New Testament · Gospel

Matthew 19:5

The Cost of Following

and said, ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh’? Matthew 19:5 · Berean Standard Bible
What It Means

Matthew 19:5, in plain English

Jesus quotes God's own words: a man leaves his parents and is united to his wife, and the two become one.

Why it's here

This isn't just a rule — it's a picture of what God designed marriage to be: a deep, inseparable bond.

Who's speaking

Jesus is quoting the Creator Himself to show what marriage was always about.

Where it sits in the story

Jesus reaches back to the very first marriage to show that the bond between husband and wife is meant to be total and unbreakable.

A Closer Look

The scholarly reading

Jesus cites Genesis 2:24 — the 'one flesh' (mian sarka) union — presenting marriage as a creation ordinance where two persons form an inseparable bond.

Language and setting

The quotation links the leaving of parents to the forming of a new covenant unit, emphasizing permanence and exclusivity.

Voice

Jesus quotes the Creator's own words about the nature of the marital bond.

Significance

Jesus appeals to the foundational text on marriage, presenting the one-flesh union as God's normative design.

In context

Matthew 19:3–7

3Then some Pharisees came and tested Him by asking, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any reason?”

4Jesus answered, “Have you not read that from the beginning the Creator ‘made them male and female,’

5and said, ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh’?

6So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate.”

7“Why then,” they asked, “did Moses order a man to give his wife a certificate of divorce and send her away?”

Read all of Matthew 19 — A rich young man walks away sad, children are welcomed, and the disciples wonder who can possibly be saved. Jesus redefines what it costs to follow him.

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