Matthew 19:1-12 #1

Matthew 19:1-12 #1
This is one of many times that various sects of the Jews “tested” Jesus with a question. In this case, the test is whether or nor a man could lawfully divorce his wife for any cause. The Pharisees relied heavily on the interpretations of former great teachers of the Law. The variations between rabbinical teachings were a cause for confusion among the people. Which view was true? In the case of divorce, there were two primary schools of thought. Rabbi Shammai taught that sexual immorality was the only cause for divorce. Rabbi Hillel said that virtually anything that became a problem of shame to a husband could be a cause for divorce. The Jews had invented numerous acceptable reasons for divorcing a wife including burning the biscuits or a woman publicly spinning in the street. Obviously, the popular view was the latter. Jesus would not be following the preferred position of the Pharisees nor of the people if he held to the former view.However, Jesus does not refer to any rabbinical teaching, He goes directly to the written word and quotes Genesis 2:24. The answer was simple. God created one man and one woman and the two became one flesh in marriage. If they were one flesh, then they were not lawfully allowed to separate. Notice that the Lord is not referring to severing the marriage bond, He is speaking of the two people separating from one another. Paul repeats the same thing in 1 Corinthians 7:10-11. If God forbids a married couple to separate, divorce for any reason is certainly not lawful.

Let’s make our lesson today from this point. Divorce for any cause is a sin. The Lord will later give sexual immorality as an exception (vs. 9), but divorce in general is a sin. No married person can decide they do not like to be married and separate without sin. No married person can say they aren’t happy and separate without sin. No married person can say he or she just isn’t what I want and separate and not be sinning. Divorce is a sin. In Malachi 2:14-16, we read that God “hates” divorce. Therefore, in a time when the divorce rate has neared 50%, we need to get this squarely in our minds: divorce is sinful!
Berry Kercheville