Matthew 19:7
“They asked him, “Why then did Moses command us to give her a bill of divorce, and divorce her?””
What does Matthew 19:7 mean?
The Pharisees are pushing back on Jesus's teaching that divorce goes against God's original design for marriage. They're pointing to Deuteronomy 24, which allowed a man to give his wife a certificate of divorce if he found something displeasing about her, and they're genuinely confused about why Jesus seems to be contradicting Moses, whom they deeply respected. Jesus's response (which follows in the next verse) is revealing: he says Moses permitted divorce because of people's hardheartedness, not because God endorsed it. It's the difference between what God permits in a broken world and what God originally intended. If you're wrestling with questions about commitment, failure, or God's standards, this exchange reminds us that Jesus often distinguished between mercy given within our limitations and the ideal God calls us toward.