It is true that the Jews were putting away (apolyos) their wives WITHOUT a certificate of divorce (apostasion) in those days. However, as we explained in Part 4, Jesus wasn't addressing the issue of "putting away" in Matt 15. He was addressing the issue of divorce.
The cruel practice of putting away without a certificate of divorce was a Jewish law, not the Mosiac Law. In other words, the Jews who practised that did not follow the Law of Moses. They came up with their own law. This is the reason why God had to instruct Moses to give the Law in Deut 24:1 ---- the Jewish men must give their wives the certificate of divorce. That also meant that the Jewish man, upon the legal divorce, had to return the dowry (a large sum) and the sum of claims written in the marriage contract (known as Ketubah) to his wife. No wonder the men refused to give their wives the certificate of divorce.
Do bear in mind that Deut 24:1 was the Law under the Old Covenant. But it was not God's original intent.
With this, we will look at what Jesus meant in Matt 19.
Matt 19:3 - The Pharisees also came to Him, testing Him, and saying to Him, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for just any reason?”
The word "divorce" is "apolyos", which means "putting away", but we have already established in Part 4 that "apolyos" is the SAME as divorce.
When it comes to interpretation, while it is important to find out the original Greek word, it is even more important to find out the context of how the Greek word is used in that verse, the passage, the chapter and the Bible itself. Failing which, you can easily bend the Greek word for your own interpretation.
The Pharisees came to test Jesus. There were two schools of the Pharisees: the Hillel & the Shammai. The Hillel believed that you can divorce your wife for any reason. For example, if she didn't cook your dinner properly, you can divorce her. The Shammai, however, believed that you can only divorce your wife if she has committed adultery.
Both schools of the Pharisees were here to test Jesus, hoping to find fault with Him, so that He might end up like John the Baptist - killed.
John the Baptist was just beheaded earlier, because he spoke against King Herod for marrying his brother, Philip's wife (Matt 14:3).
According to history, Philip was still living at that time. I strongly believe so. Because if he had died, it would be lawful for Herod to take his wife (Deut 25:5).
John spoke against Herod because it was against the Law to take his brother's wife. According to history and encyclopedia, Herod divorced his own wife to marry Philip's wife, Herodias. Herodias, too, divorced Philip to marry Herod. This was against the Law (Leviticus 20:21; Leviticus 18:16).
With this in mind, let's re-look into Matt 19:3.
Matt 19:3 - The Pharisees also came to Him, testing Him, and saying to Him, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for just any reason?”
If Jesus were to say "Yes", the Pharisees from the school of Hillel would have taken it as an opportunity to divorce their wives for ANY reason. On the other hand, the Pharisees from the school of Shammai would have used the Mosiac Law (Deut 24:1) to accuse Jesus for breaking it and have Him judged at the Sanhedrin.
If Jesus were to say "No", the Pharisees would have brought Jesus before King Herod and have Him beheaded like John the Baptist. Because it would mean that Herod should not have divorced his own wife to marry his brother's wife! It was immoral.
The Pharisees wanted to trap Jesus. But come on, Jesus is God! In His divine wisdom, He neither said "Yes" or "No."
He answered according to God's original intent that blew the Pharisees away.
Matthew 19:4-6 - And He answered and said to them, “Have you not read that He who made them at the beginning ‘made them male and female,' 5 and said, ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? 6 So then, they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate.”
Jesus was quoting from Genesis 1:27 and 2:24. He was pointing to the ORIGINAL intent of God for marriage. In fact, He added one more thing - "Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate."
Why did He say that? Because men, in their own desires, wanted divorce. It was men who wanted to separate. We will see that in later verses.
"The two shall become one flesh" speaks of physical union. Eve was made out of Adam's rib in the beginning. It speaks of the depth of intimacy that reflects our intimacy with our Creator. We are One in spirit with God - spiritual union.
Marital relationship is the closest relationship you can ever have, apart from your relationship with God. It is a Covenant, just as God has a Covenant with you because of Jesus.
A Covenant is more than a bond or contract. A Covenant is cut by the shedding of blood. Jesus cut an unconditional Covenant with the Father on our behalf. His blood was poured out (Matt 26:28) for us to live in New Covenant.
If you don't understand marriage covenant, you will think that a certificate of divorce (apostasion) and putting away (apolyos) could break the covenant. But marriage covenant was not established by vows and certificate in the beginning. It was established by union - the two become one.
When the man enters the virgin during consummation of marriage, blood is shed and the covenant is cut. The two become one in the eyes of God. What God has joined together, let no man separate. There was NO certificate of marriage in the beginning! Thus, applying the certificate of divorce (apostasion) is NOT God's original intent. It was given in the Old Covenant Law to protect the women!
In the Jewish culture of those days, virginity was treated very seriously (Deut 22). In this day and age, it should also be regarded seriously. It speaks of purity. It is radically precious in the sight of God because it is meant for the man who would be joined together with the woman as one flesh in the marriage. It is the most intimate thing on earth, next to the intimate relationship with God. It is a reflection of heaven on earth (Eph 5:31-32). This is why marriage is regarded as holy.
Disclaimer: It does not mean that without the blood during consummation of marriage, the covenant is not cut. It is still established. What I'm sharing is the original intent. I know that in today's context, many are not virgins and medically speaking, some do not have blood even though they are virgins.
Note: If you (man or woman) have given away your purity, God doesn't judge or condemn you in Christ. He loves you relentlessly. He is our Redeemer! "If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. All things have passed away. Behold! All things have become new." (2 Cor 5:17) He has washed away the past with the Blood of Jesus. You are as white as snow. He has restored your purity. You gave away in the past because you did not know better. But now that you know, you can preserve the new purity for the one in marriage.
Jesus said "Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate." (v6) Notice, this is pointing to the beginning - the original intent of marriage between a man and a woman. If Jesus said "let not man separate," why are we trying to use apolyos and apostasion to legally separate (divorce) what God has joined together?
I'm going to drive this point it further.
Matthew 19:7-8 - They said to Him, “Why then did Moses command to give a certificate of divorce, and to put her away?”
8 He said to them, “Moses, because of the hardness of your hearts, PERMITTED you to divorce your wives, but from THE BEGINNING IT WAS NOT SO. (emphasis added)
The two schools of Pharisees wondered, "If divorce is not God's original intent, then why was it given in the Mosiac Law?"
Jesus answered, "Because of the hardness of your hearts..." In other words, because of your refusal to obey God (Rom 2:5; Heb 3:7).
Why? "...from the BEGINNING IT WAS NOT SO". Jesus was saying that the Jews refused to obey God's original intent to stay as one flesh - the marriage covenant (Matt 19:4-6; Mark 10:5-9).
Jesus continued in verse 9.
Matthew 19:8-9 - He said to them, “Moses, because of the hardness of your hearts, permitted you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so. 9 And I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery; and whoever marries her who is divorced commits adultery.”
Not only was God's original intent stated by Jesus in Matt 19:4-6, Jesus brought it further to reveal that the men should not divorce their wives. This is in line with Deut 22:28-29 and 1 Cor 7:10-11.
In Part 6, I will explain on 1 Corinthians 7 and hopefully on why Jesus said what He said in Matthew 19:9. #marriage #covenant
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