Categories
Matthew 5

31. Christian Righteousness & Divorce (Mt. 5:31-32)

INTRODUCTION:

  • Matthew 5:31-32 and the whole topic of Divorce and Remarriage is intellectually difficult and emotionally charged.
  • Christians are very divided on this topic.
  • Yet, virtually all of us have been touched by it in some way.
  • We must continue to grapple with it.
  • My request is for you to try to forget what you’ve heard or been taught in the past and come to the text as fresh as possible.

FOCUS QUESTIONS:

  1. If you or anyone in your family has ever been touched by divorce, please stand over here.

  2. If you have ever known anyone touched by divorce, please join them.

  3. If you are still seated, you must be living under a rock! Join them anyway!

  4. Find two people you were NOT seated with and join hands as a triad group.

  5. Now, find a seat with them and talk about these two questions:

 

STARTER QUESTIONS:

  1. If you had complete, unchallenged legislative power to enact laws governing divorce and remarriage, what would they be?

  2. Can a person be physically married and yet mentally divorced? How does God see that?

  3. In the Christian environment or church in which you were raised, how were you taught to see divorce and remarriage?

  4. Is that the view you still hold? Why or why not?

INTRODUCTION:

  • Matthew 5:31-32 and the whole topic of Divorce and Remarriage is intellectually difficult and emotionally charged.
  • Christians are very divided on this topic.
  • Yet, virtually all of us have been touched by it in some way.
  • We must continue to grapple with it.
  • My request is for you to try to forget what you’ve heard or been taught in the past and come to the text as fresh as possible.

 

CONTEXT & BACKGROUND:

  • Jesus’ statement about divorce (5:31-32) is found in an extended discourse.
  • This particular section begins with a statement by Jesus about the Law.
  • He has been accused by his enemies of challenging the Law and the Prophets.
  • Jesus says he has NOT come to abolish the Law but to fulfill them (5:17).
  • KEY QUESTION #1
    What did Jesus mean by “fulfill?”
    • Jews understood exactly what he was saying.
    • He was promising to do what every rabbi gave his life to do.
    • To fulfill the Law meant to explain its meaning in a complete and accurate way.
    • It meant to penetrate to the heart of God’s revelation.
    • To expose the beauty and truth of it for all to see.
    • Jesus’ promise to “fulfill the law” was a promise to exposit the reality underlying the words of Scripture.
  • Jesus concludes his introduction by saying that a Christian’s righteousness must SURPASS that of the Pharisees in order to enter the kingdom of heaven.

 

  • KEY QUESTION #2
    How can our righteousness surpass that of the Pharisees?
    • The Pharisees based their righteousness before God on scrupulously keeping the Mosaic Law
    • Anyone who approaches God by the avenue of the Law must practice it ALL PERFECTLY (cf. 5:48).
    • This would demand unimaginable righteousness.

Jesus is pointing his listeners to the fact that –

Our righteousness before God is only through His righteousness.

This righteousness is only appropriated by GRACE (unmerited favor) through FAITH.

 

  • KEY QUESTION #3
    So what’s the purpose of the Law if it is not righteousness before God?
    • In Galatians, Paul argues that Israel’s relationship with God was always based on grace and the promise (Gal. 3:17-25).
    • The Law did not invalidate or replace the promise.
    • Under and through it all there was still grace.
    • Under the Law there was consistent failure.
    • But even the Law made provision for a covering sacrifice for sin until the ultimate offering might be made by Christ (Rom. 3:24-26)
    • Thus, grace and faith operated under the Law as well as in our New Covenant age.
    • Many Pharisees misunderstood the function of the Law and attempted to use it for self-justification.
    • They perceived the Law as the highest possible moral standard.
    • But Jesus says the Law was NOT the highest possible moral standard because it only sets up standards with outward actions, not the inner passions.
  • At this point, Jesus introduces a series of “you have heard it said” sayings.
  • In each, he first quotes the Mosaic Law.
  • He then penetrates to the IDEAL which is both expressed and hidden in the Law.
  • Deals with:
    1. Murder (5:21-22)
    2. Adultery (5:27-28)
    3. Divorce (5:31-32)
    4. Oaths (5:33-37)
    5. Legal Rights (5:38-42)
    6. Love (5:43-47)

TWO CONTRASTING SYSTEMS

 

PHARISEES JESUS
Formal, shallow Genuine, deep
External Internal
Misleading, clever Honest, reliable
Man made God given
Glorifies self Glorifies God
Fails to satisfy heart Brings joy
Cannot bring true righteousness Brings true righteousness

 

JESUS’ ILLUSTRATION USING DIVORCE:

  • Divorce was common in Jewish culture at this time
  • Pharisees sought to legislate it according to the Law
  • Deut. 24:1-4 allowed divorce but in a proper way
  • Some rabbis said divorce could occur for ANY reason (cf. Matt. 19:3)
  • Jesus is seeking to get to the INTENT of the Law, to the IDEAL
  • He seeks not just the outward actions but the inward motives

Each states a law which deals with an action and then immediately moves beyond behavior to deal with motives. In the cases of both murder and adultery, Jesus condemns the inner anger and lust that are wellsprings of the behavior. What is striking about this is that while Law can deal with the acts of sin, no legislation can deal with one’s hidden motives and desires.

But in a revelation of reality this teaching is important. It was too easy for a man living under Law not to act out his sinfulness and to make the mistake of thinking himself righteous before God! This was one of the errors of the Pharisees. They struggled to, and in the main did, keep the letter of the Law. But they violated the spirit of the Law in their hearts. This is the reality Jesus forced his listeners to face. If both Law, and the root of Law in the holy character of God, are truly understood, then no one can claim righteousness.

Jesus’ statements about murder and adultery then were never meant to be incorporated into the social and legal code of Israel. He never intended that a person who shouted out anger against his brother be brought to trial for murder. He never intended that a person who entertains lustful thoughts should be stoned for mental adultery.

When the true meaning of Law, the fulfilling, was grasped by Israel, they would see how futile it is to seek standing with God by their acts of righteousness.

What are the implications when we find Jesus’ statement about divorce in this context, and in the same form as the statements about murder and adultery? For one thing, if the first two are not intended as a basis for social legislation, but instead as an expression of the reality revealed and hidden in Law, then it seems unreasonable to argue that the third statement is intended as a basis of new legislation. If we persist in seeing Jesus’ statement of a new law, then we will find no support for our view in sound hermeneutics.

There are actually six “You have heard” statements in the Matthew 5 sequence. None of them is meant to be a basis for social legislation. Each of them does tell us something vital about God.

God, who gave Law, is concerned that our hearts are in tune with his heart. He is not satisfied that our behavior be in conformity with the letter of the Law. Our righteousness must exceed that.

God’s solution is not to legislate, but to deal with the hearts of men in transforming grace. By transformation God removes from our personalities the anger that leads to murder, the lust that leads to adultery, and the unwillingness to forgive and be forgiven which leads to divorce.

— Larry Richards, Ph.D.

Remarriage: A Healing Gift from God

pp. 99-100

 

Five Principles For Cultivating True Christian Righteousness

  1. The spirit, not the letter of the law, must take priority.
    • What is the “spirit” of the law that Jesus is trying to expound here?
  2. Conformity to the law is more than just actions.
    • What thoughts and motives about divorce is Jesus confronting in contrast to outward legalistic actions?
  3. The law contains both positive as well as negative values.
    • What POSITIVE thing is Jesus trying to teach about marriage and divorce?
  4. The law is to be used as a means of developing spiritual character.
    • How does this new understanding about marriage and divorce help make us into the image of Christ?
  5. The law is not an end in itself, but a means by which we come to know God.
    • How do we better come to know God by Jesus’ teaching on divorce here?