

is it okay

for us

to divorce

our wives

for any

reason

and Jesus

says

no

and if you

do and

you remarry

it's like

committing

adultery

against your

wife

okay

that's the

first

clarification

the second

clarification

I want to

make

is that

it's worth

noting that

read marriage

I don't

believe

puts a

person

in a

perpetual

state

of adultery

I don't

think Jesus

is saying

now that

you're

married

you're

locked

in as

an adulterer

for the

duration

of this

marriage

I think

he's

referencing

a single

action

in the

beginning

of the

marriage

relationship

I think

that's

what Jesus

is dealing

with here

not this

perpetual

state

where if

you've

been

remarried

you're

just

an

adulterer

forever

I don't

think

that's

what

Jesus

is

saying

he's

talking

about

a single

action

therefore

it wouldn't

be God's

desire

then

for you

to absolve

yourself

of some

kind of

guilt

by divorcing

again

that wouldn't

be what

God wants

I don't

think he

abused

the adultery

in that

way

and the

third

thing

is this

suppose

one is

divorced

for

unbiblical

reasons

but remains

single

I think

according

to Jesus

and then

again

according

to

the

apostle

Paul

to

the

Corinthian

church

that

individual

should

not

pursue

marriage

again

unless

it's

with

their

first

spouse

who

also

remains

single

let me

read you

this

from

1 Corinthians

1 Corinthians 7:10

7

verses

10

and

11

Paul

writes

to

the

married

I

give

this

charge

not

I

but

the

Lord

in

other

words

this

is

what

the

Lord

taught

Jesus

taught

while

he

was

on

earth

the

wife

should

not

separate

from

her

husband

but

if

she

does

she

should

remain

unmarried

or

else

be

reconciled

to

her

husband

and

the

husband

should

not

divorce

his

wife

what's

Paul

getting

at

well

if

you

do

divorce

you

need

to

stay

single

if

at

least

the

divorce

was

for

an

unbiblical

reason

you

don't

need

to

pursue

it

again

that's

what

the

Lord

was

teaching

his

disciples

as

well

where

we

get

to

at

the

end

of

this

divorce

and

remarriage

are

serious

issues

and

we

don't

need

to

take

a

casual

approach

to

them

we

need

to

treat

them

the

way

that

Jesus

treated

them

and

we

need

to

discern

what

the

Bible

has

told

us

now

to

conclude

I

want

to

recognize

just

three

important

notes

here

in

relation

to

the

whole

topic

as

we

talk

about

it

again

we

could

take

weeks

to

talk

about

this

and

there

are

lots

of

questions

that

come

up

and

!

hypothetical

situations

for us

to

reason

and

we

are

talking

in

more

blanket

statements

here

but

there

are

three

things

that

might

be

an

encouragement

to

you

in

this

the

first

thing

is

this

is

it

ever

okay

to

get

a

divorce

does

the

Bible

actually

provide

allowances

for

divorce

or

are

you

locked

in

no

matter

what

and

now

that

we

understand

and

have

looked

thoroughly

at

God's

design

for

marriage

and

Jesus

approach

to

now

I

think

and

only

now

can

we

look

at

the

exception

clauses

that

are

listed

in

the

scripture

there's

two

of

them

the

first

one

is

this

sexual

sin

in

the

marriage

sexual

sin

in

the

marriage

Jesus

taught

that

sexual

immorality

by one

spouse

makes

the

pursuit

of a

divorce

by the

other

spouse

justifiable

so if

you've

been

divorced

because

your

spouse

was

unfaithful

I don't

want you

to think

that you've

sinned

against

the

Lord

Jesus

made

this

clear

Matthew

Matthew 5:31

chapter

5

verse

31

it was

also

said

this is

Jesus

speaking

whoever

divorces

his

wife

let him

give her

a

certificate

of

divorce

but

I

say

to

you

that

everyone

who

divorces

his

wife

except

on the

ground

of

sexual

immorality

Jesus

says

makes

her

commit

adultery

adultery

and

again

in

Matthew's

account

of

this

event

that

Mark

is

dealing

with

in

Mark

Mark 10 · chapter mention

chapter

10

Jesus

says

the

same

thing

Matthew

19

9

and

I

say

to

you

whoever

divorces

his

wife

except

for

sexual

immorality

and marries

another

commits

adultery

the

word

there

is

pornea

it's

the

same

word

we

get

pornography

from

and

it

has

a

wide

range

of

meaning

when

it

comes

to

sexual

immorality

and

it

will

go

as

far

as

adultery

and

on

the

other

end

to

just

an

addiction

to

pornography

I

think

all

of

those

things

would

be

included

in

what

Jesus

is

saying

here

and

he's

saying

look

except

on

the

grounds

of

sexual

immorality

and

adultery

you

shouldn't

divorce

your

spouse

so

sexual

sin

in

a

marriage

would

be

one

exception

to

this

but

there's

a

second

one

I

think

that

Paul

deals

with

in

1

Corinthians

7

and

this

is

desertion

by

an

unbelieving

spouse

so

1

1 Corinthians 7 · chapter mention

Corinthians

chapter

7

and

verse

12

to

the

rest

I

say

that

if

any

brother

has

a

wife

who

is

an

unbeliever

and

she

consents

to

live

with

him

he

should

not

divorce

her

if

any

woman

has

a

husband

who

is

an

unbeliever

and

he

consents

to

live

with

her

she

should

not

divorce

him

for

the

unbelieving

husband

is

made

holy

because

of

his

wife

and

the

unbelieving

wife

is

made

holy

because

of

her

husband

but

if

the

unbelieving

partner

separates

let

it

be

so

in

such

cases

the

brother

or

sister

is

not

unbelieving

spouse

leaves

you

as a

result

of

your

faith

and

commitment

to

the

gospel

then

you

are

free

biblically

you

are

free

from

enslavement

to

those

marital

laws

let

it

be

so

Paul

says

those

are

the

two

exceptions

that

the

Bible

gives

we

need

to

remember

those

we

can't

neglect

them

we

need

to

think

about

them

the

second

note

is

this

just

because

you

can

doesn't

mean

you

should

sexual

sin

permits

divorce

it

does

not

demand

divorce

and

reconciliation

always

always

needs

to be

the

priority

in our

marriages

what

Jesus

had in

mind

here

when

he

gives

this

exception

on the

grounds

of

sexual

immorality

what

he

had

in

mind

was

a

spouse

who

was

a

serial

adulterer

unrepentant

careless

about

his

sin

desiring

to

pursue

his

own

sinful

appetite

no

matter

what

that's

what

Jesus

has

in

mind

to

the

point

that

a

biblically

healthy

marriage

is

not

even

a

possibility

I

don't

think

what

Jesus

had

in

mind

was

a

single

offense

or

that

he

was

demanding

that

a

single

offense

of

adultery

or

sexual

impropriety

is

enough

to

automatically

hit

the

divorce

button

and

I

think

there

are

Christians

who

are

unsatisfied

in their

marriages

in one

way or

another

and it's

almost

as if

they use

the

sexual

appetite

of their

spouse

as a

reason

to

get

what

they

want

not

because

they're

really

all that

bothered

about

the

impropriety

but

because

they

want

out

of

the

marriage

and