Daily Devotions
Jesus on Divorce
Title: Jesus on Divorce
Reading for October 7: Matthew 18-20
And Pharisees came up to him and tested him by asking, "Is it lawful to divorce one's wife for any cause?" He answered, "Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female, and said, 'Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh'? So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate."
Matthew 19:3-6
What is Jesus' answer to divorce?
It is, simply, don't do it. That's it. Don't divorce.
Why such a narrow rule?
First of all, Jesus said that the two become one. What does that mean? It means we are no longer individuals. We are one. To separate a union like this is to commit an act of violence against oneself (Mal 2:16). Ask anyone who has been through a divorce (even one they wanted) and they will tell you how violent (emotionally, spiritually, even physically) the act of divorce is.
Finally (and more significantly), Jesus prohibited divorce because God is the One who joins us. Marriage is not something we do by ourselves. It is something God puts together. For that reason, Jesus says we simply don't have the right to undo it.
Ultimately, what Jesus said in a negative way about divorce says a lot of positive things about marriage. Think of a couple of implications:
1. Your spouse is a part of you! You are no longer an individual. The two become one. That means you are part of a whole. Love your wife. Love your husband. It's the same as loving yourself (Eph 5:28).
2. God connects the two of you together! That means this is about God, not us. We submit to one another in marriage "out of reverence for Christ" (Eph 5:22). He put us together. God is the glue of our marriage. To throw away our spouse is to disregard God. To love our spouse is to fear, honor, and worship the One who joined us.
Father, may we love our mates in humble recognition of our oneness in marriage and with the knowledge that you made us one.
