On Mark 10:2-16. Bible quotes are ESV.
We have a very important passage of scripture in our gospel today, to which we must pay attention. It's important, on the surface at least, for 2 good reasons. First of all, Jesus gets angry with his disciples! That hardly ever happens! We would do well to note why he was angry with them. And the other reason is that Jesus affirms the biblical doctrine of holy matrimony and the ideal of the Christian family, which is so much under attack today, and has been for a long time. While the world, under the influence of the prince of the power of the air, continues to do all it can to make peoples' lives at home miserable, we, the disciples of Jesus, who listen to what he teaches us here, need to celebrate, enjoy, and decidedly affirm the blessing of biblical marriage and family life, so we may fulfill our mission to be the salt and light of this world.
So let's look at this passage. Why does the subject of marriage come up? It comes up because the Pharisees are trying to trick Jesus again into saying something they can use against him. They ask the question, "Is it lawful to divorce your wife?" Now they all know, Jesus included, that there was provision for divorce in the book of Deuteronomy. But they all also know that this provision had long been abused by men, who were divorcing their wives willy-nilly. It's possible that Jesus might say something against divorce because of the abuse. If he does, not only could they use it to accuse him of contradicting Moses, but the news of his comments might get to King Herod's court, and who knows? John the Baptist had been imprisoned and eventually beheaded because he had spoken against Herod's divorce; maybe Herod would deal with Jesus as well.
But Jesus is ready for them. In the words of a famous Pete Seeger song, "Oh when will they ever learn?" He asks them, "What did Moses command you?" They, of course, have the provision for divorce in Deuteronomy in their mind, so they refer to that. But Jesus has another command of Moses ready for them, for remember that Moses is considered the author of Genesis as well. And in the book of Genesis we have another command: ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, 8 and the two shall become one flesh.’ And then Jesus - basing his words on Moses - says, "What God has joined together, let no man put asunder."
So, instead of really getting into the divorce debate, Jesus affirms the institution of marriage. The uniting of a man and a woman to start a new new household is a joining together that God does. Marriage is an institution God founded when he created mankind. And it is important for so many reasons. To begin with, God made man in his own image, but this image is not complete without there being both male and female. It was not good for the man to be alone, but it was very good for the man to be married to the woman. That's what God says. And it was together, in this union of one flesh, that they would fulfill their mission to exercise God's dominion over the earth. Adam was in charge and Eve was his helper - but what a helper! When Adam sees her, he bursts out in poetry! She was also his completer; only together were they what God intended them to be.
I could go on. But let me at least say here again, marriage is God's institution. It is not an idea that humans invented at some point in history, which - themselves being the author - they can change in any way they want whenever they want. Marriage was ordained by God from the very beginning of human history and we have no right to change it. That means that the 2015 US Supreme Court decision of OBERGEFELL v. HODGES, which affirms a different understanding of marriage, is wrong before God and needs to be reversed. God is not mocked, and he will hold accountable judges that make such rulings. It also means that we who are married should do all we can and pray for grace to have as lovely a marriage as possible, so as to demonstrate and prove the value of God's will for humanity.
I have mentioned that the marriage of men and women together is critical for the role we have to exercise God's dominion on this earth, but we also remember that God told Adam and Eve to be fruitful and multiply. That's why our liturgy for the solemnization of holy matrimony includes propagation as one of the purposes for marriage. And that brings up the topic of children, which we now note in our reading; and this is where we see Jesus get angry. Let's look at it again.
13 And they were bringing children to him that he might touch them, and the disciples rebuked them. 14 But when Jesus saw it, he was indignant and said to them, “Let the children come to me; do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God. 15 Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.” 16 And he took them in his arms and blessed them, laying his hands on them.
There is a lot of emotion going on in this passage. The parents were so moved by how loving and wonderful Jesus was, that they wanted their children to meet him, to be close to him, to receive his loving touch. The disciples - giving them as much credit as we can - were probably concerned about Jesus being overly taxed; they probably thought he should be protected from being bothered like this. Thus their emotions were involved, in their solicitude for their Lord. Jesus gets angry with them because they don't understand just how important these children are. And then there is the emotion of the children which had to be there, because Jesus was hugging them and blessing them, which had to make them feel important and loved.
In the midst of all this emotion, we see the life of a biblical family. The family is founded on the marriage of the mother and father, and their children are loved and nourished as they bring them to Jesus so they may know his love for them. Do we get the picture here? It's no wonder Jesus is so engaged emotionally in all this. To begin with, he loves all the members of the household, including the children. Unlike the culture around them, Jesus thought children were important - indeed eternally important, if you follow their example of humility.
What is more, Jesus is very engaged here because, he considers families the basic building block of his kingdom. If you look at the bible over all, God likes to save families. We see him dealing with individuals, yes, but he also deals a lot with families. The family, and all those in the household, is the basic building block of the church. The apostles don't go into detail about what our roles are to be in the family because they want us to be happy as individuals. No. It is so that our families may be a humble, wholesome community, reflecting the grace and image of God, so that consequently, as our families come together in worship, a greater, godly community may be built, the church may thus grow, and his will may be done on earth as it is in heaven.
And it is because our families are so important that a war against the family has been going on in the West for several generations now. And this disruption of the family makes Jesus angry. The wrath of God is upon all those who seek to damage God's institution of marriage and harm the life of the family that is to result.
Let's be sure we are on the Lord's side in this matter, at least here at Redeemer church, to please the Lord with godly, Christian homes.
I'll end by quoting a lovely, simple hymn, out of the Baptist hymnal:
1. God, give us Christian homes!
Homes where the Bible is loved and taught,
Homes where the Master's will is sought,
Homes crowned with beauty Your love has wrought;
Homes where the father is true and strong,
Homes that are free from the blight of wrong,
Homes that are joyous with love and song;
Homes where the mother, in caring quest,
Strives to show others Your way is best,
Homes where the Lord is an honored guest;
Homes where the children are led to know
Christ in His beauty who loves them so,
Homes where the altar fires burn and glow;
God, give us Christian homes;
Source: Baptist Hymnal 1991 #504
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