Part 4 of 12 · Marriage, Covenant, and Faithfulness
Moses and the Question Jesus Was Asked
Distinguish a regulated practice from God’s purpose for marriage.
“He saith unto them, Moses because of the hardness of your hearts suffered you to put away your wives: but from the beginning it was not so.”
Matthew 19:8 KJV
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Open each passage to read the complete assigned verses here. The links above also let you read the surrounding chapters.
Deuteronomy 24:1–4 KJV
1 When a man hath taken a wife, and married her, and it come to pass that she find no favour in his eyes, because he hath found some uncleanness in her: then let him write her a bill of divorcement, and give it in her hand, and send her out of his house.
2 And when she is departed out of his house, she may go and be another man’s wife.
3 And if the latter husband hate her, and write her a bill of divorcement, and giveth it in her hand, and sendeth her out of his house; or if the latter husband die, which took her to be his wife;
4 Her former husband, which sent her away, may not take her again to be his wife, after that she is defiled; for that is abomination before the LORD: and thou shalt not cause the land to sin, which the LORD thy God giveth thee for an inheritance.
Read in your Bible or open the passage ↗Matthew 19:3–12 KJV
3 The Pharisees also came unto him, tempting him, and saying unto him, Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife for every cause?
4 And he answered and said unto them, Have ye not read, that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female,
5 And said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh?
6 Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.
7 They say unto him, Why did Moses then command to give a writing of divorcement, and to put her away?
8 He saith unto them, Moses because of the hardness of your hearts suffered you to put away your wives: but from the beginning it was not so.
9 And I say unto you, Whosoever shall put away his wife, except it be for fornication, and shall marry another, committeth adultery: and whoso marrieth her which is put away doth commit adultery.
10 His disciples say unto him, If the case of the man be so with his wife, it is not good to marry.
11 But he said unto them, All men cannot receive this saying, save they to whom it is given.
12 For there are some eunuchs, which were so born from their mother’s womb: and there are some eunuchs, which were made eunuchs of men: and there be eunuchs, which have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven’s sake. He that is able to receive it, let him receive it.
Read in your Bible or open the passage ↗Mark 10:2–12 KJV
2 And the Pharisees came to him, and asked him, Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife? tempting him.
3 And he answered and said unto them, What did Moses command you?
4 And they said, Moses suffered to write a bill of divorcement, and to put her away.
5 And Jesus answered and said unto them, For the hardness of your heart he wrote you this precept.
6 But from the beginning of the creation God made them male and female.
7 For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and cleave to his wife;
8 And they twain shall be one flesh: so then they are no more twain, but one flesh.
9 What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.
10 And in the house his disciples asked him again of the same matter.
11 And he saith unto them, Whosoever shall put away his wife, and marry another, committeth adultery against her.
12 And if a woman shall put away her husband, and be married to another, she committeth adultery.
Read in your Bible or open the passage ↗Read the whole sentence in Deuteronomy
Deuteronomy 24:1–4 describes a sequence: a man dismisses his wife with a certificate, she becomes another man’s wife, and the second marriage ends through divorce or death. The explicit prohibition concerns the first husband taking her back after that intervening marriage. The passage regulates a situation involving divorce and a subsequent marriage. It doesn’t command husbands to divorce their wives.
The phrase translated some uncleanness became important in later Jewish disagreement about divorce. Mishnah Gittin 9:10 records competing interpretations. The Mishnah was compiled after Jesus’ earthly ministry, so it is background for understanding a debate rather than a transcript of the conversation in Matthew. We should avoid claiming that the later source proves every detail of the questioners’ motives.
Notice Jesus’ correction of the question
Matthew 19:3 identifies the question as a test and includes the phrase for every cause. Jesus answers from creation. When the Pharisees describe Moses as commanding a certificate and dismissal, Jesus speaks of what Moses suffered because of hard hearts. That difference between command and concession is part of his answer.
Verses 9–12 then bring in the seriousness of divorce and remarriage, the disciples’ reaction, and Jesus’ teaching about those able to receive a life without marriage. The context must shape interpretation, but it must not be used to erase his warning. Understanding the question doesn’t mean that only people with the same motives can be addressed by the answer.
Permission is not a command to divorce
Deuteronomy 24:1–4 describes a sequence involving divorce, another marriage, and the end of that second marriage. It prohibits the first husband from taking the woman back after that sequence. Read all four verses together. The passage regulates a situation; it doesn’t instruct every dissatisfied husband to divorce.
In Matthew 19, the Pharisees ask whether a man may put away his wife ‘for every cause.’ Jesus points them to creation. When they appeal to Moses, he identifies hardness of heart as the reason for the concession. Their question seeks permissible grounds. His answer brings them back to the seriousness of what God has joined.
History helps without replacing the text
Mishnah Gittin 9:10 records differing Jewish interpretations of divorce grounds associated with the schools of Shammai and Hillel. It is a later written source that helps illustrate the kind of disagreement involved. We shouldn’t treat it as a transcript of the conversation with Jesus or assume every later opinion was being voiced in that moment.
Another distinction matters: a word translated ‘put away’ can refer to divorce in context. We cannot explain away every New Testament warning by declaring that it refers only to abandonment without a certificate. Deuteronomy distinguishes a written document and sending away, but that observation alone doesn’t establish such a rule for every Gospel passage.
Jesus wasn’t directly asked about domestic abuse in this exchange. That limits what we can claim about the immediate question. It doesn’t make his teaching irrelevant to other circumstances. Applying it responsibly requires reading his answer alongside the rest of Scripture.
Reflect
Sit with the question
- What specific sequence does Deuteronomy 24 regulate?
- What difference does Jesus draw between Moses’ concession and the beginning?
- Am I using historical context to illuminate the text, or to avoid something it says?
Practice
Take one faithful step
Write the question in Matthew 19:3 beside the answer in verses 4–9. Notice both the original setting and the breadth of Jesus’ response.
Pray
Bring it before God
Father, give me a teachable heart. Help me read honestly and receive your correction even when your words challenge what I hoped to find. Amen.
Truth to carryApplying it responsibly requires reading his answer alongside the rest of Scripture.