Seeds for 11/16/2023 - Matthew 19:1-6
Scripture: When Jesus had finished saying these things, He left Galilee and went into the region of Judea to the other side of the Jordan. Large crowds followed Him, and He healed them there.
Some Pharisees came to Him to test Him. They asked, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any and every reason?”
“Haven’t you read,” He replied, “that at the beginning the Creator ‘made them male and female,’ and said, ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh’? So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.”
Observation: Motivations matter. “Some Pharisees came to Him to test Him.” The question is legitimate and worthy of consideration no matter who asks it. And the Pharisees’ concern is not seeking truth but testing Jesus.
We’ll look at this extended passage and topic over the next couple of days. This passage is also a good example of opportunities to observe thinking processes, not only results.
“Haven’t you read” - The very first phrase of Jesus’ reply grabs my attention: “Haven't you read?” Jesus begins by pointing to the Scriptures. He calls their bluff, suggesting that they haven’t even completed the assigned reading. Jesus has, in fact, done the reading. Whatever else His answer will include, it will be grounded in the scriptures, God’s self-revelation and self-disclosure.
“So they are no longer two, but one flesh” - We will continue with this episode tomorrow, reflecting on how Jesus answers the Pharisees’ question. For now, let’s notice that Jesus is careful to lay general groundwork before He addresses the specific question. This is important. Context matters. To lay the groundwork, Jesus starts at the beginning building block—male and female as the normative starting point, grounded in created order (“the Creator ‘made them male and female’”). The ideal is presented—marriage between the man and the woman, joined together and not to be separated. Before Jesus takes it any further, He starts at square one.
When someone asks our opinion, we have thoughts—oh boy, do we! But until we start at square one and work from that place forward, we haven’t really submitted our opinions and our thought process to the Lord. Serious questions demand sound thinking. Sound thinking comes from engaging the scriptures as one’s primary source and beginning with the normative context to lay the groundwork before moving forward to any specific case or exception. No matter the topic or question, this will anchor us.
Application:
How do you invest in the foundation of God’s Word for discerning challenging questions in life?
What else might the Holy Spirit be speaking with you about in the text today?
Prayer: Lord, strengthen my heart and mind on the foundation of your enduring Word as I consider questions about the topics of the day. Amen.
“But the seed falling on good soil refers to someone who hears the word and understands it. This is the one who produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.” (Matthew 13:23)
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