Summary
In Matthew 5, Jesus says, “Everyone who looks at a woman [gynaika] with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out… better to lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into Gehenna.”
Then he says, “Whoever divorces his wife [gynaika]… except on the ground of [porneia], commits adultery, and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.” Yikes!
Strictly speaking, “porneia” is an attempt to buy or sell “love,” but was also used to describe any sexual communion outside of marriage.
It refers to any sexual communion not protected by a covenant of mutual, and complete self-sacrifice; a covenant of absolute grace.
Grace is the opposite of porneia; there is no quid pro quo in a communion of grace.
The sacrament of communion in the covenant of marriage takes two bodies and makes them one—one flesh.
“What God has joined together, let no man tear asunder,” said Jesus.
It would be easy to conclude that Jesus is saying that all divorce is sin and you must never, ever lust.
But it’s interesting to note that God got a divorce and Jesus “lusted”—not a little, but a lot.
In Luke 22:15, Jesus says to the twelve, “With fervent desire I have desired [literally translated, “in lust, I have lusted”] to eat this Passover meal with you.”
“Epithymia” is translated as “lust,” “covet” or “desire” in most English Bibles.
What makes Jesus’ lust Good, and lusting after your neighbor’s wife evil?
Jesus lusted and God got a divorce, or at least a “certificate of divorce.”
“I sent [Israel] away with a decree of divorce,” says the Lord in Jeremiah 3:8.
God sent Israel away, he sent the first Adam away, he sent Eve away, he casts humanity from the garden, for we all commit porneia—we take love as if it were a commodity, but God is Love; and Love is our “Helper.”
God “divorced,” but he wouldn’t remarry; he wouldn’t give up on humanity.
Jesus is the “Eschatos Adam” come to redeem his whoring bride—us.
He let us break his body, take his blood, and nail him to a tree.
If anyone had an excuse to give up on marriage, it was Jesus.
Maybe the question shouldn’t be whether or not your divorce is justified, but whether or not you want to look like Jesus.
I tell everyone for whom I perform a marriage ceremony: “Marriage is God’s sneaky way to get a person crucified.”
But I also add: “Crucifixion is God’s sneaky way to give a person a new heart.”
And one last thing: “We’re all married.”
“The two shall become one flesh,” wrote Paul, “…and I’m saying that it refers to Christ and the Church.” That’s us, and will be an entire new humanity.
We are Christ’s Body and are joined as his Body in the sacrament of the Covenant of Grace.
“There is one body,” wrote Paul.
“What God has joined together, let no man tear asunder,” said Jesus.
Jesus said, “In the resurrection, they neither marry nor are given in marriage.”
Is that because no one will experience communion in a covenant grace in the Kingdom of Heaven?
Or is it because everyone will experience communion in a covenant of grace in the Kingdom of Heaven, and no one will want a divorce?
Is it because none will be married or because all will be married?
Whatever the case, we will be one body; each member will constantly bleed life into the next because they want to.
Well in Luke 22, just before Jesus breaks the bread and pours the cup, proposing marriage to humanity and ratifying the Eternal Covenant of Grace, he says to the twelve—a picture of his bride, who committed porneia and was sent away into exile—he says, “In lust I have lusted” to eat this meal with you.
It was his own body broken and blood shed, which he was now serving for dinner.
Jesus is not a sadist; he doesn’t enjoy suffering for the sake of suffering.
But maybe he does enjoy giving for the sake of giving; he enjoys loving you.
Acts 20 contains what I call, “the forgottenbeatitude;” I think it sums up all the rest.
Jesus says, “It is more blessed (more happy, more desirable, more lust-able) to give than to receive.”
Do you suppose he actually believes that?
The height of human lust is taking life from another—we call that rape.
The height of Divine desire is giving life to another on a tree in a garden; it’s Love with no porneia; it’s absolute, unadulterated, and limitless Grace; it is “the Good” and “the Life.”
Have you noticed that the most vile deed can also be the very best deed, except for the intentions of the people that commit that deed?
Sex can be rape, or it can be the sacrament of the covenant bearing the fruit of Life.
At communion, we can drink judgment on ourselves or give birth to a new creation.
Perhaps everything we do can be rape or love, desecration or creation, evil or Good, depending on the thoughts and intentions of the heart.
Jesus said, “If your right eye causes you to sin, …if your right hand causes you to sin, better to cut it off than to be thrown into Gehenna with it.”
That’s true, but it’s not your eye or your hand that cause you to sin; it’s your heart.
“Out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, and porneia,” said Jesus.
Jesus is the heart of God hanging on a tree.
Sin is taking it.
Righteousness is that he gives it—he gives himself to you.
When I think Love is a law, I lust for knowledge of the Good to justify myself; I end up crucifying my Lord and producing death in the people around me.
When I see that Love is my Lord who has given himself to me, I begin to receive his life and bear fruit that is Good; I begin to lust for Love; a new heart begins to beat in my chest; I change the channel because I want to.
Rules don’t help. But talking to Jesus, my Helper, does.