Gospels (43) - Luke 18:1-14, Matthew 19:1-12 & Mark 10:1-12

Teacher: Rusty Kennedy
Series: Gospels

Rusty's Notes

• We concluded last week at Luke 17 with Jesus answering a question about end times and His Second Coming.

• He continues this thought through the beginning of Luke 18 with a couple of parables.
• Jesus specifically is teaching about prayer because it will become important for the Jews.
  
  

Luke 18
THE PARABLE OF THE PERSISTENT WIDOW
1 Now he told them a parable on the need for them to pray always and not give up. 2 “There was a judge in a certain town who didn’t fear God or respect people. 3 And a widow in that town kept coming to him, saying, ‘Give me justice against my adversary.’
4 “For a while he was unwilling, but later he said to himself, ‘Even though I don’t fear God or respect people, 5 yet because this widow keeps pestering me, I will give her justice, so that she doesn’t wear me out by her persistent coming.’”
6 Then the Lord said, “Listen to what the unjust judge says. 7 Will not God grant justice to his elect who cry out to him day and night? Will he delay helping them? 8 I tell you that he will swiftly grant them justice. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?”

• This parable is in reference to the Second Coming of Jesus and saving the remnant of Jews that is left and being pursued by the Antichrist at the end of the Tribulation.

 
THE PARABLE OF THE PHARISEE AND THE TAX COLLECTOR
9 He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and looked down on everyone else: 10 “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee was standing and praying like this about himself: ‘God, I thank you that I’m not like other people—greedy, unrighteous, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week; I give a tenth of everything I get.’
13 “But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even raise his eyes to heaven but kept striking his chest and saying, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner!’

• Repentance + Faith = Salvation

14 I tell you, this one went down to his house justified rather than the other; because everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”[1]

• God is more concerned about the condition of your heart rather than what you are doing.

 
The subject of divorce:

• You are not going to find all your answers in the next 20-30 minutes.
• We will not cover all the Scriptures on divorce
• If you are considering divorce… seek wise counsel
• Don’t look for people to affirm what you want to do.

 
THE QUESTION OF DIVORCE
Matthew 19
1 When Jesus had finished saying these things, he departed from Galilee and went to the region of Judea across the Jordan. 2 Large crowds followed him, and he healed them there. 3 Some Pharisees approached him to test him. They asked, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife on any grounds?”

• Deuteronomy 24:1 - “If a man marries a woman, but she becomes displeasing to him because he finds something indecent about her, he may write her a divorce certificate, hand it to her, and send her away from his house.” [2]
• Mishna (Page 321) Gittin 9.10

The School of Shammai say: A man may not divorce his wife unless he has found unchastity in her, for it is written, Because he hath found in her indecency in anything.
And the School of Hillel say: [He may divorce her] even if she spoiled a dish for him, for it is written, Because he hath found in her indecency in anything.
4 “Haven’t you read,” he replied, “that he who created them in the beginning made them male and female,” 5 and he also said, “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two will become one flesh? 6 So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore, what God has joined together, let no one separate.”

• Instead of going back to Deuteronomy, Jesus went back to Genesis.
• What God did when He established the first marriage teaches us positively what He had in mind for a man and a woman.
• If we build a marriage after God’s ideal pattern, we will not have to worry about divorce laws.[3]
• It is between man and woman…
• Not man and his job…
• Not woman and her children…
• I choose to journey with my wife the rest of my days here on this earth.
• We reproduced children so they could do the same.
• For the last 24 years and 25 days, we have prepared our marriage for this very day.
• We are one flesh!

  
7 “Why then,” they asked him, “did Moses command us to give divorce papers and to send her away?”
8 He told them, “Moses permitted you to divorce your wives because of the hardness of your hearts, but it was not like that from the beginning. 9 I tell you, whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another commits adultery.”

• Jeremiah 3:6-10 – 6 In the days of King Josiah the Lord asked me, “Have you seen what unfaithful Israel has done? She has ascended every high hill and gone under every green tree to prostitute herself there. 7 I thought, ‘After she has done all these things, she will return to me.’ But she didn’t return, and her treacherous sister Judah saw it. 8 I observed that it was because unfaithful Israel had committed adultery that I had sent her away and had given her a certificate of divorce. Nevertheless, her treacherous sister Judah was not afraid but also went and prostituted herself. 9 Indifferent to her prostitution, she defiled the land and committed adultery with stones and trees. 10 Yet in spite of all this, her treacherous sister Judah didn’t return to me with all her heart—only in pretense.”

This is the Lord’s declaration. [4]

• The Jews will return to the Lord at His Second Coming.

 

• Malachai 2:10-16
  10     “Do we not all have one father? Has not one God created us? Why do we deal treacherously each against his brother so as to profane the covenant of our fathers?

11     “Judah has dealt treacherously, and an abomination has been committed in Israel and in Jerusalem; for Judah has profaned the sanctuary of the Lord which He loves and has married the daughter of a foreign god.
12     “As for the man who does this, may the Lord cut off from the tents of Jacob everyone who awakes and answers, or who presents an offering to the Lord of hosts.

1.     “This is another thing you do: you cover the altar of the Lord with tears, with weeping and with groaning, because He no longer regards the offering or accepts it with favor from your hand.

14     “Yet you say, ‘For what reason?’ Because the Lord has been a witness between you and the wife of your youth, against whom you have dealt treacherously, though she is your companion and your wife by covenant.
15     “But not one has done so who has a remnant of the Spirit. And what did that one do while he was seeking a godly offspring? Take heed then to your spirit, and let no one deal treacherously against the wife of your youth.
16     “For I hate divorce,” says the Lord, the God of Israel, “and him who covers his garment with wrong,” says the Lord of hosts. “So take heed to your spirit, that you do not deal treacherously.”[5]

• Why does God hate divorce?
• What is divorce?
• The act of divorce is not a legal document.
• The act of divorce is everything that leads up to separation of one flesh.
• Singleness – Everything is done for yourself.
• Dating/Courtship – You learn to do things to gratify one that you choose to love.
• Marriage – You become one flesh and it is about gratifying each other’s needs.
• Sexual intimacy is that wedding gift that physically says, “we are one flesh.”
• The act of divorce begins when you start acting as a separated flesh.
• In other words, you go back to doing things that gratifies yourself rather than your spouse.
• As for the sexual intimacy… some of you just stop… because you don’t want to… you don’t take into account your spouse’s needs.
• Others will go back to self-gratification through porn (guys like pictures, girls like words so the will read romantic novels that cause them to create a relationship with their spouse in their brain that they can never attain).
• Some will find self-gratification in another person.
• The self-gratification of intimacy is just one aspect of the act of divorce.
• There is the lack of communication as one flesh.
• There is the issue of money and possessions that come into play.
• There is in-laws and family that interfere with you being one flesh.

And it all leads down a selfish road of doing everything for yourself.
 
10 His disciples said to him, “If the relationship of a man with his wife is like this, it’s better not to marry.”

• You can assume that the disciples grew up under the discipleship of the School of Hillel.

11 He responded, “Not everyone can accept this saying, but only those to whom it has been given. 12 For there are eunuchs who were born that way from their mother’s womb, there are eunuchs who were made by men, and there are eunuchs who have made themselves that way because of the kingdom of heaven. The one who is able to accept it should accept it.” [6]

• Jesus speaks about the life of celibacy.

 
THE QUESTION OF DIVORCE
Mark 10
1 He set out from there and went to the region of Judea and across the Jordan. Then crowds converged on him again, and as was his custom he taught them again.
2 Some Pharisees came to test him, asking, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?”
3 He replied to them, “What did Moses command you?”
4 They said, “Moses permitted us to write divorce papers and send her away.”
5 But Jesus told them, “He wrote this command for you because of the hardness of your hearts. 6 But from the beginning of creation God made them male and female. 7 For this reason a man will leave his father and mother 8 and the two will become one flesh. So they are no longer two, but one flesh. 9 Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.”
10 When they were in the house again, the disciples questioned him about this matter. 11 He said to them, “Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her. 12 Also, if she divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery.” [7]

• With this statement, Jesus just changed the Jewish law by saying the wife could divorce the husband.

Romans 8:1 - 1 Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus, 2 because the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and death.[8]

• I believe you have two choices:

1) Walk by your flesh (selfish)
2) Walk by the Spirit (live your life by another source)

• No one goes into marriage wanting divorce.
• Sometimes we walk in a season of flesh.
• Maybe, you just need some counsel in how to walk by the Spirit.

[1] Christian Standard Bible. (2017). (Lk 18:1–14). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.
[2] Christian Standard Bible. (2017). (Dt 24:1). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.
[3] Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 1, p. 68). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
[4] Christian Standard Bible. (2017). (Je 3:6–10). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.
[5] New American Standard Bible: 1995 update. (1995). (Mal 2:10–16). La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.
[6] Christian Standard Bible. (2017). (Mt 19:1–12). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.
[7] Christian Standard Bible. (2017). (Mk 10:1–12). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.
[8] Christian Standard Bible. (2017). (Ro 8:1–2). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.