Jesus and marriage

ONE PLUS ONE EQUALS ONE God’s divine mathematics points to Jesus returning for His Bride when one plus one will still equal one!

In June 2018 the UK Supreme Court ruled, in a civil case, that restricting civil partnerships to same-sex couples was discriminatory, and put HMG under pressure to allow heterosexual couples to enter such unions.

The Court found in favour of the claimants (a midlife couple who consider marriage to be “patriarchal and sexist”. Their objection seems to have been against traditional marriage rather than any great admiration of civil partnerships). The Court was unconcerned about the implications of its judgement (tax and pension rights being acquired by millions of cohabiting couples, should they choose to convert these arrangements to a formal “partnership”). HMG faces the prospect of future claims at the expense of the public purse. In addition to pension implications, there will be the further calls on public funds to support couples when, inevitably, a proportion of these arrangements are dissolved (“divorce” by another name). 

How should Christians respond? They rightly see this as a further assault upon the holy estate of matrimony. The same sex ‘marriage’ revolution arguably achieved the end of marriage as an institution, as today potentially any desired relationship might be classed as a ‘marriage’ capable of State support. Around the world there have been attempts to widen ‘marriage’to cover groups and even across species. None has yet been successful. Should Christians get ‘hot under the collar’ at yet another undermining of the sacred institution? We should be concerned at, arguably, a further attempt to undermine the protection afforded by marriage (and in this I am writing about the union of a man to a woman). Undermining marriage impacts families. Rather than get ‘hot under the collar’, however, perhaps our first thought should be the eschatological signals that this legal ‘development’ presages.

Let’s remind ourselves of what our Lord spoke about marriage; the question marriage will be here until the end of time. Jesus said “The people of this age marry and are given in marriage.” (Luke 20: 34). In speaking of “this age” Jesus means the church age. People will be married and given in marriage right up until the end of human time. In the Scriptures, where does all this begin?

Genesis 1: 26-30

After living creatures THEN God created people. This is the end point, and indeed the ultimate purpose, of the creation event. God created them (plural) in His image(also plural).

Genesis 2: 18-24

Note that the account of Adam and Eve comes after the creation of mankind (plural) in Gen 1:26-28. The earliest account is therefore plural (“them”) whereas the account of Adam and Eve is singular. THEM in 1:28 becomes HIM in 2:8. Is God doing something new, something different in Chapter 2? We do seem to have a change of pace mid-way through chapter 2 – as God reaches the central purpose of the Act of Creation. What can we summarise from Genesis?

• Man and Woman were made for each other.
• It is a creation ordinance – or a law – that the two shall become one flesh.
• Whilst roles and responsibilities are different and wrapped-up in gender distinctions, spiritual and “legal” equality seem to be part of the creation plan.
• For men and womenwe can calculate that 1 + 1 = 1.

Marriage was made for men and women, who in turn were made for each other.

Union between husband and wife, a 1 + 1 = 1 relationship, is a God-ordinance and a creation-ordinance. It is fundamental to all that God does in this world, to the way that He has established this world. Humanity transgresses this creation ordinance at its peril. Women were held in higher esteem in Biblical Israel than in any other contemporary culture. Women’s “lot” in Biblical Israel was better – by far – than some women’s “lot” in certain cultures of our modern world.

Jesus imbibed, drew-upon, and affirmed these cultural “norms”. Nowhere does He condemn the cultural norms related to marriage. His first recorded miracle was demonstrated in the context of a marriage party. Jesus set much of his teaching in the context of the Jewish wedding, speaking of guests invited to a wedding feast (Matthew 22: 1-14). As Bridegroom He would come and take us to the place He has already prepared (John 14:3).He likened His followers to maidens waiting for the Bridegroom (Matthew 25: 1-13). He referred to Himself as that Bridegroom (Matthew 9: 15, Mark 2:19).

Apostle Paul saw himself in the role of a matchmaker with regard to the church at Corinth (2 Corinthians 11:2) and the relationship between husband and wife should be a picture of Christ and His church (Ephesians 5: 25-27).We can affirm that Jesus was on the side of marriage then – and He remains on the side of marriage today. Marriage by its very nature is the union of two that are not the same. Jesus is not the same as His church; He is the Saviour – we are the Saved. There is a huge and fundamental difference between us. 

A Trap

If a man and woman choose to share their lives then marriage is the creation ordinance, taking us back to our divine mathematics: 1 + 1 = 1. Jesus did not speak much about marriage. But what He said is instructive and we must learn from it: readers may want to pause to look at Matthew 19: 3 – 12. The situation described here was a trap. If Jesus came down on the side of “liberal divorce”he would offend religious conservatives and much of the religious population. If He came down on the side of the Torah then He would offend  the religious liberals who also held much temporal power. He would offend the Sadducees and the Herodians. He would offend Tetrarch Herod himself! This was a devilishly clever question. Jesus could not escape without offending some important constituency. A failure to answer would have offended everyone!

How did Jesus respond? 19:4 – “have you not read?”His appeal is to Scripture, specifically to what we call The Old Testament. We need to learn from that. Our authority and our licence comes from Scripture ONLY, on this question and on any question of theological significance. So, Jesus goes back to the Creation ordinance(19:4) – and so should we. Then in verse 5, Jesus affirms marriage – and the one flesh aspect of marriage. Let’s make a summary of what we have explored so far: Jesus affirms marriage.God sees it as Good.(Genesis) Jesus sees marriage as good. Marriage is not for everyone (eunuchs = 19:12 – for these marriage is not the way).

Divorce

Matthew 19: 7 – 10. This is an emotionally charged area and we simply cannot cover it off adequately in this article. We must, though, take seriously what Jesus has said even if it leads to uncomfortable or controversial conclusions. Let’s make a summary of Jesus and Divorce. Jesus had a high view of marriage. His view was and remains: 1 + 1 = 1

In the area of controversial mathematics, Jesus has not allowed for the idea that we can divorce andremarry except for a clear casus belli / or exceptional reason– and that reason is adultery.

That has been the broad understanding of the church down 2000 years. It is a brave person who simply writes off 2000 years of church teaching and understanding! This is not to ignore that there may be compelling pastoral reasons for separation, divorce, and even remarriage. But we are not to take our lessons or our thinking or our mindset on this from the World.Our thinking and actions must be informed by the words of Jesus and the teaching of Scripture. We may reach different conclusions via exegesison this question in certain pastorally complicated situations and it is important we do not fall out on these difficult cases. Always remember the wise old legal dictum: “Bad cases do not make good law”. Bad marriages and complicated and fraught personal situations do not “set precedents”. The only acceptable precedent has been set by the Lord Jesus Himself. Mathematically 1 + 1 = 1.

Will Jesus marry?

We already know the answer but let’s remind ourselves from the words of Revelation 19: 5 – 10 / 22: 17. Jesus has alluded to the Kingdom of God being like a wedding:- Matthew 22: 1 – 14 – this was the wedding feast where the guests could not be bothered to turn up. But the good news is that the wedding invitation is then extended, or enlarged, to everyone!

Matthew 25: 1 – 13 – the parable of the wise and foolish maidens.These were supposed to be waiting faithfully for the bridegroom, but half are unprepared – and so miss the wedding altogether. We recognise that the bridegroom is Jesus – and the foolish maidens an allusion to false followers of Jesus – we might say, false witnesses to Jesus. Controversially we must add, this represents those parts of the institutional church that are unfaithful to Jesus.

Jesus has likened the relationship He has with His true church to that of marriage. This is not some casual relationship; here today and maybe not here tomorrow. No! When we become born again disciples of Jesus we are to be set aside solely for Jesus, and wait faithfully and single-mindedly for Him, our bridegroom. We know that He will come for us. There will arrive a time in the future when the bridegroom, Jesus, will return physically and in full view of the entire world: Revelation 19: 7 – 9.

The final thing to say on this question is to make a helpful linkage in our thinking; God has already said that those two that are fundamentally different (male and female) shall nevertheless become ONE in a mysterious and metaphysical way. And so we derive our strange mathematics: 1 + 1 = 1. But, this divine mystery is a helpful pointer to that other divine mystery which can also be expressed mathematically: 1 + 1 + 1 = 1. 

This is the mystery of the Holy Trinity of Father, Son and Spirit. Jesus’ one flesh ordinance uniting Man and Woman as one helps us enter into that other great mystery, how God can be One in three persons.

Marriage is temporary and for this world only. Jesus said so. [ Matthew 22: 30 ; Mark 12: 24-5 ] But the divine mystery of the Godhead 1 + 1 + 1 = 1will persist through all eternity. Praise God!

Jesus’ marriage to His bride, the true church, this union of two that are fundamentally different, the Saviour and the Saved, this also will persist for all eternity. 1+1 still equals 1! Praise God!