Corona Chronicles 2: (Ep.53) Two Become One
91 sermons
Well, we've got a subject today in Corona Chronicles. We're in now chapter 10 of Mark's Gospel. But we need to get underneath what this is really about. Otherwise, we could get really sidetracked. Anyway, it's chapter 10 Jesus then left that place and went into the region of Judah, and across the Jordan.
Again, crowds of people came to him and as was his custom, he taught them. Some Faruses came and tested him by asking, is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife. What did Moses command you? He replied? They said Moses permitted a man to write a certificate of divorce.
And send her away. It is because your hearts were hard that Moses wrote you this law. Jesus replied, but at the beginning of creation, God made the male and female. For this reason, the man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife. And the 2 will become 1 flesh, so they are no longer 2, but 1 flesh.
Therefore, what God has joined together, let no man, let no 1 separate. When they were in the house again, the disciples asked Jesus about this. He answered anyone who divorces his wife and married another woman commits adultery against her And if she divorces her husband and marries another man, she commits adultery. So I I suppose we What we don't wanna do here is get too bogged down in the specific example that's been brought up here. But what what has happened here is these viruses have come to Jesus to test him.
That's what we're told in verse 2. They've come to test him. So they bought a slightly tricky, slightly virtual thing to him and saying, is it lawful for a man to do this? It's really ugly. Yeah.
And and and actually the way they're treating scripture, God -- Mhmm. -- you know, even Moses -- Yeah. -- and women, their wives. Mhmm. Is really, really ugly.
Yeah. You know, people aren't there to be tests. Are they -- No. -- for some legal situation. And I think it goes back to what we were seeing last time.
If you cause a little 1 and in this case, the, you know, women were were seen as as people to be looked after and so forth. If you're causing a little 1, your wife to sin -- Mhmm. -- then you you are in trouble. Yes. And here they are, pouncing around with a sort of question to to to to it's it's really horrible.
Yeah. And I think Jesus sees that. Definitely. And it and and and it it's a question to sort of justify themselves as well because the, is it lawful from and divorced's wife? Technically, the answer is yes.
Yeah. So if he says yes, then they go away going, well, I feel very good about myself then because, you know, I've divorced my life. And if Jesus says no, they can come and go, well, Moses said we could. So it's a it's a trap question, but Jesus is brilliant because he says, look, what did Moses command you? Yeah.
And I I think I mean, so he his answer So this this is the pre prepared thing that they were about to bring out to Jesus. If Jesus said, no, it's not legal. This is the thing that they were gonna bring out. Moses permitted a man to write a difficult divorce and send her away. That was in that was the thing that they prepared to say to him.
But then Jesus goes back to creation. Yeah. And we which is also So this is also encapsulating what Moses commanded. What did Moses say? What did Moses write down?
Moses wrote down. He God made them male and female. So it's asking a bigger question. What did Moses command you? Not technically just about this clause, but what has Moses said about marriage and about God.
Yeah. And you treat that with the respect that you should do -- Yeah. -- which is 1 man and 1 woman becoming 1 flesh, isn't it? Yeah. And so there's this bonding together that God's in in this relationship, bonding you together -- Mhmm.
-- and you just wanna ponce around about talking about ripping it apart -- Yes. -- as a test question -- Yes. -- how dare you talk like this about such a wonderful thing. Exactly. And then he put I love the thing just before that where he says, yeah.
But yeah. Oh, you're right. Moses did give that law. But only because you are sinful -- Yeah. -- because you can't hold your marriage together -- Yeah.
-- because you were, you know, we're in this world of sin. Yes. But before sin, this is the ideal. This is the beauty of marriage. And I think that's what he's doing then.
So it's actually, you know, it's a shame in a sense that this law had to be written. Yes. It's because your hearts were hard. If your hearts were soft, this this law wouldn't have to have ever been written. So actually, you sort of championing this law and and sort of wearing it like a crown and saying, well, I'm out to do this.
It's a shame to you in a sense -- Yeah. -- that you wear it so proudly. And then he comes to this end bit where the disciples come and ask sort of more about it, and there can be there's tough things in these verses, and we can't really deal with it all. But I think the big thing in the flow of reading these passages together is that he says, anyone who divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery against her and then the same if she does it. I think what he's saying is that to treat marriage as if you can come into marriage, just divorce, go back into marriage, because that's what they were tending to do.
They had these certificates of divorce. Right. So in I could go and commit adultery. Right. Well, I can't.
I mustn't commit adultery. That's breaking the law. I divorced my wife marry this new woman -- Yep. -- have sex with her, divorce her, and go on to another 1. Right.
It's disgusting, he's saying, isn't it? And he's saying, you're causing you're causing sin in yourself -- Mhmm. -- be better to chop your arm off, remember. Mhmm. And you're causing a little 1 to sin as well.
Yes. And in this case, the little 1 is the woman. Yep. You're causing you you in your big grand masculine way thinking you're godly -- Yes. -- causing yourself to sin and a woman to sin, and you are culpable for that.
Yeah. So it's it's pretty hefty stuff here, isn't it? Absolutely. Yeah. Yeah.
So let's treat relationships very importantly, very serious there might be need for a divorce, I think -- Yeah. -- Jesus is saying. Mhmm. But this isn't some trivial little thing here because this is God has brought together. Yeah.
So, there we go. How are you treating people? Mhmm. It's a it's a big question.