19 When Jesus had finished saying these things, he left Galilee and went into the region of Judea to the other side of the Jordan. 2 Large crowds followed him, and he healed them there.
3 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?”
4 “Haven’t you read,” he replied, “that at the beginning the Creator ‘made them male and female,’ 5 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’? 6 So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.”
7 “Why then,” they asked, “did Moses command that a man give his wife a certificate of divorce and send her away?”
8 Jesus replied, “Moses permitted you to divorce your wives because your hearts were hard. But it was not this way from the beginning. 9 I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another woman commits adultery.”
10 The disciples said to him, “If this is the situation between a husband and wife, it is better not to marry.”
11 Jesus replied, “Not everyone can accept this word, but only those to whom it has been given. 12 For there are eunuchs who were born that way, and there are eunuchs who have been made eunuchs by others—and there are those who choose to live like eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. The one who can accept this should accept it.”
Leslyn Musch
Global Prayer Ministries – Concord CA
Observation: The Pharisee’s intention was to trap Jesus by their question regarding divorce. Their question had to do with fault finding and with the specifics of the law about what could and could not constitute grounds for divorce. Jesus’ response was to go straight to the issue of the heart in verse 8. It was never God’s intention that our hearts would be hard. The word for “hard” means stubborn, obstinate, completely unyielding and “uncircumcised of heart and ear.” Circumcision is a mark of covenant, of inclusion, of promise, of hope, of belonging and of commitment. A hard heart is the opposite of love. As people, made in the image of God, our hearts are designed to be so soft, so yielding that two separate hearts can become one heart of flesh. This is the picture of covenant. God knows that our hearts become hard, that our hearts and our ears are uncircumcised, that we are unyielding, stubborn and that this hardness leads to broken relationships, to broken and torn hearts. The good news is that Jesus has come to heal the broken hearted (Luke 4:18), He has come to heal broken relationships both with God and with people. Jesus came to turn our hearts of stone into hearts of flesh. The Pharisees wanted Jesus to identify the problem, but Jesus came to be the solution.
Action: Lord, I recognize that there are places in my heart that have become hard. Those hard places cause me to distance myself from You and from those whom I love. I ask that Your Holy Spirit would come and show me the areas where I need to turn away from the thoughts and actions that cause my heart to grow hard and enable me to turn toward the things that cause my heart to grow soft. Teach me to love the way that You do and turn my heart of stone into a heart like Yours.
Leslyn, love your reflections. Drew me to the Father’s heart
Thank you, Art!
Observation: We tend to justify by the rule. You tend to justify by Your heart.
Action: I want to grow in the character of Jesus more today, renew my heart so I can better live in the competencies of Jesus.
Observation: I see that the Pharisees wanted to test Jesus, that is, scrutinize until they found fault. I see that I often don’t he same to brothers, sisters, and strangers today.
Action: Lord, I don’t want to be a tester, a scrutinizer, but I often am. I ask You to remind me not to do this when I am tempted to. Help me look for what is good in the people around me, not for faults.
Verse 3 begs a question of moral character in a man. Can you divorce your wife for any reason. Currently in Yemen a man can divorce his wife by simply saying,”I divorce you, I divorce you, I divorce you. ” The wife would have to leave immediately! She could not say goodbye to her children, she could not pack her belongings, she was literally thrown out to the streets. That is why women in Yemen wear all of their clothes and jewelry all the time. My sister in law met women who would wear 12 layers of clothes and layers of necklaces in preparation for such a moment.
Application: this question from the Pharisee is really about moral character and defining what is love. Love means to forgive & work together as one person. Jumping down to verse 8, Jesus nails the root cause of this question, “the hardness of their hearts. ” Only a man who who has a mean & contentious spirit would throw his wife out into the streets.
My prayer is for men & women who commit to marriage will try to work together in harmony & with an open heart of compassion & love. But unfortunately people are not perfect & Marriages don’t always work out. God knows that we make mistakes and thankfully God will forgive us.
P. S. I am so glad I live in America!!
Observation : God’s good intent was oneness of a male and a female to be joined for life. Moses permitted “an out” only because of hardness of heart. The disciples saw the high and costly privilege of God’s gift of marriage, and concluded it’s better to not be married then get married and allow hardness of heart to destroy this God given union. Whether married or not, I see how my hardness of heart can destroy relationships. But God can use my marriage and other relationships to soften my heart.
Application: Practice breaking up hard soil in my heart regularly so as to preserve and deepen relationships that reflect Jesus’ heart.