"The family is the first community, the basic building block of society … . It has been so from the beginning.
"The Lord Jesus uses this phrase, 'from the beginning,' in his talk about marriage recorded in the gospels of Matthew and Mark. What exactly did he mean by the 'beginning'?
"Let's take a close look at the exchange between Jesus and the Pharisees.
"Some Pharisees came to test him. They asked, 'Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any reason?'
"'Haven't you read,' he replied, 'that at the beginning the Creator "made them male and female," 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"? So they are no longer two, but one. Therefore what God has joined together, let no man separate.'
"'Why then,' they asked, 'did Moses command that a man give his wife a certificate of divorce and send her away?'
"Jesus replied, 'Moses permitted you to divorce your wives because your hearts were hard. But it was not this way from the beginning.' (Mt. 19:3-8; see also Mk. 10:2-9)"Jesus doesn't answer the Pharisees' question on their level. He didn't approve of their legalistic approach …. Instead he refers back to the beginning — to the words of Genesis, which the Pharisees knew by heart. … By going back to God's original plan for marriage, he evades their trap … .
"… The full text of Genesis 1:27, which Jesus summarizes, says, 'So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him, male and female he created them' Jesus draws a connection between this verse and Genesis 2:24 — 'For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.'
"By linking these two verses and adding, 'So they are no longer two, but one. Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate,' Christ casts new light on the 'one flesh' union of marriage.
"A man and a woman don't become one flesh on their own, Christ says — God unites them. Marriage is not a mere social institution. It is a holy union instituted by God.
…
"… By twice referring his questioners back to the beginning, Jesus asked them to ponder deeply the way God created human beings, precisely as male and female.
"Let's put ourselves in the place of Jesus' questioners. But rather than seeking to test Christ, let us meditate on these things, leaning in and looking for wisdom."
