Context No. 2558 of 4322 · Matthew

Matthew 19:7-12: in context

7They asked him, “Why then did Moses command us to give her a certificate of divorce and divorce her?” 8He said to them, “Moses, because of the hardness of your hearts, allowed you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it has not been so. 9I tell you that whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery; and he who marries her when she is divorced commits adultery.” 10His disciples said to him, “If this is the case of the man with his wife, it is not expedient to marry.” 11But he said to them, “Not all men can receive this saying, but those to whom it is given. 12For there are eunuchs who were born that way from their mother’s womb, and there are eunuchs who were made eunuchs by men; and there are eunuchs who made themselves eunuchs for the Kingdom of Heaven’s sake. He who is able to receive it, let him receive it.”

Pressed about divorce, Jesus points past the law to the design. The Pharisees ask why Moses commanded a certificate of divorce, and Jesus answers that Moses permitted it because of the hardness of your hearts, but from the beginning it was not so. He takes them back behind the concession to God's original intention: a man and woman joined as one, meant to last. The disciples find the standard so high they wonder aloud whether it is better not to marry at all.

Notice the move Jesus makes. The law contained a concession, a permission granted to human hardness, but he refuses to let the concession define the ideal. From the beginning it was not so. God's design is deeper and higher than the allowances made for our failures. This is worth holding gently, because these are painful matters and real people carry real wounds here. But the principle reaches wider than marriage: it is easy to settle for the concessions God tolerates in our hardness and lose sight of the beauty he intended from the beginning. Grace meets us in our brokenness without lowering the design.

Where have I settled for a concession granted to my hardness of heart, and lost sight of the good God intended from the beginning?

Sources

Matthew 19:8: Moses, because of the hardness of your hearts, allowed you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it has not been so.
Matthew 19:6: What therefore God has joined together, don't let man tear apart.
Genesis 2:24: Therefore a man will leave his father and his mother, and will join with his wife, and they will be one flesh.