The Pharisees also came unto him, tempting him, and saying unto him, Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife for every cause?
The Pharisees were the religious lawyers and ruling authorities of Jesus' day, and they had a pattern of testing him with questions designed to trap him politically or theologically. In first-century Judaism, there was a well-known public debate between two influential rabbis — one school allowed divorce for almost any reason, while another permitted it only in cases of serious moral failure. By asking Jesus to take a side, the Pharisees are hoping to force him to either offend a large group of people or contradict recognized religious teaching. This is not a genuine question asked in good faith; it is a setup. But what it reveals about them may also reveal something uncomfortably familiar about us.
God, forgive me for the questions I dress up as seeking but are really just defending what I have already decided. Teach me to come to you with honesty rather than an agenda, with open hands instead of a verdict already written. I want to want truth more than I want to be right. Amen.
There is a kind of question that is not really a question — it is a trap with a question mark attached. The Pharisees here are interrogating Jesus about divorce, but wisdom is the last thing they want. They want leverage. They want him boxed into a corner. What is striking is that Jesus doesn't flinch, doesn't pick a political lane, and doesn't seem rattled. He goes somewhere the question was never designed to go — past the legal debate entirely, down to the thing underneath it. The question was meant to be a dead end. He turns it into a doorway. It is worth sitting with the possibility that you have done something similar — brought God or a trusted friend a question with your conclusion already baked in, looking more for confirmation than for truth. The Pharisees were not ignorant people. They knew the scriptures better than almost anyone. And yet here they are, using that knowledge as a weapon rather than a window. Knowledge without honesty produces exactly that. What would it look like to bring your genuinely open questions forward — the ones you haven't dressed up yet, the ones whose answers you are a little afraid of?
Why do you think the Pharisees framed their question as "any and every reason" — what debate were they trying to force Jesus into, and what did they hope to gain from his answer?
Think of a time you brought a question to God, a mentor, or a close friend with your answer already half-formed — what were you really looking for: truth, or permission?
Is it possible to be deeply knowledgeable about scripture and still use that knowledge in ways that miss the point entirely? What creates the gap between knowledge and wisdom?
How does agenda-driven religious debate affect the people on the margins of those debates — the ones being discussed rather than doing the discussing?
What is one honest, open question — about faith, about a relationship, about yourself — that you have been avoiding because you are not sure you want the real answer? What would it take to ask it this week?
It hath been said , Whosoever shall put away his wife, let him give her a writing of divorcement:
Matthew 5:31
But I say unto you, That whosoever shall put away his wife, saving for the cause of fornication, causeth her to commit adultery: and whosoever shall marry her that is divorced committeth adultery.
Matthew 5:32
For the LORD, the God of Israel, saith that he hateth putting away: for one covereth violence with his garment, saith the LORD of hosts: therefore take heed to your spirit, that ye deal not treacherously.
Malachi 2:16
And unto the married I command, yet not I, but the Lord, Let not the wife depart from her husband:
1 Corinthians 7:10
The Pharisees also with the Sadducees came, and tempting desired him that he would shew them a sign from heaven.
Matthew 16:1
Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.
Genesis 2:24
Yet ye say, Wherefore? Because the LORD hath been witness between thee and the wife of thy youth, against whom thou hast dealt treacherously: yet is she thy companion, and the wife of thy covenant.
Malachi 2:14
Likewise, ye husbands, dwell with them according to knowledge, giving honour unto the wife, as unto the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life; that your prayers be not hindered.
1 Peter 3:7
And Pharisees came to Jesus, testing Him and asking, "Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for just any reason?"
AMP
And Pharisees came up to him and tested him by asking, “Is it lawful to divorce one's wife for any cause?”
ESV
[Some] Pharisees came to Jesus, testing Him and asking, 'Is it lawful [for a man] to divorce his wife for any reason at all?'
NASB
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?”
NIV
The Pharisees also came to Him, testing Him, and saying to Him, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for just any reason?”
NKJV
Some Pharisees came and tried to trap him with this question: “Should a man be allowed to divorce his wife for just any reason?”
NLT
One day the Pharisees were badgering him: "Is it legal for a man to divorce his wife for any reason?"
MSG