Jesus left Galilee and went to the region of Judea on the other side of the Jordan. Large crowds followed Him, and He healed them there.
Some of the Pharisees came to test Jesus by asking Him if it’s lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any and every reason?
Jesus responded by quoting two different scriptures from Genesis:
“So God created mankind in His image, in the image of God he created them; male and female He created them.”
Genesis 1:27
“This is why a man leaves his father and mother and is united to his wife, and they become one flesh.”
Genesis 2:24
The Pharisees countered by asking Jesus why Moses commanded for a man to give his wife a certificate of divorce and send her on her way.
Jesus said that Moses commanded this because of their hard hearts. It was not this way from the beginning though. Anyone who divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another woman commits adultery.
Jesus’ disciples speak up and say if this is the case, it’s just better not to marry.
Jesus said that not everyone can accept that word. There are some eunuchs who were born that way or made that way by others, and then there are some who choose this for the kingdom of heaven. The ones who can accept this should do so.
There’s a lot to unpack here. What I find the most interesting though is the fact that Jesus again uses scripture to battle against the test of the Pharisees. Every time we see Him questioned, tested, or tempted…He uses the word of God as His defense. We can learn a lot from that. As far as the topic of divorce is concerned, Jesus makes it clear that divorce is not something that should be taken lightly. In fact, apart from breaking the covenant of marriage, it should not happen. Some would debate otherwise. I believe today we see other avenues of covenant breaking…such as abuse. What we see today though are people divorcing just for the sake of divorcing. This should not be. The covenant we made before God should be taken seriously…marriage gives our world a beautiful image of God’s love. What does your marriage reflect to the world around you?
A Journey With Jesus 