Sermon Tone Analysis

Last week we came to a portion of the Sermon on the Mount where Jesus challenges the traditional rabbinical teachings of several well known Scriptures like this: “You Have Heard that it was said…do not murder and do not commit adultery…BUT I SAY to you…"

In doing so, Jesus digs beneath the FRUIT of our ACTIONS to the ROOT of our ATTITUDES.

Today we continue on the same track as Jesus demands that His followers be...

Promise Keepers.

Have you ever heard this phrase?

- “My word is my bond.”

That’s a claim we rarely hear, and even more rarely see lived out in our culture.

And sadly, I can say there have been times that you and I haven’t fulfilled what we said we would do.

And whether it was intentional or not, breaking our promises will negatively affect our relationships.

As we will see today, Jesus thinks promises made to God & people are really important.

In fact…

BIG TRUTH: When we keep our promises we point to the Ultimate Promise Keeper.

When we don’t…then we don’t.

First we are going to see what Jesus says about breaking the promise to our spouse.

Divorce is one of the most hurtful and controversial topics among Christians today.

All of us have in some way been affected by divorce.

Maybe YOU or another family member have been divorced.

Maybe it’s longtime friends or mentors who have called it quits.

The goal of today’s teaching is NOT to rub your face in past hurt.

Instead, it’s to deal with an issue that JESUS thought was incredibly important in His culture, like it is in ours.

Again, if Jesus is not just the interpreter of Scripture, but the AUTHOR of Scripture - the One who inspired the Scripture to be written - then we MUST see divorce through through HIS eyes.

Is divorce allowed for any reason?

Can a divorced person remarry in God’s eyes?

Let’s see what the AUTHOR of Scripture has to say.

Matthew 5:31 (NIV)

It has been said, ‘Anyone who divorces his wife must give her a certificate of divorce.’

Only the man could initiate divorce in Moses’ day as well as Jesus’ day - with the only exception being if the woman petitioned the court for divorce; if her plea was accepted, the court would order the man to give the woman a certificate of divorce.[1]

With no court action necessary, the husband would present a certificate of divorce to his wife in front of witnesses, clearly stating that she was released from him and able to marry another.[2]

This document protected the woman, allowing her to remarry.

Otherwise, women would have very few options to provide for themselves and their children - leaving some with the only option of prostitution.

Moses writes:

Deuteronomy 24:1 (NIV)

If a man marries a woman who becomes displeasing to him because he finds something indecent about her, and he writes her a certificate of divorce, gives it to her and sends her from his house...

What does displeasing or indecent mean?

In Jesus’ day there was a long standing controversy over what something displeasing or indecent meant.

Some took the ultimate liberal slant of Rabbi Hillel.

Has your wife ever burnt your meal?

My Dad tells me that my Mom loves his so much, sometimes she gives him burnt sacrifices.

But in that day, some interpreted that you could divorce your wife for spoiling your meal…NO…I’m not kidding.

Rabbi Aquiba even said a man could divorce his wife if he found someone else prettier than her.

[3]

The more conservative Rabbi Shammai would say it was only an option because of the act of adultery.

This is the environment Jesus is weighing in on.

And rather than trying to find a bunch of loopholes so people can find a way out of their marriages, Jesus is reminding people that God’s view of marriage is intended to be a lifelong covenant.

Jesus again makes this very clear at another time when He answers these question directly:

Matthew 19:3–6 (NIV)

Some Pharisees came to him to test him.

They asked, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any and every reason?”

“Haven’t you read,” he replied, “that at the beginning the Creator ‘made them male and female,’ and said, ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh’?

So they are no longer two, but one flesh.

Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.”

Matthew 19:7–9 (NIV)

“Why then,” they asked, “did Moses command that a man give his wife a certificate of divorce and send her away?”

Jesus replied, “Moses permitted you to divorce your wives because your hearts were hard.

But it was not this way from the beginning.

I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another woman commits adultery.”

Marriage is intended to be one man and one woman for one lifetime.

We are to fight FOR our marriages rather than quickly throw in the towel.

I have met with people who seem to want RELEASE from marriage instead of desiring to REKINDLE the marriage.

They are looking for any/every reason to divorce while discounting the consequences of disobeying God’s commands.

Jesus is not focused on why a person might get OUT of marriage, but why a person should stay IN marriage.

The man who divorces his wife without Biblical grounds (more on that in a moment), who then marries another commits adultery.

How could that be?

Simple.

God doesn’t recognize the previous marriage as being over, so the husband or wife being intimate with another person…commits ADULTERY.

And so it is that Jesus speaks to this on multiple occasions, including during the SERMON ON THE MOUNT.

Matthew 5:31–32 (NIV)

It has been said, ‘Anyone who divorces his wife must give her a certificate of divorce.’

But I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, makes her the victim of adultery [causes her to commit adultery], and anyone who marries a divorced woman commits adultery.

And since God still sees her married to the other man, this also causes her to commit adultery - If this sounds really messy, that’s because it IS!!!!

Marriage is intended to be one man and one woman for one lifetime.

But marriage is more than just about a man, a woman, & family.

Denny Burk

"Our marriages were always meant to be about this other marriage (Eph.

5 - the mystery of Christ and the Church)...Our marriages are supposed to be saying something about the gospel...marriages are supposed to be these little dramas of redemption put on display for the world.”

[4]

BIG TRUTH: When we keep our promises we point to the Ultimate Promise Keeper.

Jesus is our Ultimate Promise Keeper.

And we have the privilege and responsibility to point to the ONE who can forgive our disobedience - lust, slander, sexual impurity, adultery, & unbiblical divorce - just to name a few.

When IS remarriage recognized by God?

I recently taught on this in our 1 Corinthians series in May of last year, in a teaching called “Devoted or Distracted”.

You can click on the link or take a picture of the QR Code for that teaching (, but in short, in short...

The bond between husband and wife is only dissolved by death, adultery, abandonment, or abuse.

The Scriptures say that the death of a spouse means a person may be remarried .

Jesus has just mentioned adultery in the text we are studying.

Paul further mentions abandonment as another legitimate reason for divorce & remarriage (1 Cor 7:15-16).

Although not specifically mentioned in Scripture, a spouse may divorce the husband/wife who abuses and endangers the family.

There is no doubt in my mind that Jesus would not expect a husband/wife to stay with a someone who beats him/her, abuses the children, or brings others into the house to harm them.

This man/woman has broken their vows to love, provide, and protect.

Without a time of separation, protection, and proof of change, a quick apology is not enough.

The bond between husband and wife is only dissolved by death, adultery, abandonment, or abuse.

One last question and then we will move forward.

So what if someone has divorced and remarried outside of these allowed exceptions?

What should you do NOW?

Should you leave that person too and be celibate the rest of your life?

Here’s my take…not the Lord’s, and not Paul’s…as they don’t speak to it.

STAY in your current marriage and honor the Lord with it for the rest of you life!

If you and your first spouse remarried to another person years ago, don’t leave and try to reconcile - that would be a MESS.

Is your marriage in trouble?

You think you have biblical grounds…or you would LIKE to - cause you want out?

You might be PERMITTED to divorce and remarry, but that doesn’t mean you are COMMANDED to.

If your spouse is willing to turn from their sin against you, make the effort to restore relationship.