Marriage: Authority Granted by God?

[annsni]

Jesus told the woman to go get her husband.Jesus seems to be saying she had a husband out there somewhere. He then told her she had had five husbands.

Jesus did not say she had been married and divorced 5 times, but that she had had 5 husbands.

Several ways to look at that, I suppose. She had been married and divorced 5 times. That seems unlikely to me, given the culture, and that isnt what Jesus said.

That she had been with 5 men who were the husbands of other women. Could be, i guess, but Jesus indicates the 5 men were each a husband to her, not to other women.

She had no husband and the man she was with was not her husband.

Seems to me Jesus is telling her she does have a husband. The first man she became one flesh with. She then had relations with 5 other men, becoming one flesh - husband and wife- and the last one that she was currently with was not her original husband. The original bond of marriage had been broken by her unfaithfulness.

Jesus is trying to get her to understand the true nature of the marriage relationship and her need to repent for her undaithfulness to her husband.

But Jesus said to her "Go, call your husband, and come here." [Jesus knew she had no husband but wanted her to say so.] The woman answered him, "I have no husband." Jesus said to her, "You are right in saying, 'I have no husband' [so the man she has now is not her husband even though she sleeps with him); for you have had five husbands, and the one you now have is not your husband. What you have said is true."

Jesus knew she wasn't married. She had been married 5 times before and for whatever reason, those marriages are no longer valid (because Jesus uses the past tense here). Now the man she had was not her husband so she was sleeping with him without him becoming her husband by nature of the sexual act. There is more to create a marriage than just a physical act.

 

[SheepWhisperer]

SheepWhisperer: Very interesting the idea that Jesus was telling her that he was the one she could trust. I don't really doubt that.

The thread is considering the concept of marriage (whether you need a pastor to say certain things or is it something more simple) and one flesh in reference to the 1 Cor 6 passage where Paul tells us that if you bond with a prostitute you become one flesh with her. He then quotes that Genesis passage establishing marriage and the one flesh statement.

Thanks for the input

You know, there is a passage in the OT where if a young man was caught sleeping with a "virgin" who was not "espoused" he was required to take her as his wife, so I know full well that God considered them "one flesh". But my answer to your thread was and is: yes, if one is a Christian, they should honor God by having a pastor preside over a "wedding". If you want to do the "common law" deal, that's certainly "one flesh" but a "wedding" with a preacher of the Gospel honors God.

 

[canadyjd]

Ok, I understand your view. However, I don't find any place in scripture that supports your assertion that God is honored when a Pastor presides over a marriage.

I don't have a problem with wedding ceremonies. I don't have a problem with a Pastor presiding over the ceremony.

I don't think Pastors should claim that God has given them authority to proclaim a couple to be husband and wife when scripture doesn't support that claim.

I believe scripture tells us clearly that a man and woman should both be chaste before coming together as one flesh. Once they come together as one flesh, they are married and should remain faithful for life, whether or not a Pastor gives his approval or makes a proclamation.

To claim you are not married until a Pastor says so weakens God's plan for marriage. If you have s*x (even with a prostitute) you become one flesh per the Genesis passage that defines the creation of the institution of marriage.

 

[canadyjd]

...Jesus knew she wasn't married. She had been married 5 times before and for whatever reason, those marriages are no longer valid (because Jesus uses the past tense here). Now the man she had was not her husband so she was sleeping with him without him becoming her husband by nature of the sexual act. There is more to create a marriage than just a physical act.

I have acknowledged the possible interpretation that she had been married five times. I find that unlikely for a couple of reasons. Jesus never uses that language. He doesn't say anything about marriage or divorce. He simply says she has had five husbands. Also, the culture makes it unlikely any woman could have been "married" five times and divorced five times.

If, however, Jesus is referring to her promiscuity, which seems likely to me, it is consistent with Paul's statement in 1 Cor 6 that having s*x, even with a prostitute, results in you becoming one flesh according to the Genesis passage, then it makes sense.

Jesus told her she didn't have a husband but that she had five husbands. The 1st time she had s*x she became one flesh, husband and wife. Each time she had s*x with a different man, she broke the marriage bond to the prior man and entered into a one flesh relationship with another. Thus, she had five husbands.

Concerning the statement that "the one you are with now is not your husband" there could be several interpretations.

First, and most likely in my view, is that she was currently in an adulterous relationship....she was sleeping with a married man....someone else's husband. This explains why she was at the well alone and later in the day than usual. She was avoiding other women.

It could be Jesus was saying the one she was with wasn't her husband as God intended. That is, he wasn't the first she had become one flesh with and should have remained faithful to for life.

I'm sure there are other possibilities.

Thanks for the input.