Divorce
19 When Jesus had finished saying these things, he left Galilee and went into the region of Judea to the other side of the Jordan. 2 Large crowds followed him, and he healed them there.
3 Some Pharisees came to him to test him. They asked, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any and every reason?”
4 “Haven’t you read,” he replied, “that at the beginning the Creator ‘made them male and female,’ 5 and said, ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh’? 6 So they are no longer two, but one. Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate.”
7 “Why then,” they asked, “did Moses command that a man give his wife a certificate of divorce and send her away?”
8 Jesus replied, “Moses permitted you to divorce your wives because your hearts were hard. But it was not this way from the beginning. 9 I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for marital unfaithfulness, and marries another woman commits adultery.”
10 The disciples said to him, “If this is the situation between a husband and wife, it is better not to marry.”
11 Jesus replied, “Not everyone can accept this word, but only those to whom it has been given. 12 For some are eunuchs because they were born that way; others were made that way by men; and others have renounced marriage because of the kingdom of heaven. The one who can accept this should accept it.”
At this time, the Jews were completely abusing Moses' allowance (which the Pharisees twisted to "command" which was patently untrue) of divorce in the case of adultery and changing it to be divorce for any reason.
Jesus completely straightens out their way of thinking by sending them right back to the beginning and telling them their argument was with God, because God was the One who created one male and one female and they were united and became one flesh which no one can separate. That was the divine ideal.
In the case of adultery, the adulterer was to be stoned, make the other person a widow(er) and therefore free to remarry. But God granted mercy on the life of the adulterous person, but also mercy to the victim of an unrepentant adultery by allowing divorce for this reason and this reason only.
This was a shock to the disciples and everyone else who had been taught that divorce was not a big deal - the Talmud has several teachings that even commend those who divorce a "bad wife". Jesus made it clear that this was a lifetime commitment with no way out with the only exception of unrepentant adultery. The disciples reaction almost reminds you of the reaction of most people today - marriage is too big of a commitment, that if there's no way out then we just shouldn't get married.
But Jesus calls them out on that too. It is not easier to not get married. Unless you're born a eunuch (or castrated to become one), or specifically called by God to live a single life. We were created to need and desire the companionship that only marriage can bring. Avoiding marriage because of fear of a lifetime commitment, and a fear of making a mistake in selecting a mate that you'd have to live with forever no matter how bad things may get, is not necessarily easier. If you never marry, you still have the same needs and desires, but with no way to biblically fulfill them.
Marriage is good. Marriage is wonderful. Marriage is created by God to fulfill the companionship needs deep within (almost) all of us. Marriage was created for procreation, pleasure, purity, provision, partnership and finally it's a picture of Christ and His bride the Church.
Marriage is not a "try one on for size and exchange it if it doesn't fit" instituation. The key is making that commitment to the right person. A fellow Christian, yes absolutely, but not just any fellow Christian. You need to marry the right one in the Lord, in the leading of the Lord, in the will of the Lord. (For ex - if you feel called to missions and your prospective mate absolutely does not, you may need to consider if that's the mate God is calling you to have).
Marriage is one woman and one man uniting to become one that you cannot separate until death do you part, with adultery being the only exception. It's a beautiful union, but it's also serious business. A commitment that should in no way be entered into lightly.
Tomorrow's scripture focus: Matthew 19:13-30
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