1. Jesus was teaching, and the Pharisees put Jesus to the test. Doesn’t it stink that they can’t just listen to Him?
2. Maybe divorce was a hot-button issue back in the day too because the Pharisees ask Him if it is “lawful” for a man to divorce his wife. Uh oh…
3. If you want to ask a law question, Jesus says to consult the law-giver. The “maker” of the law, back in the day, was Moses. So, Jesus asks what he said…
4. …he said that a man could write a certificate of divorce and kick his wife to the curb.
5. Jesus agrees that that is what the law says, but He explains that that law was written because of the hardness of Israel’s hearts. So Jesus is saying that God was accommodating for Israel’s sin. His standards weren’t different. It’s just that God knew what His people could handle.
6. God gets to the original, pre-Moses, law. That law said that God joins two people together in marriage; and “what God has joined together, let man not separate.” Seems pretty clear to me. This is when we throw out all the “but what about” situations. And, I think that’s what Jesus is talking about when He says that our hearts are hard. This is the way it should be. But, look at the mess we make of marriage.
7. Again, Jesus seems to be pretty clear about divorce. To me, any “new law” that Moses makes or a church makes (like Presbyterian USA) is only made because we have failed to have the heart that God has called us to have. And that’s nothing to be proud of.
8. Jesus was like Santa Claus. Parents wanted their kids to touch Jesus. Aww…
9. The disciples thought that was too “low” for someone of Jesus’ stature. But, Jesus flipped out on them. Jesus tells his disciples that their priorities are out of whack if they think that children aren’t important to Him. Children demonstrate faith and trust that us adults could learn a whole lot from.
10. What do you think childlike faith looks like?
