Matthew 19:1-12

About Conflict and Divorce

2 and large crowds followed Him, and He healed them there.

3 Some Pharisees came to Jesus, testing Him and asking, "Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any reason at all?"

4 And He answered and said, "Have you not read that He who created them from the beginning MADE THEM MALE AND FEMALE,

5 and said, 'FOR THIS REASON A MAN SHALL LEAVE HIS FATHER AND MOTHER AND BE JOINED TO HIS WIFE, AND THE TWO SHALL BECOME ONE FLESH'?

6 "So they are no longer two, but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let no man separate."

7 They said to Him, "Why then did Moses command to GIVE HER A CERTIFICATE OF DIVORCE AND SEND her AWAY?"

8 He said to them, "Because of your hardness of heart Moses permitted you to divorce your wives; but from the beginning it has not been this way.

9 "And I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for immorality, and marries another woman commits adultery."

10 The disciples said to Him, "If the relationship of the man with his wife is like this, it is better not to marry."

11 But He said to them, "Not all men can accept this statement, but only those to whom it has been given.

12 "For there are eunuchs who were born that way from their mother's womb; and there are eunuchs who were made eunuchs by men; and there are also eunuchs who made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. He who is able to accept this, let him accept it."

What Jesus Says about Divorce

The Pharisees were up to their old tricks again, with the intent of trapping Jesus just as John the Baptist was imprisoned and finally put to death partially on this same issue. This was just another opening to try to get Jesus involved in a controversial subject matter, marriage an divorce.

There were two factions in the group. One pretty much accepted divorce for any and all reasons while the other adhered to reasons of adultery or other moral reasons.

 

But, as always, Jesus took their question and answered in a way they did not expect. He quoted Scripture from Deuteronomy 24 which states the importance of marriage and that it should be permanent. He added it was the hard hearts of the people leading Moses to make such a restrictive window for divorce.

When we dig deeper, it all makes perfect sense. Women of Moses' day were not self-sufficient and many times had no way to make a living other than begging or prostitution so the law was a civil one offered in protection for the wives. Today, we would call this basic civil rights but this was an extremely radical idea in Old Testament times.

When a man divorced his wife, he had to write a letter of divorce which sometimes gave him second thoughts.

Jesus concentrated more on keeping a marriage together rather than emphasizing rules for divorce.

Bottom line? God meant for marriage to be permanent, not done on a whim. He expects couples to work hard at keeping their marriage together until all avenues have been explored. Husbands and wives should try to reconcile differences before hurrying into divorce court at the first sign of trouble.

If your marriage is on a rocky path right now, take a step back and find what you and your spouse can do besides separation.

Then, pray! You might be surprised at the answer you'll receive.

 

 

Love in Christ

- Bob

Matthew 18:21-35 - All about Forgiveness - Jesus talks about how many times we should forgive others who have wronged us. Peter asked Him a question and Christ answered with the parable of the unforgiving debtor.