1  When Jesus had finished saying these things, he left Galilee and went into the region of Judea to the other side of the Jordan.

2  Large crowds followed him, and he healed them there.

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?"

4  "Haven't you read," he replied, "that at the beginning the Creator made them male and female,'[1]

5  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'[2] ?

6  So they are no longer two, but one. Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate."

7  "Why then," they asked, "did Moses command that a man give his wife a certificate of divorce and send her away?"

8  Jesus replied, "Moses permitted you to divorce your wives because your hearts were hard. But it was not this way from the beginning.

9  I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for marital unfaithfulness, and marries another woman commits adultery."

10  The disciples said to him, "If this is the situation between a husband and wife, it is better not to marry."

11  Jesus replied, "Not everyone can accept this word, but only those to whom it has been given.

12  For some are eunuchs because they were born that way; others were made that way by men; and others have renounced marriage[3] because of the kingdom of heaven. The one who can accept this should accept it."

1+1=1.  Now, any third grade could tell you that that little mathematical question is clearly incorrect.  There is, however, one exception to this rule.  God designed marriage so that 1 man = one woman = 1 flesh.  The coming together of a man and woman in marriage forms a new creation.

In this passage, the Pharisees tried to trip Jesus up on a technicality.  In asking this question, they hoped to capitalize on the conflict of two schools of Jewish thought that  created controversy over Moses '  pronouncement on divorce in Deuteronomy 24  ;1-4.  The teacher Shammai allowed a man to divorce his wife only on the grounds of marital unfaithfulness; another teacher, Hiller, argued that divorce was allowable for reason as simple as, for example, burning dinner.  But Jesus chose to emphasize the permanent aspects of God's plan for marriage.  Knowing that divorce came about as the result of sin in people's hearts, Jesus pointed out the scheming Pharisees back to the words of Genesis (vv. 4-6)---the place where God's perfect plan for marriage is revealed.

If you're married, ask God for the grace you need to keep your vows as diligently today as you did on the day you made them.