What is the meaning of Matthew 19:5? For this reason - Jesus is quoting Genesis 2:24, rooting His teaching on marriage in God’s original design. - Marriage is not a human invention that can be re-imagined; it is God’s purposeful plan from creation (Mark 10:6–9). - The “reason” concerns companionship, partnership, and the mandate to steward creation together (Genesis 1:27-28). - By tying His words to Genesis, Jesus affirms both the authority of Scripture and its enduring relevance (Psalm 119:160). A man will leave his father and mother - Leaving signals a decisive, public shift in primary loyalty and responsibility (Genesis 2:24; Ephesians 5:31). - The adult son establishes a new household, stepping into mature leadership (Proverbs 24:27). - This does not reject parental honor (Exodus 20:12) but recognizes a new covenant priority. - Scripture protects early marriage bonds by instructing a man to invest his first year in his wife (Deuteronomy 24:5). And be united to his wife - “United” speaks of a permanent, covenant bond—cleaving that is meant to be lifelong (Malachi 2:14-15; Romans 7:2). - Marriage is exclusive: one man, one woman, no rivals (Proverbs 5:15-19; 1 Corinthians 7:2). - Jesus underscores that what God has joined, humans must not separate (Matthew 19:6). - The union is emotional, spiritual, legal, and physical, lived out in sacrificial love (Ephesians 5:25-30). And the two will become one flesh - This phrase encompasses physical intimacy, producing life and expressing unity (Genesis 4:1; Hebrews 13:4). - “One flesh” also points to a shared life—finances, goals, sorrows, joys (1 Peter 3:7). - Paul applies it to Christ and the church, showing marriage as a living parable of the gospel (Ephesians 5:31-32). - Because husband and wife are one flesh, adultery and sexual immorality attack the very self (1 Corinthians 6:15-18). summary Matthew 19:5 reveals Jesus reaffirming God’s timeless blueprint for marriage: creation-based, covenantal, exclusive, and lifelong. A man decisively leaves his parents, cleaves to his wife, and together they become one flesh, echoing God’s original intent and illustrating Christ’s faithful love for His people. |
    |