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Matthew 19:3-12
3. “ The Pharisees also came unto him, tempting
him, and saying unto him, Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife
for every cause? 4. And he answered and said unto them, Have ye not
read, that he which made them at the beginning made them male and
female, and said, 5. For this cause shall a man leave father and
mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one
flesh? 6. Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What
therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder. 7. They
say unto him, why did Moses then command to give a writing of
divorcement, and to put her away? 8. He saith unto them, Moses because
of the hardness of your hearts suffered you to put away your wives: but
from the beginning it was not so. 9. And I say unto you, whosoever
shall put away his wife, except it be for fornication, and shall marry
another, committeth adultery: and whoso marrieth her which is put away
doth commit adultery. 10. His disciples say unto him, If the case of
the man be so with his wife, it is not good to marry. 11. But he said
unto them, All men cannot receive this saying, save they to whom it is
given. 12. For there are some eunuchs, which were so born from their
mother's womb: and there are some eunuchs, which were made eunuchs of
men: and there be eunuchs, which have made themselves eunuchs for the
kingdom of heaven's sake. He that is able to receive it, let him
receive it.”
"The Pharisees also came unto him tempting him.” At
the outset of our Lord's earthly ministry He was led of the Holy Spirit
into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil. Satan though was
thoroughly frustrated in his futile attempt. Yet, and as is common to
him he did not give up. This time he came to tempt, veiled in human
flesh. Mark also emphasises the fact that this question about the
permanence of marriage is a temptation. There is no other matter in
human affairs that cuts so close to the bone. Israel's leaders had long
since succumbed to this temptation and had cunningly devised
concessions to what God had said. As earlier mentioned, any man seeking
popular acclaim would commit political suicide by insisting upon the
permanence of marriage as part of his platform. With few exceptions,
Israel's leaders had turned to mammon which is based upon the popular
acclaim of man coupled with the security that tangible riches seem to
bring. The acclaim of God and that security which comes by faith alone
only attracts despite and rejection from this world which is at enmity
with God. Man being dead in sin and refusing to admit it, plays right
into Satan's hands. The devil masterfully exploits man's ill-founded
faith in the government of the five senses. Thus he captivates man to
work with him in his hatred of and rebellion against God.
Down through the ages religion has often been used by unregenerate man
as a vehicle for his carnality and fleshly desire. Such were the
Pharisees who fed upon the acclaim of man and worldly security, so
becoming ambassadors of Satan in his attempt to tempt the Lord. The
church too is similarly plagued, the difference being that instead of
Christ being tempted, now it is His body. Only those born again of the
Spirit of God into that body would and could dare subject themselves to
the scorn and rejection of this present world and the apostate church
to walk the narrow way of faith and obedience. Well may we examine
ourselves and meditate upon these words written for us by the beloved
Apostle. "Love not the world, neither the things that are in
the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in
him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust
of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the
world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof but he that
doeth the will of God abideth for ever" (1 John 2:15-17). The
Lord Jesus did not in any way try to humour the humanism of the
Pharisees. He always pointed straight back to the beginning and the One
who made them one. Look again at verse 6 above. When the Lord declares "they
are no more twain, " He adds no ifs or buts. "No
more" simply means "no more!" Nothing
done subsequent to the two becoming one can add or take anything from
the Master's "no more."
"Ah,"
said the Pharisees," now we have him. The people will not tolerate
Moses being contradicted like that." Gleefully, they fired the loaded
question: "why did Moses then command to give a writing of
divorcement and put her away?" The Lord though was not
intimidated in the slightest by their satanically inspired question and
immediately turned the tables upon them by linking the Mosaic
concessions to their hard hearts. We have already in an earlier chapter
explained these concessions and the fact that they were designed to
keep a hard-hearted and stiff-necked people in some semblance of order.
These concessions though had nothing to do with the household of God
for the circumcised of heart never did live by concessions, "but
by every word that proceedeth from the mouth of God." Christ
emphasised this fact with the words "from the beginning, it
was not so." He didn't say:
"in the beginning,” but “from the
beginning.” That means that it had never been any
other way, nor would it ever be. Hard hearted people may have forced
concessions from Moses but the truth stands eternally and is
unchangeable. The Pharisees were forced to back off as they wilted
under that irresistible authority which comes when the truth is spoken.
"And I say unto you!
Whosoever shall put away his wife, except it be for fornication and
shall marry another, committeth adultery and whoso marrieth her which
is put away doth commit adultery" (v. 9). Here the exceptive
fornication clause is mentioned for the second and final time by our
Lord. However He adds additional information here in verse 9, naming
the man who puts away his wife and marries another for any other cause
than pre-marital unfaithfulness, an adulterer. We repeat, the word
fornication as Christ uses it denotes sexual sin without the marriage
covenant, while the word adultery denotes sexual sin within the
marriage covenant. We have dealt with this subject in our eleventh
chapter.
Now think carefully about this. If verse 9 truly includes the grounds
of marital rather than pre-marital unfaithfulness as numerous modern
translations of the bible would have us believe, how can it be that the
man who marries a divorced woman also commits adultery for the
concessionists claim that her divorce and the remarriage of her husband
would set her free for marriage herself. Our adversaries have no leg to
stand upon, they are in trouble whichever way they turn. If they say:
`only if she had been divorced without the grounds of adultery would
adultery be committed by the man marrying her' they would have to
abandon their `innocent party' doctrine. On the other hand if they
continue to insist that adultery breaks a marriage, then the remarriage
of the husband should indeed have freed the wife for remarriage. To the
concessionist there is no such thing as adultery in the remarriage of
the divorced woman and yet the Lord declares: "whoso
marrieth her which is put away doth commit adultery."
The only two verses, Matthew 5:32, and 19:9 upon which the enemies of
the permanence of marriage base their entire doctrine are indeed
further substantiation of the very truth which they vainly seek to
deny. Fornication and fornication alone left partners free for marriage
to another. Outside this one clause, fornication or pre-marital sex, so
clearly governed and understood in Israel, there remained absolutely no
grounds for divorce and remarriage. Any remarriage subsequent to the
two becoming one is called adulterous by God. Death and death alone can
bring release from the marriage bond, and this is in God's hand not
man's.
The disciples well understood the fornication clause, but having grown
up in an Israel where divorce and remarriage were common they were
initially shocked by their Master's seeming severity. "His
disciples say unto Him, if the case of a man be so with his wife, it is
not good to marry" (v. 10). Far from being left to weigh up
their options, their spontaneous reaction revealed their understanding
that Christ upheld the permanence of marriage unconditionally. Seeing
that marriage was indissoluble while husband and wife were alive, the
disciples questioned the wisdom of getting married at all. However the
Lord went on to explain to them that celibacy was a God-given gift
which not all men enjoyed or something that man forced upon himself for
the sake of the Kingdom of God, or had forced upon him by others
(verses 11-12). So we see again here that though the Lord upheld the
fornication clause before His Jewish audience, He did not leave them in
two minds as to the permanence of marriage. When our Lord employed the
word "whosoever" he meant any man and every man who puts away his wife
and remarries shall be called by God an adulterer. When He employed the
word "whoso" He meant that any man and every man
who married a divorced woman while her husband yet lived would also be
called by God an adulterer. There are no exceptions to this rule. Even
so the Lord Jesus who is the Eternal Word resisted the devil and his
temptations. He didn't win many friends that day among the Pharisees.
No concessions, no politics, no ifs, no buts.
The world, the flesh and the devil call this God's hardness. We know
better for we know that His commandments are not grievous but they are
true love. We have seen the confusion and grief that follows in the
wake of the concessionists and their ill-advised constituency. God sees
all the agony and grief that divorce and remarriage brings with it. Not
only to the grandparents, but in particular to the children, to the
third and fourth generation. Through short-sightedness, man is easily
tempted to justify concessions. Through faith, we are kept safe from
such foolishness. It will yet be wisdom to us who trust and obey God in
this adulterous and sinful generation for so shall both we and our
households be kept safe from the destroyer.
How peaceful was this teaching to the disciples once they grasped the
rightness of it. It was an end of all strife in their hearts and minds
in regard to this fundamental subject. We too, who teach the
unconditional nature of the marriage covenant, have great peace for was
not this truth written in the hearts of the disciples, in our hearts,
indeed in the hearts of all men? Why should we lie against this truth
that God has written upon the fleshly tables of our heart, a truth
spoken to us also by His dear Son. `Oh dear Heavenly Father, "lead
us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. "
7. "The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul: the
testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple. 8. The statutes
of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of the Lord
is pure, enlightening the eyes. 9. The fear of the Lord is clean,
enduring forever: the judgements of the Lord are true and righteous
altogether. 10. More to be desired are they than gold, yea than much
fine gold: sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb. 11. Moreover by
them is thy servant warned: and in keeping of them there is great
reward. 12. Who can understand his errors? cleanse thou me from secret
faults. 13. Keep back thy servant also from presumptuous sins; let them
not have dominion over me: then shall I be upright, and I shall be
innocent from the great transgression. 14. Let the words of my mouth,
and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my
strength, and my redeemer. "
[Psalm 19:7-14]
© Copyright Dirk Evenhuis. The book Holy Matrimony is
protected by Australian copyright law. No part of the book may be used
or distributed for commercial reasons without the written permission of
the author Dirk Evenhuis.
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