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In Matthew 19:3, the Pharisees came to Jesus to test Him with their question,
“Is it lawful
for a man to divorce his wife for just any reason?” Jesus answered their
question in verses
4-9. Matthew 19:4-9 “And He answered and said to them, Have you not read that He
who made them at the beginning made them male and female, and said, For this
reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and
the two shall become one flesh? So then, they are no longer two but one flesh.
Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate. They said to Him,
Why then did Moses command to give a certificate of divorce, and to put her
away? He said to them, Moses, because of the hardness of your hearts, permitted
you to divorce your wives, but form the beginning it was not so. And I say to
you, whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries
another, commits adultery; and whoever marries her who is divorced commits
adultery.” (NKJV). Many today, including some brethren, say that Jesus’ teaching
on divorce and remarriage is complex, hard to understand, and of variable
interpretation. Many folks do not like Jesus’ teaching on the subject, but it is
readily understandable.
Jesus’ apostles understood his teachings and they really didn’t care for it,
either. They said, “If such is the case of the man with his wife, it is better
not to marry.” The “such is the case” referred to Jesus’ teaching that there is
only ONE cause where a man or woman may be remarried scripturally, and that is
because of sexual immorality on the part of the guilty spouse!
The apostle’s were saying that if Moses’ permission to divorce as interpreted by
the Rabbi’s was being taken away; it would be better not to marry at all! Jesus
said in verse 12, in effect, that anyone could go to heaven that want to. Some
will make “themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heavens sake…..” It seems to me
that Jesus is not teaching self-mutilation here (though it could be if
necessary. See Matthew 5:29-30). I believe that He is teaching a person to live
a celibate life (for the kingdoms sake), if they have no scriptural right to
remarry. Man is more than just flesh and bones and animal instincts. He is a
dual being, both physical and spiritual (2 Corinthians 4:16). It is necessary
for the spiritual man to subdue and conquer the physical and bring it into
subjection (1 Corinthians 9:27). Paul said in Galatians 5:24, “And those who are
Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.” Jesus’ hearers
understood His teaching in the first century and we can understand it today. Are
we willing to hear and accept His doctrine on every subject?
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