Divorce & Remarriage

This past Sunday was the second hardest message I've ever had to preach. It was based on Mark 10:1-12 and you can listen to it here.  As expected, the emails are already filling my inbox.   I can almost hear the pain and turmoil embedded in each word I read as people wrestle with the truth of God's Word.  Many of the questions/concerns are similar the ones I had during my months of study leading up to this message.

The foundational point of the message was that marriage is permanent.  Mark 10:9 states, "What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate."  I was first exposed to this idea of the permanence of marriage almost nine years ago in J. Dwight Pentecost's class on the Life of Jesus at Dallas Theological Seminary.  I can still remember how it challenged (and somewhat offended) my long-standing view on divorce & remarriage.  Admittedly, I hadn't really studied the topic all that much, nor had I heard one sermon devoted to the topic.

A good summary statement of Pentecost's perspective comes from his epic work entitled, The Words & Works of Jesus Christ.

"The Pharisees viewed marriage as a social institution governed by the laws of men.  But Christ viewed marriage as a divine institution governed by the laws of God.  At the time of the institution of marriage, God had said that the two became one flesh.  One is an indivisible union and the two became one.  An indivisible union was established.  Jesus, quoting Scripture, forbade man to separate what God has united." - pg. 356

My wife, Anna, still remembers me coming home from that particular class fixated on trying to prove my 91-year-old seminary professor wrong.  The results of my (highly bias) study yielded a lot of material to support my position at the time; that remarriage was allowed on certain "biblical" grounds.  Over the ensuing nine years I was quite happy living with that view as my foundation for pastoral care; until I began my study of Mark 10.

What I uncovered during my study really did turn my view upside-down. I continue to ask questions.  I continue to wrestle.  I continue to study.  My prayer is that this very difficult message has encouraged the body of believers at my church to do the same.