Then Jesus said to them, “Moses wrote this law for you, because you have hearts of stone. But in the beginning of creation God made them male and female; and because of this, man has to leave father and mother and be joined to his wife; and the two shall become one body. So, they are no longer two, but one body. Therefore, let no one separate what God has joined.”
When they were indoors at home, the disciples again asked him about this, and he told them, “Whoever divorces his wife and marries another, commits adultery against his wife; and the woman who divorces her husband and marries another, also commits adultery.”When they were indoors at home, the disciples again asked him about this, and he told them, “Whoever divorces his wife and marries another, commits adultery against his wife; and the woman who divorces her husband and marries another, also commits adultery.”

Reflection:
“Let no one separate what God has joined.”
Among the Pharisees, Jesus obviously has a reputation for being cavalier about the law— a matter for them of supreme importance. As usual they put a question to him, not to receive wisdom, but to find some reason to justify their own opposition. And as usual, they fall into their own trap. Rather than dismissing the law, Jesus appeals to an ideal far more demanding than the Mosaic law. Anyone who divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery.Among the Pharisees, Jesus obviously has a reputation for being cavalier about the law— a matter for them of supreme importance. As usual they put a question to him, not to receive wisdom, but to find some reason to justify their own opposition. And as usual, they fall into their own trap. Rather than dismissing the law, Jesus appeals to an ideal far more demanding than the Mosaic law. Anyone who divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery.Lest we suppose that Jesus hereby intended to establish a new and even more stringent law, we should recall his teaching that “everyone who looks lustfully at a woman has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” Anyone who hates his brother is a murderer. Anyone who calls another a fool is liable to hellfire. (Mt 5:22) If that is so, as the disciples say in another con- text,“Who then can be saved?”
For Jesus the law is not a standard by which to measure our personal righteousness. It is a con- cession to our “hardness of heart.” Our standard  should  always  be the law of love, and the aspiration to be “perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect.” (Mt 5:48)For Jesus the law is not a standard by which to measure our personal righteousness. It is a con- cession to our “hardness of heart.” Our standard  should  always  be the law of love, and the aspiration to be “perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect.” (Mt 5:48)

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