Meeting guide · command 59

Honor Marriage

Honor God's covenant intention for marriage and resist hard-hearted treatment that discards a spouse.

Read

Read the complete passage aloud.

Primary passage

Matthew 19:3–9

3 Pharisees came to him, testing him and saying, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any reason?” 4 He answered, “Haven’t you read that he who made them from the beginning made them male and female, 5 and said, ‘For this cause a man shall leave his father and mother, and shall be joined to his wife; and the two shall become one flesh’? 6 So that they are no more two, but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, don’t let man tear apart.” 7 They asked him, “Why then did Moses command us to give her a certificate of divorce and divorce her?” 8 He said to them, “Moses, because of the hardness of your hearts, allowed you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it has not been so. 9 I tell you that whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery; and he who marries her when she is divorced commits adultery.”

World English Bible

When Pharisees test Jesus with a legal debate, He returns to creation, one-flesh covenant, and the hardness of heart behind divorce practices.

Discuss

Listen carefully to what Jesus says.

  1. What does Jesus command?
  2. What does this passage reveal about Him?
  3. Where do we resist this command?
  4. What is difficult or unclear?
  5. How does Jesus redirect a search for legal permission toward God's intent and the condition of the heart?

Practice

Choose one specific act of obedience.

If married, take one concrete step of fidelity, repair, or honest communication. If facing harm, separation, or divorce, seek safe pastoral and professional counsel.

Return

Come back and discuss what happened.

What step toward faithfulness, truth, safety, or wise counsel did you take?

Close together

Pray. Then prepare to teach.

Pray

Jesus, confront hard-heartedness, strengthen covenant faithfulness, protect vulnerable spouses, and give wisdom in painful situations.

Teach

Acknowledge interpretive questions and never use the passage to compel someone to remain in danger or to conceal abuse.