Matthew 19:7-9

Matthew 19:7-9

They say to Him, “Why therefore did Moses command to give a written document of legal divorce and to release her?”  He says to them, “Because Moses permitted you all to divorce your wife from the hardness of your hearts.  But from the beginning it has not become in this manner.  And I say to you all that whoever should divorce his wife – except for sexual immorality – and he should marry another, he commits adultery.

Thoughts for Today

First Thought:

The Pharisees have a rebuttal.  In fact, this passage reads as though they expected this response from Jesus.  They came knowing what their defense would be.  In other words, they really did come to try and trap Jesus.  They came to get Him to say the answer they expected so that they could lay out their rebuttal.  It is sad when human beings intentionally try and trap one another rather than be up front and honest when conflict arises.

Have you ever experienced someone coming to you to try and trap you when they had something against you?  Why is this an attack against you?  How do such tactics make you feel?

Second Thought:

Furthermore, look at the case that the Pharisees are building.  Jesus told them what God’s original intent was to be.  The Pharisees come back and say, “What about the Law?”  In other words, the Pharisees would rather abide by the Law than by God’s actual design.  Don’t get me wrong.  God’s Law is perfect and does what it is designed to do very well: demonstrate our human failing.  But given the choice between Law and God’s actual design, I’d choose God’s original design for us.  I’d choose God’s actual word and action rather than deferring to Law.  If I have the option of living according to God’s design so that I don’t have a need for the Law to point to something I’ve done wrong, I need to take it!  The Lord knows that I do enough wrong already.

Have you ever attempted to live by the Law instead of just living the way that God designed you to live?  How is that often a frustrating experience?

Third Thought:

This leads us to Jesus’ teaching.  The teaching is simple.  If God joins us together, we should not break it apart.  Of course, Jesus does give us the reality that if one spouse is sexually immoral with regard to the wedding promises, then divorce is allowed.  But in all other circumstances, if we are going to make the promise to love and ask God to bind us together, then we need to take that seriously!  After all, what does it say about our belief in God’s power if we think that there is a situation that God cannot mend so long as both people truly want God’s will?  Yes, the reality is that divorce is just not an option in most circumstances.  A covenant is always a covenant.

How does this teaching make it very important that we discern who we desire to marry with special attention?  Do you think our culture’s attitude on divorce makes having a lasting marriage easier or more difficult?  Why?

Passage for Tomorrow: Matthew 19:10-12