Danny Taylor: Skinny Guy Thinking it Through

When I was a kid, the phrase, “I swear to God!” was the one thing we could use to validate or refute an argument.  If someone from within our group of friends made some wild claim that was hardly believable, he would verify the truthfulness of his claim by “swearing to God.”   In the fourth grade, a friend once claimed that he had kissed the prettiest girl in the class.  Obviously this was an unbelievable claim.  At nine-years old, none of us would have had the guts even to approach a girl, let alone kiss her.  However, we knew he was serious when he verified his claim by saying, “I swear to God I kissed her!”  Even a fourth-grader wouldn’t swear to God like that if he didn’t actually kiss the girl.   On another occasion, the wimpiest kid in class once made the claim that he beat up a notorious neighborhood bully.  After a series of investigative questions and getting nowhere fast, I asked, “Do you swear to God you did?”  His silenc...

Immediately following his words on adultery and lust, Jesus turns his attention to the more specific issue of divorce.  Before proceeding, I should note two things.  First, this is a difficult issue; I would guess that everyone in America has been touched by divorce, whether a close friend or family member, your parents, or even you yourself.  The reasons for any divorce are usually many and complicated, and I don’t want to make the issue seem simpler than it is: only to consider what Jesus says specifically in Matthew 5.  Second, we should notice that Matthew 5 is not all the Bible has to say about divorce and marriage.  This is not an exhaustive study, just a look at the Sermon on the Mount. Matthew 5:31-32 provides a good starting point for a discussion on divorce.  As before, Jesus opens by saying, You have heard X, but I tell you Y.  Apparently the Pharisees had a very different take on divorce than Jesus.  Their question seems to have...