Temptation by the Fundamentalists - Marriage (Matthew 19: 3-12) By Rev.Katherine Liu Bruce

Temptation by the Fundamentalists - Marriage (Matthew 19: 3-12)

By Rev. Katherine Liu Bruce        Christian Arts Ministries 

Matthew 19:3-6

And some Pharisees came to Him, testing Him and saying, is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any cause? And He answered and said, "Have you not read that He who created them from the beginning made them male and female, " and said, " For this cause shall a man leave his father and his mother and shall be joined to his wife, and the two shall be one flesh. So, then they are no long tow, but one flesh therefore what God has yoked together, let man not separate. (Matthew 19:3-6)

            In Mathew chapter 19 the religionists did not let the Lord go bur came again and again to test Him. However, their testing always afforded the Lord an opportunity to unveil Himself and God’s economy. From verse 4 to verse 6 the Lord’s word not only acknowledged God’s creation of man but also confirmed God’s ordination regarding man’s marriage, that is, that one male and one female are to be joined and yoked together as one flesh and are not to be separated by man.

Verse 7 this commandment was not a part of the basic law but was a supplement to the law. It was given by Moses not according to God’s ordination from the beginning but as something temporary, because of the hardness of man’s heart.

Verse 8 the commandment given by Moses concerning divorce was a deviation from God’s original ordination concerning marriage, but for the kingdom of the heavens Christ as the heavenly King recovered marriage back to the beginning. This indicates that the kingdom of the heavens, which corresponds with God’s ordination from the beginning, does not allow divorce.

Verse 9 Fornication Lit., harlotry, whoredom. This is worse than adultery. The Lord’s word here indicates definitely that nothing but fornication breaks the marriage tie. (Of course, death breaks it spontaneously.) Hence, except for fornication there is no excuse for divorce.

Verse 10 at that point the disciples realized that according to God’s ordination, marriage is the strictest bond. Once a person is married, he is fully bound, having no way to be released except through the committing of fornication by the spouse (or through the death of the spouse). It was such a realization that caused the disciples to think that it was not profitable to marry. But it was not under their control.

Verse 11 not all men, but only those to whom God has given the fit, are able to refrain from marriage. Without God’s gift, anyone who attempts to remain unmarried will meet with temptations.   

Verse 12 Theses are the ones to whom God has given the gift to remain unmarried for the sake of the kingdom of the heavens. Paul was such a one (1 Cor.7:7-8;9:5). The religionists’ temptation here afforded the Lord an opportunity to reveal a further matter concerning the kingdom of the heavens. Chapter 18 reveals how we must deal with the brothers so that we can enter into the kingdom of the heavens, whereas chapter 19 reveals that marriage life (vv.3-12) and our attitude toward riches (vv.16-30) are related to the kingdom of the heavens. Marriage life touches the matter of lust, and our attitude toward riches touches the matter of covetousness. The kingdom of the heavens rules out every trace of our lust and covetousness.