Month: October 2024

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A Reformation Day Sermon

Title slide with photo of the two churches in which this sermon is to be preached.

Jeff Garrison
Reformation Day Sermon for Mayberry and Bluemont Churches[1]
Hebrews 4:14-5:10
October 27, 2024

I was to be on vacation this week, and an elder was going to read this sermon which I first preached on Skidaway Island in 2017. But things changed that required me to remain at home. Next week, God willing, I’ll return to working through the Gospel of Mark.

Sermon recorded on Friday, October 25, 2024

At the beginning of worship: 

Today is Reformation Sunday, when we look back at our glorious history… so let me begin with a cautionary note. Scripture warns us not to look back. It’s what turned Lot’s wife into a clump of salt. Jesus warns that one who puts his hands to the plow and then looks back is not fit to enter the kingdom.[2]

Of course, there are good reasons to look back. When the Jews look back at Passover, they don’t long for the past when they were slaves in Egypt. They remember God’s faithfulness. That’s the good reason to look back, for it does show us how God has led us to the present. We don’t look back with nostalgia, but with thankfulness. 

One of the questions which bothered Martin Luther and got the Reformation rolling was “How can I be saved?”  It sounds self-centered (how can I?), but the focus didn’t stay internal. Martin Luther’s study of the New Testament led him to have faith in a gracious God. The focus quickly moved from Marty’s concern with his soul to God as revealed in Jesus Christ. 

Today we’ll looking at one of the five themes (or solos) of the Reformation, “Christ Alone.” It is in Jesus Christ that we have hope; it is in him that we find salvation. And one day, before him, all will bow.[3] The others themes are faith alone, scripture alone, grace alone, and to God be the glory. 

Before reading the Scripture:

As today is Reformation Sunday, I am going to take a break from working through the Book of Mark and preach from Hebrews, on the theme of Christ Alone. 

One of the historical ways of looking at the role Christ plays in our lives and world is through his three-fold offices: Prophet, Priest and King.[4] As a prophet, Christ brings God’s word to us. As Priest, Christ stands between us and God Almighty. And as King, which is his eternal position, Jesus Christ rules over all creation. As prophet and priest, Jesus redeems the creation he rules. Today, as we consider Christ Alone, we’re look at the second office, that of the Priest. Of course, these three are co-mingled, so we can’t really consider one without the others. 

Now let me say a bit about the Book of Hebrews. As you may have remembered when I preached through this book in 2021, the best way to describe Hebrews is as a sermon (or a series of sermons).[5] These sermons were delivered by an unknown preacher addressing a tired and wore-out congregation. 

Many of those who listened or read this sermon wondered if following Jesus was worth it. Some of you may wonder the same thing. Perhaps, they think, they should go back to their former ways, as Jews or Pagans. Hebrews encourages the congregation to remain faithful and in doing so provides the most complex understanding of the nature of Christ. Who is this man and what does he have to do with us? Well, when we read Hebrews, we understand and are called to keep the faith and to trust in Jesus Christ, who came to bring us life.

 Read Hebrews 4:14-5:10 

The Hunger Games is set in a post-apocalyptic North America, in a dark future. (How many of you have seen the movie? Read the book?) 

Most people in this dystopian world live in fear and without hope. But those who reside in the capitol, live in luxury. Those in the twelve districts suffer and toil, making a rich life possible for those in those in power. Each year, there is a gladiator-like contest where twelve teenagers get to fight to the death in a televised reality program. Only one will survive and this one will live out their lives in luxury. The cruelty of this event serves as entertainment for those in the capitol. It also serves as a reminder to those in the districts of the capitol’s power and of their need to toe the line.

The movie begins with the selection of the participants for the 74thannual Hunger Games. Everyone listens as the names are called. There are shrieks and tears in District 12 when Primrose Everdeen, a sweet young child barely old enough to participate in the lottery, is chosen. But then there’s a cry from the crowd and her older sister, Katniss, who’s 16, steps forward and volunteers in her place. Katniss stands between the officials and her sister. She is a mediator, offering her own life to save her sister.[6]

In ancient Israel, at the temple, the high priest was the mediator. Just as Katniss stood between her sister and the soldiers of the capitol, the high priest stood between the people and God. It was too dangerous for an ordinary individual to go before God. It was risky enough for the high priest, who only stepped into the Holy of Holies once a year to bring forth the sin offerings of the people. But the priest took the risk to benefit the people.  

We have a great high priest, the author of Hebrews proclaims, Jesus Christ! Jesus has benefits as high priest that others did not have. He came from heaven and is the Son of God. However, he is also able to relate to us. Not only is he from heaven, but he has also lived as we live. He has experienced temptation. He knows the trials and tribulations (as well as the joy) of life on earth. 

When we bring our concerns to Christ, he understands. He’s not aloof. Jesus is not a leader who lives locked behind walls and gates with protection all around to keep people away. He’s not like the most wonderful Wizard of Oz hiding behind a façade. 

Jesus is like Katniss, who grew up in District 12 and knows the hardships of the people. The author of Hebrews wants us to understand two things: Jesus not only mediates our sins, but he can also relate to us and to our need.

The ending of the 4th chapter is a call for us to take our burdens to the high priest in prayer. To approach his throne of grace with boldness!  For us, this might not seem a big deal. But it is.

As one Biblical scholar sarcastically noted, contemporary Christians often “engage in prayer with all the casual nonchalance of ordering at a fast-food restaurant. ‘God, I would like this and that,’” we say, as if we had every right to speak to God in this manner. Furthermore, we say it “as if God had an obligation to fill the order.” “But true prayer is prefaced by awe.”[7]  Christians and Jews in the first century knew this. God is holy and dangerous. Jesus came to provide a safe access to God.

Jesus Christ is a high priest who came from heaven; this elevates him above all other high priest. So, there is reason for awe, yet Jesus is also approachable because he came down to our level.

As our passage moves into the 5th Chapter of Hebrews, we are given a job description of the High Priest and evidence that Jesus not only meets but exceeds the requirement. The high priest is chosen from mortals (Jesus was born of Mary). He can deal with the people’s wayward ways (although Jesus wasn’t sinful, he didn’t mind hanging out with those considered sinful). Finally, he must be called by God (again Jesus exceeds in this category). Jesus, who did not brag about being a high priest, had been chosen by God. The writer of Hebrews refers to a mysterious person in the Old Testament, a priest in whom Abraham met, Melchizedek.[8] Jesus is such a priest, an eternal priest. 

Starting in verse 7, we’re reminded of Jesus’ life, and how he prayed when he was on earth. On earth, he was submissive to God his Father, through whom he was made perfect and became the source of Salvation. So not only is Christ the priest, the one standing between us and God, he is also the sacrifice. He is the Lamb of God.[9] He pays the price for our sin and brings us back into relationship with God the Father.[10]  In other words, he’s the one who will, when our life on this earth is all over and done with, usher us into a homecoming unlike one we’ve ever known.  

When the Reformers shouted, “Christ Alone,” they were saying that there was no one else they trusted to stand between them and God. This is why most Protestant Churches did away with priestly offices. We have pastors and preachers and teachers. Our role is to point to Jesus Christ, the one who is the great high priest. Put your trust in him—approach his throne of grace with boldness—for in Christ alone we find salvation.  Let us pray:

Almighty God, we bow and shield our eyes for you are too awesome.  We thank you for coming as Jesus, for coming in a way we can understand and relate. Accept us as his followers and guide us as we strive to keep up with him as he leads us home to you.  Amen.  

[1] I preached this sermon first at Skidaway Island Presbyterian Church in October 2017, as part of a five part series on the “Solas” of the Reformation. 

[2] Genesis 19:26, Luke 9:62.  See M. Craig Barnes, Searching for Home: Spirituality for Restless Souls (Grand Rapids: Brazos Press, 2003), 111.

[3] Romans 14:11, Philippians 2:10.

[4] See Westminster Larger Catechism, Questions 43-45. 

[5] For a different sermon on this passage, see https://fromarockyhillside.com/2021/01/31/jesus-the-high-priest/  

[6] My appreciation to Stan Mast for the idea of using “The Hunger Games” as an illustration.  See https://cepreaching.org/commentary/2015-10-05/hebrews-411-16/

[7] Long, 64.

[8] Genesis 14:17ff.  See also Psalm 110:4.

[9] See Revelation 5. 

[10] John 14:6..

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With God, All Things are Possible

Title slide with photos of Mayberry and Bluemont Churches

Jeff Garrison
Mayberry and Bluemont Churches
Mark 10:17-31
October 20, 2024

“With God, All Things are Possible.” Sermon recorded at Mayberry on Friday, October 18, 2024


At the beginning of worship:

One of my favorite C. S. Lewis books, which I have spoken about before, is The Great Divorce.[1] This isn’t a divorce between a man and woman, such as what Jesus discussed early in the 10thchapter of Mark.[2] Lewis divorces heaven and hell. In the 18thCentury, William Blake wrote the epic poem, The Marriage of Heaven and Hell. Two centuries later, Lewis decided a divorce was in order. 

In the book, hell is a gray drab place. But from hell, there is a bus that takes the residents up above the clouds to the outskirts of heaven. And those who travel on the bus are free to make their way on to the glorious eternal city. But they must leave everything behind as they are clothed properly for heaven. In Lewis’ allegory, most of those who get to where they can see heaven are like the rich man in our gospel story today. They just can’t do it. The blinding light of glory reveals their hollowness. They want to hold on to what they have, including their self-esteem and dreams, grudges and hatred. If we want to follow Jesus, we must realize he places a demand on our entire lives.

Before the reading of scripture:

As I pointed out a few weeks ago, Jesus and the disciples are now on a journey to Jerusalem. And we know what will happen there. But there are still times for ministry, which often happens along the road, as we see in today’s passage. 

One of these times for ministry is a man often referred to as the rich young ruler. Mark only tells us he’s a man of wealth. Matthew tells us he’s young and Luke identifies him as a ruler.[3] Let’s hear the passage.

Read Mark 10:17-31

We like being in control. We want to manage everything, even our salvation. Yet, I suggest, that’s a dangerous idea. The Presbyterian and Reformed concept of election (or predestination) acknowledges not only God’s sovereignty, but that it’s much better to let God be in charge. We tend to screw things up. 

In our text, a man approaches Jesus. The man shows reverence toward Jesus, calling him “Good Teacher,” and asking what’s required for eternal life. At first, Jesus seems to play with the man. 

“Why do you call me good?” Jesus asks. In the first century, those who were serious about the commandments only reserved the adjective “Good” or “Great” for God, not for individuals.[4] And while Mark makes this case that Jesus is God, this hasn’t been revealed to this man.[5]

Jesus then recalls the commandments which have to do with our relationships with others: don’t murder, commit adultery, steal, lie, or cheat, and honor your parents.

And the man, without irony, readily admits he has obeyed these commandments since his youth. I say without irony because Jesus appears to accept his answer as the truth, and he loves the man. He wants the man as a disciple. Let’s have a baker’s dozen, 13 disciples. 

But there’s just one more thing Jesus says he needs to do… sell everything and follow him. 

I don’t know why Jesus didn’t ask him to double or even triple his tithe. Well, I do know the reason, but think how much his doubling his tithe would increase the pot of money available to the disciples for mission. But Jesus doesn’t want a fraction of us. Jesus wants our total devotion, and the man couldn’t do it. There was something else he loved more.

Reading behind the text, we can see how this rich man essentially asks, “how much more do I need to do.” In other words, he asks, “What’s the minimum for me to get into heaven?” He obeys the commandments out of self-interest, not the love of God.[6] That’s his problem. He looks out for himself. Even his love for God has to do with what is good for him.

Augustine of Hippo, the great theologian of the early church, suggested we either first love God or ourselves.[7] Obviously, this man loved himself. It’s our love of God which allows us to properly love ourselves and others.

The last we hear from the man are his footsteps as he sulks away with a heavy heart. A very rich man, he just couldn’t do what Jesus asked. 

Jesus turns to the disciples who have witnessed this encounter. He asks them twice if they understand how difficult it is to get into the kingdom of God… Eyes opened wide in response. They stand aghast, desiring reassurance, not barriers. 

Jesus then tells the infamous camel and the eye of a needle parable.

From what we know, none of the disciples were rich. But maybe they saw riches as a sign of God’s favor. Unfortunately, there are still some people like that today, proclaiming a prosperity gospel. But this story undercuts the idea that wealth equals God’s favor. 

What does this story mean to us? Can I get into heaven a little easier by not being too rich? Like maybe for a middle-class person, it’d be like a dog or cat getting through the eye of the needle.  

It shouldn’t take us long to conclude, we don’t stand a chance. That’s the point Jesus drives at. Eternal life isn’t anything we can do on our own.[8] So they ask, “Who has a chance for salvation?”

Jesus agrees that if we try to obtain salvation on our own, we’ll fail. But with God, everything is possible. 

Peter then reminds Jesus that he and the others have bet all they had on Jesus. 

Finally, Peter finds reassurance. Jesus says they’ll get it all back, many times more. But even here, Jesus doesn’t promise pie-in-the-sky. For he also acknowledges they’ll also be persecutions. This world in which we follow Jesus is not a utopia.[9] But the “bonus” at the end is the kingdom, eternal life. 

Jesus concludes this section with a reminder of how God’s economy works. This is a phrase we hear over and over in the synoptic gospels.[10] Many who are great, who are on the top in this world will end up last. And those on the bottom will be first. Do you want to be first or last now or later? It’s a paradox. 

Now, I want to go back to this camel going through an eye of a needle. I have vague memories of discussing this parable in a Junior High Sunday School class a few years ago. And I think we got it wrong. We discussed how molecules and atoms could be broken apart, slid through the needles’ eye, and reassembled. Obviously, we’d seen too much Star Trek. We were too serious to figure out how it was possible to get that camel through the eye as if our salvation depended on it. It doesn’t. 

What Jesus says is that trying to earn our own salvation is like a camel trying to get through the eye of a needle, not that we or God must get the camel through to obtain salvation. 

This is an example of Jesus using hyperbole for humor while making a serious point.[11] One way to make a joke is to take an idea and blow it out of portion. That’s what Jesus does here, as he drives home the idea of our dependence upon God. 

Just try to image how silly this word picture looks—a camel, one of the larger animals in that part of the world, compared to such a minute opening, one I’d have to put on my glasses to see. This is funny, in a “Far Side” kind of fashion. You probably never considered The Far Side as a source of theology, have you? You should. 

Sadly, instead of seeing humor in the parable, people look for loopholes. It’s been going on for a long time. Older texts speak of rope instead of camel. Obviously, the scribes could accept the absurdity. But you can’t thread a rope through a needle’s eye. And then there are those who, instead of a needle, point to a camel’s gate in Jerusalem. This was the gate where the beasts had to get on their knees to pass through. There’s just one problem. In Jesus’ day, there wasn’t a “Camel’s Gate” in Jerusalem. That gate came about roughly 900 years later.[12]

Consider the rich man of our story as an example. He can be any of us. Even the poor cling to our old dying world, to what they have, and are not willing to let go.[13] Just think about those who ignore warnings to get out of the way from a hurricane because they want to protect their stuff. 

In this passage, Jesus reminds us that the call to discipleship, which I hope you all answer, requires priority over all other allegiances. We must shed our old baggage. Yes, wealth is a danger, but only one of many dangers. Anything we place between us and God is spiritually dangerous. 

It’s not by chance that this story comes on the heels of Jesus telling the disciples they must come to the kingdom like a child. Children are totally dependent on their parents, on adults. We must trust Jesus just as a child trusts his or her parents. 

Think about children and how they laugh. They laugh at the silliest of things. We adults think we must be more serious. I wonder if, when Jesus said that if we want to enter the kingdom of God we must come like a child, he meant that we must come laughing at his joke like a child?[14] The great mid-20th Century Theologian Karl Barth suggests that “laughter is the closest thing to the grace of God.”[15] It’s something to ponder. 

So don’t worry about threading that needle. Instead, place your trust in God’s hands and follow his Son. This is the message of the church and the reason this congregation was established, 100 years ago. Things change, but our message remains the same. With God, all things are possible. It’s our job to continue to proclaim it. Amen

[1] C. S. Lewis, The Great Divorce (1945). 

[2] Mark 10:1-13. See https://fromarockyhillside.com/2024/10/06/jesus-and-divorce/   

[3] Matthew 19:16 and Luke 18:18. 

[4] James R. Edwards, The Gospel According to Mark (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2002), 310.

[5] Mark’s early miracles from healing, raising the dead, controlling the weather, and driving out demons, along with his forgiving of sins,  builds to where an observer must acknowledge only God can do these things. 

[6] Morna D. Hooker, The Gospel According to Saint Mark (1991, Hendrickson Publishing, 1997), 242

[7] Han-Lven Kantzer Komile, “The Augustine Insights on the Law of Double Love” a lecture at the Theology Matter’s Conference, Providence Presbyterian Church, October 9, 2024. 

[8] Jesus challenges a false sense of security here.  See William L. Lane, The New International Commentary on the New Testament:  Gospel of Mark (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1971), 369.

[9] Edwards, 316.

[10] See also Matthew 19:30; 20:16; Luke 13:30. It is also found in the Epistle of Barnabas and the Gospel of Thomas. See Edwards, 217, n42. 

[11] Hooker, 243

[12] Edwards, 314.  The idea of a camel’s gate appears to have come about in the 9th Century.  

[13] Douglas R. A. Hare, Westminster Bible Companion: Mark (Louisville, KY: WJKP, 1996), 126.

[14] See Mark 10:14.  See also Matthew 19:14 and Luke 18:16.

[15] https://www.spiritualityandpractice.com/practices/features/view/20120

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Women Making a Difference: Two Memoirs

Title slide with photos of books reviewed

These two books provide examples of women making a difference in a changing world.  If interested in such books, check out a recent post in which I reviewed Beth Moore’s memoir, All My Knotted Up Life. 

Stephanie Stuckey, Unstuck: Rebirth of an American Icon 

Cover shot of "Unstuck"

(Dallas, TX: Matt Holt Books, 2024), 220 pages, some photos.  

Stuckey’s used to dot the highways of America, especially in the Southeast. As a kid, I remember passing them as we drove to Baltimore for my father’s company annual summer picnic. And then there were the long road trips we took to St. Louis and to Atlanta, passing Stuckey’s at many of the interstate exits. Of course, we seldom stopped. Instead, we  ate peanut butter or bologna sandwiches made from the cooler in the trailer my father pulled. But Stuckey’s, like Howard Johnson’s, was an icon of the road trip. 

I picked up this book after following Stephanie Stuckey on Twitter, a connection I made through a pecan farmerfrom Georgia. Her post focused on her road trips as she strove to rebuilt Stuckey’s, her family business. I have to admit a bit of envy as she able to spend a lot of time traveling and, like me, enjoys the backroads. 

After years of working as an attorney and a Democratic State Legislator in Georgia, Stephanie Stuckey decides to save her family’s business. Her grandfather had started Stuckey’s in the 1930s, with a $50 loan from his mother. The nation was in a depression, but “Big Daddy” went to work buying pecans from local farmers and selling them along with candies his wife made from the nut. He set up shop along the highways which ran to Florida.  World War II could have been a disaster with the decline in travel and rationing of gas and sugar, but he continued. He served truckers and soldiers. When the war was over and America returned to the roads, his business grew. Toward the end of his life, he sold the company for a fortune. 

Stuckey’s father, having learned from working at Stuckey’s, made his own mark on the travel scene. He started a company that established Dairy Queens along the interstates of America. He also spent a decade in congress, and Stuckey grew up in Washington, DC, traveling in the family’s station wagon back and forth to Georgia. Now in her 50s, having served as an attorney and running nonprofits, Stephanie Stuckey brought back the company which bears her family’s name. 

This book is more than just the story of Stuckey attempting to resurrect her family’s business. She provides a history of the company and her family’s involvement within the business. As a Southerner, she also deals with the issues of race, acknowledging the help her grandfather received from African Americans. While Stuckey’s was a southern business, it was never segregated. Stuckey’s even appeared in the “Green Books,” which told Black travelers safe places to eat and buy gas as they traveled across the Jim Crow South.  

This is a delightful read of a brave woman setting her own path in the world. 

Clare Frank, Burnt: A Memoir of Fighting Fire 

(Audible 2024) 11 hours and 43 minutes, narrated by the author.

I always shop the 2-for-1 sales on Audible. Generally, there is at least one book I’ve been wanting to read, and I will have to shop around for the second (free) book. That’s how I came across this book by Clare Frank. She’s the first (and so far, only) woman to serve as Chief of Cal Fire, the largest firefighting organization in the nation. Cal Fire handles large wildfires as well as providing fire protection in more urban parts of the state. 

Frank followed her brother into the fire service. She was only 17! Emancipated from her parents, she left her birthday blank on her application since the minimum age was 18. After doing well in her training, they offered her a seasonal position. From there, she rose up the ranks. Starting in 1982, just as women were beginning to become firefighters, she retired without ever having served under another woman. 

Her track is a little unusual. While working as a firefighter, she pieces together course work to obtain an associate degree. It takes her a longtime to finish her bachelor’s degree because of being deployed around the state. But she does. She also obtains a law degree, which becomes easier as she has infection in her feet after a fire along the Mexican border. She had to take a five-year break from firefighting because she couldn’t wear boots. When her feet recover, she resumes her career. With a law degree, she rises even higher in the ranks, leading the fight to recoup cost from utilities and others who have caused fires. 


The fire along the Mexican border is interesting. It’s the first time that the fire map only half covers the fire, as it was burning on both sides of the border. The fire also requires cooperation with the border patrol. Sadly, there were deaths within the fire of those trying to illegally enter the United States. 

I appreciated how Frank broke up her story. She jumps back and forth, from her last 22 months as chief of Fire Cal to her beginnings. This kept the book from being just a linear line of stories and built anticipation as she advanced through the ranks. Along the way, we learn about the tradition and the requirements of fire service. She tells of a few harrowing experiences, such a large multi-vehicle accident which killed several people and left one woman blind. This is one of the scenes she speaks of being engraved in her memory and she wonders about it being the last thing the woman saw before her world became blind. 

The stress which came from the horror sometimes experienced by first responders takes a toll on the relationships among firefighters. Many of the firefighters have gone through multiple divorces. The departments are not above scandal. She recalls wearing her dress uniform too many times at funerals for fellow firefighters. The last being a pilot of an air tanker which crashed around Yosemite a few months before she retired. Running such a large organization, she acknowledges that she had never met the pilot. Others she didn’t know also bothered her, such as the 19 Granite Mountain Hotshots killed on a fire in Arizona. This was a bit personal for me as one of those firefighters was a member of my church’s youth group when I was in Utah. 

While Frank mostly focuses on her work in firefighting, she also provides background to her personal life, from growing up, to her husband and dogs. This helped humanize her for in much of the book she came across as a “bad ass” who got things done.  But there are things left out such as how she became interested in writing, which she speaks of perusing in retirement. Her talent with words comes through in this book. 

Her story within the book ends with her and her husband retiring to Genoa, Nevada, where they experience the other side of the fire as they had to evacuate their new home. Thankfully, they didn’t lose their home, but the experience gives her the opportunity to close with a warning about how fire, as a part of nature, will continue to be a challenge. 

I enjoyed this book and recommended it. 

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Jesus and divorce

Title slide showing Mayberry and Bluemont Churches in the fall

Jeff Garrison
Mayberry and Bluemont Churches
October 6, 2024
Mark 10:1-16

Sermon recorded at Bluemont on Friday, October 4, 2024

At the beginning of worship: 

We’ll begin this morning with an exercise. If able, stand up. I want you to greet those around you like this: “Good morning. My name is ________.  I’m a sinner. I’m a part of the problem. Thankfully, Jesus loves me and offers grace and forgiveness.” 

I had you do this exercise of admitting you’re a sinner and a part of the problem for a reason. It’s not to make you feel guilty, but to prepare you for the sermon. There are probably some of you here who don’t want to hear what I have to say. Because of my past, I’m not excited about preaching this sermon. But I committed myself to preaching through Mark’s gospel and here we are…  


Also, one thing setting Christianity apart from other faiths is our admittance that we’re a part of the problem. Only Jesus is sinless. The rest of us fall short, but because God is gracious, we have hope.[1] Ours is a faith of hope, not of casting blame on others for the problems in our lives and world. 

Before reading the Scripture:

There are a couple of things happening in the opening of Mark 10, which we’ll explore today. First, Jesus begins his journey toward Jerusalem. We’ve seen over the past few weeks Jesus twice tell the disciples that he’s heading to Jerusalem to die and to be raised from the dead.[2] The disciples don’t understand and are not overly receptive to what Jesus says.  

Next, Jesus teaches them about relationships. In verses 3 through 15, Jesus reminds us marriage is a blessing from God, and lifts children as a gift from God and worthy of his and our attention.   

Read Mark 10:1-16

Whenever someone tries to trick Jesus, we know to watch out. Jesus is quick and able to turn the table on those who use clever questions to discredit him. This happens here. Asking Jesus if it is lawful is essentially asking him if it is Biblical. The law was found in the Torah, in the opening books of our Old Testament.[3]

Divorce is addressed in the 24th chapter of Deuteronomy. The text speaks of a man giving his wife a certificate of divorce “because she does not please him because he has found something objectionable about her.” Obviously, at this time, there were no considerations given to women filing for divorce, only men. Since men taught the Torah, the law, it’s regrettable but understandable they interpreted things favorable to them. 

In Jesus’ day, there were several rabbinical schools of thought concerning marriage and divorce. Let me introduce three:

  1. The disciples of Shammai maintained a strict interpretation of the divorce law, emphasizing the objectionable clause and suggesting divorce could only be granted under the most serious circumstances, generally adultery. I think Jesus’ interpretation falls closest to this camp. 
  • A second interpretation was presented by Rabbi Hillel, one of the leading rabbis during the years right before Jesus’ coming. His followers were more liberal in their interpretation; emphasizing the idea of a woman not pleasing the man was reason enough for divorce. They suggested even minor indiscretions such as burning dinner could be grounds. Obviously, their interpretation failed to provide protection for a woman. But it got even worse.  
  • The followers of Rabbi Akibe suggested any reason could be used for a divorce, including finding a more attractive wife. In his thought, the woman doesn’t have to be at fault at all. The question asked by the Pharisees falls into this last interpretation of the law, “can a man divorce his wife for any reason.”[4]

Jesus asks them what Moses said and they quote from Deuteronomy 24: 1. Interestingly, Jesus exposes that this law doesn’t reflect God’s intention. Instead, God provided this law because of hardened hearts. 

Then Jesus recalls the account of creation from Genesis. There, the man and woman are created in the image of God as “male and female.”[5] Jesus affirms the God’s intention within God’s good creation. Men and women have been created to support of one another. 

Then Jesus moves to the second chapter of Genesis. There, marriage is interpreted in this manner, “For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife the two shall become one flesh.”[6] This is one place where I like the older translations better. The King James Version here reads that the man shall “cleave” to his wife. Cleaving implies an embrace or yoking together of two into one. Husband and wife work together as a team for common goals and ideals, both taking on a load and both encouraging the other. 

Finally, Jesus, tells his audience in verse 9, they must be careful not to separate what God has brought together.  

As we have seen before in Mark’s gospel, once Jesus and the disciples are back in the house where they were staying, the disciples ask for clarification.[7] Jesus interprets divorce and remarriage as adultery, whether done by the man or woman. In other words, divorce goes against God’s intention in creation. We should also remember that in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus equates lust with adultery of the heart, which forces most all of us to acknowledge our sinfulness and to depend upon God’s mercy.[8]

Afterwards, it appears Jesus and the disciples are back outside with the crowd, with people bringing children to Jesus. The disciples don’t like this. Remember how I told you a few weeks ago, children in the first century didn’t have the same status as today. Jesus, however, elevates children and encouraged the disciples to welcome them, for in doing so they welcome him and the one who sent him.[9]

It doesn’t appear the disciples learned their lesson about what Jesus taught there, for now they stop people from bringing their children to Jesus. Perhaps the disciples rationalize their decision on the ongoing “adult conversation” on divorce. Jesus, however, intervenes and demands the children be invited in, reminding them one more time that the kingdom belongs to the likes of them, the children.

Children, as an example of what it takes to be received into the kingdom is the perfect wrap up to the divorce question. Children are totally dependent on others, just as we are totally dependent on Jesus.

In this passage, we see that the Pharisees want Jesus to draw a line, to interpret the law in a strict manner. Jesus responds first by recalling God’s intention for marriage. He recalls God’s grand plan as an ideal. The Pharisees, whose minds are so caught up in the letter and interpretation of the law, are unable to see what our Savior says. 

So, what is Jesus’ position on divorce? It’s safe to say, he doesn’t like it. However, as we know, marriages often end in divorce. If Jesus were here in person right now, would he be throwing stones?[10] I don’t think so. I think he’d be compassionate yet broken hearted at the way we treat relationships.

However, I also think he would be totally against the idea that men should control women as property, as was the case in the first century. With his teachings on divorce, Jesus raises the position of women for the time. He abolishes the double standard which existed and makes a case against polygamy.[11]

You know, happy marriages don’t often make the headlines.” We hear more about unhappy marriages, but at the same time we all know of marriages which are solid. Such examples provide an example for us. The key is commitment; to be committed and devoted to one’s spouse. Of course, that doesn’t mean it’s always going to be easy. 

Another tidbit of wisdom I’ve learned is that if there are never any struggles within a marriage, there’s probably just a lot of indifference…” It’s the commitment which helps us move beyond the struggles.

This passage shows us our need of God’s grace. According to Jesus, divorce and remarriage is a sin. But then, all of us have sinned and we will all sin again. Being divorced isn’t going to bar us from salvation, but it also doesn’t mean we can take divorce lightly. It’s a serious decision, for marriage is from God and who are we, mere mortals, to break such a bond? Yet, if we have broken such bonds, we can still rejoice for redemption available for those who are willing to confess their sinfulness and depend upon the mercy of Jesus Christ.

In this passage, we learn God desires for us to be in relationships. Marriage is a holy relationship, in which God plays a role by bringing together the couple. And children, who are also God’s blessings to parents, are precious to the community. They show us how we should approach our faith. 

In closing, let me quote from Doug Hare, one of my professors, who addresses Jesus’ intention for marriage this way: 

With Jesus, we affirm the Creator’s intention that marriage remains a lifelong commitment despite its inevitable frustrations. We acknowledge that in a sinful world this ideal, despite our prayers for grace, may often fail to attain. The ideal remains our lodestar.[12]   

Lifelong companionship of one man and one woman is God’s plan for us. That’s our loadstar, the ideal to which we’re to strive. However, just because we fail doesn’t mean we’re doomed. For all our life is covered by our Savior compassion. Amen.

[1] Romans 3:21-25. 

[2] Mark 8:31-32 and Mark 9:30-32. See https://fromarockyhillside.com/2024/08/25/who-do-you-say-that-i-am/ and https://fromarockyhillside.com/2024/09/22/welcoming-the-vulnerable/

[3] Frederick Dale Bruner, The Churchbook: Matthew 13-28 (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2004), 249.

[4] This breakdown on views of divorce in 1st Century Palestine comes from Bruner, 249-250.

[5] Genesis 1:26-27.

[6] Genesis 2:24

[7] See Mark 4:10-11, 7:24, 9:28-29 and 33-35..

[8] Matthew 5:27-28

[9][9] Mark 9:37.  See https://fromarockyhillside.com/2024/09/22/welcoming-the-vulnerable/

[10] Death was the punishment for divorce and was carried out by stoning, but it appears to have been seldom carried out. See Leviticus 20:1, John 8ff, 2 Samuel 11ff. 

[11] Douglas R. A. Hare: Westminster Bible Commentary: Mark (Louisville, KY: WJKP, 1996), 120. 

[12]  Douglas R. A. Hare, Matthew: Interpretation, a Biblical Commentary for Teaching and Preaching, (Louisville: John Knox Press, 1992), 223.