“Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.”
My Notes
What Does Matthew 19:6 Mean?
Jesus quotes Genesis 2:24 and draws the conclusion: what was two is now one. The mathematical transformation is the point — marriage doesn't create a partnership of two. It creates a union of one. "No more twain" — they aren't two anymore.
"What therefore God hath joined together" attributes the union to divine action. God did the joining. Marriage isn't just a human contract witnessed by God. It's a God-initiated fusion of two people into one entity.
"Let not man put asunder" is a prohibition with universal scope. No human being — not the husband, not the wife, not parents, not society — has the right to tear apart what God united. The authority to join belonged to God; the prohibition against separating extends to everyone.
Jesus was responding to Pharisees testing him about divorce. Their question was about the technicalities of ending a marriage. Jesus redirected to the nature of the union itself. Understanding what marriage is changes how you think about what threatens it.
Reflection Questions
- 1.What does 'one flesh' mean to you — spiritually, emotionally, practically?
- 2.How does viewing marriage as 'God-joined' rather than just a human decision change how you approach it?
- 3.What forces in our culture work to 'put asunder' what God has joined?
- 4.How do you hold this verse's high ideal alongside grace for those whose marriages have ended?
Devotional
No more twain, but one flesh. Marriage, in Jesus' description, isn't two people standing next to each other. It's two people becoming one thing. And one thing can't be divided without something being torn.
Let not man put asunder. That's a strong word — "asunder" means to violently separate. Jesus is saying that breaking a marriage isn't a clean cut. It's a tearing apart of something that was fused together.
This verse carries weight whether you're married, contemplating marriage, or processing its end. If you're married, it raises the stakes: what you have is God-joined. Treat it with that gravity. If you're approaching marriage, it clarifies: this isn't just a partnership. It's a spiritual union with divine fingerprints on it.
And if a marriage has ended, this verse isn't here to condemn. Jesus met broken people all day long and offered grace, not lectures. The ideal is clear. The compassion for those whose reality fell short of the ideal is equally clear in how Jesus lived.
What does it mean to treat your closest relationship as something God joined? How would that change how you fight, how you forgive, how you stay?
Commentary
Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.
Wherefore they are no more twain,.... They were two before marriage, but now no more so; not but that they remain two…
And he answered and said ... - Instead of referring to the opinions of either party, Jesus called their attention to the…
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Cross References
Related passages throughout Scripture