Jesus Returns to Creation to Teach About Marriage

Pharisees test Jesus with a question about divorce. Jesus asks what Moses commanded, they cite the permission of Deuteronomy 24, and he answers that the concession addressed human hardness of heart. He then reaches behind that legislation to creation itself, quoting Genesis 1:27 and 2:24: God made humanity male and female, and the two become one flesh.

Where this fits in the story: Jesus interprets one biblical text in light of an earlier and more foundational one. The creation account supplies his governing vision for marriage, while Deuteronomy addresses life in a fallen world where covenant relationships fracture.