Sermon Notes

The Gospel of Mark
Marriage and Divorce // Mark 10:1-12

“And he left there and went to the region of Judea and beyond the Jordan, and crowds gathered to him again. And again, as was his custom, he taught them. And Pharisees came up and in order to test him asked, ‘Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?’ He answered them, ‘What did Moses command you?’ They said, ‘Moses allowed a man to write a certificate of divorce and to send her away.’ And Jesus said to them, ‘Because of your hardness of heart he wrote you this commandment. But from the beginning of creation, ‘God made them male and female.’ ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.’ And in the house the disciples asked him again about this matter. And he said to them, ‘Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her, and if she divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery.’” -Mark 10:1-12

“When a man takes a wife and marries her, if then she finds no favor in his eyes because he has found some indecency in her, and he writes her a certificate of divorce…” -Deuteronomy 24:1a

“And Jesus said to them, ‘Because of your hardness of heart he wrote you this commandment.’” -Mark 10:5

“But from the beginning of creation, ‘God made them male and female.’ 'Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh. So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.’” -Mark 10:6-9

1.God Has a Design for Marriage

“So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. And God blessed them. And God said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.’” -Genesis 1:27-28

“There has never been a culture or a century that we know of in which marriage was not central to human life… As all social history books will tell you, marriage had its origins in ‘prehistory’ – in other words, the human race cannot remember a time in which marriage did not exist. -Tim Keller

Marriage is a covenant relationship between one man and one woman for a life time.

1. Marriage is a covenant relationship

2. Marriage is between one man and one woman

The world says, Marriage is a temporary vehicle for my personal happiness.
The Word of God says, Marriage is a ¬¬covenant promise for our mutual sanctification.

3. Marriage is for a lifetime

Marriage is a covenant relationship between one man and one woman for a life time.

2. Sin Has Corrupted God’s Design

“‘What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.’” -Mark 10:9

“‘For I hate divorce,’ says the LORD, the God of Israel…” -Malachi 2:16a (NASB)

What are the biblical exceptions for divorce?

1. Adultery

“‘…whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery.’” -Matthew 19:9

2.Desertion of an Unbelieving Spouse

“But if the unbelieving partner separates, let it be so. In such cases, the brother or sister is not enslaved. God has called you to peace.” -1 Corinthians 7:15

What does desertion mean?
1.Abandonment
2.Abuse

“‘If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector.’” -Matthew 18:17

“And in the house of the disciples asked him again about this matter. And he said to them, ‘Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her, and if she divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery.’” -Mark 10:10-12

3. God’s Grace is Greater Than All Our Sin

“There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” -Romans 8:1

“And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.” -Romans 8:28 (NASB)

“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” -1 John 1:9