Jesus goes on to tell the Pharisees: "I say to you that whoever divorces his wife, except on the ground of fornication [from Greek, por-nei'a], and marries another commits adultery." He thereby shows that por-nei'a, which is gross sexual immorality, is the only ground approved by God for a divorce. Realizing that marriage should be a lasting union with only this ground for divorce, the disciples are moved to say: "if such is the situation of a man with his wife, it is not advisable to marry.' There is no question that one who is contemplating marriage should seriously consider the permanence of the marital bond!
Jesus goes on to talk about singleness. He explains that some boys are born eunuchs, being incapable of marriage because of not developing sexually. Others have been made eunuchs by men, being cruelly disabled sexually. Finally, some suppress the desire to marry and to enjoy sex relations so that they can devote themselves more fully to matters relating to the Kingdom of the heavens. "Let him that can make room for [singleness] make room for it," Jesus concludes.
People now begin to bring their young children to Jesus. The disciples, however, scold the children and try to send them away, no doubt wanting to protect Jesus from unnecessary stress. But Jesus says: "Let the young children come to me; do not try to stop them, for the kingdom of God belongs to suchlike ones. Truly, I say to you, Whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a young child will by no means enter into it."
What fine lessons Jesus here provides! To receive God's Kingdom, we must imitate the humility and teachableness of young children. But Jesus' example also illustrates how important it is, especially for parents, to spend time with their children. Jesus now shows his love for little ones by taking them into his arms and blessing them. Matthew 19:1-15; Deuteronomy 24:1; Luke 16:18; Mark 10:1-16; Luke 18:15-17.
Next time: Jesus A Rich Young Ruler
The Greatest Man Who Ever Lived, 1991
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment
Thank you for your commment. Your comment will be reviewed for approval soon.
God Bless.