What did Jesus teach about divorce and remarriage, and what makes lifelong marriage possible? In Matthew 19:1–9, Jesus takes the Pharisees back to God’s original plan for marriage in Genesis, teaching that what God has joined together, no one should separate. Steve Wood examines this passage and explains why Jesus connects divorce with the hardness of the human heart.
The key to lifelong marriage is found in the New Covenant promises of Jeremiah 31 and Ezekiel 36: God gives His people a new heart and His Spirit to help them follow His ways. Steve explores how this spiritual transformation makes faithful, lifelong marriage possible and how Christians can inadvertently block the grace of the Holy Spirit.
This episode also examines Jesus’ exception clauses concerning unchastity in Matthew 5 and 19, comparing interpretations of these passages with the accounts in Mark and Luke and the historic Catholic understanding of marriage, separation, and remarriage.
Listen to this episode to deepen your understanding of biblical marriage and discover the spiritual foundation for a lifelong commitment.