What does fishing have to do with the difference between marriage and parenting? A lot, says Dr. Paul Pettit.

 

People are confused about Jesus’ teaching on marriage

Reading online comments regarding Jesus and marriage fascinates me. Here is a random list of some of them:

• “Jesus never got married … so why should I?”
• “Did anyone ever ask Jesus why he never had a wife?”
• “Could it be true that Jesus married, yet it was not recorded in the Scriptures?”
• “Jesus never said anything about homosexuality or gay marriage.”
• “If Jesus is the model, why didn’t he marry?”

These comments illustrate the confusion people have about Jesus and marriage. But one thing is clear, Jesus emphasized the permanence of marriage. We see this emphasis in Jesus’ debate with the Pharisees, who fiercely opposed him.

This dramatic conflict appears early in Mark and builds throughout the Gospel as the leaders of the Jewish religion, the Pharisees, continually work to test or trap Jesus to discredit him and his message. Mark 10 records one of these trap questions. Some well-known Jewish rabbis taught it was permissible to divorce. Others held it was forbidden, except for certain circumstances. The Pharisees wanted to pin Jesus down, forcing him to endorse the teaching of one popular rabbi over another. Jesus did not take their bait!

Even though the Pharisees set their trap with a popular, cultural debate, Jesus referred them back to ... click hear to read article