Jesus and the “M” Word Part 1

Sept 25, 2024

As Jesus is heading to Jerusalem for the last time in His ministry, a group of Pharisees approached Him with a sort of trick question (v3).  They were not after godly wisdom or even personal advice, they wanted a “gotcha” sound-bite to use against Jesus and His amazing popularity.  They asked Him about divorce, specifically, about the proper grounds for divorce.

At the time, there were two basic schools of thought among the Rabbis.  The Law in question was  Deuteronomy 24:1-4, specifically the phrase “he finds some indecency in her.”

1. The Shammai school was strict in its interpretation taking it to mean adultery.
2. The Hillel school was much more lenient.  Hillel always sought the easiest way to resolve conflict.  This attitude carried through to his grandson, Gamaliel, who recommended no action be taken against the early church.  The Hillel school taught that a man may legitimately divorce his wife if she offends him in any way, even a matter as small as serving him burned bread.      

Notice a few things here:

• Notice first that the Law only provides for divorce initiated by the husband.
• Also notice that the Pharisees did not question the legitimacy of divorce, only its grounds.

The Pharisees seemed to be trying to get Jesus to admit a preference for the Hillel school.  However, Jesus knew that God hates divorce (Malachi 2:16).  So, instead of directly answering their question, Jesus taught them about marriage (v4-6).

Jesus took the argument back before either of the main rabbis, and even before the giving of the Law itself, back to the order of Creation.

God’s prescription for marriage must be firmly established and reiterated – one man and one woman in a one flesh relationship for life.  Therefore, a marriage is something that God does.  When man undoes what God does, that is a sin.  

God’s Word is not out of date nor out of touch.  It is still the authority. 

The Pharisees thought they had found a gap in Jesus’ armor and pressed Him on this point (v7).  They asked Jesus further about the command to issue a certificate of divorce.

Jesus caught their error and told them that Moses did not command the divorce, he permitted the divorce, but commanded that a written certificate be issued.  This certificate was the protection for the woman allowing her to marry again. Even when the grounds are considered, remember that “permitted” is not “required.”  Divorce is never required.

The reason God gave the permission was because of the hardness of their hearts.  Callouses are fine for hands and feet but they have no place on hearts.  Let us focus on the condition of our hearts and remember the God who will never leave us.