Matthew 19:1-12
Divorce
1When Jesus had finished saying these things, he left Galilee and went into the region of Judea to the other side of the Jordan. 2Large crowds followed him, and he healed them there.
3Some Pharisees came to him to test him. They asked, "Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any and every reason?"
4"Haven't you read," he replied, "that at the beginning the Creator 'made them male and female,' 5and 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'? 6So they are no longer two, but one. Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate."
7"Why then," they asked, "did Moses command that a man give his wife a certificate of divorce and send her away?"
8Jesus replied, "Moses permitted you to divorce your wives because your hearts were hard. But it was not this way from the beginning. 9I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for marital unfaithfulness, and marries another woman commits adultery."
10The disciples said to him, "If this is the situation between a husband and wife, it is better not to marry."
11Jesus replied, "Not everyone can accept this word, but only those to whom it has been given. 12For 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."
The problem of divorce is not new in our society or our culture...
Jesus when asked about divorce by the Pharisees, ask if they had read Genesis in the beginning...Jesus tell us that marriage is to be taken very seriously and with continuously prayer...Jesus tells us that what God joins together, let no man separate...When we make the decision of marriage, we are to think about the seriousness of it and realize then as well as later that marriage affects the two, because now they are one, and one family...The decision about marriage is more than a simple thought about oneself...The decision must take in to account, when a divorce does happen, the family...This needs to be thought about when the decision of marriage is originally made...It is just to easy later to break a marriage, by a piece of paper or certificate of divorce...
Jesus tells us we must look to God's authority on the question of divorce...