Now He is once again in the eye of the storm. Unlike Galilee, in Jerusalem we find all the political parties – from the Romans to the Essenes. And in Jerusalem there are the various religious schools of the Sadducees and the Pharisees. The Roman’s may have preferred to rule from Caesarea or somewhere along the coast, but the center of the Jew’s life was Jerusalem. So that is where Pilate had his office and palace, reporting directly back to Rome. Everything Israelite revolved around Jerusalem, but it was Christ who was the tornado in the city.
Of course, Christ did not try to hide from His opposition; there was no need of that. What can mere man do against the eternal decree of God? Yes, Jesus slipped out of Galilee without fanfare, but it was impossible for Him to be in Jerusalem very long before everyone of importance knew about it. As I said, Christ was the super cell – everywhere He went there was a storm. And once again some of the Pharisees approached Christ with an highly thought-out question.
That brings us to the temptation.
We speak of the temptation of Christ when referring to Satan’s attack shortly after His baptism. And without a doubt it was a true and severe temptation. He was “in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.” But let us not forget that Jesus was tempted in one form or other throughout His life. Except perhaps in degree, Christ’s lived through constant temptation, just as we do. Certainly, Satan didn’t just walk away after taking Christ to the pinnacle of the Temple. But He did change tactics, often employing various human enemies. In this case some Pharisees approached the Lord with an old question. “Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife for every cause?”
As generally explained by the commentators, there were two major schools within the Pharisees. If we wanted to compare Judaism with Christianity – there were the Catholics and the Protestants. Then, too, there were the Baptists – outside both camps – like John and Christ Jesus. The Sadducees were the liberals – the modernists – those who allegorized, corrected or denied the Old Testament scriptures. The Pharisees were more like the Protestants, and within the larger body there were the Arminian Methodists and Calvanistic Presbyterians. In Christ’s day, there were two major schools or divisions within the Pharisees – those who followed Rabbi Hillel and those who followed Rabbi Shammai. Neither one were Baptists – neither one loved the Lord Jesus Christ.
When it came to the subject of marriage and divorce, Hillell and Shammai differed greatly. Shammai taught that a man could not put away his wife but for one reason – “uncleanness.” Hillell on the other hand permitted divorce for any trivial reason. If the woman was a poor cook, or even if she spoiled a single meal, she could be put away. If the man thought that she was losing her youthful good looks, he could divorce her. In fact, if for no other reason than that man considered another woman more attractive, he could put his wife away and marry that other person. If his wife gave him only daughters rather than sons, he could get a more selective child-bearer. If she had a squeaky voice or her laugh was too loud he could put her away. Who knows – if she was a cat person and he was a dog person, he could probably divorce her. Hillell said that it was lawful for a man to put away his for any cause.
Christ had proven His wisdom over the last three years. “Never man spake like this man” – “For he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.” Of course, Jesus’ disciples, with you and me among them, knew that Christ was and is the Son of God. His wisdom wasn’t earned and learned, and His authority was not derived or stolen. What Christ uttered was forever the Word of God. But these Pharisees were not asking their question to a wise man in order to satisfy their curiosity. They weren’t asking Rabbi Jesus to support either Rabbit Hillell or Shammai. They were once again attempting to entrap Jesus – they were tempting Him. They wanted the Lord to say something which they could use against Him. Because remember – many people were saying that Christ would soon be setting up the Millennial Kingdom. But these unbelievers were convinced that Jesus was not the Christ, and they wanted ammunition with which to shoot Him down in the eyes of the common Israelite.
If Jesus took one side of the question or the other – it really didn’t matter to them – then these men – these vipers, these hypocrites – would turn a large portion of Israel against Him. And since both sides of the question believed that Moses permitted divorce, if Christ forbade it completely, then they could say that Christ was even contrary to Moses. Once again they thought that Christ was caught in a three-sided cross fire. Surely this time He would be killed. If the people of Hillell didn’t hate Him, then those of Shammai would. If the divorced men didn’t hate them, then the victimized women would. Those Pharisees considered it a sure victory.
But Jesus replied with something for all of us to remember.
Jesus replied with the Word of God.
“And he answered and said unto them, Have ye not read, that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female, And said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh? Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.”
There should never be any debate about the nature of marriage. Just because Adam and Eve didn’t have any opportunity to marry a second time, if they had chosen to divorce, that doesn’t take away from the fact that marriage was intended to be permanent. Marriage has always been intended to be permanent. How old was Adam when he died? He was 130 years old when Seth, his third son, was born. And then he lived another 800 years, dying when he was 930. In other words Mr. and Mrs. Adam may have been married for 930 years.
The other day, I saw not one, but two of our married couples, kiss right here in our church building. One of those was what a poet might describe as a “stolen kiss.” Based on those kisses and other things, I would surmise that those two couples are happily married. But can even you imagine being married to that same person for another 850 or 900 years? Did Eve out-live her husband, or did they pass away at about the same time? That was the way that marriage was supposed to be – is supposed to be – virtually for ever.
That is the way that it should be for everyone of us who take a bride or a husband today. I hesitate to speak of “holy matrimony” because it begins to sound like a church ordinance. For than more than one heretical denomination, marriage is a part of their salvation. I don’t speak of “holy matrimony,“ but on the other hand I will more freely speak of the “sanctity of marriage.” A Christian marriage is supposed to be a three-way agreement between the bride, the groom and Jehovah. If I thought for a moment that the couple in whose wedding I participated a few weeks ago, had plans to stay married for only a few years, and then to move on to other partners, I never would pronounced them “man and wife.” And if I had been given the chance, I would have counseled that couple beginning a year ago, telling them that they were committing the rest of their lives to each other, and they had better be sure of what they were doing.
When those wicked Pharisees came to Jesus with their trick question, Jesus replied with the Word of God.
Then taken aback just a little bit, someone among them, asked a more pertinent question.
“They say unto him, Why did Moses then command to give a writing of divorcement, and to put her away?” This is taken from Deuteronomy 24 – “When a man hath taken a wife, and married her, and it come to pass that she find no favour in his eyes, because he hath found some uncleanness in her: then let him write her a bill of divorcement, and give it in her hand, and send her out of his house. And when she is departed out of his house, she may go and be another man’s wife.” As you may remember, there is some debate about how to define this “uncleanness.” It has nothing to do with not keeping the house clean. In almost every case – about fifty times – the Hebrew word is translated “nakedness.” The word “uncleanness” appears to be speaking about something immoral. And if Christ’s words in verse 9 are to be understood as the definition of the word, then this uncleanness was fornication.
Shammai and the more conservative scholars of Jesus’ day, believed that “uncleanness” was the only grounds for divorce. “Why did Moses then command to give a writing of divorcement, and to put her away?” Admittedly, that is a worthy question.
And Christ’s answer is a more worthy answer, parrying away the sword thrust against Him.
“He saith unto them, Moses because of the hardness of your hearts suffered you to put away your wives: but from the beginning it was not so. And I say unto you, Whosoever shall put away his wife, except it be for fornication, and shall marry another, committeth adultery: and whoso marrieth her which is put away doth commit adultery.”
Sin is the root cause of every problem ever seen in this world. It is the at the source of every personal problem, every social problem, every political problem. Are you suffering from disease? Perhaps not the specific problem in your case, but the root of that disease is sin. Adam would never have even had the sniffles if he hadn’t sinned, and he certainly wouldn’t have died. A bad economy is due to a battle between various sins in various people. War is a result of sin, as is every other social ailment. And that includes marriage problems – all marriage problems are sin-caused.
Why did Moses permit divorce for this uncleanness? Because of hearts hardened by sin. It might be argued that is not a good reason. While there is merit to the argument, there it is nevertheless.
And yet, as the Lord most clearly declares, “whosoever shall put away his wife, except it be for fornication, and shall marry another, committeth adultery: and whoso marrieth her which is put away doth commit adultery.” The original plan for marriage, before sin came along and before hearts became hardened by that sin…. The original plan for marriage is that one man marry one woman and that they remain married until they die. Incidentally, there is no provision for a man to marry another man, or a woman to marry a woman. That is a part of the fornication which the Bible condemns. God’s plan for marriage is that if a man and woman agree to marry, then it is to be for life.
But what if someone chooses not to marry?
The Bible in no way condemns or criticizes that person. Sometimes marriage is not possible for one reason or another – some remains unmarried for life. There is no sin in that. There are people who cannot have children, and those people may choose not to marry as a result. On the other hand, some of those same people may marry knowing that there will never be children. There are others who choose not to marry in order to give themselves more fully to the service of God. But in some cases their lack of a spouse may actually hinder their service. As the Lord Jesus says, “He that is able to receive it, let him receive it.”
Despite what the Law provided for the one who found “uncleaness” in his spouse, marriage is supposed to be for life. A Christian couple agreeing to join themselves in marriage should expect to remain in that marriage for the rest of their lives. But if someone should choose not to marry, for whatever reason, he too can still bring glory to the Lord.