1 When Jesusfinished saying these things, he left Galileeand went to the territory of Judeaon the other side of the Jordan River. 2 Large crowds followed him, and he healed them there.
3 Some Pharisees came to him and tried to trap him by asking, "Does our Law allow a man to divorce his wife for whatever reason he wishes?"
4 Gn 1.27;5.2Jesus answered, "Haven’t you read the scripture that says that in the beginning the Creator made people male and female? 5 Gn 2.24And God said, ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and unite with his wife, and the two will become one.’ 6 So they are no longer two, but one. No human being must separate, then, what God has joined together."
7 Dt 24.1-4;Mt 5.31The Pharisees asked him, "Why, then, did Mosesgive the law for a man to hand his wife a divorce notice and send her away?"
8 Jesus answered, "Mosesgave you permission to divorce your wives because you are so hard to teach. But it was not like that at the time of creation. 9 Mt 5.32;1 Co 7.10,11I tell you, then, that any man who divorces his wife for any cause other than her unfaithfulness, commits adultery if he marries some other woman."
10 His disciples said to him, "If this is how it is between a man and his wife, it is better not to marry."
11 Jesus answered, "This teaching does not apply to everyone, but only to those to whom God has given it. 12 For there are different reasons why men cannot marry: some, because they were born that way; others, because men made them that way; and others do not marry for the sake of the Kingdom of heaven. Let him who can accept this teaching do so."
Jesus, the Christ, the Son of God, was born of Mary in Bethlehem, proclaimed the kingdom of God, died by crucifixion under Pontius Pilate, and was raised on the third day (Matthew 1:16).
Galilee is the land of Nazareth and Cana, from where Jesus came to be baptized by John in the Jordan and from where crowds and women followed him (Mark 1:9).
Judea is the land where Bethlehem is located, the town where Jesus was born during the time of King Herod. Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, and there the Jews sought to kill Jesus (Matthew 2:1).
The Jordan is the river in the middle of which Joshua set up twelve stones, where the priests carrying the ark of the covenant had stood. The boundary of the land went down along the river to the Salt Sea (Joshua 4:9).
Moses, a Levite raised by Pharaoh’s daughter, was called by God at the burning bush, brought Israel out of slavery in Egypt, and received the law on Mount Sinai (Exodus 3:4).
Moses, a Levite raised by Pharaoh’s daughter, was called by God at the burning bush, brought Israel out of slavery in Egypt, and received the law on Mount Sinai (Exodus 3:4).