Everyone
had a trick question by which they wanted to trap Jesus. For some it was paying
taxes to Caesar. For others it was marriage and the resurrection. Here, for the
Pharisees, it is marriage and divorce. And part of the trap of this question
appears to be an apparent contradiction in the law. Jesus begins by getting
them to show that they knew what the Word said. He then points out that the
hardness of heart and not marriage is a problem. Divorce is a concession to the
evil of man to prevent man from propagating a greater evil. Divorce is an evil,
but it is not the worst evil that can happen. For example, polygamy was an evil
permitted to prevent greater evil.
The
disciples’ questioning of Jesus indicates that this was more than a passing
comment. The call to the highest level of holy living was a challenge to them.
The call to holy living is no stranger to us, but it nevertheless is still a
challenge. What is not a challenge is for the child to trust in the one they
love.
The
Kingdom belongs to people like little children. There is a lot about little
children that is not likeable. Ask any
mom with a child in the “terrible twos”
or the “tantrum threes” But they have this, those they love they trust. The
child with the one they love is completely confident that the one they love
will take care of everything. They have no fear or doubt. That is why the Kingdom
is theirs. Without doubt the one who loves God receives the Kingdom because
they are willing to ask for it. The lack of Kingdom living reveals the presence
of fear and doubt. It is a reflection of
a lack of trust which in turn reflects a lack of love.
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