Mark 10:2-16 Jesus loves family
Summary
TLDRThe sermon explores Jesus' teachings on marriage, family, and God's original design for these institutions. Reflecting on passages from Mark and Genesis, it highlights how family, created as the pinnacle of God's perfect creation, often becomes a source of struggle and brokenness. Despite human failures and Satan's attacks, Jesus' love and protection of family remain central. The message also emphasizes how God's grace, forgiveness, and guidance help restore broken relationships and provide hope. Ultimately, Jesus loves and embraces every person as part of His family, regardless of past mistakes or current hardships.
Takeaways
- 🙏 **Grace and Peace**: The message begins with a greeting of grace and peace from God and Jesus Christ, setting a reverent tone.
- 📜 **Jesus and the Pharisees**: Jesus addresses the Pharisees’ question on divorce, emphasizing that it was permitted due to hardened hearts but was not part of God’s original plan.
- 💍 **God's Design for Marriage**: Jesus reaffirms God’s design for marriage, where a man and a woman become 'one flesh,' highlighting the sacredness and permanence of the union.
- ❌ **Divorce and Sin**: Although there are allowances for divorce in certain situations, such as abuse or desertion, Jesus emphasizes that divorce is never an ideal solution.
- 👨👩👧👦 **The Importance of Family**: The family is a core building block of God’s creation, meant to be a source of blessing and the primary venue for nurturing faith and values.
- 💔 **Devil's Attacks on Family**: The devil attacks families by fostering division and selfish behavior, aiming to corrupt the very foundation of God’s creation.
- 👶 **Jesus Loves Children**: When children were brought to Jesus, He welcomed them with open arms, stressing that the Kingdom of God belongs to those who receive it like a child.
- 💒 **Jesus as Protector of Families**: Jesus cares deeply about families and actively supports and blesses them through His presence, guidance, and forgiveness.
- 💖 **God's Unconditional Love**: Even when families break down and wounds run deep, God’s love remains constant. He provides comfort and healing through His church.
- 🔗 **The Profound Mystery**: Marriage mirrors the relationship between Christ and the Church—Jesus gave Himself up for His bride, the Church, symbolizing the depth of His love and faithfulness.
Q & A
What is the central theme of the sermon based on the provided transcript?
-The central theme of the sermon is the significance of marriage and family in God's creation, and how Jesus values, protects, and redeems both, even amid challenges like divorce, broken relationships, and selfishness.
How does Jesus respond to the Pharisees' question about divorce in Mark 10?
-Jesus explains that Moses permitted divorce because of the hardness of people's hearts, but at the beginning of creation, God intended for marriage to be a permanent union between man and woman. He emphasizes that what God has joined together, no one should separate.
What does the sermon say about the purpose of marriage in God's creation?
-The sermon teaches that marriage was part of God's perfect creation and was designed as a means of bringing blessing to humanity. Marriage is foundational to society, family, and the passing of faith from one generation to the next.
How does the preacher describe the devil's attacks on family?
-The devil relentlessly attacks families, both in society and behind closed doors, aiming to turn family members against each other. His efforts are strongest when he brings selfishness, betrayal, and conflict into homes, causing broken relationships and misery.
What does the preacher say about the role of family in a Christian's life?
-The preacher emphasizes that family has a greater influence on a person's life than anything else, shaping a child's future success and faith. The family is a crucial space for spiritual growth and the continuation of Christian values.
What comfort does the sermon offer to those who feel broken by divorce or strained family relationships?
-The sermon offers comfort by reminding individuals that Jesus loves and protects them, even if they come from broken families or have suffered through divorce. Jesus provides forgiveness, guidance, and strength to heal relationships and restore love.
How does the sermon interpret Jesus' interaction with the children in Mark 10?
-The sermon highlights Jesus' love and care for children, noting that He was indignant when the disciples rebuked them. Jesus teaches that the kingdom of God belongs to those with childlike faith and embraces and blesses the children as a demonstration of His care.
What does the preacher say about society's current view of marriage and family?
-The preacher critiques the growing attitude in society that sees marriage and family as either optional social constructs or oppressive institutions to be avoided. He argues that this view is backward and ignores the divine purpose and design of marriage.
How does the preacher connect the concept of marriage to the relationship between Christ and the Church?
-The preacher references Ephesians 5, where marriage is described as a profound mystery that reflects the relationship between Christ and the Church. Jesus is the bridegroom who gave Himself up for His bride, the Church, and is always faithful, making the Church holy and blameless.
What encouragement does the sermon give to those in troubled marriages or broken families?
-The sermon encourages those in troubled marriages or broken families by assuring them that Jesus is present with them. He offers forgiveness, guidance, and strength to restore relationships, and His love can break down walls of contempt and bring healing and unity.
Outlines
🙏 Jesus Teaches on Divorce and Family
In this passage from Mark 10, Jesus is tested by Pharisees about the legality of divorce. He reminds them that God's original design was for marriage to be a lifelong union, citing that Moses only allowed divorce due to human hard-heartedness. Jesus emphasizes the sanctity of marriage, stating that 'what God has joined together, let no one separate.' He also speaks of the seriousness of remarriage after divorce, linking it to adultery. The passage transitions to Jesus’ interaction with children, as He blesses them and proclaims that the Kingdom of God belongs to those with childlike faith.
🌍 The Goodness of God’s Creation and Marriage
This paragraph reflects on the perfection of God's creation as described in Genesis 1, highlighting that everything God made was 'good.' However, it wasn't until Adam and Eve were created and joined in marriage that creation was described as 'very good.' Marriage and family were the crowning achievements of God's work. The creation of Eve from Adam's rib is seen as a demonstration of God's design for human relationships, making it clear that marriage was intended as a perfect union within creation.
😔 The Challenges of Family and Satan's Attacks
The focus shifts to the painful reality that, despite being part of God's perfect creation, marriage and family have often become sources of great misery due to sin. Families are subject to relentless attacks by Satan, manifesting in selfish behavior, neglect, and betrayal. The devil’s goal is to destroy the unity of family, often by turning loved ones against each other. The paragraph stresses the impact that family has on a person’s success in life and faith, pointing out that the strongest influence on a Christian child’s faith is their family, not their pastor.
💔 Divorce and Its Reality Throughout History
This paragraph discusses how the issue of divorce has been present since the time of Moses. Jesus rebukes the Pharisees' focus on divorce law, urging them to instead consider the divine institution of marriage. Jesus emphasizes that marriage involves God and is a spiritual union that no one should break. He also acknowledges that sin can sometimes break marriages, and while divorce is sometimes permitted, it is never ideal. Jesus stresses that a marriage should not only exist for personal happiness but is a fundamental aspect of God's creation.
💪 Jesus Protects and Restores Families
The paragraph reassures that Jesus protects families even when they face hardship. He is present in broken homes, offering forgiveness, guidance, and strength. Jesus' presence can help restore love and unity where there has been contempt and division. Even when families are deeply fractured, or children are caught in the middle of conflict, Jesus loves and blesses them, reminding them that they are never alone. He holds them in His arms and provides the care and protection they may not receive from others.
🛡️ Hope for the Broken: Jesus' Love for All Families
This section offers hope to those who feel far removed from the ideal family situation, such as those who have experienced divorce or estrangement. Even if someone feels past redemption, Jesus reminds them that they are still part of God’s family. They have a Heavenly Father who loves them and a spiritual family in Christ. The paragraph concludes by reminding Christians that Jesus died for all sins, and His love remains strong, even in the most broken circumstances.
💒 Christ and the Church: A Profound Mystery
The final paragraph delves into the deeper spiritual meaning of marriage as described in Ephesians 5. The relationship between husband and wife mirrors the relationship between Christ and the Church. Just as Christ loves the Church unconditionally and sacrificially, so too should a husband and wife treat each other with love and respect. Regardless of past mistakes or current struggles, Christians are reminded that in Jesus’ eyes, they are holy, blameless, and deeply loved. Marriage, therefore, reflects Christ’s love for His people.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Pharisees
💡Divorce
💡Creation
💡Marriage
💡Family
💡Children
💡Adultery
💡One flesh
💡Hardness of heart
💡Forgiveness
Highlights
Jesus responds to the Pharisees about divorce, emphasizing that Moses allowed it due to hard-heartedness but that God’s original design was for marriage to be unbreakable.
God’s creation is described as ‘good,’ but only after creating humanity—Adam and Eve in marriage—does He call it ‘very good,’ emphasizing the importance of family.
The capstone of God’s creation, family, has become a source of great misery due to human selfishness and sin, leading to the breakdown of marriage.
Families have a profound influence on individuals, with family being the greatest predictor of a child’s success and faith retention, beyond what pastors can achieve.
The devil relentlessly attacks families, often working behind closed doors to turn members against each other and destroy the foundational relationships in God’s creation.
Jesus’ interaction with the Pharisees highlights that the breakdown of marriage and family isn’t new; it has been a challenge since the time of Moses and even Adam and Eve.
Jesus redirects the Pharisees' focus from divorce laws to God’s original purpose for marriage—where two become one flesh, a divine union not to be separated by man.
While recognizing the devastation that sin can cause in marriage, Jesus also affirms that divorce is never an ideal solution for a troubled marriage.
Jesus protects family not just by words but by becoming part of it, offering guidance, forgiveness, and strength through His Word and Spirit to restore broken relationships.
The sermon emphasizes that Jesus holds children in high regard, loving and blessing them, even when they feel neglected or used as pawns in their parents' conflicts.
For those who feel beyond redemption due to past family failures or painful experiences, Jesus reassures them that they still belong to His family and are loved unconditionally.
The Apostle Paul’s teaching in Ephesians on the profound mystery of marriage points to the relationship between Christ and the church, where Christ is the groom and the church is His bride.
Jesus is eternally faithful to His church, and despite shame, brokenness, or feelings of worthlessness, believers are made holy, radiant, and blameless through Him.
The sermon reiterates that family is not just a social construct but a divine institution meant to bless individuals and society, under God's definition and protection.
Ultimately, the message concludes that Jesus loves and protects families, and through faith, believers are assured of being part of His eternal family.
Transcripts
grace and peace to you from God our
Father and the Lord Jesus Christ well
listen again to Jesus encounter with the
Pharisees and then little children in
mark chapter 10 some Pharisees came and
tested Jesus by asking is it lawful for
a man to divorce his wife what did Moses
command you he replied they said Moses
permitted a man to write a certificate
of divorce and send her away
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 when they were in the house
again the disciples asked Jesus about
this
he answered anyone who divorces his wife
and marries another woman commits
adultery against her
and if she divorces her husband and
marries another man she commits adultery
people were bringing little children to
Jesus for him to place his hands on them
but the disciples rebuked them when
Jesus saw this he was indignant he said
to them let the little children come to
me and do not hinder them for the
kingdom of God belongs to such as these
truly I tell you anyone who will not
receive the kingdom of God like a little
child will never enter it and he took
the children in his arms placed his
hands on them and blessed them
this is the gospel of our Lord dear
brothers and sisters in Christ and it's
not a throwaway phrase dear brothers and
sisters in Christ
in the very first verse of the Bible God
creates all the building blocks of the
universe in the beginning God created
the heavens and the earth then in the
rest of that first chapter God assembles
all those building blocks into his into
his perfect creation and the word that
he keeps on coming back to in Chapter 1
is good on the first day God saw that
the light was good then later he saw
that the land and the Seas were good and
the vegetation the Sun Moon and stars
the animals that fly through the air
swim through the water and walk on the
land every step of the way every step
along the way the phrase he keeps on
back to is and God saw that it was good
but then at the end of the chapter at
the end of chapter 1 when everything's
finished and Adam and Eve are husband
and wife in a perfect paradise then the
phrase changes then it says God saw all
that he had made and it was very good
when God caused continents to rise out
of oceans when he made vegetation appear
and set the stars in the sky and made
animals that glide through the air and
the water and the force all of that was
awesome it was good but it was missing
something it was like this luxury home
with everything in place but no family
to live in it that's because God was
saving the best for last that the people
for whom he had created this masterpiece
and only after he formed Adam out of the
dust of the ground and Eve out of Adam's
rib and and told them I've made all this
for you and I've made you for each other
only then was it perfect or as you'd
express it in Hebrew very good that
should help us to appreciate the the
opening verse of the first lesson we
heard today from Genesis chapter 2 the
Lord God said it is not good for the man
to be alone
he's not changing his mind from the end
of chapter 1 in in Genesis chapter 2 God
God takes us back to the sixth day and
he gives us greater details about his
creation of the first people or maybe I
should say the first family God created
Adam first Eve came later in the day and
in those intervening hours when it was
just Adam it wasn't good
Adam was missing something none of the
animals that God paraded in front of
Adam for him to name were suitable to
meet his need so after God shows Adam
his need then God fills his need with
Eve and establishes the first marriage
and the first family and it was very
good all that is to say that marriage
and family they they were essential
elements in God's perfect creation
so it's tragic irony that this capstone
of God's perfect creation should become
the source of some of God's creations
greatest misery and and you know that
I'm not saying that that every family is
only misery all the time but I also know
that you don't need me to launch into a
thousand examples for you to understand
what I'm talking about your family by
God's design has a greater influence on
you than anything else for better or for
worse the surest indicator of a child's
financial academic social marital
success is their family
the greatest influence on a young
Christian staying in the faith isn't
their pastor it's their family so it's
it's no wonder at all that the devil
should attack it so relentlessly and not
only in society at large in the media
and in in politics and on college
campuses his greatest efforts against
family take place behind closed doors in
individual homes when when a man and a
woman who voluntarily joined into a
union of one flesh for life hammer away
at their own foundation by by selfish by
selfish behavior by corrosive comments
and by betrayal the devil's efforts are
strongest against individual families
when when children treat their parents
like doormats or when parents neglect
their children or or just as bad as that
worship their children the devil's
efforts against family are at their
greatest when he works to turn husbands
and wives and parents and children and
brothers and sisters against each other
and thus pervert the capstone of God's
creation into one of its greatest
miseries and we don't have to look very
far at all to witness his success I
don't expect that any of us are gonna
walk out of church today thinking well
none of those scripture lessons said
anything to me
Jesus encounter with the Pharisees in
mark chapter 10 reminds us that that the
breakdown of the marriage and and the
family aren't anything new these were
issues in Jesus day there were issues in
Moses day all the way back to Adam and
Eve the Pharisees they try to drag Jesus
into the mire of their own internal
arguments about divorce law basically
how easy should it be for a man to
divorce his wife some Pharisees
contended that that divorce should be
allowed only in extreme circumstances
others argued that that as long as there
was any reason that was a good enough
reason as long as he he filled out the
proper paperwork against his wife is it
lawful for a man to divorce his wife
Jesus responds you're asking the wrong
question and you're looking at the wrong
Bible passage to try to find the answer
they were citing a verse in in
Deuteronomy where God regulated divorce
in order to protect people from becoming
its victims who were living in in a
world where people were hard-hearted and
and didn't respect God's institution of
marriage Jesus responds that instead of
arguing over the wording of regulations
for divorce you should be paying
attention to God's institution of
marriage a man and a woman a man and a
woman enter into it but God is also
involved by defying the laws the rules
of math and making one plus one equal
one
therefore what God has joined together
let let no one separate this strikes so
close to home for so many of us so let's
make sure we understand what Jesus is
and is not saying Jesus isn't
heartlessly shackling a woman to her
abuse
of husband he's not binding the
conscience of a man whose wife has
deserted him and their children this
isn't the only place in the Bible where
God speaks to marriage and divorce and
and God recognizes the devastation that
certain sins can inflict on a marriage
devastation that's akin to taking one
piece of flesh and tearing it into two
so that neither person is ever the same
again and and God recognizes that the
destruction of sin can sometimes result
in a situation where there are only bad
options so there are certain
circumstances in which God permits
divorce but Jesus also isn't saying that
divorce is ever a solution for a
troubled marriage or that a marriage is
worth continuing for only as long as as
it's bringing happiness and fulfillment
to both parties involved
it's still the capstone of God's
creation and the foundation of society
and the primary venue for the passing
down of the gospel from generation to
generation
even when Satan's attacks and our own
self-destructive self-centered behavior
bring broken hearts and misery into our
homes
Jesus loves family Jesus
protects family and of course family
isn't just a concept it's people so to
say that Jesus loves and protects family
is to say that Jesus loves and protects
people the growing attitude in our
society is that marriage and family are
at best social constructs you can take
them or leave them or at worst means of
oppressing the underprivileged so so
it's something we need to break free
from but those are exactly
backwards God designed marriage so God
gets to define what it is and what its
purpose is it's a fundamental building
block of society and of the church
through which God joins individuals
together for the purpose of bringing
blessing to everyone involved and he
doesn't just protect it by saying what
God has joined together let no one
separate it so if you're miserable
too bad you're stuck you signed up for
it Jesus protects family by becoming
part of it
a husband and wife who have built a wall
of contempt between one another through
their selfish behavior and their
corrosive comments and betrayal upon
betrayal they're not alone in that if
Jesus is in their home the God who set
the stars in the sky is with them to
guide them with His Word and to forgive
them through his promise and to
strengthen them by his spirit and if the
God who set the stars in the sky guides
and forgives and strengthens them that
means that they can get guide and
forgive and strengthen each other and
then that wall of contempt gives way to
love or children who feel like chess
pieces nothing but but weapons for mom
and dad to use against each other in
their struggle for control Jesus doesn't
leave them alone either the Savior who
with righteous anger
said let the little children come to me
for the kingdom of God belongs to such
as these he still holds them in his arms
and blesses them and loves them even
even if everybody else refuses to love
them but then there are also Christians
who feel like their way past all of that
because it's over the divorce papers
were signed long ago the wounds are
still raw and maybe it really was all
their fault or children who never knew a
mom and dad or who are abused or their
estranged and they can't remember ever
using the phrase my family in a positive
sense even if this sermon has made you
feel super uncomfortable because you
feel like you are way past anything that
Jesus says here you still have a father
the same God who set the stars in the
sky and you still have a brother the
same God who died on the cross to pay
for all of your sins all of your sins he
loves you with all of his heart and he
cares for you with all of his power and
in his wisdom he will supply you with
brothers and sisters and role models in
Christ who will love you too
let's wrap this up with a profound
mystery that the Apostle talks about in
Ephesians chapter 5 this profound
mystery he's talking to husbands and
wives so I guess it makes perfect sense
that he should take them back to God's
establishment of marriage for this
reason a man will leave his father and
mother and be united to his wife and the
two will become one flesh but the
profound mystery is that this one flesh
relationship he's talking about it isn't
just describing the relationship between
a husband and wife
he goes on to say this is a profound
mystery I am talking about Christ and
the church to the Christian woman who
feels like her husband no longer loves
her to the Christian husband whose wife
shows him no respect for Christian
children whose parents are too consumed
with themselves to have any concern for
them and they all feel like there's no
choice left but to fight fire with fire
or they're growing more and more
convinced that they really are worthless
God reminds them that they are
nevertheless still in a one flesh
relationship Jesus
is the groom and you are his bride he
gave himself up for you to make you holy
he washed you clean through baptism no
matter how shameful your past or pitiful
your president or bleak your future in
his eyes you are perfect
and radiant without stain or wrinkle or
any other blemish but holy and blameless
and he will always be faithful to you he
will never leave you Jesus loves family
and you are his family amen
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