Sermon Title
Scripture References
Genesis 2:18-25
The Creation of Man and Woman
14 And the name of the third river is the Tigris, which flows east of Assyria. And the fourth river is the Euphrates. 15 The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it. 16 And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, 17 but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” 18 Then the Lord God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him.” 19 Now out of the ground the Lord God had formed every beast of the field and every bird of the heavens and brought them to the man to see what he would call them. And whatever the man called every living creature, that was its name. 20 The man gave names to all livestock and to the birds of the heavens and to every beast of the field. But for Adam there was not found a helper fit for him. 21 So the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and while he slept took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh. 22 And the rib that the Lord God had taken from the man he made into a woman and brought her to the man. 23 Then the man said, “This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.” 24 Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. 25 And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed.
Mark 10:2-16
Teaching About Divorce
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,[1] 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.”
Let the Children Come to Me
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.
Hebrews 2:1-13 (14-18)
Warning Against Neglecting Salvation
1 Therefore we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it. 2 For since the message declared by angels proved to be reliable, and every transgression or disobedience received a just retribution, 3 how shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation? It was declared at first by the Lord, and it was attested to us by those who heard, 4 while God also bore witness by signs and wonders and various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will.
The Founder of Salvation
5 For it was not to angels that God subjected the world to come, of which we are speaking. 6 It has been testified somewhere, “What is man, that you are mindful of him, or the son of man, that you care for him? 7 You made him for a little while lower than the angels; you have crowned him with glory and honor, 8 putting everything in subjection under his feet.” Now in putting everything in subjection to him, he left nothing outside his control. At present, we do not yet see everything in subjection to him. 9 But we see him who for a little while was made lower than the angels, namely Jesus, crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone. 10 For it was fitting that he, for whom and by whom all things exist, in bringing many sons to glory, should make the founder of their salvation perfect through suffering. 11 For he who sanctifies and those who are sanctified all have one source. That is why he is not ashamed to call them brothers, 12 saying, “I will tell of your name to my brothers; in the midst of the congregation, I will sing your praise.” 13 And again, “I will put my trust in him.” And again, “Behold, I and the children God has given me.” 14 Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, 15 and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery. 16 For surely it is not angels that he helps, but he helps the offspring of Abraham. 17 Therefore he had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. 18 For because he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.
Sermon Script
Spell It Out
Over the years I have had many things “spelled out” to me. Spell it out, I’m sure you are aware, is an expression that can be used to explain something in a way that comes through loud and clear. This expression can also be used literally. For example, by parents who do not want their toddler to understand a disruptive word such as, N-A-P or B-A-T-H…
When I first read the Gospel lesson for today from Mark 10, I was concerned about the disruptive things that were being spelled out. Yet, just as soon as I considered using a different text, this song popped into my mind that Dolly Parton sang back in the “good old days” … D-I-V-O-R-C-E… That’s it I thought, I’ll just spell it out. However, upon further study… I realized that this lesson holds a deeper message for all of us to hear. But first, let’s dial into why Jesus, in so many words told the Pharisees “Let me spell it out for you…”
Fussy Pharisee
And He did just that. As our Gospel reading begins, you will find that Jesus did not start this conversation about divorce. A fair question might be, “Why would you even bring that up?” We must first understand what these guys were up too. In verse 2 Mark writes that the Pharisees came to Jesus and asked this question,
“Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?” Dr Phil might start a conversation this way, but I sure wouldn’t. But you know what? These guys were not seeking Jesus for wisdom, they were trying to entrap Him. Let me explain…
If we turn back a few chapters to Mark 6, we learned that Herod Antipas, the Roman governor over Galilee, divorced his wife so he could marry his sister-in-law Herodias. John the Baptist told him “it is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.” This caused quite a scandal. You might recall the story as it resulted in Jesus’ dear friend John the Baptist, beheaded upon Herodias’ request.
Some of these same Pharisees talking to Jesus in our reading today could have been at Herod’s party to witness this event. They for sure knew about it. So, here’s the catch. If Jesus agreed that it was unlawful for a man to divorce his wife, he might well join the ranks of John the Baptist. On the other hand, if He said it would be okay, Jesus would be contradicting the Torah and subject to the charge of blasphemy. Either way, the Pharisees thought they had Him cornered.
D – I – V – O – R – C – E
Just as you would expect, Jesus did not take the bait. Instead, He responded, “What did Moses command you?” Their reply is spelled out in Deuteronomy 24:1 from which they quote… “a man could divorce his wife if he found something objectionable about her.” Realistically, this would include anything from adultery to a bad hair day. But Jesus went on to spell out to them what it says in Genesis 2, which is why we are given this Old Testament reading today.
This is where Moses writes about God’s original intent with a marriage union becoming one flesh, then Jesus summarizes in verse 9 of the Gospel lesson “what therefore God has joined together, let no man separate.”
I admit that was a quick overview explaining Marks narrative. But that makes for a great Segway to this next question… How do you think Jesus would spell out this disruptive word for us in today’s world? I know this is a sensitive subject for some of you and there are harmful situations that merit just cause for this option. But bear with me for a moment… I’m sure you would agree that D-I-V-O-R-C-E is a painful separation that was not part of God’s original intent.
Adultery
Regardless, as we take another look at our reading today in Mark 10, Jesus is very clear on spelling out to us in verses 11 and 12 that divorce fits into the category of adultery. He says, “Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her,” Then repeats it again turning the tables to the other spouse. However, when we speak of adultery, this is where the conversation becomes broader.
This falls into the category of the sixth commandment which I have the luxury of teaching in pre confirmation class. This commandment also forbids sex outside of marriage, impure thoughts and lustful desires, pornography, homosexuality, and if you are like the kids in my school of religion class, they get the point and want me to stop right there.
And thus, I will, so hold those thoughts for a moment… I’m thinking this is a good time to change the subject as I direct your attention back to the reading.
Let The Children Come
If you look at this section of Mark in the bulletin you have in close by, you will notice that this heart-to-heart talk switches in the last few verses, to a discussion about children. At first glance this doesn’t seem to fit. Yet this is where our thoughts must dwell.
We read in verse 14, “let the children come to me for such belongs the kingdom of God.” What does this spell out? Well, the truth of the matter is, we are all children of God and the forgiveness we receive when we come to Him through faith is the essence of God’s Kingdom. Yes, admittedly we have all sinned and fall short of the glory of God… Therefore, with that thought you just held on to…invariably puts us into a long line of people walking in the wrong direction. But the good news is as believers, such is who the Kingdom of God belongs.
Unchristian
I read a book recently about what the younger generation really thinks about Christianity, and why it matters. It’s titled “Un-Christian,” written by David Kinnaman and Gabe Lyons. They took research from the Barna Group to collect data from people between the ages of 16 – 29. What intrigued me about reading this book was to learn how this age group views people like me and how I might be able to relate to them spiritually.
Now, I am proud to say I am a Christian, like you I’m sure, and know I am among those who are supposed to represent Christ to the world.
However, the surprising details of the study in this book, attached certain words to Christians such as hypocritical, insensitive, and judgmental. Sure, I was offended… but I must admit, after reading the data presented on numerous topics, and looking at several examples… I could recall some things I have said or done that tags me guilty as charged. I began to see myself aligning into some of those categories said about me during the times I might not be acting like a Christian should.
Mark points this out amongst the disciples. The very men who are in the group of first Christians Jesus has chosen to follow Him. In verse 13 he writes, “And they were bringing children to him that he might touch them, and the disciples rebuked them.” The disciples were quick to stop the children whose parents had all sorts of problems and on top of that, assumed these kids would just get in the way.
Walk The Walk
Keep in mind that these are the same disciples that were recorded at one point or another, to have had plenty of problems themselves; Judas was a betrayer, Matthew was a tax collector, Peter blatantly denied knowing Jesus, Thomas doubted Him, James and John had issues with their temper… yet, through their hypocrisy, judgementalism, and insensitivity, they wanted to prevent the children from coming to Jesus.
After reading that book, I realized that all of us at one point or another will fall into this same trap.
If you identify as a Christian, the world articulates that you should walk the walk and talk the talk like Jesus would…24/7… But you know as well as I do, we don’t always do that. Look at divorce for example since that topic is in the hotseat for the day, and turn your focus on what it does… For those involved it can cause depression, anger, resentment, denial, guilt, anxiety, and a whole lot more… especially if kids are involved. Yet how do those of us sitting on the outside looking in, treat them? With love and compassion?
Or do we place some judgement on whoever we might attribute to closing the door, and treat them as if what they have done is somehow worse off than the many sins we commit under the law of adultery, or any other category of sin on any given day? Just because my sin manifests in a different way, I am just as much at the mercy of my sin as anyone else.
Love and Compassion?
I need to ask myself, and maybe you do too… Can I look at someone who is untying a knot, a person who celebrates pride month, or look at diverse gender expressions, and recognize a human that needs compassion and forgiveness…? Can I reset my mind to look beyond the morality and see the humanity long enough to grasp that I am no better off in my own sinfulness…?
If I can look through this lens, then I can kneel before Jesus and receive the kingdom of God like a child. Think about it, just like a child, we are dependent on our father, taken up unto His arms, protected, comforted, truly blessed and loved unconditionally by Him. And the good news is that in the kingdom we dwell as Christians, all these things are a gift freely given by God our Father… additionally, when we receive them like a child, with humility and dependance on Him, we will enter that gracious eternal presence with Him.
Grace Is Found In Jesus
That is the important thing that is spelled out for us today. The fact that grace is found in Jesus. If you are taking sermon notes right now, make sure you write that down… grace is found in Jesus. He gazes into our hearts and sees the adulterous thoughts and desires. He scopes out our lives and sees our hypocrisy and judgementalism and loves us still.
He embraces the people who have been rendered helpless by sin and He embraces foolish disciples who haven’t got a clue. He holds in His arms the man or woman in a broken relationship, just as He does anyone else who is helpless in the grip of sin, childlike in their weakness. Let them come to me, He says. He takes them into His arms and blesses them, with the same hand He blesses you and me.
Now that is a lot of undeserved L-O-V-E that comes from a conversation started by a hard-hearted Pharisee. But to that point, the message from the Hebrews writer tells us to pay attention. Pay attention to the truth in Jesus’ words… no matter if it comes from the strong arm of the Law or from the comforting arm of the Gospel… Pay attention so you may hear and not drift away from the lessons given to us from our Lord.
Held In His Arms
What a wonderful assurance isn’t it though? …
The fact that we will be forever held in the arms of Jesus. For those were the same arms who pointed at the Pharisee’s sin and are the same arms that wrapped around the children to bless them. Those are the same arms that were stretched out and nailed to the cross where He suffered and died, paying the price for the sins of us all… The same arms He wraps around those trapped in all the sins we are drawn into in this chaotic world… Isaiah writes in chapter 41 verse 13 that it is those same arms then and now as God assures us, “For I, the Lord your God, will hold your right hand, saying to you ‘Fear not, I will help you’.”
J – E – S – U – S… My friends, what does that spell …? It spells out a whole lot of love, forgiveness, compassion, strength, wisdom, and humility that is given to us so we may rejoice in His kingdom. And amid our brokenness and broken relationships, God’s promise is that nothing can separate us from Jesus’ agape love… In Him and only Him is where we will find our security, confidence, and our forgiveness.
That is what makes you and I a child of God. Knowing we were formed by His hands, held close to His heart, and placed in this world for His purpose. God’s love spelled out through faith in His promise to us as He takes us in His arms, places His protective hand on us, and blesses us. Our endless reward spelled out for E-ternity…