Following Jesus: The single man, the husband, the older brother

Jesus on Marriage and Children

(Mark 10:1-16, Preaching: Pastor Stephen Magee, July 21, 2019)

[1] And he left there and went to the region of Judea and beyond the Jordan, and crowds gathered to him again. And again, as was his custom, he taught them.

[2] And Pharisees came up and in order to test him asked, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?” [3] He answered them, “What did Moses command you?” [4] They said, “Moses allowed a man to write a certificate of divorce and to send her away.” [5] And Jesus said to them, “Because of your hardness of heart he wrote you this commandment. [6] But from the beginning of creation, ‘God made them male and female.’ [7] ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, [8] and the two shall become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two but one flesh. [9] What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.”

[10] And in the house the disciples asked him again about this matter. [11] And he said to them, “Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her, [12] and if she divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery.”

[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.

He taught them.

It would be easy for people in every era to underestimate Jesus. With the benefit of the Old Testament that prepares us for his coming and the New Testament that sends us forth in mission as his followers, we need to avoid this serious error. He is Jehovah in the flesh, the great I-AM come in person. He led a life of singular holiness. He showed a commitment in love to us that is the very definition of faithfulness. He knows that we are vulnerable and he powerfully watches out for us and shows us the right way to grow as Christians.

Many people came to see Jesus perform miracles. Some heard him gladly when he taught. We need to do more than that—we must be disciples. We see, we hear, and we follow by his grace.

Marriage: What God has joined together...

The Pharisees came to Jesus with a question, not because they were looking for his perfect instruction, but to test him with the aim that he would get himself in trouble either with powerful authorities or with crowds of people.

The questioned they asked concerned divorce. “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?” Jesus turns the question back upon them: “What did Moses command you?”

No one could answer that Moses commanded that anyone get a divorce. Moses did record God's instructions for marriage from Genesis 1 and 2. They ignored those important words, and referenced not a command but a limitation or an allowance.

“Moses allowed a man to write a certificate of divorce and to send her away.” Deuteronomy 24:1-4 gives us the passage they refer to. The first three verses present the situation. A man gives his wife a certificate of divorce. She then becomes another man's wife. The new husband then dies. Those are simply the facts of the case. There is no commandment in any of that. The ruling comes in verse 4, that if the original husband then desires to take his wife back who he had divorced, he cannot have her back. That is said to be offensive to the Lord and defiling to the land of Israel.

Jesus teaches that Moses allowed the divorce only because of the “hardness of heart” among the people. Divorce was never commanded or recommended. The larger instruction of the first two chapters of the Bible was what they needed (and we still need that), not what might be the horrible remedy under all kinds of particular cases that display our own hardness of heart and that of others.

The best answer is positive and not negative. Here is the outline of five very practical points: 1. Marriage was instituted by God and comes from the “beginning of creation.” 2. It is part of the essence of this divine institution that “God made them male and female.” 3. A new marriage requires some measure of leaving and cleaving. Though an extended family or clan remains and can be a great blessing, a new family is formed when a man and a woman take their vows. 4. This relationship of the vow-making joining of one man and one woman is God's plan for “one flesh” intimacy according to the obvious design of the Almighty. 5. God joined the two together. “Let not man separate” what the Lord has united.

Through further probing from the disciples on this matter, one additional theological proposition is added, and it is very important. Jesus surprisingly calls two specific cases of these principles (of which there could be as many as people can imagine) “adultery,” thus connecting all of this behavior with the Ten Commandments and in specific the seventh which says, “You shall not commit adultery.” Passages like this one and Matthew 5:27-28 teach us that the meaning of the Ten Commandments is not limited to the strictest literal words, but reflect the heart matters at the root of honest obedience.

Children: He took them in his arms and blessed them.

The verses that remain in our text teach us the blessed fruit of marriage in the amazing gift of children. Specifically, people have an impulse to have Jesus lay hands upon their little ones for a blessing, and this is very good. Conversely it is very bad to hinder them from being brought to Jesus and their later coming to Jesus without the aid of being carried. This was to be seen by all, as marriage also clearly is, as an illustration of spiritual truths that go to the core of our relationship with God and our place in his kingdom.

THE POINT: Jesus believes in marriage and the blessing of children. All his disciples need to receive his teaching and follow him in accord with their specific callings.

Applying these verses:

1. Following Jesus, the single man. Who is teaching all of this? A single man. Dignity.

2. Following Jesus, the husband. Who loves us as his blood-bought bride? Jesus only.

3. Following Jesus, the older brother. Who watches over us entirely? Our shepherd.

Old Testament Reading—Psalm 118 – The stone that the builders rejected

New Testament Reading—James 5:19-20 – Bring the wandering one home

Some thoughts on salt...

Elijah, Jezebel, and the Israel of God

(Mark 9:49-50, Preaching: Pastor Stephen Magee, July 14, 2019)

[49] For everyone will be salted with fire. [50] Salt is good, but if the salt has lost its saltiness, how will you make it salty again? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another.”

Everyone will be salted with fire

In the previous verse, Mark 9:48, Jesus spoke of hell as a place where “their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched.” Last week we noted that hell is not just a hangover from the Old Testament, but that Jesus and the entirety of the New Testament is actually far clearer about hell than the Old Testament teaching on Sheol.

In the case of Mark 9:48, however, Jesus is actually quoting from the Old Testament prophet, Isaiah. Let me give you three verses that contain these alarming words about fire, Isaiah 66:22-24: “For as the new heavens and the new earth that I make shall remain before me, says the LORD, so shall your offspring and your name remain. From new moon to new moon, and from Sabbath to Sabbath, all flesh shall come to worship before me, declares the LORD. And they shall go out and look on the dead bodies of the men who have rebelled against me. For their worm shall not die, their fire shall not be quenched, and they shall be an abhorrence to all flesh.”

Because of this quote using the word “fire” in Mark 9:48, we need to connect our verses today with these words of judgment. What can it mean that “everyone will be salted with fire?” In this world since the fall we experience many blessings, but also lots of trouble. These varying experiences in life have nothing to do with whether or not we love the Lord. They come to all kinds of people. Nonetheless, this sprinkling of fire that touches us can be a testimony to all who will receive it, of a much more substantial trouble that all the descendants of Adam and Eve deserve. This salting of fire is a taste of hellfire judgment in the common tribulations of this world. It is not a bad thing, but (Luke 13:1-5) an expression of God's grace that will be very useful for all who will hear its message.

Sometimes food can be far too salty for most of us. And there are two moments in the timeline of the world, one past and one future, when the fullness of hellfire became (and will become) far more than what we can bear. The future one is the promised judgment of mankind in the return of the Lord. The former crisis was at the center of God's plan of forgiveness, when the hellfire of his justice came down on the innocent Jesus for all who would call upon the name of the Lord for mercy. (Consider 1 Kings 18:38 and the cross.)

Salt is good

The symbolic use of salt is very intriguing and worth further examination. For a symbol to be an effective form of communication, there must be some connection between the properties of the symbol and the thing which is symbolically represented. In this case, what is it that is true about salt that justifies its use as a symbol. 1. Salt has a distinctive taste, 2. salt is useful to preserve decay, and 3. salt was used in the culture of the ancient near eastern world in connection with treaties or covenants between nations.

In the Bible God has given us several passages related to salt and his covenants. Leviticus 2:13 - You shall season all your grain offerings with salt. You shall not let the salt of the covenant with your God be missing from your grain offering; with all your offerings you shall offer salt.

Numbers 18:19 - All the holy contributions that the people of Israel present to the LORD I give to you, and to your sons and daughters with you, as a perpetual due. It is a covenant of salt forever before the LORD for you and for your offspring with you.”

2 Chronicles 13:5 - Ought you not to know that the LORD God of Israel gave the kingship over Israel forever to David and his sons by a covenant of salt?

Exodus 30:35 - and make an incense blended as by the perfumer, seasoned with salt, pure and holy. (symbolic of prayer)

Leviticus 2:13 - You shall season all your grain offerings with salt. You shall not let the salt of the covenant with your God be missing from your grain offering; with all your offerings you shall offer salt. (the grain offering and the fruit of human labors)

Colossians 4:6 - Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.

Salt is good. It is a symbol of the Lord's everlasting promises of judgment and mercy. As a symbol of enduring gospel truths, it needs to be soberly considered. As Colossians 4:6 insists, everything we say in life needs to be “gracious,” “seasoned” with the “salt” of the covenant of grace. The covenant of grace, Paul is telling the Colossians in his letter, will be able to make you wise in the way that you speak with and live among all people.

But if the salt has lost its saltiness...

Yes, salt is good, but what if your “salt” has lost its distinctive taste? How can it do anything if it is not salty? (Matthew 5:13-16) What if the followers of the Lord in their words and their lives are not any different than the world that will one day face God's coming wrath? What if we refuse to repent of our sins or refuse to forgive others? How will we be the salt of the earth, if we are not salty with the covenant of grace?

We are missing something important if we deny Christ and his cross, if we act as if Jesus had nothing to say about right and wrong, or if our lives are not seasoned with the salt of true grace. (What I love about the church's love for purity and peace in missions...)

THE POINT: Our Lord calls us to have a taste of his holy mercy in our souls, and to live with the gift of a humble and faithful confidence in Jesus. PURITY: This must include a historic and biblical understanding of right and wrong, without which the cross of Christ makes no sense. (Example of Elijah and Jezebel) Is there no right and wrong? What then did Jesus die for? Is there a new right and wrong based on some other standard than God's revelation preserved for us over many generations? How can humanity define ethics that are superior to the wisdom of God? PEACE: But also quite essential, we must have the compassion of our savior for every person who seeks to turn from sin by the power of the Holy Spirit. (Are you all peace? All purity? We need both.)

Applying this verse:

1. Have salt in yourselves. This is not just about others. Repent of all sin. Believe in Jesus and the gospel.

2. Live at peace with one another. Extend the grace to others that Jesus has granted you.

Old Testament Reading—Psalm 117 – All Nations and All Peoples

New Testament Reading—James 5:13-18 – Elijah—a man with a nature like ours...

More than Death and Hell

I will walk before the Lord in the land of the living...

(Mark 9:43-48, Preaching: Pastor Stephen Magee, July 7, 2019)

[43] And if your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life crippled than with two hands to go to hell, to the unquenchable fire. [45] And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life lame than with two feet to be thrown into hell. [47] And if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into hell, [48] ‘where their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched.’

The seriousness of sin

It is a serious thing to lose a hand, or a foot, or an eye. Over the last several weeks we have had the privilege of praying for a soldier who sustained multiple injuries. Not only is he alive, but he is gaining weight, and will apparently be transferred soon to a better place for continued physical therapy on his road to a fuller recovery. We are not privy to his exact medical condition, but we know it was serious enough that we were all asked to earnestly pray that he would make it, and it does appear that he has.

All along we were not simply concerned about his limbs and his muscles. We also prayed about his emotional condition. What would it feel like for this warrior when he realized the extent of his injuries? How would he come to grips with whatever his inabilities turned out to be? If you lose a hand, foot, or eye, you may also lose your courage, or your sense of who you are. How would our friend bear these realities that were beyond what anyone could even talk about?

There is a still more important matter beyond our limbs and our emotions. How is it with your spirit today? Jesus draws our attention to this weightiest of matters. A person may be whole in body, sound in mind, and yet be dead in his spirit. On the other hand, someone can be wounded in his limbs and torso, and even troubled in his psyche, and yet be an heir of eternal life, with a spirit that is very much alive and trusting in Jesus.

Someone who has no answer for his problem of sin and guilt is in a very precarious position. Sin has 1. an eternal penalty, and it also has 2. a present power that traps and enslaves us so that we may feel that all hope of true repentance is gone. We need a heavenly gift and we should certainly ask for it. Why? Because it would be better to lose hand, foot, or eye and still have heaven than to have perfect physical and emotional health but to be “thrown into hell.”

The problem of hell

A just God and his own measured response to our transgression of his law is the most serious problem that any human being can face. Some people imagine that talk of hell is only an Old Testament issue. This is not the case. Genesis through Malachi is actually more vague about eternal punishment than Matthew through Revelation. God prepared us all in the earlier writings with the concept of Sheol, the land of the dead. It is Jesus and the apostolic writers who wrote their epistles after the pouring out of the Holy Spirit upon the church who taught us more specifically about hell.

There are only two points that we need to make about hell today. 1. Hell is not a desirable destination (“fire... thrown into hell... thrown into hell... fire”). 2. Hell is forever. (“unquenchable... where their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched...”).

The first of these two points is obvious. The second is worth further consideration. Again, let me emphasize that the doctrine of the eternality of divine punishment is not some Old Testament wrath of God hangover that has little support in the New Testament. A 2011 article by Gospel Coalition author Justin Taylor cites ten passages that teach that hell is a place of eternal punishment. Eight of them are from the New Testament (Matt. 18:6-9, Matt. 25:31-46, Mark 9:42-48, 2 Thes. 1:5-10, Jude 7, Jude 13, Rev. 14:9-11, Rev. 20:10, 14-15). The two from the Old Testament are very relevant to Mark 9:48. Is. 66:22-24 refers to the fact that in final punishment “their worm shall not die, their fire shall not be quenched” as quoted directly in our passage. Daniel 12:1-2 tells us that at the end of time, “many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.” This matches Matthew 25:46, which refers to “eternal punishment” right alongside of “eternal life.” How can the life part be eternal but the punishment be temporary?

Eternal life and the kingdom of God

If we have noted two facts about hell, it seems more than fair that we should be treated to at least two about the new heavens and the new earth. Jesus does not disappoint us. 1. The new creation that is surely coming is a desirable destination. (“It is better for you ... better for you ... better for you”) 2. The new creation is forever. (“enter life... enter life... enter the kingdom of God”)

THE POINT: Jesus, whose holiness and death were necessary for our forgiveness, is telling us all not to make excuses about sin. The truth is that neither hand, foot, nor eye causes anyone to sin. We have been slaves of sin since the fall of Adam. Out of a bad root comes evil fruit. What matters now is a new creation (2 Cor. 5:17, Gal. 6:15). Still, getting rid of sin is worth very drastic actions.

Applying this verse:

1. How is it with your spirit today? Are you alive in Christ? Is Jesus Lord? Did God raise him from the dead? Romans 10:9 says that you will be saved if you believe and speak such truths. You have the pearl of great price. Put your toe in the Jordan River of repentance, and see what happens next. You will change your thoughts, speech, and behavior. Today is the next day of your testimony about God in you, the hope of glory.

2. We do not do ourselves or others any favors when we blame our sin on some aspect of who we are, as if the Lord were powerless to give us victory over sin. It is time for us to sue for grace, and to walk in the newness of life based on the strength of our redeemer.

3. Pray for Christians like our warrior friend and so many others. No matter how they may find themselves “crippled” or “lame” or blind, they would do well to remember again that if they have the grace of repentance and faith, their spirits are now alive and they are better off than anyone else who is whole in body and mind, but dead in spirit. Pray and care for the weak, and may your own heart be filled with hope as God assures you that his promises to you are yes and Amen in Jesus Christ.

Old Testament Reading—Psalm 116 – I love the Lord because...

New Testament Reading—James 5:12 – Yes or no?