Matthew 19:8-9
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What's often missed is that Moses didn't command divorce, but "suffered" or "permitted" it as a concession. Jesus is highlighting that this allowance was a temporary measure for a stubborn people, not a reflection of God's original, perfect design for marriage established at creation.
He said to them, “Because of your hardness of heart Moses allowed you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so. And I say to you: whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery.”
English Standard Version (ESV)
Jesus is responding to the Pharisees, who are trying to trap him by asking about the permissibility of divorce. He points them back to the creation account, emphasizing God's original design for marriage as a lifelong union. When they press him on why Moses permitted divorce, Jesus explains that it was a concession due to the people's stubbornness, not God's ideal plan.
Ever feel like God's original plan for something is different from how we practice it today? Jesus addresses this head-on regarding marriage.
Jesus confronts the Pharisees' question about divorce by pointing to God's perfect design from the very beginning. He states clearly, 'from the beginning it was not so.'
God's Original Intent
Moses' Law: A Concession, Not an Ideal
Ask a follow-up
Was Moses' allowance for divorce a green light for men to do whatever they wanted, or something else entirely?
Jesus clarifies that the Mosaic permission for divorce wasn't a moral endorsement but a legal regulation for a sinful people.
A Societal Reality, Not a Divine Mandate
Restraining the Extreme, Not Encouraging the Norm
Understand the original words
sklerokardian · Greek Noun
A figurative expression describing spiritual stubbornness, obstinacy, or a heart that is resistant to God’s will and moral truth, rendering people incapable of fully adhering to God's original standards.
porneia · Greek Noun
General term for sexual activity outside the bonds of marriage. It refers to any illicit sexual behavior, including adultery, fornication, or incest, which violates the covenantal sanctity of marriage.
moichatai · Greek Verb
The act of sexual relations with someone other than one's spouse. Biblically, it is a severe moral failure that breaks the covenantal faithfulness and exclusivity required in marriage.
Jesus' teaching on divorce here is a direct response to the permissive interpretations of the Law that had become common among the Pharisees. He grounds his argument in the creation ordinance, challenging the cultural and legal concessions made centuries earlier due to Israel's 'hardness of heart.'
c. 1446 BC
Mosaic Law Promulgated at Sinai
God gives the Law to Moses, including regulations for divorce within the Israelite community.
c. 1446-1406 BC
Deuteronomy Reforms and Regulations
The book of Deuteronomy (likely compiled during this period) contains the specific regulation allowing divorce with a certificate, intended as a concession to the 'hardness of heart' of the people.
c. 450 BC
Ezra and Nehemiah Reforms
Post-exilic reforms address intermarriage with foreign women, reflecting a period of renewed emphasis on strict adherence to the Law and community purity.
c. 2nd Century BC - 1st Century AD
Development of Rabbinic Interpretations
Various rabbinic schools (like Hillel and Shammai) develop differing, often lax, interpretations of the divorce laws, leading to significant debate and practice.
c. AD 28-30— this verse
Jesus' Ministry and Teaching on Marriage
Jesus directly confronts the Pharisees' questions about divorce, asserting God's original intent for marriage as a lifelong, indissoluble union.
This passage describes the original creation of humankind as male and female, establishing marriage as a foundational union from the very beginning, which Jesus points back to as the ideal standard.
Genesis 2:24Jesus quotes this verse to show that the 'one flesh' union established at creation is meant to be inseparable, highlighting that divorce is a deviation from God's original design for marriage.
Deuteronomy 24:1-4This is the Mosaic Law passage that Jesus references, explaining that the permission for divorce was a concession made due to Israel's stubbornness, not God's original will.
Malachi 2:14-16This prophetic passage condemns divorce and remarriage, framing them as acts of betrayal against the covenant of marriage, which echoes Jesus' emphasis on the sanctity and permanence of marriage.
calvinMatthew 19:3-9: "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?"
- And the Pharisees came to him, tempting him, and saying to him, Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any cause whatever? 4. Who answering said to them, Have you not read, that he who made them at first, [593] made them male and female? 5. And he said, Therefore shall a man leave his father and mother, and be joined to his wife; and they…
henryMatthew 19:3-12: "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?"
19:3-12 The Pharisees were desirous of drawing something from Jesus which they might represent as contrary to the law of Moses. Cases about marriage have been numerous, and sometimes perplexed; made so, not by the law of God, but by the lusts and follies of men; and often people fix what they will do, before they ask for advice. Jesus replied by as…
What's often missed is that Moses didn't command divorce, but "suffered" or "permitted" it as a concession. Jesus is highlighting that this allowance was a temporary measure for a stubborn people, not a reflection of God's original, perfect design for marriage established at creation.
Jesus is responding to the Pharisees, who are trying to trap him by asking about the permissibility of divorce. He points them back to the creation account, emphasizing God's original design for marriage as a lifelong union. When they press him on why Moses permitted divorce, Jesus explains that it was a concession due to the people's stubbornness, not God's ideal plan.
Jesus is responding to the Pharisees, who are trying to trap him by asking about the permissibility of divorce. He points them back to the creation account, emphasizing God's original design for marriage as a lifelong union. When they press him on why Moses permitted divorce, Jesus explains that it was a concession due to the people's stubbornness, not God's ideal plan.
"He said to them, “Because of your hardness of heart Moses allowed you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so. And I say to you: whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adul…" — What's often missed is that Moses didn't command divorce, but "suffered" or "permitted" it as a concession. Jesus is highlighting that this allowance was a temporary measure for a stubborn people,…
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Last reviewed October 2026
