Discipleship Question: Are you living a holy and peaceable life that is attractive to others?
This passage is a good example of being careful not to read a few passages in isolation. The teaching of the bible on marriage and divorce can be a bit difficult to get to grips with. You may wish to do some wider reading on the topic. Books like 'Counterpoints: Remarriage After Divorce in Today's Church (3 Views)' by Paul Engle (Ed) give a variety of viewpoints on this important topic.
- On reading this passage what thoughts or questions are raised?
- In this particular passage Jesus was replying against an easy divorce position which was that you just had to give a 'certificate of divorce' to your wife and you were divorced. Why might Jesus have been so tough on an 'easy divorce' situation?
- Who is the party that Jesus is criticising the most? (A unmarried women in Jesus culture could find it hard to survive, hence she would need to re-marry quickly, whose fault is this in this passage?)
- Does the passage on adultery (5:27-30) that precedes and the passage on oaths (5:33-37) that follows this passage, give you a wider perpsective on the issue of divorce discussed here?
- Important note: God's purpose is to love us, he forgives us for our failings and calls us to love in action in our future, so if you've been divorced don't allow this passage to condemn you, seek forgiveness and healing and then move forward in the love of God for you.
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