A Prayer
of JesusI thank thee, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that thou hast hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to babes; yea, Father, for such was thy gracious will.
ON MARRIAGE, DIVORCE,
FAMILY AND ADULTERYFROM THE SYNOPTIC GOSPELS
ADULTERY
Matthew 527 You have heard that it was said, 'You shall not commit adultery.'
28 But I say to you that every one who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.
29 If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and throw it away; it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into hell.
30 And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away; it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body go into hell.
DIVORCE, REMARRIAGE AND ADULTERY
Matthew 5 31 It was also said, 'Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.'
32 But I say to you that every one who divorces his wife, except on the ground of unchastity, makes her an adulteress; and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.
Mark 10
11 And he said to them, "Whoever divorces his wife and marries another, commits adultery against her;
12 and if she divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery."Luke 16
18 Every one who divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery, and he who marries a woman divorced from her husband commits adultery.
FAMILY AND DISCIPLESHIP
Matthew 10 34 Do not think that I have come to bring peace on earth; I have not come to bring peace, but a sword.
35 For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law;
36 and a man's foes will be those of his own household.
37 He who loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; and he who loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me;
38 and he who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me.
39 He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for my sake will find it.Luke 12 51 Do you think that I have come to give peace on earth? No, I tell you, but rather division;
52 for henceforth in one house there will be five divided, three against two and two against three;
53 they will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against her mother, mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.Luke 14
26 If any one comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple.
27 Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me, cannot be my disciple.
JESUS' TRUE FAMILY
Matthew 12 46 While he was still speaking to the people, behold, his mother and his brothers stood outside, asking to speak to him.
47
48 But he replied to the man who told him, "Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?"
49 And stretching out his hand toward his disciples, he said, "Here are my mother and my brothers!
50 For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother, and sister, and mother."Mark 3 31 And his mother and his brothers came; and standing outside they sent to him and called him.
32 And a crowd was sitting about him; and they said to him, "Your mother and your brothers are outside, asking for you."
33 And he replied, "Who are my mother and my brothers?"
34 And looking around on those who sat about him, he said, "Here are my mother and my brothers!
35 Whoever does the will of God is my brother, and sister, and mother."Luke 8 19 Then his mother and his brothers came to him, but they could not reach him for the crowd.
20 And he was told, "Your mother and your brothers are standing outside, desiring to see you."
21 But he said to them, "My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and do it."
FAMILY RESPONSIBILITY AND DISCIPLESHIP
Matthew 8 21 Another of the disciples said to him, "Lord, let me first go and bury my father."
22 But Jesus said to him, "Follow me, and leave the dead to bury their own dead."
Luke 9 59 To another he said, "Follow me." But he said, "Lord, let me first go and bury my father."
60 But he said to him, "Leave the dead to bury their own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God."
61 Another said, "I will follow you, Lord; but let me first say farewell to those at my home."
62 Jesus said to him, "No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God."
JESUS' FATHER
Matthew 11 27 All things have been delivered to me by my Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and any one to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.
Luke 10 22 All things have been delivered to me by my Father; and no one knows who the Son is except the Father, or who the Father is except the Son and any one to whom the Son chooses to reveal him."
FATHERS AND CHILDREN
Matthew 7 7 Ask, and it will be given you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.
8 For every one who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.
9 Or what man of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone?10 Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent?
11 If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!Luke 11 9 And I tell you, Ask, and it will be given you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.
10 For every one who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.
11 What father among you, if his son asks for a fish, will instead of a fish give him a serpent;
12 or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion?
13 If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!
THE BLESSEDNESS OF JESUS' MOTHER Luke 11
27 As he said this, a woman in the crowd raised her voice and said to him, "Blessed is the womb that bore you, and the breasts that you sucked!"
28 But he said, "Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and keep it!"
IS IT LAWFUL TO DIVORCE?
Matthew 19 1 Now when Jesus had finished these sayings, he went away from Galilee and entered the region of Judea beyond the Jordan;
2 and large crowds followed him, and he healed them there.
3 And Pharisees came up to him and tested him by asking, "Is it lawful to divorce one's wife for any cause?"
4 He answered, "Have you not read that he who made them from the beginning made them male and female,
5 and said, 'For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh'?
6 So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man put asunder."7 They said to him, "Why then did Moses command one to give a certificate of divorce, and to put her away?"
8 He said to them, "For your hardness of heart Moses allowed you to divorce your wives,
but from the beginning it was not so.
9 And I say to you: whoever divorces his wife, except for unchastity, and marries another, commits adultery."
10 The disciples said to him, "If such is the case of a man with his wife, it is not expedient to marry."
11 But he said to them, "Not all men can receive this saying, but only those to whom it is given.
12 For there are eunuchs who have been so from birth, and there are eunuchs who have been made eunuchs by men, and there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. He who is able to receive this, let him receive it."Mark 10 1 And he left there and went to the region of Judea and beyond the Jordan, and crowds gathered to him again; and again, as his custom was, he taught them.
2 And Pharisees came up and in order to test him asked, "Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?"
7 'For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife,
8 and the two shall become one flesh.' So they are no longer two but one flesh.
9 What therefore God has joined together, let not man put asunder."
3 He answered them, "What did Moses command you?"
4 They said, "Moses allowed a man to write a certificate of divorce, and to put her away."
5 But Jesus said to them, "For your hardness of heart he wrote you this commandment.
6 But from the beginning of creation, 'God made them male and female.'
10 And in the house the disciples asked him again about this matter.
11 And he said to them, "Whoever divorces his wife and marries another, commits adultery against her;
12 and if she divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery."
FORSAKING ONE'S FAMILY
Matthew 19 27 Then Peter said in reply, "Lo, we have left everything and followed you. What then shall we have?"
28 Jesus said to them, "Truly, I say to you, in the new world, when the Son of man shall sit on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.
29 And every one who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands, for my name's sake,will receive a hundredfold, and inherit eternal life.
30 But many that are first will be last, and the last first.
Mark 10 28 Peter began to say to him, "Lo, we have left everything and followed you."
29 Jesus said,
"Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands, for my sake and for the gospel,
30 who will not receive a hundredfold now in this time, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and in the age to come eternal life.
31 But many that are first will be last, and the last first."Luke 18 28 And Peter said, "Lo, we have left our homes and followed you."
29 And he said to them,
"Truly, I say to you, there is no man who has left house or wife or brothers or parents or children, for the sake of the kingdom of God,
30 who will not receive manifold more in this time, and in the age to come eternal life."
MARRIAGE AND THE RESURRECTION
Matthew 22 23 The same day Sad'ducees came to him, who say that there is no resurrection; and they asked him a question,
24 saying, "Teacher, Moses said, 'If a man dies, having no children, his brother must marry the widow, and raise up children for his brother.'
25 Now there were seven brothers among us; the first married, and died, and having no children left his wife to his brother.
26 So too the second and third, down to the seventh.
27 After them all, the woman died.
28 In the resurrection, therefore, to which of the seven will she be wife? For they all had her."
29 But Jesus answered them, "You are wrong, because you know neither the scriptures nor the power of God.
30 For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven.
31 And as for the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was said to you by God,
32 'I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob'?He is not God of the dead, but of the living."
33 And when the crowd heard it, they were astonished at his teaching.
Mark 12 18 And Sad'ducees came to him, who say that there is no resurrection; and they asked him a question, saying,
19 "Teacher, Moses wrote for us that if a man's brother dies and leaves a wife, but leaves no child, the man must take the wife, and raise up children for his brother.
20 There were seven brothers; the first took a wife, and when he died left no children;21 and the second took her, and died, leaving no children; and the third likewise;
22 and the seven left no children. Last of all the woman also died.
23 In the resurrection whose wife will she be? For the seven had her as wife."24 Jesus said to them, "Is not this why you are wrong, that you know neither the scriptures nor the power of God?
25 For when they rise from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven.
26 And as for the dead being raised, have you not read in the book of Moses, in the passage about the bush, how God said to him, 'I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob'?
27 He is not God of the dead, but of the living; you are quite wrong."Luke 20 27 There came to him some Sadducees, those who say that there is no resurrection,
28 and they asked him a question, saying, "Teacher, Moses wrote for us that if a man's brother dies, having a wife but no children, the man must take the wife and raise up children for his brother.
29 Now there were seven brothers; the first took a wife, and died without children;30 and the second
31 and the third took her,
and likewise all seven left no children and died.
32 Afterward the woman also died.
33 In the resurrection, therefore, whose wife will the woman be? For the seven had her as wife."
34 And Jesus said to them, "The sons of this age marry and are given in marriage;
35 but those who are accounted worthy to attain to that age and to the resurrection from the dead neither marry nor are given in marriage,
36 for they cannot die any more, because they are equal to angels and are sons of God, being sons of the resurrection.
37 But that the dead are raised, even Moses showed, in the passage about the bush, where he calls the Lord the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.38 Now he is not God of the dead, but of the living; for all live to him."
39 And some of the scribes answered, "Teacher, you have spoken well."
40 For they no longer dared to ask him any question.
IS THE CHRIST THE SON OF DAVID?
Matthew 22 41 Now while the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them a question,
42 saying, "What do you think of the Christ? Whose son is he?" They said to him, "The son of David."
43 He said to them, "How is it then that David, inspired by the Spirit, calls him Lord, saying,
44 'The Lord said to my Lord, Sit at my right hand, till I put thy enemies under thy feet'?
45 If David thus calls him Lord, how is he his son?"
46 And no one was able to answer him a word, nor from that day did any one dare to ask him any more questions.Mark 12 35 And as Jesus taught in the temple,
he said, "How can the scribes say that the Christ is the son of David?
36 David himself, inspired by the Holy Spirit, declared,
'The Lord said to my Lord, Sit at my right hand, till I put thy enemies under thy feet.'
37 David himself calls him Lord; so how is he his son?" And the great throng heard him gladly.
Luke 20
41 But he said to them, "How can they say that the Christ is David's son?
42 For David himself says in the Book of Psalms,
'The Lord said to my Lord, Sit at my right hand,
43 till I make thy enemies a stool for thy feet.'
44 David thus calls him Lord; so how is he his son?"
CALL NO MAN FATHER
Matthew 23 9 And call no man your father on earth, for you have one Father, who is in heaven.
THE PROPHECY OF DIVIDED FAMILIES
Matthew 10 21 Brother will deliver up brother to death, and the father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death;
Matthew 24
9 "Then they will deliver you up to tribulation, and put you to death; and you will be hated by all nations for my name's sake.
Mark 13 12 And brother will deliver up brother to death, and the father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death;
13 and you will be hated by all for my name's sake. But he who endures to the end will be saved.
Luke 21 16 You will be delivered up even by parents and brothers and kinsmen and friends, and some of you they will put to death;
17 you will be hated by all for my name's sake.
FROM THE FOURTH GOSPEL JESUS AND HIS MOTHER
John 2 1 On the third day there was a marriage at Cana in Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there;
2 Jesus also was invited to the marriage, with his disciples.
3 When the wine failed, the mother of Jesus said to him, "They have no wine."
4 And Jesus said to her, "O woman, what have you to do with me? My hour has not yet come."
5 His mother said to the servants, "Do whatever he tells you."
6 Now six stone jars were standing there, for the Jewish rites of purification, each holding twenty or thirty gallons.
7 Jesus said to them, "Fill the jars with water." And they filled them up to the brim.
8 He said to them, "Now draw some out, and take it to the steward of the feast." So they took it.
9 When the steward of the feast tasted the water now become wine, and did not know where it came from (though the servants who had drawn the water knew), the steward of the feast called the bridegroom
10 and said to him, "Every man serves the good wine first; and when men have drunk freely, then the poor wine; but you have kept the good wine until now."
JESUS AND HIS BROTHERS
John 7 1 After this Jesus went about in Galilee; he would not go about in Judea, because the Jews sought to kill him.
2 Now the Jews' feast of Tabernacles was at hand.
3 So his brothers said to him, "Leave here and go to Judea, that your disciples may see the works you are doing.
4 For no man works in secret if he seeks to be known openly. If you do these things, show yourself to the world."
5 For even his brothers did not believe in him.
6 Jesus said to them, "My time has not yet come, but your time is always here.
7 The world cannot hate you, but it hates me because I testify of it that its works are evil.
8 Go to the feast yourselves; I am not going up to this feast, for my time has not yet fully come."
9 So saying, he remained in Galilee.
10 But after his brothers had gone up to the feast, then he also went up, not publicly but in private.
JESUS, HIS FATHER AND THE FATHER OF HIS ENEMIES
John 8 38 I speak of what I have seen with my Father, and you do what you have heard from your father."
39 They answered him, "Abraham is our father." Jesus said to them, "If you were Abraham's children, you would do what Abraham did,
40 but now you seek to kill me, a man who has told you the truth which I heard from God; this is not what Abraham did.
41 You do what your father did." They said to him, "We were not born of fornication; we have one Father, even God."
42 Jesus said to them, "If God were your Father, you would love me, for I proceeded and came forth from God; I came not of my own accord, but he sent me.
43 Why do you not understand what I say? It is because you cannot bear to hear my word.
44 You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father's desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and has nothing to do with the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks according to his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies.
45 But, because I tell the truth, you do not believe me.
46 Which of you convicts me of sin? If I tell the truth, why do you not believe me?
47 He who is of God hears the words of God; the reason why you do not hear them is that you are not of God."
48 The Jews answered him, "Are we not right in saying that you are a Samaritan and have a demon?"
49 Jesus answered, "I have not a demon; but I honor my Father, and you dishonor me.
50 Yet I do not seek my own glory; there is One who seeks it and he will be the judge.
51 Truly, truly, I say to you, if any one keeps my word, he will never see death."
52 The Jews said to him, "Now we know that you have a demon. Abraham died, as did the prophets; and you say, 'If any one keeps my word, he will never taste death.'
53 Are you greater than our father Abraham, who died? And the prophets died! Who do you claim to be?"
54 Jesus answered, "If I glorify myself, my glory is nothing; it is my Father who glorifies me, of whom you say that he is your God.
55 But you have not known him; I know him. If I said, I do not know him, I should be a liar like you; but I do know him and I keep his word.
56 Your father Abraham rejoiced that he was to see my day; he saw it and was glad."
57 The Jews then said to him, "You are not yet fifty years old, and have you seen Abraham?"
58 Jesus said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am."
JESUS AND HIS MOTHER
John 19 25 So the soldiers did this. But standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother, and his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Mag'dalene.
26 When Jesus saw his mother, and the disciple whom he loved standing near, he said to his mother, "Woman, behold, your son!"
27 Then he said to the disciple, "Behold, your mother!" And from that hour the disciple took her to his own home.
28 After this Jesus, knowing that all was now finished, said (to fulfil the scripture), "I thirst."
29 A bowl full of vinegar stood there; so they put a sponge full of the vinegar on hyssop and held it to his mouth.
30 When Jesus had received the vinegar, he said, "It is finished"; and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.Return to Logos List e-mail Return Home Page