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,’[a] 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’[b]? 6 So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one 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 sexual immorality, and marries another woman commits adultery.”
– Matthew 19
Jesus was always being tested. The pharisee’s tried to trap Jesus on many occasions. Often times, they would try to trap Jesus with something that held extreme importance to the daily life of both His followers and the surrounding communities. Today, we see the pharisees try to trap Jesus on the topic of divorce.
It is important to note that the Pharisees did not actually care about this topic. So Jesus’ response needs to be taken with a perspective that understands these leaders were looking to harm Jesus. Jesus understands that marriage is difficult. Several times in scripture Christ’s relationship with the church to a marriage. We know that relationship has not always been “easy.” One thing that has always remained between Jesus and the church is devout loyalty and unity. Unity is always important to Jesus.
This message of unity is what he sends to the pharisees about divorce when he quotes an OT scripture “4 “Haven’t you read,” he replied, “that at the beginning the Creator ‘made them male and female,’[a] 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’[b]? 6 So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.”
Marriage is unity. Let no man separate what has been unified through God. We live in a consumer society. Want something new? Buy it. Something broken? Return it. Jesus today reminds us that when it comes to our marriage we are not consumers. Don’t treat your spouse as you would Walmart. If something is broken, work to fix it. If you want something new, try something new together. Do not let our consumer mindset separate you from something so unified and pure.
Pastor Mat