When Jesus had finished saying these things, he left Galilee and went into the region of Judea to the other side of the Jordan. Large crowds followed him, and he healed them there.
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?”
“Haven’t you read,” he replied, “that at the beginning the Creator ‘made them male and female, 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’? So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.”
“Why then,” they asked, “did Moses command that a man give his wife a certificate of divorce and send her away?”
Jesus replied, “Moses permitted you to divorce your wives because your hearts were hard. But it was not this way from the beginning. I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another woman commits adultery.”
The disciples said to him, “If this is the situation between a husband and wife, it is better not to marry.”
Jesus replied, “Not everyone can accept this word, but only those to whom it has been given. For there are eunuchs who were born that way, and there are eunuchs who have been made eunuchs by others—and there are those who choose to live like eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. The one who can accept this should accept it.”
We live in a time when the majority of marriages end in divorce; and the statistics in the church among Believers are almost exactly the same as among those who are not Believers. In Jesus' day, the custom was that if a man was displeased with his wife, he could simply write her a certificate of divorce and send her packing. Simple and easy -unless, of course, you were the woman. In a male dominated society where women were considered property, life was difficult for a single woman, and doubly difficult for a divorced woman.
The Pharisees asked Jesus this question, not because they wanted to know or understand the heart of God; rather, they were attempting to get Jesus to disagree with the Law of Moses. Jesus obliged them. He told them exactly what God thinks of divorce. And here is the reality for us as well: God did not change His mind. What He thought of divorce then is what He thinks of divorce now.
God does not like divorce. Among Believers who honestly want to please God, divorce is not an option. I understand that this is a hard word; marriage is hard work and relationships are complicated. Jesus also knew that this is a hard word. He even says that He knows not everyone can accept it. And He uses an illustration about eunuchs to acknowledge that relationships are complicated and there are all sorts of circumstances. Some eunuchs were born that way, some did it to themselves and some had it forced upon them. When marriages are impossibly broken, there are also all sorts of reasons and circumstances -some we bring on ourselves, and some are forced upon us.
I think Jesus is trying to show us that this is not meant to be a legalistic burden that we lay on divorced people -this is not supposed to produce judgment and condemnation. Yet the fact remains: God hates divorce. Among Believers who want to please God, divorce is not an option. This is God's heart. Those who can accept this word should accept it.
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