In previous blog posts, I began telling the story of my brain tumor and the depression which followed it. The second article in the series described my faith in God which sustained me through both trials.
Having recently started a word-by-word translation of Martin Luther’s Bible from German to English, I introduced the project and Matthew Chapter 1. Later I wrote commentary on Chapter 1, another article, and commentary on Chapter 2; my church background and theological training is added to my Patch bio.
Skipping Ahead
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Since there is confusion about what the Bible teaches about marriage, I’m posting my translation of Chapter 19, where Jesus, the Son of God, who was with the Holy Spirit and the Father in the beginning, gives positive instructions for marriage.
The apostle Paul referenced the same positive teaching from Genesis in his letter to the church at Ephesus, now part of modern Turkey.
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Well-known negative references to homosexual sex and other sexual immorality such as premarital sex and adultery can be found in Paul’s letters to churches at Rome (Romans 1:18-32) and Corinth (1 Corinthians 6:9-11).
1 Corinthians 5 describes his call for church discipline for open incest in the church.
Who speaks for God on issues?
Christians believe that God Himself (Jesus as part of the Trinity) and His Apostles (sent ones) speak for Him. The church received the New Testament books and has considered them its rule for faith and practice for nearly the last 2000 years.
The Bible is unitary: while parts of the Old Testament have been superseded by the New Covenant (the temple sacrifices and parts of the ceremonial law), Jesus came to fulfill it, not abolish it. The moral Law as contained in the Old Testament remains: the Sermon on the Mount makes this clear (Matthew 5-7).
Other human beings can have opinions and interpretations, but if they contradict the clear teaching of Scripture, they are considered out of bounds, to be ignored or declared heresy. This happened in early church councils such as Nicea regarding the person and work of Jesus.
Christians also believe that God does not change – the immutability of God. New revelations must be tested against what has previously been revealed in Scripture and discarded if it doesn’t match.
Apologetics – Does Jesus Speak for God?
Some helpful questions are:
1. Did Jesus really live and die in Palestine? Yes, an undisputed historical fact.
2. Did He claim to be God? Yes, in many places. That’s why the religious leaders wanted to kill him. They did not oppose his moral teaching, which most everyone likes.
3. Did Jesus perform many miracles that proved He was indeed God, including being raised from the dead? Yes, his many miracles and the empty tomb prove it, and so does the testimony of His many followers who saw Him after the resurrection, who would rather die that recant. One does not die for a lie.
4. Does God therefore have authority over the lives of all people? (whether they recognize it or not) Yes. They will bow to Him now or later, according to the Bible (Philippians 2:5-11)
5. Do followers of Christ have the right to change the rules in the church if the larger society decides to? NO.
6. Are they obligated to vote against changing the rules in civil society? (This is a matter of individual conscience – mine says yes.)
Here is my word-by-word English translation from Martin Luther’s translation of the original Greek text, which has many well-attested manuscripts dating back to near the time of its original writing.
The first section deals with the issue of marriage. I’ll write a commentary on it later. For now, people can read what Jesus actually said on this subject instead of arguing with each other about interpretations.
The Gospel According to Matthew, Chapter 19
About marriage, divorce & single life; the blessing of the children, the danger of wealth; the wages of following
Word-by-word English translation from Martin Luther’s German, revised by the German Bible Society 1984
About Marriage, Divorce, Single Life
And it came to pass, when Jesus had finished these talks, He set out from Galilee and came into the region of Judea across the Jordan; and a great crowd followed after Him, and He healed them there.
Then Pharisees walked up to Him and tested Him and said, “Is it allowed that a man can divorce from his wife for any reason?”
But He answered and said, “Have you not read: He that created the human beings in the beginning made them as man and wife and said, (1. Moses 2:24) ‘Therefore will a man leave father and mother and fasten to his wife, and the two will become one flesh?’
So now they are no longer two, but one flesh.[i] What now God has joined together, that should the mortal not separate!”
Then they asked, “Why then did Moses command to give her a bill of divorce and separate himself from her?”
He said to them, “Moses allowed you to divorce yourselves from your wives because of the hardness of your hearts, but from the beginning it was not to be so.
But I say to you: whoever divorces himself from his wife, except because of adultery, and marries another, he breaks the marriage.”
Then His disciples said to Him, “If the circumstance of a man with his wife stands so, then it is not good to marry.”
However, he said to them, “Not all will comprehend this saying, but rather only those to whom it has been given.
For some are unfit for marriage from birth on; others are made incapable of marriage by people, and still others have made themselves unable to do marriage for the sake of the Heavenly Kingdom. Whoever can grasp it, he will understand it!”
The Blessing of the Children
Then children were brought to Him, so that He could lay The Hands on them and pray. But the disciples rebuked them.
But Jesus said, “Let the children come to Me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the Heavenly Kingdom.”
And He laid The Hands on them and moved farther from there.
The Risk of Riches
And see, one walked up to Him and asked, “Master, what good should I do, so that I have the eternal life?”
But He said to him, “Why do you ask Me regarding what is good? Only One is good. But if you want to enter life, then keep the Commandments.
Then he asked Him, “Which?” But Jesus answered him, “You shall not murder; you shall not commit adultery; you shall not steal; you shall not give false evidence; honor father and mother (2. Moses 20:12-16), and “you shall love your neighbor as yourself (3. Moses 19:18).”
Then the young man said to Him, “All those I have observed; what more do I lack?”
Jesus answered him, “If you want to be perfect, then go there, sell what you have and give it to the poor; then you will have a treasure in Heaven. And come and follow after me!”
When the young man heard the Word, he went away troubled, for he had a great deal of goods.
However, Jesus said to His disciples, “Truly, I say to you: a rich man will come with difficulty into the Heavenly Kingdom. And further I say to you: it is easier that a camel goes through the eye of a needle than that a wealthy man comes into the Kingdom of God.”
When His disciples heard that, they were greatly shocked and said, “Yes, who then can become blessed?”
But Jesus looked at them and said to them, “With people it is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”
The Wages of Following
Then Peter began and said to Him, “See, we have left everything and have followed You; what will be given to us for that?”
However, Jesus said to them, “Truly, I tell you: you who have followed Me will at the regeneration, when the Son of Man will sit on the throne of His glory, also sit on twelve thrones and judge the twelve tribes of Israel.
And whoever leaves houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or fields for the sake of My Name, he will receive it a hundredfold and inherit eternal life. But many who are the first will be the last, and the last will be the first.”
[i] The Greek word that Luther translated word by word with “Fleisch,” has a considerably greater breadth of meaning than its German equivalent. First of all, “Fleisch” indicates the whole person as body-soul union. So are man and woman in their union “one flesh” (and not only one body; 1. Moses 2:24); “all flesh” means: all people (Joel 3:1). In the metaphorical sense it indicates:1. The domain of the perishable, human and material, that is subdued in transitoriness (for example, Isaiah 40:5-6), etc. (I’ve only included the part of the “flesh” footnote relevant to this passage.)
Translator’s notes and headings are in italics, while headings and bold text are in regular font as they appeared in the 1984 German Bible Society edition. Verse numbers and most cross references from the German version have been omitted for readability. Permission is granted to copy this freely for individual or group Bible studies as long as passages are quoted in their entirety and proper attribution is given. Copyright Dale Murrish 2013.
