Timing is everything. It seems whenever something good is taking place, negativity always shows up to ruin the moment. The Pharisees showing up to test Jesus while He is healing and helping others is one such example. I wonder if they always waited for the most opportune moment (when the crowds were large) to question Jesus in a public setting. Of course they come to question Him again in Matthew Chapter 19:(Verse 3)
Some Pharisees came to him to test him. They asked, "Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any and every reason?"
It seems almost every question from the Pharisees to Jesus is a "setup" for an additional "trapping" question. Jesus knows this already, however He "plays along" and answers them:
(Verses 4-6)
"Haven't you read," he replied, "that at the beginning the Creator 'made them male and female,' and said, '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. Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate."
At this time the Pharisees are happy about how Jesus answered and now they are ready to "spring the trap" with their additional question:
(Verse 7)
"Why then," they asked, "did Moses command that a man give his wife a certificate of divorce and send her away?"
The Pharisees are pleased with themselves at this point. They most likely are thinking; "Aha! what about that!" Jesus gently corrects them as follows:
(Versus 8)
Jesus replied, "Moses permitted you to divorce your wives because your hearts were hard. But it was not this way from the beginning.
Jesus' reply could be characterized in layman's terms. An old country preacher might say it like this:
"You boys might want to check your scripture there. I believe you've got it wrong. Moses didn't command anyone to divorce his wife, he just let 'em do it because of all the hard heartedness among the people back then."
The trap had been sprung (or so they thought) and when they thought they had Jesus cornered, He reveals the flaw of their plan. It seems the Pharisees did not remember correctly what was said in the scriptures. (Perhaps they remembered scriptures the way they wanted to, rather than what it actually said.) They most likely did not care for Jesus correcting them, especially in front of a crowd of people. They folllow up with an additional question for Jesus which He answers that as well.
This Chapter also incudes Jesus blessing children and addressing the question of a rich young man.
In a few words:
Know what scripture actually says and apply to my life correctly.
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