This document discusses Jesus' teachings on marriage from the Gospel of Mark. It summarizes Jesus' response to the Pharisees testing him on divorce, where he reaffirms God's definition of marriage as being between one man and one woman. Jesus says God joins the married couple together and no one should separate them. The document urges Christians to stand up for God's definition of marriage in their own marriages and when facing opposition to traditional views of marriage.

1. The Essential Jesus as
Revealed in the Gospel of Mark

2. Defense of
Marriage Act
(DOMA)
Passed by
Congress in 1996
Struck down by
the Supreme Court
on June 26, 2013

3. Redefining marriage
Today its “same sex marriage”
Tomorrow …“multiple spousal marriage?”

4. BUT how do we who
desire to follow Jesus
Christ, how do we
respond to all of this?
What is our answer to
“the new normal?”

5. 2 Peter 1:21
For no prophecy
was ever produced
by the will of man,
but men spoke from
God as they were
carried along by
the Holy Spirit.

6. Jesus Talks Straight about Marriage!
Mark 10:1-12

7. Jesus’ straight talk on
MARRIAGE!
Mark 10:1
And he left there and went to the region
of Judea and beyond the Jordan, and
crowds gathered to him again. And
again, as was his custom, he taught
them.

8. Capernaum
Judea
Beyond
the
Jordan
(“Perea”)

9. Jesus’ straight talk on
MARRIAGE!
Mark 10:1
And he left there and went to the region
of Judea and beyond the Jordan, and
crowds gathered to him again. And
again, as was his custom, he taught
them.

10. Jesus’ straight talk on
MARRIAGE!
Mark 10:2
And Pharisees came up and in order to
test him asked, “Is it lawful for a man to
divorce his wife?”

11. Jesus’ straight talk on
MARRIAGE!
The Pharisees were trying to . . .
1. Discredit Jesus

12. Jesus’ straight talk on
MARRIAGE!
Matthew 19:3
Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife
for any and every reason?
SCHOOL OF HILELL -- divorce for any
reason at all
SCHOOL OF SHAMMAI -- divorce only
for the reason of marital unfaithfulness

13. Jesus’ straight talk on
MARRIAGE!
The Pharisees were trying to . . .
1. Discredit Jesus
2. Destroy Jesus

14. Jesus’ straight talk on
MARRIAGE!
Mark 10:1
And he left there and went to the region
of Judea and beyond the Jordan . . .

15. Beyond
the
Jordan
(“Perea”)

16. Jesus’ straight talk on
MARRIAGE!
In Mark 6, Antipas had
imprisoned and then
executed John the Baptist.
John’s “crime?”
Herod
Antipas
Speaking against Antipas’
illicit marriage to his
brother’s wife!

17. Jesus’ straight talk on
MARRIAGE!
By “baiting” Jesus to weigh in on the
controversy of divorce . . . the Pharisees
were trying to at a minimum discredit
Jesus and at best destroy him!

18. Jesus’ straight talk on
MARRIAGE!
Mark 10:3
He answered them, “What did Moses
command you?”
Mark 10:4
They said, “Moses allowed a man to
write a certificate of divorce and to send
her away.”

19. Jesus’ straight talk on
MARRIAGE!
Deuteronomy 24:1
When a man takes a wife and marries
her, if then she finds no favor in his eyes
because he has found some indecency in
her, and he writes her a certificate of
divorce and puts it in her hand and sends
her out of his house. . .

20. Jesus’ straight talk on
MARRIAGE!
School of Hilell - indecent thing anything
that would bring embarrassment or
shame upon the husband
School of Shammai - indecent thing is
marital unfaithfulness

21. Jesus’ straight talk on
MARRIAGE!
Mark 10:5
And Jesus said to them, “Because of
your hardness of heart he wrote you this
commandment.”

22. God’s definition of
marriage (4 phrases)
1. One man, one woman
Mark 10:6
But from the beginning of creation, ‘God
made them male and female.’

23. God’s definition of
marriage (4 phrases)
2. A strong bond
Mark 10:7-8
‘Therefore a man shall leave his father
and mother and hold fast to his wife,
and the two shall become one flesh.’ So
they are no longer two but one flesh.

25. God’s definition of
marriage (4 phrases)
1. One man, one woman
2. A strong bond
3. One flesh

26. God’s definition of
marriage (4 phrases)
3. One flesh
Mark 10:7-8
‘Therefore a man shall leave his father
and mother and hold fast to his wife,
and the two shall become one flesh.’ So
they are no longer two but one flesh.

27. God’s definition of
marriage (4 phrases)
If you take the
number 1 and
divide it --- what is
the result?
A fraction! (not a
whole number!)

28. God’s definition of
marriage (4 phrases)
1. One man, one woman
2. A strong bond
3. One flesh
4. A work of God
Mark 10:9
What therefore God has joined
together, let not man separate.”

29. God’s definition of
marriage (4 phrases)
Jesus makes it very clear that from the
very beginning of human existence,
God’s definition of marriage was . . .
One man, one woman
A strong bond,
One flesh,
A work of God!

30. Jesus’ straight talk on
MARRIAGE!
Mark 10:10-12
And in the house the disciples asked him
again about this matter. And he said to
them, “Whoever divorces his wife and
marries another commits adultery
against her, and if she divorces her
husband and marries another, she
commits adultery.”

31. Jesus’ straight talk on
MARRIAGE!
Matthew 19:9
And I say to you: whoever divorces his
wife, except for sexual immorality, and
marries another, commits adultery.

32. Jesus’ straight talk on
MARRIAGE!
When a spouse who is not a Christian
abandons his marriage to a Christian
husband or wife (1 Corinthians 7)
When a person is divorced before
becoming a Christian (2 Corinthians 5:17)

33. God’s definition of
marriage (4 phrases)
Jesus makes it very clear that from the
very beginning of human existence,
God’s definition of marriage was . . .
One woman, one man, A strong bond,
One flesh, A work of God!

34. Today’s Takeaway
We who choose to follow Jesus must
take a stand for God’s plan for marriage!
We must not just KNOW God’s plan for
marriage, we must LIVE it out!

35. Knowing and Living
God’s plan for marriage!
1. Take stock of your own marriage.
- Husbands – are you intentionally
striving to love your wife as Christ
loves His church?

36. Knowing and Living
God’s plan for marriage!
1. Take stock of your own marriage.
- Wives – are you intentionally doing all
you can to show respect to your
husband as the leader of your home?

37. Knowing and Living
God’s plan for marriage!
1. Take stock of your own marriage.
- Both – are you truly committed to your
marriage relationship ABOVE every
other commitment beside your
commitment to Jesus Christ?

38. Knowing and Living
God’s plan for marriage!
2. Consider the cost of taking God’s side
on this issue!

39. Knowing and Living
God’s plan for marriage!
“Being a convictional Christian (especially
in matters related to sexuality, morality,
and marriage) will likely mean the loss of
cultural clout and respectability. We will
pay a personal and social cost for our
beliefs, and we need to be prepared.”
(Trevin Wax, Managing Editor of the Gospel
Project).

40. Knowing and Living
God’s plan for marriage!
John 6:66-69
After this many of his disciples turned back
and no longer walked with him. So Jesus
said to the Twelve, “Do you want to go away
as well?” Simon Peter answered him, “Lord,
to whom shall we go? You have the words
of eternal life, and we have believed, and
have come to know, that you are the Holy
One of God.”

41. Knowing and Living
God’s plan for marriage!
1. Take stock of your own marriage.
2. Consider the cost of taking God’s
side on this issue!
3. Be encouraged – as the darkness
grows darker, the light shines
brighter!

42. Knowing and Living
God’s plan for marriage!
Matthew 5:14-16
You are the light of the world. A city set on
a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a
lamp and put it under a basket, but on a
stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In
the same way, let your light shine before
others, so that they may see your good
works and give glory to your Father who is in
heaven.

43. Knowing and Living
God’s plan for marriage!
Russell Moore, President of the Southern
Baptist Ethics & Religious Liberty
Commission
“This (redefining of marriage) gives
Christian churches the opportunity to do
what Jesus called us to do with our
marriages in the first place: to serve as a
light in a dark place…”

44. Knowing and Living
God’s plan for marriage!
“Same-sex marriage is headed for your
community. This is no time for fear or outrage
or politicizing. It’s a time for forgiven sinners,
like us, to do what the people of Christ have
always done. It’s time for us to point beyond
our family values and our culture wars to the
cross of Christ as we say: “Behold, the Lamb
of God who takes away the sins of the world.”
And that’s good news.”