WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:16.539 Hi, my name is George Sinclair. I'm the lead pastor of Church of the Messiah. 00:00:16.800 --> 00:00:21.800 It is wonderful that you would like to check out some of the sermons done by Church of the Messiah, 00:00:21.920 --> 00:00:25.640 either by myself or some of the others. Listen, just a couple of things. First of all, 00:00:25.640 --> 00:00:32.140 would you pray for us that we will open God's Word well to His glory and for the good of people 00:00:32.140 --> 00:00:38.219 like yourself? The second thing is, if you aren't connected to a church and if you are a Christian, 00:00:38.740 --> 00:00:43.519 we really, I would really like to encourage you to find a good local church where they believe the 00:00:43.519 --> 00:00:49.880 Bible, they preach the gospel, and if you have some trouble finding that, send us an email. We 00:00:49.880 --> 00:00:55.679 will do what we can to help connect you with a good local church wherever you are. And if you're 00:00:55.679 --> 00:01:00.620 a non-Christian checking us out, we're really, really, really glad you're doing that. Don't 00:01:00.620 --> 00:01:05.960 hesitate to send us questions. It helps me actually to know, as I'm preaching, how to deal with the 00:01:05.959 --> 00:01:09.059 types of things that you're really struggling with. So God bless. 00:01:12.959 --> 00:01:14.979 And bow your heads in prayer. 00:01:17.359 --> 00:01:17.799 Father, 00:01:17.799 --> 00:01:24.359 we give you thanks and praise that you see us as we really are, 00:01:25.439 --> 00:01:31.759 that you love us as we really are, that your Son died on the cross for the real us, 00:01:31.760 --> 00:01:40.439 not the imaginary us, the pretend us, the surface us, the front us that we like to put. But Father, 00:01:40.560 --> 00:01:45.320 you know the very, very depths of our hearts. You know those things that we do that are wrong. 00:01:45.580 --> 00:01:50.600 You know those ways that we have wronged others and those ways that we have been wronged ourselves. 00:01:51.400 --> 00:01:58.180 And we give you thanks and praise that despite, from our point of view, you having perfect knowledge, 00:01:58.180 --> 00:02:04.800 still you loved us. You loved us perfectly. And you sent your Son to be the Savior of the world. 00:02:04.800 --> 00:02:06.280 And that your words, Father, 00:02:06.940 --> 00:02:10.300 your Word written are words of sanity and wisdom and grace. 00:02:11.360 --> 00:02:17.020 And so, Father, we ask now that the Holy Spirit would fall with gentle but deep power upon us as we 00:02:17.020 --> 00:02:19.600 try to listen to your Word very deeply. 00:02:20.540 --> 00:02:23.180 And, Father, we ask that your Word would rule in our hearts. 00:02:23.180 --> 00:02:27.260 And we ask this in the name of Jesus, your Son and our Savior. Amen. 00:02:27.900 --> 00:02:28.780 Please be seated. 00:02:38.219 --> 00:02:41.159 Just in case you're wondering if you're a guest or if you're online, 00:02:41.960 --> 00:02:44.659 there are people here who are divorced. 00:02:45.219 --> 00:02:46.960 There are people here who are remarried. 00:02:46.960 --> 00:02:53.340 There are probably people here or online who experience some degree of same-sex attraction. 00:02:53.340 --> 00:03:02.360 And there are probably people here who feel very uncomfortable in their bodies and wonder if they are in the wrong body. 00:03:02.360 --> 00:03:07.360 And so, I should also let you know that I have done the remarriage. 00:03:07.680 --> 00:03:09.320 I have married divorced people. 00:03:11.720 --> 00:03:16.660 And so, it's in that context that I'm looking at a text like this. 00:03:17.560 --> 00:03:23.980 And I'm also sort of very conscious that, depending on what I say, I could get cancelled. 00:03:23.979 --> 00:03:31.259 And that there are people here hoping that I'm going to be as strong and hard as I can. 00:03:31.340 --> 00:03:35.579 And there will be people hoping that I can be as gentle and liberal as I can. 00:03:35.719 --> 00:03:39.899 And we come here with a wide range of expectations and worries as we come to the text. 00:03:41.219 --> 00:03:45.339 I guess what I want to say as we go to look at this text is the more I've studied the text, 00:03:45.340 --> 00:03:48.259 especially in our current climate. 00:03:48.520 --> 00:03:50.580 And I probably will say this several times. 00:03:51.360 --> 00:03:56.280 What Christ says are words of sanity, wisdom, and grace. 00:03:56.939 --> 00:04:04.980 That the words of Christ are words of sanity, wisdom, and grace into our culture and into our real lives. 00:04:05.680 --> 00:04:06.860 So, let's look at the text. 00:04:06.920 --> 00:04:10.000 What we're going to do is I'm going to read through the whole text again relatively quickly. 00:04:10.560 --> 00:04:14.580 But I'll make just a couple of very just simple like connection type points for you. 00:04:14.580 --> 00:04:17.400 And then we'll circle back and look at the issues. 00:04:18.439 --> 00:04:19.819 Try to listen to it sort of. 00:04:19.920 --> 00:04:25.460 But I want to, you know, one of the things I tell young people when I'm trying to give them some coaching about how to speak 00:04:25.460 --> 00:04:30.699 is that one of the things they have to guard against is they might have read this text before they get up to talk about it. 00:04:30.720 --> 00:04:33.060 They might have read the text like 20 times or 30 times. 00:04:33.160 --> 00:04:33.759 Like, I don't know. 00:04:33.939 --> 00:04:35.980 I probably read this text 50 times this week. 00:04:36.879 --> 00:04:38.020 You guys get it cold. 00:04:38.020 --> 00:04:42.340 So, it doesn't necessarily mean, you know, that you just sort of remember what's in verse 5 or what's in verse 3. 00:04:42.400 --> 00:04:43.379 Because you just heard it cold. 00:04:43.379 --> 00:04:46.659 So, let's read it again fairly quickly. 00:04:46.779 --> 00:04:49.819 And then we'll go back and look at it more carefully in its bits and pieces. 00:04:50.019 --> 00:04:52.579 So, if you're following along with this, it's on page 60. 00:04:53.339 --> 00:04:57.779 And here's what Jesus says. 00:04:58.740 --> 00:05:03.100 And he left there and went to the region of Judea and beyond the Jordan. 00:05:03.920 --> 00:05:05.519 And crowds gathered to him again. 00:05:06.079 --> 00:05:09.199 And again, as was his custom, he taught them. 00:05:09.199 --> 00:05:10.360 Now, just to pause here. 00:05:11.039 --> 00:05:14.959 It's hard to know how this affects the interpretation of the text. 00:05:15.620 --> 00:05:22.360 But people who look at the text very carefully and look at a map and chart where he is and where he's going, 00:05:22.860 --> 00:05:28.259 he's probably come into the area that Herod Antipas rules. 00:05:28.259 --> 00:05:30.379 Now, most of you don't have any idea who that is. 00:05:30.920 --> 00:05:35.360 But some of you, if you're familiar, you go back and read earlier on in the Gospel of Mark. 00:05:35.639 --> 00:05:37.740 I should have looked up the exact thing. 00:05:37.800 --> 00:05:39.719 I just can't remember it off the top of my head. 00:05:39.720 --> 00:05:47.940 But in the Gospel of Mark, a little bit earlier, Herod kills John the Baptist. 00:05:49.080 --> 00:05:54.280 And John the Baptist is a prophet that's known to secular history as well, not just in the Bible. 00:05:54.980 --> 00:05:59.920 And both Jewish and pagan history are familiar with John the Baptist. 00:06:00.160 --> 00:06:06.200 And John the Baptist is put to death by Herod because John the Baptist said Herod shouldn't have divorced and remarried. 00:06:06.199 --> 00:06:13.279 And scholars think when he's talking about Judea, if you look at everything very carefully, 00:06:14.000 --> 00:06:19.360 Jesus is now back in Herod's jurisdiction when he's doing this teaching. 00:06:19.620 --> 00:06:25.180 So verse 2, Pharisees, I'm just sort of paused here if you're a guest. 00:06:26.159 --> 00:06:32.939 Probably the easiest way to think of the Pharisees is the Hasidim, the ultra-Orthodox Jews. 00:06:32.939 --> 00:06:39.959 You know, when you see the people, you know, with the beards and the hats and sort of the one dreadlock, etc. 00:06:41.379 --> 00:06:43.699 When you think of Pharisees, think of them. 00:06:44.620 --> 00:06:49.939 And think of a group that fundamentally is well-liked at the time. 00:06:50.480 --> 00:06:55.439 I mean, on one level, they probably make fun of them and don't entirely like them because they're sort of like holy roller types. 00:06:55.560 --> 00:06:57.360 But they're basically respected people. 00:06:57.360 --> 00:07:02.280 So when you see the word Pharisee, sort of think Hasidim or ultra-Orthodox Jews. 00:07:03.020 --> 00:07:10.319 So the Pharisees came up and in order to test him, asked, is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife? 00:07:11.120 --> 00:07:17.740 Now the word test there isn't as if they're testing, hoping that he can become a Pharisee or get qualified to be a teacher. 00:07:18.000 --> 00:07:18.939 It's meant to be. 00:07:19.699 --> 00:07:21.000 They're trying to get him in trouble. 00:07:21.000 --> 00:07:24.220 So it's what's called a dishonest question. 00:07:24.339 --> 00:07:25.199 It's not an honest question. 00:07:25.279 --> 00:07:26.779 They're not really interested in the answer. 00:07:27.259 --> 00:07:29.519 What they're interested in is getting Jesus in trouble. 00:07:30.240 --> 00:07:38.019 So once again, in the Pharisees, verse 2, came up in order to test him, asked, is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife? 00:07:38.980 --> 00:07:43.699 And Jesus, in verse 3, answered them, what did Moses command you? 00:07:43.699 --> 00:07:51.599 Verse 4, they said, Moses allowed a man to write a certificate of divorce and to send her away. 00:07:53.500 --> 00:08:00.300 And verse 5, and Jesus said to them, now it's sort of an important point here to notice. 00:08:02.039 --> 00:08:04.959 Jesus didn't ask, what did Moses permit? 00:08:06.240 --> 00:08:08.680 He asked what Moses commanded. 00:08:08.680 --> 00:08:13.759 And that's a bit of a subtle distinction, but it's going to be important for us to enter into the text. 00:08:15.900 --> 00:08:20.040 They want to know, in a sense, what the loopholes are. 00:08:20.780 --> 00:08:22.980 And Jesus didn't say, can you list the loopholes? 00:08:23.660 --> 00:08:25.019 He said, what was the command? 00:08:25.399 --> 00:08:26.840 Like, what's the fundamental command? 00:08:27.000 --> 00:08:28.139 And they give him loopholes. 00:08:29.240 --> 00:08:37.399 Verse 5, and Jesus said to them, because of your hardness of heart, he wrote this, he wrote you this commandment. 00:08:37.399 --> 00:08:43.059 Now, there, in other words, it's a technical word for a word in the Torah. 00:08:43.840 --> 00:08:49.860 So, it's because of your hardness of heart that this is in the Torah, or the Torah. 00:08:50.079 --> 00:08:53.840 Actually, the Torah is the correct word, the expression. 00:08:54.899 --> 00:09:00.659 Then verse 6, but from the beginning of creation, and now you'll note, he's going to quote. 00:09:00.659 --> 00:09:06.419 And he quotes from something else that Moses wrote, because they're quoting from a book called Deuteronomy. 00:09:06.679 --> 00:09:09.199 And now he quotes from Genesis chapter 1. 00:09:09.919 --> 00:09:14.579 But from the beginning of creation, now quoting, God made them male and female. 00:09:15.279 --> 00:09:15.939 End of quote. 00:09:16.480 --> 00:09:19.839 And then in verse 7, he quotes from chapter 2 of Genesis. 00:09:20.379 --> 00:09:27.799 And says, therefore, a man shall leave his father and mother, and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh. 00:09:28.439 --> 00:09:29.120 End of the quote. 00:09:29.120 --> 00:09:34.639 And then he adds, so they are no longer two, but one flesh. 00:09:35.340 --> 00:09:39.060 What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate. 00:09:40.179 --> 00:09:46.980 And some of you who are familiar with Christian weddings, a text like this is often read at a Christian wedding. 00:09:46.980 --> 00:09:53.080 And the language has influenced Christian weddings very deeply. 00:09:53.080 --> 00:10:00.139 Now verse 10 and 11 and 12, something which, when I read it, probably struck some daggers into some hearts. 00:10:00.639 --> 00:10:01.660 It created some pain. 00:10:02.040 --> 00:10:02.860 We're going to read it. 00:10:02.980 --> 00:10:04.340 We are going to circle back to it. 00:10:04.420 --> 00:10:06.340 But here's what he says at verse 10. 00:10:06.879 --> 00:10:09.960 And in the house, the disciples asked him again about this matter. 00:10:09.960 --> 00:10:16.720 And Jesus said to them, whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her. 00:10:16.720 --> 00:10:21.840 And if she divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery. 00:10:21.840 --> 00:10:27.440 Now, some of you are just experiencing pain and dread. 00:10:27.440 --> 00:10:32.080 And some of you are thinking, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. 00:10:32.160 --> 00:10:34.020 Doesn't Jesus say something different somewhere else? 00:10:34.040 --> 00:10:35.440 I thought he was going to say something different. 00:10:35.580 --> 00:10:37.180 And there's all sorts of things going on in the room. 00:10:37.480 --> 00:10:38.600 But let's circle back. 00:10:38.680 --> 00:10:41.840 So here's the first thing to think about when we're looking at the text. 00:10:42.900 --> 00:10:45.440 And I hope this... 00:10:45.440 --> 00:10:50.260 Learning to parachute doesn't teach you how to fly a plane. 00:10:52.280 --> 00:10:55.260 Learning how to parachute doesn't teach you how to fly a plane. 00:10:55.740 --> 00:11:00.720 So one of the things I like to sometimes do on a Sunday afternoon is watch one of those mindless action flicks. 00:11:00.720 --> 00:11:01.800 I'm tired. 00:11:02.820 --> 00:11:10.640 You know, psychologists and all will tell you that getting up and speaking in front of a whole room of people is one of the most stressful things that people can do. 00:11:10.639 --> 00:11:15.360 And so all these chemicals are produced in my body because of the stress. 00:11:15.580 --> 00:11:20.059 And part of the result is afterwards I can often feel quite down and tired. 00:11:20.199 --> 00:11:22.659 And so one of the things I often do is watch mindless action films. 00:11:23.100 --> 00:11:29.139 And one of the things which is common in mindless action films is that the good guys and the bad guys are fighting in a plane. 00:11:29.679 --> 00:11:34.100 And at some point in time, the bad guy wants to get out of the plane using the parachute. 00:11:34.319 --> 00:11:39.100 And the good guy realizes he can't let the bad guy get away with all the parachutes and there's a fight over it. 00:11:39.100 --> 00:11:44.040 And in fact, I was just watching a movie the other time where the bad guy successfully got out of the plane with the parachutes. 00:11:44.300 --> 00:11:48.560 And the good guy jumps out after them to, of course, try to fight them in the middle of the sky. 00:11:48.639 --> 00:11:51.440 And it's all very, you know, dramatic and all of that stuff. 00:11:51.659 --> 00:11:56.320 And normally in movies like that, it doesn't have both of them splatting to their death. 00:11:56.720 --> 00:12:02.340 But some of them survive, usually the good guy, which is why people watch movies like this. 00:12:02.639 --> 00:12:04.139 However, so just think for a second. 00:12:04.139 --> 00:12:08.299 And, you know, you get in a plane with somebody and it's the good guy. 00:12:09.039 --> 00:12:12.639 And the good guy is just sitting at the controls of the plane. 00:12:13.159 --> 00:12:14.840 And you say, you can fly a plane? 00:12:14.939 --> 00:12:18.980 He said, listen, I've jumped out of planes with parachutes a hundred times. 00:12:19.240 --> 00:12:21.919 I'm an expert at jumping out of planes with a parachute. 00:12:23.419 --> 00:12:26.340 But you say, but do you know how to fly a plane? 00:12:26.340 --> 00:12:29.840 And I'm an expert at jumping out of planes with a parachute. 00:12:30.300 --> 00:12:31.240 Of course I can fly. 00:12:31.560 --> 00:12:33.460 No, no, no, no, no, no. 00:12:33.980 --> 00:12:37.240 He says, you know, most plane accidents happen with takeoff and landing. 00:12:37.940 --> 00:12:39.180 You would do the wise thing. 00:12:39.399 --> 00:12:40.399 You'd get out of the plane. 00:12:41.019 --> 00:12:41.180 Okay. 00:12:41.540 --> 00:12:48.100 So this is very important that the Pharisees are having, want to have a loophole discussion with Jesus. 00:12:48.100 --> 00:12:58.700 They, it's sort of a little bit like in our culture where it's almost as if there's more of a focus on divorce and the grounds for divorce than there is as to what marriage actually is. 00:12:59.320 --> 00:13:00.720 Like what is marriage? 00:13:01.659 --> 00:13:05.460 And if you don't know what marriage is, it's going to be hard to be married well. 00:13:05.460 --> 00:13:15.820 And so that's one of the things that's going here, that the, the, the, the, the critics of Jesus and actually even the disciples, they come up with loophole questions. 00:13:16.440 --> 00:13:19.440 But Jesus, in a sense, says, I want to teach you how to fly. 00:13:21.139 --> 00:13:26.460 Not how to jump out of the plane with a parachute because the engines failed. 00:13:26.639 --> 00:13:27.879 I want to teach you how to fly. 00:13:28.400 --> 00:13:31.200 And so he's teaching primarily about what marriage is. 00:13:31.200 --> 00:13:35.040 The second thing, see, and that can be seen here. 00:13:35.100 --> 00:13:35.879 Go back to the text. 00:13:36.000 --> 00:13:41.600 If you go back to verse, um, verse two, the Pharisees ask him a question. 00:13:41.720 --> 00:13:43.460 Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife? 00:13:43.500 --> 00:13:45.620 They don't say, you know, what is marriage? 00:13:45.720 --> 00:13:48.540 Jesus, can you explain to us a little bit about what marriage is? 00:13:48.540 --> 00:13:55.160 Instead, they ask him a question about how to, how to be successfully divorced in such a way that you can be remarried. 00:13:55.159 --> 00:14:02.919 Jesus, sort of seeing what they're doing, focusing on how to jump out of a plane that's broken rather than how to fly a plane. 00:14:03.179 --> 00:14:05.459 Well, says, well, what did Moses command you? 00:14:05.899 --> 00:14:07.399 In other words, how do you fly the plane? 00:14:07.939 --> 00:14:08.879 They don't answer that. 00:14:08.959 --> 00:14:12.039 They give him a jump out of the parachute, out of the plane answer. 00:14:12.159 --> 00:14:15.719 Moses allowed a man to write a certificate of divorce to send her away. 00:14:15.720 --> 00:14:22.279 Um, and then Jesus said to them, now, you can see here, there's a sort of a double hardness of heart. 00:14:25.700 --> 00:14:32.120 In fact, actually, one of the things I think you're going to see, if I'm going to jump ahead a little bit to the end, I'll come back to it. 00:14:33.060 --> 00:14:43.720 But, um, in a sense, uh, what you see, if you go and you look at Jesus' teaching on this in several places, you see that he does, in fact, give grounds for divorce in some places. 00:14:43.720 --> 00:14:49.779 And in this case, when they ask him for grounds of divorce, he doesn't give them what the grounds for divorce are. 00:14:51.120 --> 00:15:00.200 And what you have to do, if you're reading all of the Gospels and you're reading all of the, all of what Jesus says, it's, it's a little bit like, sometimes what we want is a rule. 00:15:01.259 --> 00:15:04.980 But what we really need is, is wisdom. 00:15:04.980 --> 00:15:15.279 And sometimes wisdom comes from asking two different questions or making different observations and filling out, figuring out how to navigate, you know, both types of issues. 00:15:15.279 --> 00:15:25.980 And, and even when the disciples come, really what the disciples are going, it's as if they've missed what marriage is and they want Jesus to say what the loopholes are. 00:15:25.980 --> 00:15:33.500 And so Jesus says, if you're just looking at the loopholes, you're not looking in the right place. 00:15:35.259 --> 00:15:40.580 Like, if your heart is all just set on looking at loopholes and grounds, you're not thinking about the right thing. 00:15:41.960 --> 00:15:47.740 In another case, he does, he does give the, uh, not loopholes, but the grounds for divorce. 00:15:47.740 --> 00:15:53.299 But you need to have both types of questions presented to your heart. 00:15:54.620 --> 00:15:55.960 Our hearts are hard. 00:15:57.000 --> 00:16:07.919 And because our hearts are hard, it's very easy for us to, to, to, to want to misuse marriage, abuse marriage, forget what marriage is, not really be concerned about marriage, be concerned about other types of things. 00:16:07.919 --> 00:16:13.059 And, and, and, and, and, uh, and that's because our hearts are hard. 00:16:13.379 --> 00:16:20.379 And it's easy for us just to be always looking at the marriage in terms of, especially if there start to be some trouble about when you can leave. 00:16:21.599 --> 00:16:26.779 And Jesus is saying, I mean, obviously there's a time to ask that question about leaving. 00:16:27.879 --> 00:16:30.979 I've, I've, uh, had people in my office over the years. 00:16:31.120 --> 00:16:35.139 I remember this one couple that I had talking to them and they were having marital difficulties. 00:16:35.139 --> 00:16:46.179 And it was one of those moments where I guess if I was a charismatic, I'd say God gave me a word of knowledge because out of sort of just listening to all of a sudden I asked, I asked the woman, I said, don't look at your husband. 00:16:46.360 --> 00:16:47.720 I'd just like you answer my question. 00:16:47.819 --> 00:16:48.559 Is he beating you? 00:16:50.379 --> 00:16:55.860 And she paused and her lips quivered and a tear appeared. 00:16:56.159 --> 00:16:57.259 And she said, yes. 00:17:00.200 --> 00:17:03.659 And I turned to the man and said, you have to stop beating your wife. 00:17:03.659 --> 00:17:12.519 And I'm going to tell her she shouldn't return to live with you until she can be very, very confident you're not going to beat her. 00:17:13.579 --> 00:17:16.059 It wasn't what he wanted me to say. 00:17:19.119 --> 00:17:24.359 So it isn't as if there's never times to talk about when to end the marriage. 00:17:24.359 --> 00:17:31.559 But what Jesus is saying, if that's really all the things you think about, listen, forget for a moment loopholes. 00:17:32.139 --> 00:17:33.399 Think about what marriage is. 00:17:33.740 --> 00:17:35.240 Just think about what marriage is. 00:17:35.899 --> 00:17:37.500 Think about what marriage is. 00:17:38.199 --> 00:17:39.740 Pray about what marriage is. 00:17:39.740 --> 00:17:50.200 So the hardness of heart is on one hand him making a bit of a comment about the particular people asking this question. 00:17:50.599 --> 00:17:53.039 Because they're trying to get him in trouble with Herod. 00:17:53.299 --> 00:17:55.160 They're just looking at loopholes. 00:17:55.160 --> 00:18:06.800 In fact, there's a whole school of thought at the time that basically said, so, you know, if Louise burns the supper, that would be grounds for me to divorce her. 00:18:07.700 --> 00:18:08.820 She burned the meat. 00:18:09.100 --> 00:18:09.920 Good grief. 00:18:10.019 --> 00:18:11.000 The marriage is over. 00:18:11.380 --> 00:18:12.340 I want a divorce. 00:18:12.480 --> 00:18:14.980 I want to remarry somebody who doesn't burn the meat. 00:18:15.080 --> 00:18:16.560 I mean, that's actually, I'm not making that up. 00:18:16.620 --> 00:18:18.940 That was actually a ground for divorce. 00:18:18.940 --> 00:18:24.620 Jesus is answering this question in a culture which was unbelievably permissive about divorce. 00:18:25.680 --> 00:18:28.200 And so he's talking about the hardness of heart there. 00:18:28.420 --> 00:18:37.660 But also just in general about a way to understand the Bible is that the Bible, especially the Old Testament, isn't written for angels. 00:18:38.279 --> 00:18:39.720 It's written for sinners. 00:18:41.400 --> 00:18:44.840 So, I mean, one of the things which is really important for us then to get from this. 00:18:48.940 --> 00:18:51.620 When I married Louise, I married a woman with a hard heart. 00:18:52.380 --> 00:18:54.860 And when she married me, she married a man with a hard heart. 00:18:56.340 --> 00:18:59.080 You've never gone to a marriage of two angels. 00:18:59.380 --> 00:19:01.759 You only go to a marriage of two sinners. 00:19:02.700 --> 00:19:03.900 The only marriages there are. 00:19:04.980 --> 00:19:06.279 Two people who are sinful. 00:19:07.680 --> 00:19:11.360 Two people who are going to need God's help to deal with the hardness of their hearts. 00:19:11.359 --> 00:19:15.139 Obviously, there's more to their heart than just being hard. 00:19:15.240 --> 00:19:18.319 But the hardness of the heart is reality that has to be taken into account. 00:19:19.799 --> 00:19:21.379 See, the Bible is very wise. 00:19:22.419 --> 00:19:25.679 In our culture, we say that we have like a soulmate. 00:19:26.419 --> 00:19:30.159 And the implication almost always is, is that I have a pure soul. 00:19:31.179 --> 00:19:33.779 And I'm looking for another person with a pure soul. 00:19:34.399 --> 00:19:37.759 And our two pure souls will have this pure soul marriage. 00:19:37.759 --> 00:19:40.920 And the Bible says, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. 00:19:43.160 --> 00:19:45.279 You only marry a person with a hard heart. 00:19:47.259 --> 00:19:48.599 It's the only person you marry. 00:19:49.799 --> 00:19:51.480 So, continuing in verse 5. 00:19:51.640 --> 00:19:54.460 Because of your hardness of heart, he wrote you this commandment. 00:19:56.819 --> 00:20:04.519 In other words, in the real world, there are, there is adultery. 00:20:04.519 --> 00:20:08.039 In the real world, there is abuse. 00:20:08.680 --> 00:20:11.240 In the real world, there is abandonment. 00:20:13.500 --> 00:20:15.379 And God takes that into account. 00:20:16.599 --> 00:20:17.839 It has to be dealt with. 00:20:19.079 --> 00:20:19.940 Verse 6. 00:20:21.039 --> 00:20:25.740 But, from the beginning of creation, God made them male and female. 00:20:25.879 --> 00:20:27.879 This is now where he quotes from Genesis 1. 00:20:28.500 --> 00:20:31.660 But from the beginning of creation, God made them male and female. 00:20:31.660 --> 00:20:34.720 And then Genesis 2 is also talking about the beginning of creation. 00:20:35.420 --> 00:20:36.440 Which is verse 7. 00:20:36.820 --> 00:20:40.700 Therefore, a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife. 00:20:41.100 --> 00:20:43.400 And the two shall become one flesh. 00:20:43.820 --> 00:20:46.700 So they are no longer two, but one flesh. 00:20:47.200 --> 00:20:48.980 But therefore, God has joined together. 00:20:49.519 --> 00:20:51.140 Let not man separate. 00:20:51.140 --> 00:21:02.780 Now, one of the things you can see here now, just sort of switching gears a tiny bit, but it's very important to see. 00:21:05.720 --> 00:21:07.180 God only made males. 00:21:07.400 --> 00:21:08.480 God made human beings. 00:21:08.840 --> 00:21:11.240 And every human being is either a male or a female. 00:21:12.720 --> 00:21:14.040 They're either a man or a woman. 00:21:14.039 --> 00:21:21.500 And if they marry, they're either a husband and a wife. 00:21:23.000 --> 00:21:27.659 You can't have two males marry, and one's the husband and one's the wife. 00:21:29.359 --> 00:21:33.819 Just as you can't have two females marry, and one is the husband and one is the wife. 00:21:33.819 --> 00:21:46.359 And I'm very conscious that I was sharing it with people that being on YouTube makes issues like this far more complicated if there's a troll out to get near us. 00:21:47.639 --> 00:21:49.500 But that's what the Bible teaches. 00:21:50.500 --> 00:21:52.659 And by the way, that's what science teaches. 00:21:52.660 --> 00:22:04.140 And I know this is a very, very hard message for those who believe they're in the wrong body. 00:22:04.759 --> 00:22:07.860 And I know that now has become a very complicated whole issue. 00:22:08.120 --> 00:22:15.820 And, you know, once again, as I say time after time after time, I have never experienced that. 00:22:17.000 --> 00:22:21.320 But I can well imagine if that's your real experience, it's a very hard experience. 00:22:22.660 --> 00:22:28.140 But what the Bible is teaching is that since God has only made males and females, men and women, 00:22:29.040 --> 00:22:36.680 then the way towards wholeness is to be at peace and to be at home with your biological sex. 00:22:38.120 --> 00:22:42.080 And to not listen to ideas that sex is assigned at birth. 00:22:44.840 --> 00:22:47.740 And we are a very imperfect congregation. 00:22:47.740 --> 00:22:55.720 But we would love to walk with you and pray with you as you try to figure that out. 00:22:57.359 --> 00:22:59.900 And to learn what it means to be at peace with your body. 00:22:59.900 --> 00:23:08.700 And obviously this text, when people, well-meaning people, sometimes well-meaning, not always, 00:23:09.420 --> 00:23:14.540 say that Jesus never says anything about same-sex marriage, they're just simply wrong. 00:23:14.920 --> 00:23:20.340 Because this is something which he says very, very clearly and very unambiguously. 00:23:20.339 --> 00:23:28.079 That God designed human beings to be male and female. 00:23:29.519 --> 00:23:35.859 And he designed, in a sense, that a male could marry a female and a female could marry a male. 00:23:36.419 --> 00:23:38.240 And there's no other option. 00:23:38.240 --> 00:23:51.859 And, you know, once again, here's the text is sane and the text is wise. 00:23:51.859 --> 00:24:03.759 If you are listening to this or you are present and you experience very, very powerful attractions to the other sex. 00:24:07.179 --> 00:24:11.459 So, you know, at the end of the day, goodness is good for you. 00:24:12.619 --> 00:24:14.819 And keeping God's word is good for you. 00:24:14.819 --> 00:24:26.399 It might be that you will, in a sense, live with frustrated desires for the rest of your life if you come to Christ. 00:24:28.559 --> 00:24:30.919 Jesus died for males and females. 00:24:31.439 --> 00:24:32.700 He died for men and women. 00:24:33.859 --> 00:24:37.299 He died for the divorced and the single and the remarried. 00:24:37.539 --> 00:24:41.119 And he died for all and he loves all. 00:24:41.119 --> 00:24:49.259 And it might be that there will be a long season of frustration that you will have if you follow Christ. 00:24:49.379 --> 00:24:54.219 And this means that you can't then pursue certain ways of living. 00:24:54.979 --> 00:25:01.159 I mean, for heterosexuals, it means that I can't pursue lots of different women to have sexual knowing with. 00:25:02.939 --> 00:25:09.000 And it might mean for a man who only experiences or overwhelmingly experiences sexual attraction only to other men, 00:25:09.000 --> 00:25:10.479 it might mean that they can never marry. 00:25:11.119 --> 00:25:18.699 But you can't foreclose the graces that you feel by doing what is good. 00:25:19.959 --> 00:25:24.559 And the grace and the power and the beauty that you do in the world from following what is good. 00:25:25.599 --> 00:25:28.599 And the other thing is, as my friend Christopher Yuan has said, 00:25:29.719 --> 00:25:35.539 you know, in a sense, so he lived a very, very active life as a gay man, 00:25:35.959 --> 00:25:39.039 became a Christian and knew he had to walk away from that. 00:25:39.039 --> 00:25:45.379 The question for him isn't whether God will do a miracle so that he now only finds women attractive. 00:25:46.119 --> 00:25:51.980 The question for him is whether he will meet a woman that he can marry as one flesh. 00:25:53.059 --> 00:25:54.920 See, if you think about it, it's very wise. 00:25:55.319 --> 00:25:57.659 God doesn't want me to be attracted to lots of women. 00:25:57.779 --> 00:26:00.019 He wants me to be married to Louise. 00:26:00.019 --> 00:26:00.619 Right? 00:26:02.619 --> 00:26:02.859 Right? 00:26:03.019 --> 00:26:04.220 That's what he wants. 00:26:04.359 --> 00:26:06.359 He wants me to become one flesh with Louise. 00:26:07.660 --> 00:26:13.160 And so this text actually opens up potentially a whole range of other types of things. 00:26:13.639 --> 00:26:19.359 That in any married couple, the attraction to other people is something that you have to put to death. 00:26:19.359 --> 00:26:22.000 In Christ. 00:26:22.379 --> 00:26:24.299 Not celebrate, but put to death. 00:26:25.719 --> 00:26:32.240 And this is the same regardless as to the range of individuals that you find sexually attractive. 00:26:32.659 --> 00:26:39.539 It is to be put to death because, especially for the man, you are to forsake your mother and father 00:26:39.539 --> 00:26:43.079 or leave your mother and father and hold fast to your wife. 00:26:43.079 --> 00:26:48.220 But we see here as well in verse 8 as it continues, 00:26:48.480 --> 00:26:52.099 And the two shall become one flesh, so they are no longer two but one flesh. 00:26:52.199 --> 00:26:54.759 What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate. 00:26:55.559 --> 00:27:07.559 We see here that marriage is not a casual, short-term contract, but a covenant involving God. 00:27:07.559 --> 00:27:14.679 And we see here in the text that, in a sense, marriage is something physical, 00:27:15.319 --> 00:27:17.859 and it's something in time and space. 00:27:19.179 --> 00:27:27.559 But God has designed it to also, in a sense, be something transcendent and holy and sacred. 00:27:28.559 --> 00:27:30.779 That God is involved in the marriage. 00:27:30.779 --> 00:27:33.119 Whether or not the couple acknowledge it. 00:27:33.879 --> 00:27:39.480 But God is present in every marriage in terms of sanctifying it and blessing it. 00:27:40.500 --> 00:27:44.039 That in marriage, there is something that you are... 00:27:44.039 --> 00:27:47.779 It's not just a civil thing that you're participating in or entering into, 00:27:47.920 --> 00:27:54.039 but something bigger than human and something bigger than civic. 00:27:54.039 --> 00:28:01.680 And actually, that's why it's really only the Christian understanding of marriage that can explain 00:28:01.680 --> 00:28:08.240 the problems that people experience when the marriage... 00:28:08.240 --> 00:28:10.500 As the marriage starts to come to an end and when it ends. 00:28:11.960 --> 00:28:16.039 That for most people, it's not the same thing as if you had... 00:28:16.039 --> 00:28:21.139 I don't know, like me and Jono or something have a little contract 00:28:21.140 --> 00:28:23.940 because we're going to have a little business on coaching running. 00:28:24.680 --> 00:28:29.000 And, you know, after a year, the contract breaks up and we go our separate ways. 00:28:29.080 --> 00:28:30.360 And maybe I'm a little bit sad. 00:28:30.440 --> 00:28:31.460 I'm going to lose some money. 00:28:31.640 --> 00:28:32.660 Maybe I'm mad at him. 00:28:32.820 --> 00:28:33.340 You know, there's that. 00:28:33.980 --> 00:28:36.680 That's not at all the same as the breakup of a marriage. 00:28:38.320 --> 00:28:42.880 Obviously, some people, they break up the marriage and there's a type of callousness to it 00:28:42.880 --> 00:28:47.300 and apparent heartlessness and hardness of heart to it. 00:28:47.299 --> 00:28:55.000 But I would suggest that all that shows is that there's been a terrible tearing within them 00:28:55.000 --> 00:28:56.240 that they are not acknowledging. 00:28:57.659 --> 00:29:00.019 And the one who is sort of more... 00:29:00.019 --> 00:29:03.579 doesn't want the marriage to end and it comes to an end, 00:29:04.579 --> 00:29:08.779 there's a deep wounding that happens. 00:29:08.779 --> 00:29:14.940 And that's also true often of the children for where there's a deep wounding. 00:29:15.019 --> 00:29:17.460 If there are children, the marriage and the marriage comes to an end. 00:29:18.980 --> 00:29:24.500 And our modern understanding of sex as being just primarily something animal-like 00:29:24.500 --> 00:29:27.000 and that marriage is something like a contract, 00:29:27.079 --> 00:29:31.899 that cannot explain the lived experience of people who go through the breakup of a marriage. 00:29:32.759 --> 00:29:34.319 Only the biblical view does. 00:29:34.319 --> 00:29:49.700 But George, what about what Jesus said? 00:29:51.259 --> 00:29:53.319 Are you saying that once... 00:29:54.279 --> 00:29:58.339 George, are you saying that if I have remarried after divorce, 00:29:58.599 --> 00:30:03.919 that my whole life is characterized by adultery with my wife? 00:30:04.319 --> 00:30:08.319 Are you saying that Jesus says... 00:30:09.480 --> 00:30:15.119 that even though there was adultery or abuse or abandonment, 00:30:15.279 --> 00:30:18.759 that I now have to be single for the rest of my life? 00:30:22.179 --> 00:30:23.419 That's a very good question. 00:30:23.919 --> 00:30:26.159 And I can tell you, you can look at the commentaries, 00:30:26.220 --> 00:30:27.700 there's been lots of debate about this. 00:30:27.879 --> 00:30:31.059 I'm going to give you my best attempt to try to help you in a way 00:30:31.059 --> 00:30:32.799 which is faithful to the text. 00:30:32.799 --> 00:30:36.159 Remember I said that if you look at this text, 00:30:36.899 --> 00:30:38.659 this text is a mixture of... 00:30:38.659 --> 00:30:40.359 It's an outline of sanity, 00:30:41.680 --> 00:30:44.899 an outline of wisdom, 00:30:45.599 --> 00:30:47.519 and an outline of grace. 00:30:47.879 --> 00:30:48.799 It's all three. 00:30:49.899 --> 00:30:50.799 The sanity is... 00:30:51.500 --> 00:30:54.799 You know, if you've read Carl Truman's really excellent two books... 00:30:54.799 --> 00:30:59.399 I know I might get in trouble on this. 00:30:59.399 --> 00:31:03.500 But it's actually, on one level, mind-boggling 00:31:03.500 --> 00:31:09.799 that to say that sex isn't assigned at birth could get me cancelled and in trouble. 00:31:09.799 --> 00:31:14.000 That there's an actual biologic reality. 00:31:14.000 --> 00:31:18.400 Like, on one level, that's mind-boggling that that's a controversial statement. 00:31:18.400 --> 00:31:21.640 And it's... 00:31:21.640 --> 00:31:23.300 The Bible here is sane. 00:31:23.660 --> 00:31:25.400 It's trying to get us back to sanity. 00:31:25.600 --> 00:31:27.780 But it gives us wisdom to understand what, 00:31:28.259 --> 00:31:30.519 on one level, at a surface level in our culture, 00:31:30.519 --> 00:31:32.800 we sort of have these views of marriage 00:31:32.800 --> 00:31:34.840 which combine with soulmates, 00:31:34.960 --> 00:31:36.400 but also like a contract thing. 00:31:36.500 --> 00:31:39.300 And this Bible brings in this sanity and wisdom about it. 00:31:39.340 --> 00:31:40.200 But where's the grace? 00:31:40.200 --> 00:31:45.080 Well, here's a couple of things about it. 00:31:45.200 --> 00:31:46.900 The first thing is this. 00:31:49.660 --> 00:31:52.480 And this isn't looking for loopholes, 00:31:52.600 --> 00:31:53.580 but the fact of the matter is, 00:31:53.620 --> 00:31:55.460 is if you look at Matthew in the Sermon on the Mount, 00:31:55.740 --> 00:31:58.299 and in Matthew later, where Jesus talks about the same thing, 00:31:58.360 --> 00:32:01.860 he does say that adultery breaks the marriage. 00:32:02.319 --> 00:32:06.480 And the implication is very clear that a remarriage is possible. 00:32:06.480 --> 00:32:11.500 And so I think partly what we're looking at here, 00:32:11.599 --> 00:32:12.900 and it's very interesting here, 00:32:13.000 --> 00:32:15.480 that when Jesus talks about the... 00:32:16.099 --> 00:32:18.720 You know, look again at verse 10 and 11. 00:32:18.960 --> 00:32:19.559 Verse 11, 00:32:19.700 --> 00:32:21.660 whoever divorces his wife and marries another 00:32:21.660 --> 00:32:23.700 commits adultery against her. 00:32:23.759 --> 00:32:26.339 And if she divorces her husband and marries another, 00:32:26.460 --> 00:32:27.240 she commits adultery. 00:32:28.099 --> 00:32:31.860 If he was saying that there is actually no divorce, 00:32:32.220 --> 00:32:33.799 he wouldn't say what he said. 00:32:33.799 --> 00:32:38.000 That he'd say whoever goes through a divorce 00:32:38.000 --> 00:32:41.059 is still married to the first person, 00:32:41.059 --> 00:32:43.779 so they therefore can't be married to the second person. 00:32:43.899 --> 00:32:45.659 It's a pretend marriage, but he doesn't say that. 00:32:45.700 --> 00:32:47.619 He implies that the marriage is a real marriage. 00:32:48.859 --> 00:32:51.079 In other words, the description of two flesh 00:32:51.079 --> 00:32:52.159 joined together by God, 00:32:52.240 --> 00:32:53.480 that that's actually what's happened. 00:32:54.799 --> 00:32:57.899 So I think what's primarily going on here 00:32:57.899 --> 00:32:59.119 is I've just said, like, 00:32:59.339 --> 00:33:00.680 I'm not going to give you my answer. 00:33:00.680 --> 00:33:03.000 Somebody asked me just within the last couple of weeks, 00:33:03.560 --> 00:33:05.880 how do you know how many kids to have? 00:33:08.640 --> 00:33:11.340 Well, that's an interesting question to have. 00:33:11.400 --> 00:33:13.340 How do you know how many kids to have, right? 00:33:13.720 --> 00:33:16.940 So I gave an answer to the best of my ability, 00:33:17.019 --> 00:33:17.920 given that it came cold, 00:33:18.019 --> 00:33:18.940 but part of how I said, 00:33:19.000 --> 00:33:20.620 there's these two things to consider, you know, 00:33:20.640 --> 00:33:21.799 and you sort of, you look at this, 00:33:21.860 --> 00:33:22.900 you look at this, you look at this, 00:33:22.920 --> 00:33:24.759 and you sort of figure it out in your context, 00:33:24.820 --> 00:33:25.500 and that's the answer. 00:33:25.860 --> 00:33:26.580 In other words, I didn't say, 00:33:26.660 --> 00:33:27.500 well, the answer's five, 00:33:27.580 --> 00:33:28.480 or the answer's three, 00:33:28.480 --> 00:33:29.599 or the answer's nine, 00:33:29.960 --> 00:33:31.559 or the answer's 12, or whatever. 00:33:31.819 --> 00:33:33.019 You know, maybe the answer's 12, 00:33:33.099 --> 00:33:34.059 and none of us have lived up. 00:33:34.259 --> 00:33:34.860 No, I didn't say that. 00:33:34.920 --> 00:33:35.579 I gave two things. 00:33:36.000 --> 00:33:37.220 And as I said earlier on, 00:33:37.660 --> 00:33:39.380 you know, maybe there was two different ways 00:33:39.380 --> 00:33:40.500 that Jesus talked about this. 00:33:40.559 --> 00:33:41.480 The first thing is, 00:33:42.000 --> 00:33:44.539 listen, if you're spending all your time 00:33:44.539 --> 00:33:46.259 thinking about grounds and loopholes, 00:33:46.460 --> 00:33:48.279 that's not the right way to be thinking about it. 00:33:48.299 --> 00:33:49.339 Think about marriage. 00:33:50.440 --> 00:33:51.640 Like, think about marriage. 00:33:51.839 --> 00:33:52.759 Think about what it is. 00:33:52.819 --> 00:33:54.799 Like, George and Louise, think about marriage. 00:33:54.799 --> 00:33:56.460 Like, have that be something 00:33:56.460 --> 00:33:58.359 which is really important to your hearts 00:33:58.359 --> 00:34:00.440 to navigate the problems that you're going to have. 00:34:00.539 --> 00:34:01.480 Think about marriage. 00:34:02.419 --> 00:34:03.639 And the other question is, 00:34:03.740 --> 00:34:07.200 well, sometimes things have to come to an end. 00:34:08.860 --> 00:34:11.380 And in Matthew, he gives adultery, 00:34:11.500 --> 00:34:13.300 and in 1 Corinthians chapter 7, 00:34:13.380 --> 00:34:17.199 it's usually abandonment and abuse are somehow seen. 00:34:17.199 --> 00:34:20.879 So what the text, 00:34:21.019 --> 00:34:22.099 the second thing is, 00:34:22.139 --> 00:34:23.739 and this is a bit more maybe hard, 00:34:24.419 --> 00:34:25.779 and I'm having to watch my time. 00:34:28.480 --> 00:34:29.960 He's not saying, I don't think, 00:34:30.039 --> 00:34:33.379 that the second marriage is unending adultery. 00:34:34.659 --> 00:34:36.539 There's a different word here used 00:34:36.539 --> 00:34:38.859 than the word for sexual knowing 00:34:38.859 --> 00:34:41.139 in the original language. 00:34:42.259 --> 00:34:45.019 And I think what he might also be saying here 00:34:45.019 --> 00:34:45.900 to play around with, 00:34:45.940 --> 00:34:47.340 and this is something very important 00:34:47.340 --> 00:34:50.300 for people who are thinking about 00:34:50.300 --> 00:34:51.599 or who've gotten married. 00:34:52.420 --> 00:34:53.980 And by the way, this is also important 00:34:53.980 --> 00:34:55.980 because in our day and age, 00:34:56.079 --> 00:34:57.800 many people haven't been formally married, 00:34:57.900 --> 00:34:59.259 but they've been married common law. 00:35:00.800 --> 00:35:02.239 And I think the same truth is there. 00:35:03.519 --> 00:35:04.920 Is that in some ways, 00:35:05.440 --> 00:35:07.679 the first spouse, 00:35:08.579 --> 00:35:11.840 common law or like legal, 00:35:11.840 --> 00:35:13.539 in some ways, 00:35:13.680 --> 00:35:16.039 they are present in and out of the marriage 00:35:16.039 --> 00:35:18.000 for years to come and maybe forever. 00:35:20.360 --> 00:35:21.800 And in fact, it sort of fits 00:35:21.800 --> 00:35:24.019 with the way that people in our culture 00:35:24.019 --> 00:35:26.140 tend to give advice around remarriage. 00:35:27.120 --> 00:35:27.920 Many, many people, 00:35:28.000 --> 00:35:28.539 you just go to like, 00:35:28.579 --> 00:35:30.760 there's good-hearted people in our community, 00:35:30.920 --> 00:35:31.980 and they'll tell maybe about 00:35:31.980 --> 00:35:33.380 how their sister got divorced, 00:35:33.920 --> 00:35:35.260 you know, or she left her husband, 00:35:35.260 --> 00:35:36.300 her husband left her, 00:35:36.360 --> 00:35:37.240 and then like within a month, 00:35:37.340 --> 00:35:38.559 she was taken up with a guy, 00:35:38.559 --> 00:35:41.440 but he's exactly the worst guy for her. 00:35:42.639 --> 00:35:43.639 You know, because in a sense, 00:35:43.880 --> 00:35:45.539 the husband's still having 00:35:45.539 --> 00:35:47.400 a type of an effect on her, 00:35:47.619 --> 00:35:50.279 and there can be the comparison, 00:35:50.619 --> 00:35:51.599 there can be the contrast, 00:35:51.960 --> 00:35:53.420 there could be the repeating of cycles, 00:35:53.460 --> 00:35:54.860 and we use all of this psychological 00:35:54.860 --> 00:35:57.779 and therapeutic and technical language 00:35:57.779 --> 00:36:00.219 to get around the very, very simple thing 00:36:00.219 --> 00:36:01.179 is that you need to be aware 00:36:01.179 --> 00:36:02.719 of the fact that in some ways, 00:36:03.059 --> 00:36:04.199 off and on throughout your marriage, 00:36:04.199 --> 00:36:06.659 the first marriage spouses there, 00:36:07.379 --> 00:36:10.199 whether it's in contrast, comparison, 00:36:12.199 --> 00:36:14.799 not having ever gotten over it 00:36:14.799 --> 00:36:16.799 because of wounds and all, 00:36:16.960 --> 00:36:18.019 but there's some ways 00:36:18.019 --> 00:36:19.239 that maybe it's going to linger 00:36:19.239 --> 00:36:24.519 and recur at surprising times down the road. 00:36:26.179 --> 00:36:27.299 But the final thing, 00:36:27.359 --> 00:36:28.799 and this is where the grace comes in, 00:36:30.179 --> 00:36:31.839 like one of the nice things 00:36:31.839 --> 00:36:32.679 about having this, 00:36:32.679 --> 00:36:34.159 I mean, on one level it's not nice 00:36:34.159 --> 00:36:35.859 because it's all nice and fancy 00:36:35.859 --> 00:36:38.219 and all and there's room for making notes, 00:36:38.339 --> 00:36:39.819 but it helps us to understand 00:36:39.819 --> 00:36:41.399 that what did Mark do? 00:36:41.539 --> 00:36:43.579 Mark told us the true story of Jesus. 00:36:44.239 --> 00:36:46.519 Mark was an eyewitness for parts of this, 00:36:46.980 --> 00:36:49.139 but he knew all the eyewitnesses, 00:36:49.279 --> 00:36:50.679 and so it's an eyewitness testimony 00:36:51.299 --> 00:36:53.819 written while eyewitnesses were alive 00:36:53.819 --> 00:36:55.199 of the story of Jesus. 00:36:56.319 --> 00:36:58.639 And so you're reading the whole story, 00:36:58.839 --> 00:37:01.239 and to understand any particular part of the story, 00:37:01.239 --> 00:37:02.819 you don't really understand the story 00:37:02.819 --> 00:37:04.019 until you come to the end. 00:37:04.559 --> 00:37:07.259 And what we've just seen twice, 00:37:07.359 --> 00:37:08.879 and the little bits just before this, 00:37:08.939 --> 00:37:12.159 is Jesus has shocked his followers 00:37:12.159 --> 00:37:13.979 by saying he's going to Jerusalem 00:37:13.979 --> 00:37:15.059 to die on the cross 00:37:15.059 --> 00:37:16.419 and rise from the dead. 00:37:16.500 --> 00:37:17.319 That's why he's going. 00:37:18.419 --> 00:37:19.779 He's going there to die. 00:37:20.639 --> 00:37:22.219 And why is he going to die? 00:37:23.500 --> 00:37:25.259 Because, friends, your heart and mine, 00:37:25.359 --> 00:37:26.079 whether you're single 00:37:26.079 --> 00:37:27.039 or whether you're married, 00:37:27.199 --> 00:37:28.000 whether you're divorced 00:37:28.000 --> 00:37:29.039 or whether you're remarried, 00:37:29.139 --> 00:37:30.880 your hearts and mine are hard. 00:37:32.579 --> 00:37:35.079 And a man and a woman with a hard heart 00:37:35.079 --> 00:37:36.960 can't save themselves. 00:37:37.820 --> 00:37:39.320 And unless God does something 00:37:39.320 --> 00:37:40.940 that you cannot do for yourself, 00:37:41.460 --> 00:37:44.800 there's nothing you can do 00:37:44.800 --> 00:37:46.960 in terms of being made right with God. 00:37:47.039 --> 00:37:47.739 Like, there's nothing. 00:37:47.739 --> 00:37:53.139 And Jesus is going to Jerusalem to die. 00:37:54.859 --> 00:37:57.899 And there's an image which we'll look at, 00:37:57.979 --> 00:37:59.219 I think, in two weeks, 00:37:59.379 --> 00:38:01.619 that the way for people to understand 00:38:01.619 --> 00:38:03.919 is Jesus' life and death and resurrection 00:38:03.919 --> 00:38:04.739 is a ransom. 00:38:05.719 --> 00:38:07.739 It's that which delivers us from slavery 00:38:08.279 --> 00:38:09.619 to slavery to idols, 00:38:09.819 --> 00:38:10.639 slavery to death, 00:38:11.099 --> 00:38:12.979 slavery to our hard heart. 00:38:13.399 --> 00:38:15.139 And in Matthew chapter 14, 00:38:15.139 --> 00:38:16.739 there's another very powerful image 00:38:16.739 --> 00:38:17.859 of what Jesus is doing 00:38:17.859 --> 00:38:19.259 as he's about to die on the cross. 00:38:19.759 --> 00:38:21.400 And it's this very powerful image 00:38:21.400 --> 00:38:23.579 of imagine all of the evil in your life. 00:38:24.219 --> 00:38:26.659 And you could take all of that evil of your life 00:38:26.659 --> 00:38:29.699 and you could put it in a liquid form 00:38:29.699 --> 00:38:31.440 in a cup that somebody could drink. 00:38:32.199 --> 00:38:33.879 And then imagine that not only 00:38:33.879 --> 00:38:35.319 all the evil that you've done 00:38:35.319 --> 00:38:37.359 could be reduced to some foul-smelling, 00:38:37.759 --> 00:38:38.879 foul-tasting liquid, 00:38:39.199 --> 00:38:42.859 but your evil and your evil 00:38:42.860 --> 00:38:44.860 and your evil is also added to this cup 00:38:44.860 --> 00:38:46.820 so that the evil of all of the human race 00:38:46.820 --> 00:38:49.360 is in one cup as a foul drink. 00:38:49.440 --> 00:38:51.680 And what you see when Jesus dies upon the cross 00:38:51.680 --> 00:38:52.960 is him drinking that cup. 00:38:53.760 --> 00:38:54.820 He drinks your evil. 00:38:56.720 --> 00:38:58.019 He drinks your evil. 00:38:59.860 --> 00:39:01.180 He drinks your evil. 00:39:01.179 --> 00:39:06.699 And faces the full consequence 00:39:06.699 --> 00:39:07.839 of drinking your evil. 00:39:09.219 --> 00:39:10.879 And then rises from the dead 00:39:10.879 --> 00:39:12.399 after having paid, 00:39:13.819 --> 00:39:15.960 having taken into himself that evil. 00:39:16.940 --> 00:39:19.279 And that is why we Christians understand 00:39:19.279 --> 00:39:20.099 that salvation, 00:39:20.259 --> 00:39:21.980 when you put your faith and trust in Jesus, 00:39:22.139 --> 00:39:23.699 it's a pronouncement, 00:39:24.000 --> 00:39:24.699 a promise, 00:39:25.019 --> 00:39:25.619 a presence, 00:39:25.919 --> 00:39:26.539 and a power. 00:39:26.960 --> 00:39:27.839 A pronouncement, 00:39:27.919 --> 00:39:28.419 a promise, 00:39:28.699 --> 00:39:29.219 a presence, 00:39:29.399 --> 00:39:30.039 and a power. 00:39:30.039 --> 00:39:31.320 It's a pronouncement 00:39:31.320 --> 00:39:32.619 because when you put your faith 00:39:32.619 --> 00:39:33.539 and trust in Jesus, 00:39:33.759 --> 00:39:34.960 there is the pronouncement 00:39:34.960 --> 00:39:36.579 that your sins have been forgiven. 00:39:37.179 --> 00:39:38.519 That you are, in a sense, 00:39:38.619 --> 00:39:40.759 clothed with the righteousness of Christ. 00:39:40.960 --> 00:39:43.159 That sin is no longer, 00:39:43.460 --> 00:39:44.739 the hardness of your heart 00:39:44.739 --> 00:39:47.279 is no longer the primary word about you, 00:39:47.599 --> 00:39:48.579 but you have been clothed 00:39:48.579 --> 00:39:49.840 with the righteousness of Christ. 00:39:49.980 --> 00:39:51.559 The offenses have been dealt with. 00:39:51.679 --> 00:39:53.779 There's been a settling of accounts. 00:39:54.019 --> 00:39:55.599 There's been a payment of the ransom. 00:39:55.860 --> 00:39:57.420 There has been a drinking of the poison. 00:39:57.420 --> 00:40:00.599 You are free and clean 00:40:00.599 --> 00:40:01.980 and now God's child. 00:40:02.099 --> 00:40:03.000 There is a promise 00:40:03.000 --> 00:40:04.880 that the final word about you 00:40:04.880 --> 00:40:06.440 will be welcome into my kingdom, 00:40:06.579 --> 00:40:09.420 that you are the adopted child of God 00:40:09.420 --> 00:40:11.220 through faith in Jesus Christ 00:40:11.220 --> 00:40:12.940 and the grace that comes from him. 00:40:13.340 --> 00:40:14.659 And that the promise is 00:40:14.659 --> 00:40:16.059 that you will one day be 00:40:16.059 --> 00:40:17.519 in a new heaven and a new earth 00:40:17.519 --> 00:40:19.240 with a resurrected body, 00:40:19.579 --> 00:40:20.860 at peace with the creation, 00:40:21.260 --> 00:40:22.440 at peace with yourself, 00:40:22.579 --> 00:40:23.480 at peace with others, 00:40:23.539 --> 00:40:24.559 and at peace with God. 00:40:24.559 --> 00:40:26.000 And there is a presence 00:40:26.000 --> 00:40:27.440 that when you put your faith 00:40:27.440 --> 00:40:28.460 and trust in Christ, 00:40:28.900 --> 00:40:30.719 that there is Christ with you. 00:40:30.799 --> 00:40:32.539 The Holy Spirit is with you. 00:40:32.840 --> 00:40:34.719 The Father has made his home within you. 00:40:34.860 --> 00:40:36.139 That you go through life 00:40:36.139 --> 00:40:37.500 dealing with your hard heart, 00:40:37.679 --> 00:40:38.799 not by yourself, 00:40:39.000 --> 00:40:40.559 but with the presence of Christ 00:40:40.559 --> 00:40:42.219 and the presence of the Holy Spirit 00:40:42.219 --> 00:40:43.719 to be present with you 00:40:43.719 --> 00:40:44.699 as you deal with it. 00:40:44.840 --> 00:40:46.960 And there is a power to deal with it. 00:40:47.000 --> 00:40:48.619 And that is the promise of the gospel. 00:40:48.619 --> 00:40:52.019 On one hand, 00:40:52.139 --> 00:40:53.859 everything here is showing us 00:40:53.859 --> 00:40:54.839 our need for a Savior 00:40:54.839 --> 00:40:57.339 and our need for Christ. 00:40:58.639 --> 00:41:00.559 And that is the great promise that we have. 00:41:00.679 --> 00:41:02.119 Friends, if you are in Christ, 00:41:02.599 --> 00:41:04.659 there has been a pronouncement made against you. 00:41:05.539 --> 00:41:06.299 You are mine. 00:41:07.599 --> 00:41:08.299 You are forgiven. 00:41:10.079 --> 00:41:11.179 If you are in Christ, 00:41:11.259 --> 00:41:11.960 there is a promise. 00:41:12.159 --> 00:41:13.480 Your destiny is the new heaven 00:41:13.480 --> 00:41:14.119 and the new earth 00:41:14.119 --> 00:41:15.299 with a resurrection body. 00:41:16.039 --> 00:41:17.159 If you are in Christ, 00:41:17.159 --> 00:41:18.039 there is a presence. 00:41:18.159 --> 00:41:18.879 He is with you 00:41:18.879 --> 00:41:20.000 to walk with you, 00:41:20.039 --> 00:41:21.199 to deal with your hard heart. 00:41:23.019 --> 00:41:24.119 And there is a power. 00:41:25.480 --> 00:41:26.839 You have the power of the Holy Spirit, 00:41:26.940 --> 00:41:28.319 the power of the word of God 00:41:28.319 --> 00:41:30.679 to come and deal with those things in your life, 00:41:31.079 --> 00:41:33.199 to start to know some healing 00:41:33.199 --> 00:41:34.859 and deliverance and freedom 00:41:34.859 --> 00:41:36.039 on this side of the grave 00:41:36.039 --> 00:41:37.039 and full freedom 00:41:37.039 --> 00:41:39.859 in the new heaven and the new earth. 00:41:40.480 --> 00:41:41.460 I invite you to stand. 00:41:41.460 --> 00:41:41.519 Stand. 00:41:41.519 --> 00:41:49.079 And just bow our heads in prayer. 00:41:55.780 --> 00:41:57.639 Father, we give you thanks and praise 00:41:57.639 --> 00:41:59.579 that you do not weigh our merits, 00:41:59.820 --> 00:42:01.099 but pardon our offenses. 00:42:02.800 --> 00:42:05.280 That you don't sort of look at us 00:42:05.280 --> 00:42:07.360 and wait for us to be perfect enough 00:42:07.360 --> 00:42:08.480 before you love us, 00:42:08.480 --> 00:42:09.619 but that you see 00:42:09.619 --> 00:42:11.400 that we can never be perfect enough 00:42:11.400 --> 00:42:13.039 and still you love us 00:42:13.039 --> 00:42:14.119 and still your son 00:42:14.119 --> 00:42:15.579 is the means by which 00:42:15.579 --> 00:42:17.039 we can be reconciled to you. 00:42:17.420 --> 00:42:18.900 And there is no other means 00:42:18.900 --> 00:42:19.780 other than Christ, 00:42:20.219 --> 00:42:20.840 his life, 00:42:20.940 --> 00:42:21.380 his death, 00:42:21.460 --> 00:42:22.119 his resurrection. 00:42:22.840 --> 00:42:24.579 And we give you thanks and praise 00:42:24.579 --> 00:42:25.000 that, Father, 00:42:25.079 --> 00:42:26.619 as we navigate singleness, 00:42:26.980 --> 00:42:27.880 as we navigate 00:42:27.880 --> 00:42:30.019 maybe the hope of marriage, 00:42:30.460 --> 00:42:31.480 as we navigate 00:42:31.480 --> 00:42:32.539 our marriages, 00:42:33.380 --> 00:42:34.500 that for those of us 00:42:34.500 --> 00:42:35.340 who are in Christ, 00:42:35.440 --> 00:42:36.960 that we do not have to do this alone 00:42:36.960 --> 00:42:37.780 and that you are, 00:42:37.840 --> 00:42:39.760 it's not that you are disinterested in us 00:42:39.760 --> 00:42:40.619 or these things, 00:42:40.740 --> 00:42:42.539 but that you love us, 00:42:42.639 --> 00:42:43.599 you love the real us, 00:42:43.679 --> 00:42:44.639 you care for us, 00:42:44.720 --> 00:42:46.079 you desire to see us 00:42:46.079 --> 00:42:48.760 show forth the fruit of the Holy Spirit 00:42:48.760 --> 00:42:50.340 to become more Christ-like 00:42:50.340 --> 00:42:53.179 and that we can call out to you in prayer, 00:42:53.440 --> 00:42:55.280 we can ask for the Holy Spirit, 00:42:55.400 --> 00:42:56.760 that you can begin to work 00:42:56.760 --> 00:42:57.860 on those wounds 00:42:57.860 --> 00:42:58.699 and brokenness 00:42:58.699 --> 00:42:59.380 and sin 00:42:59.380 --> 00:43:00.159 and rebellion 00:43:00.159 --> 00:43:03.179 and that make us us. 00:43:03.820 --> 00:43:04.119 Father, 00:43:04.199 --> 00:43:05.340 we give you thanks and praise 00:43:05.340 --> 00:43:06.599 that we do not do life alone 00:43:06.599 --> 00:43:07.360 and we thank you, 00:43:07.480 --> 00:43:07.639 Father, 00:43:07.719 --> 00:43:08.659 that you do not invite us 00:43:08.659 --> 00:43:09.599 to even do it alone 00:43:09.599 --> 00:43:11.319 but with Christ, 00:43:11.460 --> 00:43:13.119 but in the company of his church. 00:43:14.299 --> 00:43:15.079 And we ask, 00:43:15.239 --> 00:43:15.360 Lord, 00:43:15.460 --> 00:43:16.559 that your Holy Spirit 00:43:16.559 --> 00:43:17.759 would do a work of renewal 00:43:17.759 --> 00:43:18.599 and reformation 00:43:18.599 --> 00:43:19.279 in our church, 00:43:19.420 --> 00:43:19.619 that, 00:43:20.179 --> 00:43:20.360 Father, 00:43:20.480 --> 00:43:22.219 you would use ministries 00:43:22.219 --> 00:43:23.420 like the men's ministry 00:43:23.420 --> 00:43:24.440 in small groups 00:43:24.440 --> 00:43:25.599 and the women's ministry 00:43:25.599 --> 00:43:26.980 in spiritual friendships 00:43:26.980 --> 00:43:27.900 and mentoring, 00:43:29.480 --> 00:43:30.900 times of worship, 00:43:30.900 --> 00:43:34.160 that we might, 00:43:34.579 --> 00:43:34.619 Father, 00:43:34.619 --> 00:43:35.660 be used by you 00:43:35.660 --> 00:43:37.720 as you bring healing 00:43:37.720 --> 00:43:38.500 and deliverance 00:43:38.500 --> 00:43:39.119 from wounds 00:43:39.119 --> 00:43:39.700 and sin 00:43:39.700 --> 00:43:42.160 and as we seek amendment 00:43:42.160 --> 00:43:42.780 of life 00:43:42.780 --> 00:43:43.440 and forgiveness 00:43:43.440 --> 00:43:44.460 and reconciliation 00:43:44.460 --> 00:43:46.160 and that you would make us 00:43:46.160 --> 00:43:47.139 that community 00:43:47.139 --> 00:43:48.039 used by you, 00:43:49.220 --> 00:43:49.700 Father, 00:43:49.820 --> 00:43:50.700 to bring that type 00:43:50.700 --> 00:43:51.099 of healing 00:43:51.099 --> 00:43:51.760 and wholeness. 00:43:51.760 --> 00:43:54.660 and so ask, 00:43:54.860 --> 00:43:55.000 Father, 00:43:55.160 --> 00:43:57.820 that as we bring this time 00:43:57.820 --> 00:43:58.460 to a close 00:43:58.460 --> 00:43:59.400 and as we prepare 00:43:59.400 --> 00:44:01.480 to both pour out our hearts 00:44:01.480 --> 00:44:02.060 for the world 00:44:02.060 --> 00:44:02.980 but also to enter 00:44:02.980 --> 00:44:03.600 into a time 00:44:03.600 --> 00:44:04.360 of holy communion 00:44:04.360 --> 00:44:05.260 to you, 00:44:05.360 --> 00:44:05.760 with you, 00:44:05.900 --> 00:44:07.080 through the Lord's Supper, 00:44:07.240 --> 00:44:07.500 Father, 00:44:07.680 --> 00:44:11.180 that the gospel 00:44:11.180 --> 00:44:12.020 would become more 00:44:12.020 --> 00:44:12.660 and more and more 00:44:12.660 --> 00:44:13.420 deeply real 00:44:13.420 --> 00:44:14.280 to our hearts 00:44:14.280 --> 00:44:16.340 and that Christ's grace 00:44:16.340 --> 00:44:17.140 and his presence 00:44:17.140 --> 00:44:18.320 would become more 00:44:18.320 --> 00:44:18.980 and more real 00:44:18.980 --> 00:44:19.640 and formative 00:44:19.640 --> 00:44:20.440 to our hearts, 00:44:20.440 --> 00:44:22.320 that the Holy Spirit 00:44:22.320 --> 00:44:23.320 would be more real 00:44:23.320 --> 00:44:23.880 and active 00:44:23.880 --> 00:44:24.420 and deep 00:44:24.420 --> 00:44:25.639 in our hearts 00:44:25.639 --> 00:44:27.599 because we try 00:44:27.599 --> 00:44:28.300 to live life 00:44:28.300 --> 00:44:28.740 on our own 00:44:28.740 --> 00:44:29.200 but, Father, 00:44:29.260 --> 00:44:29.659 we know 00:44:29.659 --> 00:44:31.059 in our best moments 00:44:31.059 --> 00:44:32.039 under your word 00:44:32.039 --> 00:44:32.880 that we can't, 00:44:34.000 --> 00:44:34.760 that we need Jesus 00:44:34.760 --> 00:44:35.820 to be our good shepherd 00:44:35.820 --> 00:44:37.740 and we ask these things 00:44:37.740 --> 00:44:38.639 in the name of Jesus, 00:44:38.800 --> 00:44:39.159 your Son 00:44:39.159 --> 00:44:39.800 and our Savior. 00:44:40.619 --> 00:44:40.940 Amen. 00:44:50.440 --> 00:44:51.920 Amen. 00:44:51.980 --> 00:44:53.300 Amen. 00:44:55.340 --> 00:44:56.920 Amen. 00:45:05.099 --> 00:45:07.179 Amen. 00:45:07.400 --> 00:45:07.579 Amen. 00:45:07.579 --> 00:45:07.880 Amen. 00:45:07.880 --> 00:45:08.179 Amen. 00:45:08.179 --> 00:45:08.539 Amen. 00:45:09.380 --> 00:45:09.519 Amen. 00:45:09.780 --> 00:45:09.900 Amen. 00:45:09.900 --> 00:45:10.240 Amen. 00:45:10.240 --> 00:45:10.760 Amen. 00:45:10.760 --> 00:45:11.000 Amen. 00:45:11.079 --> 00:45:11.639 Amen. 00:45:11.639 --> 00:45:12.039 Amen. 00:45:12.059 --> 00:45:12.539 Amen. 00:45:12.539 --> 00:45:12.860 Amen. 00:45:12.860 --> 00:45:13.039 Amen. 00:45:13.099 --> 00:45:15.360 Amen. 00:45:15.360 --> 00:45:15.960 Amen. 00:45:18.139 --> 00:45:18.780 Amen. 00:45:18.780 --> 00:45:19.179 Amen. 00:45:19.179 --> 00:45:19.280 Amen. 00:45:19.280 --> 00:45:19.820 Amen.