When a group of Pharisees tried to trap Jesus with questions about marriage and divorce, the Lord simply took them back to the beginning, when God created man and woman, and established marriage.  Jesus completely ignored the law and Jewish tradition by quoting from the book of Genesis, to show them what marriage was truly meant to be:  “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 man not separate.’” (Matt. 19:3-6)   In one paragraph, Jesus had given the Pharisees the true standard for marriage - the way it was in the beginning.  The Lord Jesus quoted it as the measure we should use now.  It is God who joins a couple together, not man.  Therefore, it is not man’s place to separate them either.  However, the Pharisees were not satisfied, and continued to use the law, in an effort to trap him-

“‘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 marital unfaithfulness, and marries another woman commits adultery.’” (Matt. 19:7-9)

This is not difficult to understand.  Jesus had rebuked the Pharisees by telling them they were hard hearted.  Again, the Lord referred to “the beginning” as the standard we should look to, and then went on to tell them that re-marriage after divorce is adultery.

 

Many people find this is difficult to accept, as did the disciples.   “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 some are eunuchs because they were born that way, others were made that way by men, and others have renounced marriage because of the kingdom of heaven. The one who can accept this should accept it.’” (Matt 19:10-12)

Jesus did not argue with the disciples about the difficulties that a married couple might face.  He did not say that marriage was easy.  He simply said that, “the one who can accept this should accept it”, for some men are to remain unmarried.  Not surprisingly, the apostle Paul tells us the same thing.  Paul himself, was unmarried and said, “I wish that all men were as I am.  But each man has his own gift from God; one has this gift, another has that.” (1 Cor. 7:7)    Paul explains why it is preferable to remain unmarried, by telling us, “those who marry will face many troubles in this life and I want to spare you this.” (1 Cor. 7:28)  But then he concedes that “one has this gift, another has that”.  So marriage is a gift from God, but so is remaining unmarried.  Whichever gift a man has, is his gift from God.  Those who marry must realise that marriage is a life long union.  It cannot simply be ended by a divorce.  As Jesus said, “Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate.” (Matt. 19:6)