Jesus referenced, quoted, and alluded to the Old Testament many times throughout his ministry. In this series, we are going to look at some of the things he said about the Old Testament to gain a better understanding for ourselves about why these passages are relevant. If Jesus quoted these passages, they must be important and we’re going to discover how he would talk and think about them.

The first quote we’re going to look at comes in Mark 10:6-8. 

But at the beginning of creation God ‘made them male and female.’ ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.” 

Let’s get some context here. Jesus was teaching and preaching around Judea and some Pharisees came to him asking if it is lawful to divorce someone, surely a trap. Jesus then asks what Moses said and they respond with “if a man gives a certificate of divorce, it is legal” (my paraphrase). But Jesus doesn’t like this response because the response Moses gave was because the people were stubborn, it wasn’t based on the true reality and law on which God made. So where does Jesus go for the real answer to this question? A law? The courts? The only place he can go, Genesis 1. 

Jesus references Genesis 1:27 and 2:24 and uses them both to form a point. His first point is that the first two humans were made to be united together and when they do they become as one. So the Pharisees question regarding divorce was not a natural inclination of humans. It was to be united together. Jesus’ second point is that God instituted this unification and should not be tampered with. Marriage, for Jesus, symbolized the providence of God and his grace to humans. So the answer to the Pharisees question about divorce for Jesus, is no, since God joined them together. Rejecting or splitting the marriage would be to reject the provision and goodness of God. 

Matthew’s account of this scene provides a little more than Mark’s. Jesus gives a reason as to why divorce would occur. Marital unfaithfulness, or adultery, an affair. This was the same reason given in Deuteronomy 24, where the word “indecency” captures the image of unlawful sexual relations outside the marriage covenant. But this law started to be used for other reasons other than what Moses intended. Jesus does not go against the law, but gives us insight into why it exists, because of human sin and rebellion. Jesus proclaims the idea of the original marriage state, one partner for life. But he also recognizes the fallen world of humanity and upholds the tradition of divorce for unfaithfulness but he is sure to first proclaim the original union by referring to Genesis 1 and 2.