Pentecost 20 Mark 10:2-16 Is It Lawful?
Genesis 2:18-24 Hebrews 2:9-11 (12-18) Mark 10:2-16
The numbers are in. According to the latest census there are now over 300 million people living in the United States. Out of that 300 million, 83 percent or 250 million claim to be Christians. That number may or may not surprise you. What may surprise you however is that over 50 % of all households in this country are now made up of non-traditional families. That means more than half of all households in this country now consist of single people or couples living outside of legal marriage. So as you might guess, there is a big push in this country to change the laws regarding marriage.
The question facing us today is the basically same one the Pharisees tested Jesus with, “Is it lawful?” This question is important because it addresses itself to matters pertaining to the quality of life and the things we value.
Christians who are concerned about “law–keeping” usually ask such questions seeking a clarification of God’s Holy Law, which has been the basis of all good human law down through the generations. The Law was given in the Commandments first chiseled in stone by the finger of God and later given through Moses to Israel. The Law can be stated simply as God’s desire for His people to live by. So when someone asks, “Is it lawful?” that usually means they want to be in line with God’s will. Unfortunately, sometimes the people who ask such a seemingly simple question ask it while filled with evil intentions.
In our gospel lesson the Pharisees have evil in mind when they come to test Jesus--to trap him with the Law of God. They are hoping to give him a test that dishonors Him in the eyes of the people. The words Jesus has been speaking and the healings of Jesus have a power in them that is causing a great number of people to follow His teachings. The Pharisees are not happy with a man who is teaching forgiveness.
Keeping the Law is serious business for these rulers of Israel that have devoted their lives to that kind of holiness. But for the Pharisees, chief Priests and Sadducees, the Law is a tool used either for condemning the guilty or for taking pride in one’s own accomplishments.
But Jesus is teaching repentance and forgiveness. He is not heaping more guilt on the guilty nor is he heaping praise on the self-righteous. Jesus argues against the Pharisee’s way of life, even referring to them as whitewashed tombs. (Mt. 23:27) And this certainly did not make them happy. To the contrary, they plotted against our Lord.
So they set a trap for Jesus! Over the years, the Pharisees concentrated so much on obeying the Law that they ignored many of the other passages in Scripture. They forgot about passages like the one in Proverbs, (26:27) which say, “He who digs a pit will fall into it.” They start digging in the Law for a good trap. What should they ask Him? What could they possibly do to inflict the most harm upon Him?
They remember that John the Baptist condemned Herod (Mk 6:18), who divorced his wife and married his brother’s “ex-wife.” Herod had him imprisoned and later beheaded because John had spoken the word of God. Since they were in Herod’s area, the test for Jesus would be to ask the question, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife.” If Jesus says “No” then he falls into the trap of what Moses said in Deuteronomy 24:1 allowing a man to divorce his wife. If he says, “Yes” then they can point to Him as an immoral man. The Pharisees reason that either way, Jesus would lose the argument and perhaps even His head—and they would win.
The Pharisees already knew the answer to the question they asked. Divorce was an affront to the original creation, which states that one man and one woman become one flesh. The sixth Commandment forbids Adultery. And if that is not enough, the Tenth Commandment given by God through Moses expressly condemns desire for anyone other than your own spouse.
So Jesus answers their question with His question. “What did Moses command you?” They answer that he allowed a man to write a certificate of dismissal and divorce her. Jesus quickly notes that God permitted this law because of the evil of all generations: “It was because your hearts were hard that Moses wrote you this law.” After Israel’s repeated sinning, God had allowed a provision for divorce (Deut 24:1) not because He condoned divorce but to protect the wives who were being mistreated.
Jesus goes to the original scripture in Genesis and reminds them and us that “at the beginning of creation God made them male and female and that the two become one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate.” By setting these words of Genesis in front of the Pharisees, our Lord clearly shows them that when marriage was instituted, it was intended for one male to marry one female and that it was intended to last until death parted them.
A marriage therefore, between one man and one woman is an honorable and holy estate and God will continue to bless those who seek His blessings. In these lasts days however, many people seeking loopholes in God’s Law are now asking the government to give their blessing to their non-traditional life styles.
Nevertheless, these alternative lifestyles are grievous sins just as divorce is sinful. Polygamy, as the book of Genesis shows, leads to many vexing problems. The 18th Chapter of Leviticus says that alternative lifestyles such as gay and lesbian marriages are as detestable to the Lord as bestiality. And Jesus tells us in Matthew (5:27-28) “You have heard that it was said, ‘Do not commit adultery.’ But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.”
Those who live together without making a commitment to each other are each being selfish. A committed marriage requires the death of self-love and a life of devotion to one another. Each spouse lives for the sake of and the well being of the other.
A man and woman who remain married and fail to live lives committed to the welfare and well being of each other are just as sinful as those who get divorced. God’s Law has no loopholes. And we have all broken God’s Laws.
The point however that Jesus is making is that anyone who has been divorced and remarried cannot point to Scripture and claim they have obeyed God’s will. And anyone who continues to deny scripture that speaks about their sinfulness is in danger of not being forgiven. And certainly, no matter what is made legal in a governmental court of law, those who live a life that is contrary to the word of God cannot justify themselves before God on Judgment Day. Just because the people of a nation vote to make alternative lifestyles legal does not make it an acceptable practice in the eyes of God. No one in their self-righteousness can stand before God and claim that they are free of sin and no one can enter the Kingdom of God without being forgiven.
Therefore God’s law condemns us all. Everyone is born sinful (Psalm 51:5) and everyone continues to sin by thought, word and deed throughout their lives. It is beyond our capacity as sinful human beings to live in a world filled with evil to not sin. Holiness has never come to us through the Law because we never live up to the Law perfectly. The purpose of the law has always been to show us that we are not Law abiding and are in need of a Savior. Jesus Christ offers forgiveness to all sinners, but not all want to admit their sinfulness and so they reject God’s law and seek earthly rulers to make their favorite sins lawful. Nevertheless, even those who make every attempt to keep the commandments of God fail.
Dr. Martin Luther fought against his sinful nature for years and lived a miserable life filled with regret and fear of God’s wrath. And one day, in the depths of despair over his failures, the Lord graciously opened up the Word to him. He came to understand that as stated in the 9th and 10th chapters of Romans, Jesus Christ is the fulfillment of the Law, and that through faith in Christ, God’s righteousness is given to us as a free gift.
Jesus is the One who fulfilled the Law of God for us. Only Jesus could do that, because He alone was born and lived His life free of sin. Jesus kept the Law perfectly for us and since He was free of sin, death had no right to claim Him. Our Savior made the ultimate commitment for His bride the Church, by giving up His very life for her. As Saint Paul says to us, “God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Cor 5:21).
In Christ, connected to Him, forever abiding in Him like a branch on a vine, we become “law keepers.” But we are accounted as righteous not because we have kept the Law, but because He kept it for us. He kept the Law for our sake and for His sake we place our faith and trust in Him. Setting apart our lives for the sake of Jesus Christ is what makes us holy.
Thanks to the work of Jesus Christ, forgiveness and eternal life are given as a gift from the Father, through the Holy Spirit to all who believe. Therefore, we rejoice free from the condemnation of the Law—freedom given through Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection.
Through faith, we have the strength and confidence to come to the Lord and ask for His forgiveness when we disobey His word. We can come to Him as his children free from fear of punishment and despair of His abandonment. He touches us with His love and blesses us as we receive His forgiveness through the Word, through the waters of Baptism, and through His Supper. Regardless of marital status or whatever is made legal through world Governments, we put our trust in God’s Word as to what is right and wrong knowing that all is not lost if we cannot live up to His Law. And we put our trust in Christ’s love just as little children trust loving parents.
And the Master will give to all who have that childlike faith, the gift of love. His gift leads to a robe of righteousness and eternal life in heaven. And here on Earth we use His gift, not to belittle, entice or entrap others with what is lawful, but to offer the Gospel to our neighbor, always giving glory to Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.