In Matthew 19, Jesus is questioned about the legitimacy of divorce. The question came from the Pharisees who had pursued him to an isolated region on the other side of the Jordan River. They interrupted His work there: Large crowds followed him and he healed them there. [v.2] These Pharisees came to test him. [v.3] Their question was carefully worded: Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any and every reason? [v.3]
I love Jesus' response:
Haven't you read...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. Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate." [vs.4-6]
OBSERVATIONS:
- There is a gentle chiding in the words, Haven't you read?. These are religious leaders! Jesus knew that they were familiar with these verses. His implication seems to be that they read these verses without really understanding them.
