Matthew 19 : 7 - 12 Jesus Teaching on Divorce continued...

Jesus gives His verdict Concerning Moses and Divorce

Text

Mat 19:7  "Why then," said they, "did Moses command the husband to give her 'a written notice of divorce,' and so put her away?"

Mat 19:8  "Moses," He replied, "in consideration of the hardness of your nature permitted you to put away your wives, but it has not been so from the beginning.

Mat 19:9  And I tell you that whoever divorces his wife for any reason except her unfaithfulness, and marries another woman, commits adultery."

Mat 19:10  "If this is the case with a man in relation to his wife," said the disciples to Him, "it is better not to marry."

Mat 19:11  "It is not every man," He replied, "who can receive this teaching, but only those on whom the grace has been bestowed.

Mat 19:12  There are men who from their birth have been disabled from marriage, others who have been so disabled by men, and others who have disabled themselves for the sake of the Kingdom of the Heavens. He who is able to receive this, let him receive it."

Introduction

We have seen that Jesus is on His way to Jerusalem and Beyond the Jordan He is still teaching and Preparing His Disciples for his soon Departure to heaven.

When asked about Divorce by the Pharisees He pointed them to God’s intention for marriage. He took them back to the Creation History, “He who made them 'MADE THEM' from the beginning 'MALE AND FEMALE,”....

Leon Morris adds; “Our sexuality is of Divine ordinance; it is intended to be exercised in a MONOGAMOUS RELATIONSHIP”

He then quotes Genesis 2:24

Matthew 19 : 5  AND SAID, FOR THIS REASON A MAN SHALL LEAVE HIS FATHER AND MOTHER AND BE UNITED TO HIS WIFE, AND THE TWO SHALL BE ONE'?

Mat 19:5  and said, For this cause a man shall leave father and mother and shall cling to his wife, and the two of them shall be one flesh?  This Key Scripture needs to be read and reread and understood.

Now we continue with Jesus Teaching

Comments

Mat 19:7  "Why then," said they, "did Moses command the husband to give her 'a written notice of divorce,' and so put her away?"

Notes

The Pharisees who were interrogating Jesus wanted to know his Grounds for Divorce. Here they come to him with another question to build on their argument. What Jesus had said previously looked like a prohibition of all Divorce. L.Morris p. 482

Here is their question,” Why then did Moses command the Husband to give her a written notice of Divorce and so put her away?” Actually Moese did not command a written Notice of Divorce so they had added to the Scripture. The certificate of Divorce was in vogue during Jesus’ time. Then she was free to marry another man.

Mat 19:8  "Moses," He replied, "in consideration of the hardness of your nature permitted you to put away your wives, but it has not been so from the beginning.

Notes

Jesus Answer Correcting Them

Moses allowed it because of the Hardness of your Hearts.

Some say “Because you were so unteachable” but it is not their failure to understand but their failure to do what they should have done. GNB “Because you knew so little of the meaning of Love.”

Hardness of your Hearts.

G4641 σκληροκαρδία sklērokardia

Thayer Definition: 1) hardness of heart

It is dangerous to tolerate the least evil, though prudence itself may require it: because toleration, in this case, raises itself insensibly into permission, and permission soon sets up for command. Moses perceived that if divorce were not permitted, in many cases, the women would be exposed to great hardships through the cruelty of their husbands: for so the word σκληροκαρδια, is understood in this place by some learned men. A.C.

Moses, for your hardness of heart. Moses "suffered" some things that were not right on account of "the hardness of your heart," a low state of morals. A people cannot be lifted from moral depravity to a high standard at once. Hence the law permitted some things that were below the perfect standard of Christ. PNT.

Mat 19:9  And I tell you that whoever divorces his wife for any reason except her unfaithfulness, and marries another woman, commits adultery."

Notes

Against the background of Moses provision for Divorce because of the hardness of their hearts Jesus sets His own Verdict. For a woman to divorce his wife and marry another woman means that he commits adultery his second marriage violates the creation ordinance and thus is no marriage. For Jesus Marriage was meant for life. All the Jewish discussion about when a divorce is legal and when it is invalid are wide of the mark. Such discussions proceed out of a view that Marriage is a human device that  can be manipulated and easily set aside. But when we realize that it is God's will and design then we must see Marriage in a different  light.

Mat 19:10  "If this is the case with a man in relation to his wife," said the disciples to Him, "it is better not to marry."

Notes

It is expedient not to marry. Such a rigid marriage law was too high for their loose Jewish ideas. It seemed to them as if it would be impossible to live up to so high an ideal. If a man could not get rid of his wife, if he tired of her, it were better not to marry.PNT

Mat 19:11  "It is not every man," He replied, "who can receive this teaching, but only those on whom the grace has been bestowed.

Notes

To whom it is given. Only those can receive and live up to this rule who are enlightened by Christianity. The less Christianity, the lower the ideal of marriage. This is the rule everywhere

Mat 19:12  There are men who from their birth have been disabled from marriage, others who have been so disabled by men, and others who have disabled themselves for the sake of the Kingdom of the Heavens. He who is able to receive this, let him receive it."

Notes

For there are some eunuchs ... - Jesus proceeds to state that there were some who were able to receive that saying and to remain in an unmarried state. Some were so born; some were made such by the cruelty of men; and there were some who voluntarily abstained from marriage for the kingdom of heaven’s sake - that is, that they might devote themselves entirely to the proper business of religion. Perhaps he refers here to the Essenes, a sect of the Jews (see the notes at Mat_3:7), who held that marriage was unsuitable to their condition; who had no children of their own, but perpetuated their sect by adopting the poor children of others. Eunuchs were employed chiefly in attending on the females or in the harem. They rose often to distinction, and held important offices in the state. Hence, the word is sometimes used with reference to such an officer of state, Act_8:27.Barnes Notes

Conclusion

Against the background of Moses provision for Divorce because of the hardness of their hearts Jesus sets His own Verdict. For a woman to divorce his wife and marry another woman means that he commits adultery his second marriage violates the creation ordinance and thus is no marriage. For Jesus Marriage was meant for life

A study of Matthew 19:3-11 Leave, Cleave, One Flesh

Mat 19:3  Then came some of the Pharisees to Him to put Him to the proof by the question, "Has a man a right to divorce his wife whenever he chooses?"

Mat 19:4  "Have you not read," He replied, "that He who made them 'MADE THEM' from the beginning 'MALE AND FEMALE,

Mat 19:5  AND SAID, FOR THIS REASON A MAN SHALL LEAVE HIS FATHER AND MOTHER AND BE UNITED TO HIS WIFE, AND THE TWO SHALL BE ONE'?

Mat 19:6  Thus they are no longer two, but 'one'! What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate."

Mat 19:7  "Why then," said they, "did Moses command the husband to give her 'a written notice of divorce,' and so put her away?"

Mat 19:8  "Moses," He replied, "in consideration of the hardness of your nature permitted you to put away your wives, but it has not been so from the beginning.

Mat 19:9  And I tell you that whoever divorces his wife for any reason except her unfaithfulness, and marries another woman, commits adultery."

Mat 19:10  "If this is the case with a man in relation to his wife," said the disciples to Him, "it is better not to marry."

Mat 19:11  "It is not every man," He replied, "who can receive this teaching, but only those on whom the grace has been bestowed.

Comments verse by verse

Mat 19:3  Then came some of the Pharisees to Him to put Him to the proof by the question, "Has a man a right to divorce his wife whenever he chooses?"

Notes

to put Him to the proof by the question -Tempting him - to get him, if possible, to express an opinion that should involve him in difficulty.Barnes

Trying what answer he would give to a question, which, however decided by him, would expose him to censure.A.C.

Mat 19:4  "Have you not read," Jesus replied, "that He who made them 'MADE THEM' from the beginning 'MALE AND FEMALE,

Notes:

And he answered and said ... - Instead of referring to the opinions of either party, Jesus called their attention to the original design of marriage, to the authority of Moses an authority acknowledged by them both.

Have ye not read? - Gen_1:27; Gen_2:21-22. “And said, For this cause,” etc., Gen_2:24. That is, God, at the beginning, made but one man and one woman: their posterity should learn that the original intention of marriage was that a man should have but one wife.

Mat 19:5  AND SAID, FOR THIS REASON A MAN SHALL LEAVE HIS FATHER AND MOTHER AND BE UNITED TO HIS WIFE, AND THE TWO SHALL BE ONE'?

Mat 19:6  Thus they are no longer two, but 'one'! What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate."

Notes:

FOR THIS REASON A MAN SHALL LEAVE HIS FATHER AND MOTHER

Marriage is a Leaving officially of parents, leaving parents behind, a forsaking. The filial relationship changes completely when a couple marry. It is no longer Father/Mother/and son or daughter, but husband and wife. This is a completely new unit or union. The marriages where either member continues to hold to their parents will eventually lead to trouble and interference.

BE UNITED TO HIS WIFE

united G4347 προσκολλάω proskollaō

Thayer Definition: 1) to glue upon, glue to 2) to join one’s self to closely, cleave to, stick to

And shall cleave unto his wife - The word “cleave” denotes a union of the firmest kind. It is in the original taken from gluing, and means so firmly to adhere together that nothing can separate them.

And THE TWO SHALL BE ONE'

And they twain shall be one flesh? - Not only meaning, that they should be considered as one body, but also as two souls in one body, with a complete union of interests, and an indissoluble partnership of life and fortune, comfort and support, desires and inclinations, joys and sorrows. Farther, it appears to me, that the words in Gen_2:24, לבסר אחד  lebasar achad, [a compound unity] for one flesh, which our Lord literally translates, mean also, that children, compounded as it were of both, should be the product of the matrimonial connection. Thus, they two (man and woman) shall be for the producing of one flesh, the very same kind of human creature with themselves. See the note on Gen_2:24. A.C.

Matt 19:6b What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate."

Marriage is a joining together by GOD. It is not a human institution at all for God created Adam and Eve and joined them together. Modern man in defiance of God and His Authority in the earth, even when He set up this whole order of things, is trying to redefine the meaning of marriage. What arrogance, what defiance. Remember Sodom.

Joined together  Συνεζευξεν, yoked together, as oxen in the plough, where each must pull equally, in order to bring it on.

Let not man separate

A friend of mine married and then after three children divorced his first wife and married a younger woman. He visited his first wife when she was dying of cancer. Wow he found that the bond was still there and that he had really done the wrong thing. His children were greatly distressed by the whole affair.

Let not man separate WNT Let not man put asunder KJV  Then let not that which has been joined by God be parted by man. BBE

RWP What therefore God hath joined together (ho oun ho theos sunezeuxen). Note “what,” not “whom.” The marriage relation God has made.

“The creation of sex, and the high doctrine as to the cohesion it produces between man and woman, laid down in Gen., interdict separation” (Bruce). The word for “joined together” means “yoked together,” a common verb for marriage in ancient Greek. It is the timeless aorist indicative (sunezeuxen), true always.

Mat 19:7  "Why then," said they, "did Moses command the husband to give her 'a written notice of divorce,' and so put her away?"

Mat 19:8  "Moses," He replied, "in consideration of the hardness of your nature permitted you to put away your wives, but it has not been so from the beginning. WNT

the hardness of your nature WNT  because of your hard hearts,BBE  on account of the

hardness of your heart, Murdock]

Strongs G4641 σκληροκαρδία sklērokardia

sklay-rok-ar-dee'-ah

Feminine of a compound of G4642 and G2588; hard heartedness, that is, (specifically) destitution of (spiritual) perception: - hardness of heart.

Mat 19:9  And I tell you that whoever divorces his wife for any reason except her unfaithfulness, and marries another woman, commits adultery."

I say unto you. We have here Christ's law of divorce in contrast with that of Moses.

Except for unfaithfulness [adultery]. There is only one sufficient cause of divorce; that is, unfaithfulness to the marriage relation.

Committeth adultery. Because he is married still to his former wife, who is still his wife in spite of the divorce; so, too, if any man marries the divorced woman, he marries another man's wife.

Mat 19:10  "If this is the case with a man in relation to his wife," said the disciples to Him, "it is better not to marry."

Mat 19:11  "It is not every man," He replied, "who can receive this teaching, but only those on whom the grace has been bestowed. PNT