New Testament · Gospel

Matthew 19:3

The Cost of Following

Then some Pharisees came and tested Him by asking, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any reason?” Matthew 19:3 · Berean Standard Bible

What It Means

Matthew 19:3, in plain English

Some Pharisees come to test Jesus with a hot-button question: can a man divorce his wife for just any reason at all?

Why it's here

This was one of the biggest debates in Jewish life at the time. They're hoping to trap Him no matter how He answers.

Who's speaking

The Pharisees are trying to catch Jesus in a no-win situation.

Where it sits in the story

The religious leaders approach with a trick question. They don't want to learn — they want to trap Him.

A Closer Look

The scholar's commentary

Pharisees approach with a test question about divorce 'for any reason' (kata pasan aitian), referencing the debate between the schools of Hillel (liberal grounds) and Shammai (adultery only).

Language and setting

The phrase 'for any reason' specifically invokes the Hillelite interpretation of Deuteronomy 24:1, making this a live halakhic controversy.

Voice

Pharisees pose a loaded question designed to trap Jesus in a sectarian debate.

Significance

The Pharisees try to ensnare Jesus in a divisive theological dispute about the grounds for divorce.

In context

Matthew 19:1–5

1When Jesus had finished saying these things, He left Galilee and went into the region of Judea beyond the Jordan.

2Large crowds followed Him, and He healed them there.

3Then some Pharisees came and tested Him by asking, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any reason?”

4Jesus answered, “Have you not read that from the beginning the Creator ‘made them male and female,’

5and 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’?

Read all of Matthew 19 — A rich young man walks away sad, children are welcomed, and the disciples wonder who can possibly be saved. Jesus redefines what it costs to follow him.

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