4. MARRIAGE AND DIVORCE Matth.19:1-12
1. DIVORCE 1-9
Why were the Pharisees occupied with the question of divorce (3)?
What do people in our time think about divorce?
According to Jesus, what happens when two people get married (4-5a)?
The leader should read Deut.24:1. What exactly did Moses command and what did he allow in this passage? Compare his words with the Pharisees’ interpretation of them (7).
According to Jesus, what are the arguments for a life-long marriage (4,5,6,8,9).
Why do you think unfaithfulness is the one and only reason that Jesus would accept for divorce (9)?
What will happen in a society where divorce becomes more and more common?
2. REMARRIAGE 9-10
Compare verses 8-9 to Matt.5:32. What does Jesus teach about remarriage while the divorced spouse is still living? Stick to the text!
The leader should read 1 Cor.7:10-11 and Rom.7:2-3. What does Paul teach about remarriage while the previous spouse is living?
Why did the disciples react as they did to Jesus’ teaching (10)?
Why do you think the teaching of Jesus and Paul concerning remarriage is practically stifled to death even inside Christian churches of our day?
3. SINGLENESS 11-12
What does it mean that somebody is born as “an eunuch”?
In what ways may other people make a person unable to marry?
What does it mean in practice that somebody renounces marriage because of the kingdom of heaven?
4. SUMMARY
Do you think that a person can lead a good life without sexual fulfillment? Give your reasons.
What, according to Jesus, is more important for a Christian than attaining personal happiness?
Whose good was Jesus concerned about when making such strict rules for our relationships with the other sex?
What should a person, who has not fulfilled the commandments Jesus gives in this passage, do?
What do you think will happen to a person’s attitude to the Bible if he/she denies the validity of Jesus’ teaching in this passage?
GLAD TIDINGS: The leader should read John 8:4-11
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