Inside Out

Pharisees came up to him [Jesus of Nazareth c.AD30] and tested him by asking, “Is it lawful to divorce one’s wife for any cause?” He answered, “Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female, and said, ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.” They said to him, “Why then did Moses command one to give a certificate of divorce and to send her away?” He said to them, “Because of your hardness of heart Moses allowed you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so. And I say to you: whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery.” The disciples said to him, “If such is the case of a man with his wife, it is better not to marry.” But he said to them, “Not everyone can receive this saying, but only those to whom it is given. For there are eunuchs who have been so from birth, and there are eunuchs who have been made eunuchs by men, and there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. Let the one who is able to receive this receive it.” Matthews 19: 3-12

What is she really like? What is he really like? What are they like – inside? Take Adel Kermiche for instance – the man who murdered the Christian priest in Rouen. Apparently he tried to leave France a few weeks ago having pledged allegiance to Islamic State in a video. What’s he really like? Donald Trump is another human being who deserves respect for that reason if for no other. It seems that he’s calling on enemies of the United States to help him triumph over Hilary Clinton. What’s he really like? Hilary Clinton too. What’s she really like – inside?
.	‘A man’s heart is right when he wills what God wills.’ (Thomas Aquinas, theologian, 1225-1274)
The teaching of Jesus Christ can help greatly with this. See bold above. Matthew was an eye-witness of Jesus. His biography shows him to have been a well-educated man. Pharisees came up to Jesus and tested him by asking, “Is it lawful to divorce one’s wife for any cause?” Even today under the law in certain countries, a man can divorce his wife by saying to her, three times, “I divorce you.” And that’s it. These AD 30 Pharisees – highly religious – wanted Jesus to endorse a similar system being discussed then. What then were these Pharisees really like? Matthew reports Jesus’ reply, “Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female, and said, ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together let not man separate.” The Pharisees immediately noticed that Jesus was not (in their view) giving due weight to God’s commandments given to their ancient leader Moses. They said, “Why then did Moses command one to give a certificate of divorce and to send her away?” This command was given to a man who wanted a divorce but was intended to give some protection to his spouse by requiring him to do the deed in writing. Surely it could be extended to allow any man to write a certificate without having any good reason for it? Jesus answered, “Because of your hardness of heart Moses allowed you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so. And I say to you: whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery.” Seventh Commandment forbids this. The disciples reached an inner conclusion. They said aloud, “If such is the case of a man with his wife, it is better not to marry.” They hadn’t taken long to work it out that, if a man didn’t formally marry his partner, he could get rid of her without any formality at all. How terribly up to date. That’s the answer – for men, not for wives and children. And what about adultery?
.	‘He who lives only to benefit himself confers on the world a benefit when he dies.’ (Tertullian, writer, 155-240 AD)
What were Jesus’ disciples really like – inside? Were they the same inside as the religious Pharisees? Were they the same inside as many men today? Jesus didn’t want men to create that escape to benefit only themselves. He said, “Not everyone can receive this saying, but only those to whom it is given… [See above] Let the one who is able to receive this receive it.” This Jesus – what is he really like – inside? He hated what was inside the Pharisees. His concern was for others. Yes. But his concern extended to the very men whose hardness of heart in this area caused so much pain.

Richard Syvret

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