========================
Verses 1-12 Divorce
========================
1Jesus then left that place
and went into the region of Judea and across the
2Some Pharisees came and
tested him by asking, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?”
3“What did Moses command
you?” he replied.
4They said, “Moses permitted
a man to write a certificate of divorce and send her away.”
5“It was because your hearts
were hard that Moses wrote you this law,” Jesus replied.
6“But at the beginning of
creation God ‘made them male and female.’
7‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother
and be united to his wife,
8and the two will become one
flesh.’ So they are no longer two, but one flesh.
9Therefore what God has
joined together, let no one separate.”
10When they were in the house
again, the disciples asked Jesus about this.
11He answered, “Anyone who
divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery against her.
12And if she divorces her
husband and marries another man, she commits adultery.”
----------------------------------------
Concerning divorce,
----------------------------------------
1)
Where did Jesus
go next?
o
Jesus went into
the region of Judea and across the
o
2)
What did Jesus do
when crowds of people came to him?
o
As was his
custom, Jesus taught them.
3)
What did some
Pharisees say to Jesus?
o
Some Pharisees
came and asked, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?”
4)
What motivated
the Pharisees to ask Jesus the question?
o
They were testing
Jesus.
5)
What did Jesus say
in reply?
o
“What did Moses
command you?” Jesus replied.
6)
Where did Moses’
commands come from?
o
Moses’ commands
came from the law God gave the Israelites through him.
7)
Why did Jesus
respond to the Pharisees’ question with a question about what Moses commanded
concerning the matter?
o
The Pharisees
meticulously observed the law of Moses, so Jesus asked
them about their understanding and practice of the matter based on stipulations
in the law.
8)
What did the
Pharisees say in reply to Jesus in verse 4?
o
They said, “Moses
permitted a man to write a certificate of divorce and send her away.”
9)
Where in the law of Moses did the Pharisees’ reply come from?
o
It came from
Deuteronomy 24:1-4.
· Ask a volunteer to read out loud Deuteronomy 24:1-4
that says,
+++++++++++++++++++++
1If 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,
2and if after she leaves his
house she becomes the wife of another man,
3and her second husband
dislikes her and writes her a certificate of divorce, gives it to her and sends
her from his house, or if he dies,
4then her first husband, who
divorced her, is not allowed to marry her again after she has been defiled.
That would be detestable in the eyes of the Lord. Do not bring sin upon the
land the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance.
+++++++++++++++++++++
10)
What kind of
proceedings were the Pharisees talking about when they mentioned a man writing
a certificate of divorce and sending her away?
o
They were talking
about the proceedings for divorce.
11)
Where are the
proceedings for divorce found in Deuteronomy 24:1-4?
o
They are found in
the conditional clause in Deuteronomy 24:1.
12)
What is the
verbiage for the proceedings for divorce found in Deuteronomy 24:1-4?
o
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.
13)
Based on the
verbiage for the proceedings for divorce, who has the right in the marital
relation to initiate divorce?
o
The husband does.
14)
How stringent or
lax is the requirement for ground for divorce?
o
It is as
stringent or lax as the husband wants it to be because it is entirely up to him
to decide what is indecent about his wife that motivates him to divorce her.
15)
Did the Pharisees
cite exactly what is in the proceedings for divorce in their reply to Jesus?
o
No.
16)
What was missing
from the Pharisees’ reply that was in the proceedings for divorce?
o
Their reply
omitted the husband’s ground for divorce.
17)
Would the
Pharisees be able to cite exactly what is in the proceedings for divorce in
their reply to Jesus and why?
o
Yes, because they
memorized the law of Moses.
18)
What were the
Pharisees proud of concerning their observance of the law
of Moses?
o
They were proud
of their strict and meticulous observance of the law
of Moses.
19)
Did the Pharisees
have strict and meticulous observance in accordance with the proceedings for
divorce?
o
No.
20)
What does the
omission of the husband’s ground for divorce in the Pharisees’ reply to Jesus
suggest concerning the frivolity of divorce among them?
o
They divorced
their wives at will without bothering to provide a pretense for ground for
divorce.
21)
What was the
likely reason for the Pharisees to write a certificate of divorce and send
their wives away without ground for divorce?
o
The likely reason
was that they wanted to marry another woman.
22)
What is a
certificate of divorce?
o
There is no
information in the law of Moses concerning what a
certificate of divorce is.
23)
What does the
absence of information about the certificate of divorce in the law of Moses suggest?
o
It suggests that
the proceedings for divorce were
§
Citation from a
source outside of the law of Moses.
§
Likely well-known
cultural practice during the time of Moses.
24)
How did the
Pharisees’ practice of divorce compare to the ongoing cultural practice?
o
It reached the
low moral end of the ongoing cultural practice when they divorced their wives
at will without bothering to provide a pretense for ground for divorce.
25)
What purpose do
the proceedings for divorce found in the conditional clause in Deuteronomy 24:1
serve?
o
The proceedings
for divorce in the conditional clause are set up for the stipulation of
forbidding remarriage between the divorced husband and wife in the main clause
if the divorced wife remarried and then was divorced again.
26)
What effect did
this particular stipulation of forbidding remarriage between the divorced
husband and wife have on divorce?
o
It caused the
husband to think twice before divorcing his wife and therefore restricted
unbridled divorce.
27)
According to the law of Moses what was the status of the woman after she was
divorced and then remarried to another man?
o
She was defiled.
28)
What was
detestable in the eyes of the Lord?
o
It was detestable
in the eyes of the Lord for the former husband to remarry his former wife after
she had been defiled.
29)
Was it detestable
in the eyes of the Lord for the former husband to remarry his former wife if
she had stayed unmarried after the divorce and why?
o
No, because the
former wife had not been defiled in that case.
30)
Did the law of Moses forbid remarriage between the divorced husband
and wife if she had stayed unmarried after the divorce?
o
No.
31)
Is it good for
the divorced husband and wife to remarry if both had stayed unmarried after the
divorce and why?
o
Yes, because
remarriage is reconciliation in this case.
32)
What loophole of
immorality does the stipulation of forbidding remarriage between the divorced
husband and wife plug in case the
divorced wife remarries and then is divorced again?
o
It plugs the
loophole of legally passing around and sharing wives through serial divorce and
remarriage.
33)
Is it detestable
in the eyes of the Lord to pass around and share wives through the loophole and
why?
o
Yes, because the
former wives have been defiled prior to remarriage to their former husbands.
o
Besides the idea
of passing around and sharing wives is repugnant in itself.
34)
Are the
proceedings for divorce found in the conditional clause in Deuteronomy 24:1 for
the purpose of permitting divorce and why?
o
No, because they
were set up for a particular stipulation of forbidding remarriage between the
divorced husband and wife in order to
§
Restrict
unbridled divorce.
§
Plug the loophole
of legally passing around and sharing wives through serial divorce and
remarriage.
35)
Did the Pharisees
read Moses’ intent correctly in the law in claiming that Moses permitted
divorce?
o
No.
36)
Were the
Pharisees completely certain that Moses permitted divorce and why?
o
No, because they
asked Jesus if it was lawful for a man to
divorce his wife.
o
Such a question
would not have been raised if the law had left no room for debate.
37)
Did Moses forbid
divorce in the law?
o
No.
38)
What is the
difference between permitting divorce and not forbidding divorce?
o
Permitting
divorce tends to encourage divorce.
o
Not forbidding
divorce does not tend to encourage divorce.
39)
How might the
Pharisees’ misreading Moses’ intent concerning divorce have
contributed to their divorcing their wives at will?
o
The
permissiveness that resulted from their misreading Moses’ intent concerning
divorce might have contributed to the practice.
40)
What then is the
stance of the law of Moses on divorce?
o
The law of Moses
§
Does not forbid
divorce.
§
Restricts
unbridled divorce.
§
Plugs the
loophole of legally passing around and sharing wives through serial divorce and
remarriage.
41)
Given that the
proceedings for divorce were the cultural practice during the time of Moses,
how do we restate the stance of the law of Moses on
divorce?
o
The law of Moses
§
Does not forbid
the cultural practice of divorce.
§
Restricts the
cultural practice of unbridled divorce.
§
Plugs the
loophole of legally passing around and sharing wives through the cultural
practice of serial divorce and remarriage.
42)
What is the
ultimate purpose of the law of Moses in restricting
and plugging the loophole of the cultural practice of divorce?
o
The ultimate
purpose of the law of Moses is for protecting the
Israelites from the corrupting influence of culture because the Israelites were
a people set apart to be holy unto God.
43)
What was Jesus’
reply to the Pharisees’ assertion that Moses permitted a man to write a
certificate of divorce and send her away?
o
“It was because
your hearts were hard that Moses wrote you this law,” Jesus replied. “But at the beginning of creation God ‘made them male
and female.’ ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be
united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.’ So they are no longer
two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one
separate.”
44)
What was Jesus
referring to by ‘this law’?
o
Jesus was
referring to the stipulation in Deuteronomy 24:1-4 of forbidding remarriage
between the divorced husband and wife if
the divorced wife remarried and then was divorced again.
45)
Did Jesus agree
with the Pharisees’ assertion that Moses permitted a man to write a certificate
of divorce and send her away and why?
o
No, because Jesus
in his reply
§
Was not referring
to any stipulation in the law that permits divorce.
§
Was rather
referring to the law that is intended to restrict the practice of unbridled
divorce and plug the loophole of legally passing around and sharing wives
through serial divorce and remarriage.
46)
What did Jesus
mean when he told the Pharisees that it was because their hearts were hard that
Moses wrote them the law?
o
Their hearts were
hard in that they practiced unbridled divorce and passed around and shared
wives through serial divorce and remarriage.
o
So Moses wrote
them the law documented in Deuteronomy 24:1-4 to keep them from going off the
moral cliff.
47)
What was the
difference in perspective between Jesus and the Pharisees of the nature of the
problem under discussion?
o
The Pharisees
posed to Jesus a question of the legality of divorce.
o
Jesus pointed out
that the Pharisees had a moral issue with their heart.
48)
What are the two
genders of humanity that God created at the beginning of creation?
o
Male and female.
49)
What did God have
in mind for humanity to be created as male and female?
o
God had in mind
for a man to be united to a woman with the two becoming one flesh.
50)
What is God’s
design for the marriage of man and woman?
o
Marriage is between a man and a woman.
51)
What does the man
leave behind when he is united to his wife?
o
He leaves behind
his father and mother.
52)
What is the
consequence in the context of family of a man leaving his parents and being
united to his wife?
o
The man leaves
the family he was born into and forms a new family with his wife.
53)
Who joins the
husband and wife together as one flesh?
o
God does.
54)
How did Jesus
emphasize the man and woman being one flesh?
o
Jesus referred to
the man and woman being one flesh twice.
55)
In the context of
the husband and wife being joined together in marriage, what can we call the
bond holding them together as one flesh?
o
It is the marital
bond.
56)
Who creates the
marital bond?
o
God does.
57)
What is the
reason that the marital bond is not to be broken?
o
It is because God
creates it.
58)
What is it that
keeps the husband and wife together as a family?
o
It is the marital
bond.
59)
What happens to
the family when the marital bond is broken?
o
The family is
ripped apart.
60)
Does God intend
for the family to be ever ripped apart and why?
o
No, because the
marital bond that holds the family together is never intended to be broken.
61)
What happens to
the marital bond in a divorce that holds the family together?
o
The marital bond
is broken and the family is ripped apart.
62)
What is God’s
stance on divorce?
o
God is against
divorce.
63)
Why does God not
forbid divorce in the law of Moses if he is against
it?
o
God does not
forbid every cultural practice he is against.
64)
What is another
piece of evidence that contradicts the Pharisees’ assertion that the law of Moses that God gave to the Israelites permits
divorce?
o
It is not
legitimate for God to permit (encourage) divorce when he is against it.
o
It is legitimate
for God to not forbid divorce even when he is against it.
o
So it is
legitimate for the law of Moses that God gave to the
Israelites to not carry the permission for nor forbid divorce.
65)
Did the Pharisees
know that God is against divorce by looking at the law
of Moses and why?
o
No, because they
misread Moses’ intent in the law that God permitted divorce.
66)
Did the Pharisees
know that God is against divorce by looking at Genesis 2:21-25 and why?
o
Yes, because
Jesus quoted from this passage to support his argument that what God has joined together, let no one separate.
· Ask a volunteer to read out loud Genesis 2:21-25 that
says,
+++++++++++++++++++++
21So the Lord God caused the
man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he took one of the
man’s ribs and then closed up the place with flesh.
22Then the Lord God made a
woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man.
23The man said, “This is now
bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called ‘woman,’ for she
was taken out of man.”
24That is why a man leaves
his father and mother and is united to his wife, and they become one flesh.
25Adam and his wife were both
naked, and they felt no shame.
+++++++++++++++++++++
67)
Why then did the
Pharisees think that Moses permitted a
man to write a certificate of divorce and send his wife away?
o
They wanted to
divorce their wives so much that they ignored what Genesis 2:21-25 says.
o
Their hearts were
truly hard.
68)
What did the
disciples do when they were in the house again?
o
They asked Jesus
about the matter.
69)
Based on Jesus’
answer, what was the question the disciples asked Jesus?
o
They asked Jesus
what the consequence is for remarriage after divorce since God is against
divorce.
70)
What is the
consequence for remarriage after divorce according to Jesus?
o
A man who
divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery against her.
o
A woman who
divorces her husband and marries another man commits adultery against him.
71)
Could a woman
initiate a divorce in Jesus’ time?
o
No.
72)
Why then did
Jesus suggest that a woman could initiate a divorce?
o
A woman could
purposely do something indecent to force her husband to divorce her thus
initiating the divorce.
73)
According to Jesus'
interpretation how does God handle divorce?
o
God chooses to
§
Restrict
unbridled divorce.
§
Forbid the
deviant behavior of passing around and sharing wives through serial divorce and
remarriage.
§
Hold the divorced
husband and wife accountable in the end for adultery if they marry another
spouse.
74)
What is God
protecting in the way he handles divorce?
o
God is protecting
the marital bond and therefore the integrity of the family.
75)
Are the divorced
husband and wife held accountable for wrongdoing if they remain unmarried the
rest of their lives?
o
No.
76)
Should the
divorced husband and wife actively seek reconciliation with the objective of
remarriage when both have stayed unmarried and why?
o
Yes, because
§
It is God’s will
for the man and woman involved to be one flesh till death do them apart.
§
Jesus has come to
reconcile the lost world to God the Father thus making reconciliation the way
of life for disciples.
77)
Since according
to Jesus remarriage to a different spouse after divorce is adultery, why does
the law of Moses not stipulate the consequence?
o
Deuteronomy 24:4
does say that the woman is defiled upon remarriage to a different spouse after
divorce though not specifically calling it adultery.
o
The lack of
direct reference to adultery in this case again shows that Moses set out to
forbid legally passing around and sharing wives through serial divorce and
remarriage, not legislate divorce.
o
In other words
Moses set out to tackle the bigger evil.
o
Furthermore what
Jesus said about the consequence of remarrying after divorce is an example of
progressive revelation that progressively more information has been revealed
about what used to be hidden.
78)
Were the
Pharisees successful in testing Jesus and why?
o
No, because they
could not find what Jesus said in response to their question morally
compromising.
----------------------------------------
· Ask for a volunteer to summarize.
· Ask for the rest of the participants to supplement the
summary.
========================
Verses 1-12 Divorce
========================
========================
Verses 13-16 The Little Children and Jesus
========================
13People were bringing little
children to Jesus for him to place his hands on them, but the disciples rebuked
them.
14When Jesus saw this, he was
indignant. He said to them, “Let the little children come to me, and do not
hinder them, for the
15Truly I tell you, anyone
who will not receive the
16And he took the children in
his arms, placed his hands on them and blessed them.
----------------------------------------
Concerning blessing the
children,
----------------------------------------
79)
What were people
bringing little children to Jesus for?
o
They were
bringing little children to Jesus for him to place his hands on them.
80)
What happened
when these people came?
o
The disciples
rebuked them.
81)
Whom did these
people need to get past before they could see Jesus?
o
They needed to
get past the disciples before they could see Jesus.
82)
When the sick,
the crippled and the demon-possessed came to Jesus for help, who decided who in
the needy crowd would see Jesus next?
o
The disciples
did.
83)
What function did
the disciples serve doing triage for the crowd?
o
They served as
the gatekeeper for Jesus to maintain order and prevent the crowd from crowding
him.
84)
What were the
disciples anticipating Jesus to accomplish for
o
They were
anticipating Jesus to deliver the Jews from the rule of the Romans and restore
the kingdom to
85)
What did the
disciples think that Jesus would need in order to fulfill their national hope
and personal aspiration apart from the Indispensable Twelve?
o
Jesus would need
a very big crowd.
86)
How had the
disciples made the triage decision with an eye toward grooming the crowd and making
it bigger?
o
They
§
Prioritized
dramatic healing and power encounter of driving out demons in order to woo the
crowd.
§
Glossed over
requests the fulfillment of which did not excite, sensationalize and galvanize the crowd.
87)
How did the
request for Jesus to place his hands on little children and bless them sound to
the disciples?
o
They considered
the gentle act of Jesus placing his hands on little children and blessing them
to be trivializing Jesus’ ministry and getting in the way.
o
It is good
fodder for politicians on an election campaign
trail, not for working up a revolutionary crowd.
88)
What did the act
of rebuking these people who brought little children to Jesus suggest how
strongly the disciples had reacted?
o
Rebuking
expresses sharp disapproval with strong emotion.
o
It shows how
invested the disciples were in grooming the crowd in accordance with their
rules.
89)
Had the disciples
hindered anyone from coming to Jesus so far other than these little children?
o
No.
90)
Prior to the
current occasion, had there been any other occasion where people brought
children to see Jesus and what was the occasion?
o
Yes, a father
brought his boy who was possessed by a deaf and mute spirit to see Jesus in the
previous chapter.
91)
Was the father
who brought his boy to see Jesus in the previous chapter rebuked and turned
away by the disciples and why?
o
No, because the
father’s request for the deaf and mute spirit to be driven out from his boy fit
in with their rules for grooming the crowd.
92)
What was the
relationship between people and ministry from the disciples’ perspective?
o
The disciples
used people to prop up their ministry that was in turn utilized to fulfill
their national hope and personal aspiration.
93)
What kind of a
motive of ministry was behind the disciples’ rules for grooming the crowd?
o
It was the
disciples’ self-serving motive of ministry that was behind their rules for
grooming the crowd.
94)
What did the
disciples’ expression of sharp disapproval of these people with strong emotion
provoke in Jesus?
o
It provoked in
Jesus indignation that was itself an expression of strong emotion.
95)
What did Jesus
say to the disciples?
o
Jesus said to
them, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the
96)
Why did Jesus not
say, “Let the parents who bring the little children come to me, and do not
hinder them, for the
o
It was because
§
Jesus received
these children not for the sake of their parents but for their sake.
§
The
97)
What was Jesus
indignant at?
o
Jesus was indignant
at the disciples for hindering little children from coming to him.
98)
Why was Jesus
indignant at the disciples for hindering little children from coming to him?
o
Jesus was
indignant because
§
One must come to
him to receive the
§
The disciples
were hindering little children to whom the
99)
What then were
the disciples hindering when they hindered little children from coming to
Jesus?
o
They were
hindering the advance of the
100)
What mistakes did
the disciples just make that went against what Jesus said in the previous
chapter?
o
They hindered the
advance of the
o
They failed to
welcome a child in Jesus’ name.
101)
What was the
primary cause that earned the disciples reproach from Jesus?
o
It was the
disciples’ self-serving motive of ministry in the way they triaged people who
came to Jesus that earned them the reproach.
102)
What was it about
little children that particularly cast the self-serving calculation of the
disciples in a bad light?
o
Little children’s
innocence.
103)
Was Jesus’
indignation a surprise for the disciples and why?
o
Yes, because they
thought that they were advancing the
104)
With what
certainty did Jesus say that anyone who would not receive the
o
With the
certainty of truth.
105)
What did Jesus
mean when he said that anyone who would not receive the
o
Jesus meant that
§
Anyone who would
not receive the
§
In other words
one must receive the
106)
Were the
disciples surprised to hear Jesus say that anyone who would not receive the
o
Yes, because they
thought that
§
They had entered
the
§
They had not
entered it that way.
107)
Did the disciples
receive the
o
No, because they
§
Did not want to
face the reality of Jesus’ rising from the dead.
§
Refused to trust
him concerning that.
108)
To whom did the
disciples think that the
o
Ironically they
thought that the
109)
What was the
message from Jesus to the disciples through the little children?
o
Jesus’ message to
the disciples was that they needed to
§
Substitute
innocence for calculation in triaging people who came to him.
§
Trust him for
what was going to happen to him as the Christ in rising from the dead.
110)
What did Jesus do
to the children?
o
Jesus took the
children in his arms, placed his hands on them and blessed them.
111)
What can we learn
from the outcome of the little children’s coming to Jesus?
o
When we come to
Jesus with innocence substituted for calculation and trust for
self-sufficiency, we would like the little children
§
Be blessed.
§
Receive
infinitely more than what our calculation could earn us, i.e., the
112)
From the
perspective of discipleship why is coming to Jesus important?
o
Discipleship as
the eternal continuum of getting to know Jesus begins with coming to Jesus.
o
It does not begin
while keeping at a distance from Jesus.
o
As we come to
Jesus, we would get to know him mostly through face-to-face dialogs and
interactions he had with people in the gospel accounts.
113)
How did Jesus’
mundane and uneventful reception of little children speak to the disciples?
o
It is meaningful
for Jesus to interact with people without having to provide a teaching, heal a
disease, drive out a demon or accomplish something amazing.
o
Jesus was not a
vending machine for personal gains or an impersonal powerful force that groomed
the crowd in accordance with the disciples’ manipulated input.
o
The act of coming
to Jesus is meaningful in itself because of Jesus, not as a result of the
outcome of the act.
114)
How is the act of
coming to Jesus meaningful in itself when we take into account the motive of
the party that comes to Jesus?
o
When we come to
Jesus with the innocence and trust of a child, the meaning of coming to Jesus
rests in itself.
o
When we come to
Jesus with the calculation of adults, we foul up the coming to Jesus as we
shall see.
115)
In the previous
chapter what kind of attitude were we told to assume in relating to those we
aspire to lead?
o
We should relate
to those we aspire to lead selflessly and circumspectly as we would a child.
116)
In the current
chapter what kind of attitude have we been shown that we should assume in
relating to Jesus?
o
We should relate
to Jesus with the innocence and trust of a child.
117)
How should we
relate to those we aspire to lead and to Jesus respectively in the eternal
discipleship continuum of getting to know Jesus?
o
In the eternal
discipleship continuum of getting to know Jesus we should
§
Relate to those
we aspire to lead selflessly and circumspectly as we would a child.
§
Relate to Jesus
with the innocence and trust of a child.
118)
What was the
relationship between people and ministry from Jesus’ perspective?
o
People were the
reason of Jesus’ ministry.
119)
What kind of a
motive of ministry was behind Jesus’ reception of little children?
o
It was Jesus’ selfless
motive of ministry that made placing his
hands on little children and blessing them worth his time and effort.
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· Ask for a volunteer to summarize.
· Ask for the rest of the participants to supplement the
summary.
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Verses 13-16 The Little Children and Jesus
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