"Furthermore it has been said, 'Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.' But I say to you that whoever divorces his wife for any reason except sexual immorality causes her to commit adultery; and whoever marries a woman who is divorced commits adultery.”
Matthew 5:31-32
What did Jesus say about marriage and divorce in Matthew 19:3-9?
Matthew 19:3 The Pharisees also came to Him, testing Him, and saying to Him, "Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for just any reason?"
Jesus’ spiritual enemies were not asking because they honestly wanted an answer. They asked “testing Him,” hoping to trip Him up. How can sinful people trip God up? Obviously they can’t!
Their question stemmed from their unbiblical traditions about marriage that allowed a man to divorce his wife for “any reason,” so long as he completed the necessary paperwork.
Add to that, the fact that only the husband (not the wife) had this easy way out!
Matthew 19:4 And He answered and said to them, "Have you not read that He who made them at the beginning 'MADE THEM MALE AND FEMALE,'
Jesus answer begins answering their question with a question, “Have you not read…?” Who even knows what percentage of the problems Christians wrestle with are due to not having read, and therefore not knowing what God’s Word says? I will not pretend to know the actual percentage, but 40 years of experience as a pastor confirms that a super-majority of believers’ problems are due to NOT reading and therefore NOT knowing what God’s Word says. And consider the fact that because of when and where we live, we are surrounded by Bibles.
Which camp are you in? Are you in the camp of those who are reading and learning what God’s Word says in order to know what God says, or are you in the camp of those are clueless because of neglect? (By the way, people in this second category usually do not know how much they do not know!) What do you intend to do about that?
There is a second vitally important talking point in Matthew 19:4. We’ll consider that next time.