Albert Barnes Commentary Matthew 19

Coasts of Judea beyond Jordan. Probably our Saviour was then going from Galilee up to Jerusalem, to one of the great feasts of the Jews. Samaria was between Galilee and Jerusalem; and, choosing not to go through it, he crossed the Jordan, and passed down on the east side of it, through Peraea, a region of country belonging to Judea, formerly a part of the tribes Reuben, Gad, and Manasseh. See the Map.

Coasts of Judea. Regions or parts of Judea. See Barnes on Matthew 2:16.

The Pharisees also came. (See Barnes' Notes on Matthew 3:7).

Tempting him. This means, to get him, if possible, to express an opinion that should involve him in difficulty. There was all the more cunning in this captious question they proposed, since at that time the people were very much divided on the subject. One part, following the opinions of Hillel, said that a man might divorce his wife for any offense, or any dislike he might have of her. (See Barnes' Notes on Matthew 5:31).

Others, of the school of Shammai, maintained that divorce was unlawful, except in case of adultery. Whatever opinion, therefore, Christ expressed, they expected that he would involve himself in difficulty with one of their parties.

And he answered and said, etc. Instead of referring to the opinions of either party, Jesus called their attention to the original design of marriage and to the authority of Moses—an authority acknowledged by them both.

Have ye not read? (Genesis 1:27; Genesis 2:21–22).

And said, For this cause, etc. (Genesis 2:24). That is, God at the beginning made but one man and one woman; their posterity should learn that the original intention of marriage was that a man should have but one wife.

Shall leave father and mother. This means he shall bind himself more strongly to his wife than he was to his father or mother. The marriage connection is the most tender and endearing of all human relations, more tender than even that bond which unites us to a parent.

And shall cleave to his wife. The word cleave denotes a union of the firmest kind. It is, in the original, taken from gluing and means to adhere together so firmly that nothing can separate them.

They twain shall be one flesh. That is, they two, or those who were two, shall be united as one—one in law, in feeling, in interest, and in affection. They shall no longer have separate interests but shall act in all things as if they were one—animated by one soul and one wish.

The argument of Jesus here is that since they are so intimately united as to be one, and since in the beginning God made but one woman for one man, it follows that they cannot be separated except by the authority of God. Man may not put away his wife for every cause.

What God has joined together, man may not put asunder. In this decision, he really decided in favour of one of the parties; and it shows that when it was proper, Jesus answered questions, from whatever cause they might have been proposed, and however much difficulty it might involve him in.

Our Lord, in this, also showed consummate wisdom. He answered the question not from Hillel or Shammai, their teachers, but from Moses, and thus defeated their malice.

Why did Moses, etc. To this they objected that Moses had allowed such divorces (Deuteronomy 24:1), and if he had allowed them, they inferred that they could not be unlawful.

He says to them, and so on. Jesus admits that this was allowed, but still He contends that this was not the original design of marriage. It was only a temporary expedient, growing out of a particular state of things, and not designed to be perpetual. It was because of the hardness of their hearts.

Moses found the custom in use. He found a hard-hearted and rebellious people. In this state of things, he did not consider it prudent to forbid a practice so universal; however, it could be regulated. Instead of allowing the husband to divorce his wife in a passion, Moses required him to give her a written document so that he might take time to consider the matter, thus making it probable that divorces would be less frequent. He was also required to sit down deliberately, examine the situation, and probably bring the case before some scribe or learned man to write a divorce in the legal form.

In this way, there might be an opportunity for the matter to be reconciled and the man to be persuaded not to divorce his wife. This, says our Savior, was a permission growing out of a particular state of things and designed to remedy a prevailing evil. But at first, it was not so. God intended that marriage should be between one man and one woman, and that they were only to be separated by the appointment of Him who had formed the union.

Hardness of your hearts. He speaks here of His hearers as a part of the nation. He refers to the hardness of you Jews. This is similar to when we say, "We fought with England and gained our independence," meaning we, the American people, even though it was done by our fathers. Therefore, He does not mean to say that this was done because of the people He addressed at that moment, but rather because of the national hardness of heart—the cruelty of the Jewish people as a people.