Peter has similar advice to familial relations as did Paul in Ephesians 5:22 et seq. Peter advises marriage harmony, women "submit" to husbands and husbands respect their wives.
This is one of those statements from the Bible that gets thrown around a lot, both as a reason to subjugate women in marriages and to dispense with the advice found in the Bible.
For starters, 'divorcing' the husband's corollary duty to respect the wife is actually un-Biblical. Both Peter and Paul discuss reciprocal duties in the marriage and these should be viewed together.
Finding a proper application to this in the modern sense is difficult since Peter and Paul both spoke to cities in ancient Rome. At the time, women were not even allowed to testify in court. Maybe we should also remind ourselves at this point that Paul said that people should only get married if they burn. 1 Corinthians 7.
When Peter speaks to women in particular, his emphasis is on the importance of inner beauty. This inner beauty is a "gentle and quiet spirit". In other words, be nice to people and you will always be beautiful. If we look at the modern application through this principle, I think it reinforces the expectation of harmony in the marriage.
An open question is if a husband does not respect the wife, is there no longer a reciprocal duty?
Showing posts with label Jesus on Marriage. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Jesus on Marriage. Show all posts
Monday, June 3, 2013
Thursday, November 1, 2012
Til death do us part (Mark 12:18-27; Matthew 22:23-33; Luke 20:27-40)
The Sadducees approach Jesus with a question about the afterlife. They do not believe in the resurrection. So, the question may have been a trap or a genuine curiosity. At face value, the question is appropriate.
They ask whether the marriage commitment extend to the afterlife. They use an example of a man with six brothers each marrying the same woman after the death of each man. The example is a little preposterous, which may indicate satire in the question. However, the preposterous nature of the question does not offend me because law school uses them to illustrate precise principles.
Jesus says that in the resurrection, the men and women will not marry, but be the like angels. Angels do not marry, so the humans in the resurrection will not.
Jesus goes one step further and addresses their skepticism of the resurrection. He points out that God called himself the God of living while talking with Moses. in particular, God said that he was the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. So, in the context, Jesus is saying that Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are still alive, at least in some fashion.
The question remains is what exactly did Jesus mean that essentially these Patriarchs are still alive? Note, this question is with regard to the "resurrection", which itself is a little hard to pin down. Does mean that the souls Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are alive in the same manner as the way Moses and Elijah appeared with Jesus?
It is also interesting that Abraham also showed up in the parable of Lazarus and the rich man. Perhaps Jesus was saying that the parable should be read more literally.
These questions remain.
Whether or not their motives were pure, the question asked by the Sadducees was a fair one and if I had been there, I would have asked Jesus what he was talking.
They ask whether the marriage commitment extend to the afterlife. They use an example of a man with six brothers each marrying the same woman after the death of each man. The example is a little preposterous, which may indicate satire in the question. However, the preposterous nature of the question does not offend me because law school uses them to illustrate precise principles.
Jesus says that in the resurrection, the men and women will not marry, but be the like angels. Angels do not marry, so the humans in the resurrection will not.
Jesus goes one step further and addresses their skepticism of the resurrection. He points out that God called himself the God of living while talking with Moses. in particular, God said that he was the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. So, in the context, Jesus is saying that Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are still alive, at least in some fashion.
The question remains is what exactly did Jesus mean that essentially these Patriarchs are still alive? Note, this question is with regard to the "resurrection", which itself is a little hard to pin down. Does mean that the souls Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are alive in the same manner as the way Moses and Elijah appeared with Jesus?
It is also interesting that Abraham also showed up in the parable of Lazarus and the rich man. Perhaps Jesus was saying that the parable should be read more literally.
These questions remain.
Whether or not their motives were pure, the question asked by the Sadducees was a fair one and if I had been there, I would have asked Jesus what he was talking.
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