Series: What Time Is It?Sermon: It’s Time to Take Marriage as Seriously As Jesus

Texts: Mark 10:1-16, Genesis 2:18-24

Supplemental Text: Hebrews 1:1-4, 2:5-12

Psalm Reading: 8 

What Time Is It?

It’s Time to Take Marriage as Seriously As Jesus

Are there any subjects where you come to test Jesus instead of coming to trust Jesus? 

The Pharisees came to trap Jesus. What about you? In today’s culture, it is easy to be like the Pharisees and come to Jesus with our ideas on marriage and sexuality and not listen to His teaching.  

The heart of the Pharisee is marked by two dominant traits:

1. A dedication to following the rules.

2. A hard-heartedness. 

In Jesus’ instruction on marriage in Mark 10:1-16 , we see an invitation to become the kind of person who naturally lives according to the law of love and whose heart is soft to the direction of the Holy Spirit and the needs of others. 

Where the Pharisees set a trap for Jesus, he made a doorway to teach on the purpose and significance of the marriage relationship. He takes the Pharisees past Deuteronomy 24 and back to Genesis 1 and 2.

Looking at Mark, 10:1-12, Genesis 1:27, and Genesis 2:18-24 we see that marriage is God’s gift of… 

1. A communion of delight

2. A covenant of love

3. A companionship of service 

Divorce is a corruption of the gift, a disruption of the union and a separation of the covenant. Although Jesus gives sexual immorality as a reason for divorce in Matthew, he does not do so in order to command people to divorce, but to show that sexual infidelity is an act of divorce. But Jesus’ teaching on forgiveness and repentance give marriage what is needed to survive anything, even infidelity. 

In the instructions we have reviewed over the past few weeks, we have the ingredients for healthy and holy marriages. Imagine marriages where each partner has a “serve first, go last” mentality. Imagine marriages that are oriented to welcoming the children and the overlooked. Imagine marriages in which each partner is serious about removing what might cause stumbling in the other or in themselves. 

Prayer Response:

Ask for a soft-heart.

Ask for courage to not idolize marriage nor be apathetic to Jesus’ teaching on it.

Ask for wisdom to be the kind of person who honors marriage as Jesus does. 

Reflection Questions 

1. Begin with a prayer pause. Read Mark 10:1 and imagine being a member of the crowd being taught by Jesus. Prayerfully name apprehensions or concerns you might have about exploring his teaching on marriage and divorce.

2. Name a couple marriages that illustrate a strong and Christ-centered relationship. What is it about them that stands out to you?

3. Take a moment and reflect on how divorce has impacted your life. Are there still wounds that need healing? Is there bitterness that needs to be released? Before reading Jesus’ instructions on marriage and divorce, take a moment and ask him for healing and help.

4. Now read Mark 10:1-16. What stands out to you in Jesus’ response to the question of the Pharisees?

5. In the message we heard that marriage is a gift, a communion and a covenant. Which image is most helpful for you? Which image is most difficult for you?

6. Jesus said that “hardheartedness” was the reason for the allowance of divorce in the Old Testament (see Deuteronomy 24:1-4 if you want to read the OT divorce guidelines). If hardheartedness is a stubborn heart to God and conceited attitude towards others, how does that corrupt and disrupt the marriage relationship?

7. When Jesus instructs his disciples on divorce in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:31-32), he leads into the divorce instructions by talking about lust (5:27-30)and he follows the divorce instructions with guidance on telling the truth (5:33-37). Why are self-control with lust and integrity with words and commitments essential for marriage relationships?

8. Of the couples in the new testament, Priscilla and Aquila stand out as a gospel-centered couple after accompanying Paul on his journey (Acts 18:18), teaching Apollos the fullness of the gospel (Acts 18:26) and hosting the church in their home in Rome (Romans 16:3-5). What are ways that couples can center their lives around and use their partnership for the gospel today?

9. While Jesus does not give specific instructions to those who are single or divorced in Mark 10:1-12, what can we all take away from Jesus’ response to the Pharisees?

10. Read James 5:13-16. Close in prayer with the guidelines he provides. Pray for the troubles. Lift up praise. Pray for the sick. Confess your sins. 

Weekly Reading (October 6-12)

Monday: Genesis 1:27 and Genesis 2:18-24; 1 Corinthians 7:1-9

Tuesday: Genesis 2:18-24 Psalm 8; 1 Corinthians 7:10-16

Wednesday: Psalm 8; Mark 10:1-16

Thursday: Deuteronomy 24:1-5; Matthew 5:27-37

Friday: Psalm 22:1-15; Hebrews 1:1-4 

Saturday: Amos 5:1-17; Ephesians 5:21-33