(Study Outline sourced from “The System Bible Study” – “The Book of Life” [Zondervan])
4. Jesus’ Teaching On Divorce
Our Lord Jesus’ teaching on divorce, in answer to the question put forward by the Pharisees, is in response to God’s Law given to Moses and recorded in Deut.24:1-4. But due to the misinterpretation by the Pharisees, He first confirms the divine establishment of marriage. “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.” . At creation God instituted marriage by providing a wife for Adam and giving them the responsibility to be “fruitful, and multiply, and to replenish the earth.” . Marriage was therefore divinely established and God intended it be a permanent relationship between the man and woman, which excluded all others from this relationship and commitment, and expressly forbade the breaking of that union .
The laws of this divinely instituted union were soon broken by mankind as we find that as time progressed God’s people soon began to take to themselves more than one wife , having offspring by a servant , intermarriage with foreign people and the adoption of pagan ways compounded the problem. Therefore, our Lord responded, “Moses permitted you to divorce your wives because your hearts were hard. But it was not this way from the beginning.” . The Law also contained conditions for marrying and re-marrying a divorced woman which our Lord addressed in response to the question of the disciples , and our Lord does not appear to change the command of the Law, but adds the words, “anyone who divorces his wife, except for marital unfaithfulness, and marries another woman commits adultery.” , because a simple letter of divorce does not release a man or woman from the divine law of marriage and its obligations. The disciples then comment, “If this is the situation between a husband and wife, it is better not to marry.” . Our Lord’s reply to this is that there are some people who are not able to fulfill the requirements of marriage, and some who have renounced marriage, and such can accept the requirements of the Law . Paul, in his letter to the Corinthian Church, further expands on this teaching .
5. Little Children Brought To Jesus
“Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.””
Our Lord Jesus is referring to the simplicity at heart and openness of the mind of children to the claims of the gospel, and indicates that for anyone, child or adult, to enter the kingdom of God, there must be a display of such acceptance to the gospel message, “anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.”
(Continued….)