Tuesday, September 1, 2020

PT-1 "The Teaching of Jesus" (Matt. 5:31-32)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 9/1/2020 8:33 AM

 

My Worship Time                                                                Focus:  PT-1 “The Teaching of Jesus”

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference: Matthew 5:31-32

 

            Message of the verses:  31 "Furthermore it has been said, ‘Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.’ 32 "But I say to you that whoever divorces his wife for any reason except sexual immorality causes her to commit adultery; and whoever marries a woman who is divorced commits adultery.”

 

            We begin today a section that will take us many days to go through as we look at verses 31-32 of Matthew chapter five and talk about what Jesus is teaching about divorce and remarriage. 

 

            Jesus is teaching and affirming exactly what Moses taught in Deuteronomy 24:1-4, a section we have already looked at, and Moses wrote that unjustified divorce inevitably leads to adultery.  To those in the crowd who were the legalistic, self-righteous scribes and Pharisees Jesus was really saying to them “You consider yourselves to be great teachers and keepers of the law, however by allowing no-fault divorce you have caused a great disfigurement of adultery to contaminate the people of God.  You have lowered God’s standards in order to meet your own, and you have led many people into sin and into judgment.”

 

            What the Pharisees were doing was interpreting Moses’ instructions to mean something like “if you find something distasteful about your wife, then just divorce.”  We have learned that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, so that means that every person born of a woman, fathered by a man is a sinner and because we are all sinners we all sin and because we sin from time to time we do things distasteful to others including our spouses.

 

            John MacArthur writes “The error in their thinking is highlighted in 5:27-30.” “27 "You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ 28  "But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. 29  "If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell. 30  "And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell.”  “They prided themselves on the fact that they did not commit adultery.  But Jesus said, ‘I say to you, that everyone who looks on a woman to lust for her has committed adultery with her already in his heart” (v. 28).  In verses 29-30 He showed them that no sacrifice is too great to maintain moral purity.  Then in these present verses (31-32), He again indicts them for adultery because they were committing it by putting away their wives.  The ease of divorce made it possible to avoid open adultery.  Only a little paperwork was required to legalize their lust.” 

 

            So we can see that Jesus confronted them with a proper interpretation of God’s law as He said that every time a man without proper cause turned his wife loose to remarry, that he was forcing her into adultery, which made him as guilty as her.  In addition, the man who married the former wife and also the woman who married the former husband were likewise guilty of adultery, so the result was multiplied adultery!  Jesus’ whole point is that divorce leads to adultery.

 

We now move onto the third part in the booklet we have been looking at entitled “The Battle of the Ages,” and begin to look at:

 

“The Third Battle is the Battle of the Promised Seed”

 

            “It was not long before the prophesied enmity between the seed of the serpent and the seed of the woman became manifest.  The promise to the woman of a conquering seed to bruise the serpent’s head was understood of course by Satan, and from that hour all his diabolic energy was directed upon the breaking of the promise.  Unless he can prevent the rise of the conquering seed, his own destruction is certain.  There are, accordingly, five definite attempts prior to the Incarnation of Christ, to break the promise of His coming.”  We will begin to look at these five in our next SD, Lord willing.

 

9/1/2020 8:59 AM

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