The High calling of Christ; to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

Matthew 5:27-48 (NASB) from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

²⁷ “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery’; ²⁸ but I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. ²⁹ If your right eye makes you stumble, tear it out and throw it from you; for it is better for you to lose one of the parts of your body, than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. ³⁰ If your right hand makes you stumble, cut it off and throw it from you; for it is better for you to lose one of the parts of your body, than for your whole body to go into hell.

³¹ “It was said, ‘Whoever sends his wife away, let him give her a certificate of divorce’; ³² but I say to you that everyone who divorces his wife, except for the reason of unchastity, makes her commit adultery; and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.

³³ “Again, you have heard that the ancients were told, ‘You shall not make false vows, but shall fulfill your vows to the Lord.’ ³⁴ But I say to you, make no oath at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God, ³⁵ or by the earth, for it is the footstool of His feet, or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. ³⁶ Nor shall you make an oath by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black. ³⁷ But let your statement be, ‘Yes, yes’ or ‘No, no’; anything beyond these is of evil.

³⁸ “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.’ ³⁹ But I say to you, do not resist an evil person; but whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also. ⁴⁰ If anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, let him have your coat also. ⁴¹ Whoever forces you to go one mile, go with him two. ⁴² Give to him who asks of you, and do not turn away from him who wants to borrow from you.

⁴³ “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ ⁴⁴ But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, ⁴⁵ so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. ⁴⁶ For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? ⁴⁷ If you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? ⁴⁸ Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

In today’s text Jesus continues to describe the higher standard to which He calls His followers to live. Verses 31-32, Jesus statements about divorce, are perhaps one of the more divisive issues within the church, with many individuals and denominations taking these verses and a few others to wholly exclude people who have been divorced and remarried from any form of leadership or ministry. It’s not my desire to debate or to put down those who hold to that belief. Rather as one who has been divorced and remarried, I want to encourage others with what I believe is the message of redemption in Christ which we see and hear in scripture. I respect other people’s right to believe and interpret scripture as they see it. I can only testify as to what God has done in my own life, redeeming, reconciling and restoring me from sin including divorce. Let me be clear, I do agree that God hates divorce and does view it as sin. It like many other sins carries lifelong consequences which remain even after redemption.

As I read verses like these about divorce, I don’t ignore what they say, rather I seek to understand them in the context of both the passage they are in and the rest of scripture. So within the context of this chapter in Matthew what we see is that the sin associated with divorce and remarriage is adultery.     “It was said, ‘Whoever sends his wife away, let him give her a certificate of divorce’; ³² but I say to you that everyone who divorces his wife, except for the reason of unchastity, makes her commit adultery; and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.     Again there are other references to divorce in scripture, but it is this issue of adultery which is the sin that is in question. I personally have been challenged and excluded from ministry positions and again I respect those who hold those beliefs. I choose rather to go where God has opened the doors and where I am welcome. For all the times I have been challenged with these verses, I have never had anyone share them with me in the context of the proceeding verses, 27-30, which say:       “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery’; ²⁸ but I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. ²⁹ If your right eye makes you stumble, tear it out and throw it from you; for it is better for you to lose one of the parts of your body, than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. ³⁰ If your right hand makes you stumble, cut it off and throw it from you; for it is better for you to lose one of the parts of your body, than for your whole body to go into hell.        Again, what Jesus is sharing here is the higher standard to which He calls His followers to live, including His standard of what constitutes adultery.          Jesus says:     “Do not judge so that you will not be judged. ² For in the way you judge, you will be judged; and by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you. ³ Why do you look at the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? ⁴ Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ and behold, the log is in your own eye? ⁵ You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.  

For me though, along with my own testimony of what God has done for me in my life, the greatest encouragement and assurance of redemption from the sin of divorce that I see in scripture is found in the account of David and Bathsheba, found in 2 Samuel 11-12. King David, who was described by God as a man after His own heart, (Acts 13:22), already had several wives, yet he saw and lusted after Bathsheba, the wife of Uriah the Hittite, who was fighting in the kings army.  David has Bathsheba brought to him and she becomes pregnant with the kings child. In an effort to cover his sin, David has Uriah brought home from the battle, but when Uriah, out of loyalty to his fellow soldiers, refuses to sleep with his wife, David sends him back to the battle front and gives the commander orders to place Uriah where he will be killed. After Uriah’s death, David does take Bathsheba as a wife.  David is confronted by Nathan the prophet regarding His sin which he confesses.   Then David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.” And Nathan said to David, “The Lord also has taken away your sin; you shall not die. ¹⁴ However, because by this deed you have given occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme, the child also that is born to you shall surely die.” (2 Samuel 12:13-14)

The child does indeed die. Here though is the great story of redemption in the account of David and Bathsheba. Verse 24 says:  Then David comforted his wife Bathsheba, and went in to her and lay with her; and she gave birth to a son, and he named him Solomon. Now the Lord loved him        It is through this child, Solomon, born out of a relationship started in adultery and murder, that God says the throne of David will be continued. Even more, it is through Solomon, David’s son, that the line of Christ is traced in Matthew 1:7-16.

David was the father of Solomon by Bathsheba who had been the wife of Uriah. ⁷ Solomon was the father of Rehoboam…     and Matthan the father of Jacob. ¹⁶ Jacob was the father of Joseph the husband of Mary, by whom Jesus was born, who is called the Messiah.     The genealogy of Jesus is traced through many ordinary and sinful people. He came to redeem us all from those sins.

So what is the message of redemption and forgiveness we see in the account of David and Bathsheba? Is it that we are better off murdering our former spouses so that it is not adultery when we remarry? Of course not. What we see in this account is that David recognized his sin and confessed and repented.  1 John 1:19 says:   If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Romans 8:1-2 says: Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. ² For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death.   

Again, in today’s text Jesus is setting forth the high standard He calls us to. Verse 48, the final verse says:    ”Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”   Hebrews 10:10-14  says:     By this will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all… He, having offered one sacrifice for sins for all time, sat down at the right hand of God, ¹³ waiting from that time onward until His enemies be made a footstool for His feet. ¹⁴ For by one offering He has perfected for all time those who are sanctified.

The high standard Jesus calls us to is only possible in and through Him. We accomplish it only by:    fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Thank You heavenly Father for Your great plan of redemption which is seen throughout scripture. Thank You Lord Jesus Christ, my savior and Redeemer, the one who redeems me from all my sin, reconciles me to God and restores to me all that was lost to sin. Thank You precious Holy Spirit for convicting me when I have sinned so that I might confess, repent and so be made perfect in Christ.      Amen.