Thank you all for joining us in The Bible Challenge this year!  And thanks to Reid Middleton for asking for more information about the passage in the Gospel according to Matthew in which Jesus speaks against divorce.  You can read it here.

 

We heard this passage in February last year, and I addressed it and its context in my sermon.  You can listen again, here

 

 Sermon Player Feb 13 2011 Sermon 

 

The gist is that divorce was incredibly prevalent in the Roman and Jewish cultures at the time, and women were being treated as if they were disposable... A man could divorce a woman just because he didn't like her cooking, or if he found another woman more attractive. And the women had started rebelling, refusing to marry at all. Jesus' words were radical, and could be seen as being in support of women, valuing them as human beings.

 

You can read more about this in Barclay's commentary-- the pastel colored books in our library.

 

This passage is an example of how the church (most denominations now allowing divorce) have interpreted Jesus' words for our contemporary context.  

 

Thanks, again, Reid, for your query, and to all of you for engaging this journey!

 

Peace,

Paige