He said to them, “Because of the hardness of your hearts Moses allowed you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so.” Matthew 19:8 NABRE
Jesus is asked a question about the lawfulness of couples divorcing, by the Pharisees, religious leaders who were tasked with promoting a strict observance of the law. Jesus teaches that marriage is in dissolvable, though Moses did make it possible for divorce to occur in the law. Jesus comments on Moses exception, the Jews couldn’t follow the law so divorce is allowed, but in creating humanity God’s intention is two become as one flesh, “That is why a man leaves his father and mother and clings to his wife, and the two of them become one body.” Genesis 2:24). It is difficult to understand Jesus’ intention, is He closing the exception, declaring marriage in dissolvable, or is He trying to convince us to ask for grace before marriage that we find a spouse who become one with us. The definition of one flesh has some scholars claiming it is about new life, parents having children, though God does include an encouragement to be fertile and multiply (Genesis 1:28).
Jesus teaches to live life from the Creator’s perspective. The Creator has the instruction manual and provides instruction for our best life. We are not meant to be alone, we come together as couples, and couples live in communities, all of which provide our best life. We cannot fruitfully live without others. Jesus teaching puts the focus on the grace of finding a spouse who is our life partner, rather than looking at the end of the partnership. I believe if we ask God for the grace of being one flesh with another, and we are patient, we will find a spouse who is our life partner.
What are your thoughts on finding a spouse? Do you think Jesus teaches about beginnings or endings?
Jesus teaching puts the focus on the grace of finding a spouse who is our life partner. If we ask God for the grace of being one flesh with another, and we are patient, we will find a spouse who is our life partner. Click To Tweet#bible #godisgreat #jesus #christianity #dailybibleverse @youversion #BeAnEncourager #flesh #spouse #Matthew #everybodyalways #god #jesuschrist #jesussaves #godisgood #dailydevotion #biblestudy #scripture #bibleverse #verseoftheday #cross #last #gospels #loveeachother #godisgreat #thisVineyard #youversion #everythingalways