Sermon on the Mount
Part 2
“Adultery, Divorce, and ill-advised Oaths”
Matt 5:27-37 “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ 28 But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. 29 If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell. 30 And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell.
Marriage Is Sacred and Binding
31 “Furthermore it has been said, ‘Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.’ 32 But I say to you that whoever divorces his wife for any reason except sexual immorality causes her to commit adultery; and whoever marries a woman who is divorced commits adultery.
Jesus Forbids Oaths
33 “Again you have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform your oaths to the Lord.’ 34 But I say to you, do not swear at all: neither by heaven, for it is God’s throne; 35 nor by the earth, for it is His footstool; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. 36 Nor shall you swear by your head, because you cannot make one hair white or black. 37 But let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No.’ For whatever is more than these is from the evil one.”
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Last time we saw that Jesus is very focused on our hearts. He knows that all sin begins there, is hatched there, and that what ends in sinful actions began with sinful thoughts.
He walked us through the inward stages that lead to outward murder, and taught us to deal with our hearts, to maintain a heart of forgiveness to avoid the outbreak of murderous sin.
Now this time he continues this theme with the subject of adultery and the lust that leads to it.
“You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ 28 But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.”—vs. 27-28
Now, this passage has troubled a whole lot of people who say, “Then walking with Christ is impossible because who doesn’t look at members of the opposite sex and experience lust?”
But it helps to understand that the word “looks” (whoever LOOKS at a woman to lust for her) is in the present active verb tense meaning “whoever looks and keeps on looking.”
In other words, the person Jesus is referencing is not turning away, he (or she) are ongoingly looking with intent to follow through should the opportunity afford itself.
They are not practicing self-control.
You can’t help the first look but you can help the second look, and you can certainly help the constant look!
So the Lord is not giving us an impossible command. He is instead helping us to deal with our hearts and to exercise the fruit of self control in order to avoid a moral sin.
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Then next Jesus tells us to get ruthless with wrong desires if necessary. And he makes the point with an exaggerated illustration:
“29 If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell. 30 And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell.”
This is NOT to be taken literally. Jesus often uses hyperbole to make a point. He’s saying that anything is better than sin that leads to hell. And sometimes we must ruthlessly deal with our old fleshly nature.
So if you have to throw that computer away, or surround yourself with accountability partners who will hold your feet to the fire of honest scrutiny, or whatever it takes to deal with the inward impulses that lead to outward sin, do it.
And Paul the Apostle gave the best way to do so:
“12 Therefore, dear brothers and sisters, you have no obligation to do what your sinful nature urges you to do. 13 For if you live by its dictates, you will die. But if through the power of the Spirit you put to death the deeds of your sinful nature, you will live.”—Ro. 8:12-13
The Holy Spirit within the believer is there to put to death the sinful impulses of the flesh!
So Jesus is saying “Whatever it takes, deal with it. And the best solution is to walk in the Spirit!”
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Then next, Jesus tackles the tough topic of divorce:
“31 Furthermore it has been said, ‘Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.’ 32 But I say to you that whoever divorces his wife for any reason except sexual immorality causes her to commit adultery; and whoever marries a woman who is divorced commits adultery.”
Now, the Lord is first tackling the ease with which men of his day divorced their wives. If the man decided he didn’t want to be married to her anymore, he just turned to Moses’s command in Deuteronomy:
Deut 24:1 “If a man marries a woman who becomes displeasing to him because he finds something indecent about her, and he writes her a certificate of divorce, gives it to her and sends her from his house,”
Easy peasy. It was super easy for the man to find something displeasing to justify putting her away. The certificate of divorce had to be written in twelve lines—no more, no less—then sealed by the husband, and signed by witnesses. It was then delivered to the wife, either by him or by a messenger in the presence of two persons;
No court, no judge, just a sort of good ol’ boy club of males that would be there for their friend to serve her the papers.
Now, one day the Pharisees asked Jesus if it was right to put away their wives this way, and Jesus told the Pharisees: “Moses permitted you to divorce your wives because your hearts were hard. But it was not this way from the beginning.”—Matt. 19:8
So Jesus reaches back to God’s original intent for marriage laid out in Genesis—one man, one woman, for life. The only just cause for divorce, says Jesus, is sexual unfaithfulness.
Now, in dealing with the issue of divorce the Apostle Paul also wrote about a specific kind of marital dilemma—that of a married believer and unbeliever, “If a fellow believer has a wife who is not a believer and she is willing to continue living with him, he must not leave her. 13 And if a believing woman has a husband who is not a believer and he is willing to continue living with her, she must not leave him. 14 For the believing wife brings holiness to her marriage, and the believing husband brings holiness to his marriage. Otherwise, your children would not be holy, but now they are holy. 15 (But if the husband or wife who isn’t a believer insists on leaving, let them go. In such cases the believing husband or wife is no longer bound to the other, for God has called you to live in peace.)”—1 Cor. 7:12-15
So in this case a divorce is allowed if an unbelieving spouse no longer wants to dwell with the believer, they are free to “let them go.”
And back to Jesus, The bottom line of His instructions regarding divorce is to honor God’s original intent for marriage.
And it’s here I want to add that, If you have been in a failed marriage resulting in divorce, and sexual unfaithfulness was not the cause, God forgives, God has mercy, and God loves you unconditionally.
Don’t live in condemnation. If you’re remarried, resolve to honor God in the marriage and to glorify him. There is NO CONDEMNATION once repentance has taken place!
But God’s best and highest is to avoid divorce!
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And finally, Jesus taught us not to make binding oaths to God.
“33 Again you have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform your oaths to the Lord.’
This again was the law under Moses. In Leviticus it says, “Do not swear falsely by my name and so profane the name of your God. I am the LORD.”
The idea here under the Old Covenant was that, if you made a vow to God, be sure you followed through. If you didn’t, you had profaned his name.
But, as he has with the issue of murder and adultery, Jesus takes the old command and broadens it:
34 “But I say to you, do not swear at all: neither by heaven, for it is God’s throne; 35 nor by the earth, for it is His footstool; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. 36 Nor shall you swear by your head, because you cannot make one hair white or black.”
Now, Jesus was dealing with a particularly bad habit the Jews of his day had gotten into. They had devolved into swearing or making empty vows in every day, common, casual conversation, swearing by things God had created—heaven, earth, Jerusalem, even the hair on their head!
We do the same type thing in America where we will say, “I swear on my mother’s grave!” Or, “May God strike me dead if this isn’t true!” Or, I swear on my life I’m telling you the truth!” And so on.
For the Jews of his day, Jesus is telling them that to recklessly swear by the things God created was getting perilously close to God Himself, since he created them. And in doing so they were in danger of profaning his name. So he tells them to break this terrible habit.
37 “But let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No.’ For whatever is more than these is from the evil one.”
If you’re going to serve God, don’t swear to him that you’re going to do this, that, and the other, and make rash promises you may not be able to keep! Just say, “Yes, Lord, I will go.”
Ecc. 5:1-2 “As you enter the house of God, keep your ears open and your mouth shut. It is evil to make mindless offerings to God. 2 Don’t make rash promises, and don’t be hasty in bringing matters before God. After all, God is in heaven, and you are here on earth. So let your words be few.”
LET’S PRAY