Marriage is not a human invention, a social device for companionship and raising children. It is God's idea and founded on His creation design for humanity. However, it is obvious that some marriages work easily while others are a struggle. The Pharisees had firm views on divorce, or more correctly two opposing views. They were divided into two theological and ideological schools: those of Shammah said that divorce was only permissible after adultery, while those of Hillel taught that a man could divorce his wife for any reason however trivial.
 
In addition, King Herod Antipas (the ruler of Galilee where Jesus had been and Perea where Jesus was located at the time of these questions) had divorced his wife and married his brother's wife Herodius. John the Baptist was eventually beheaded because he spoke against the king's immorality (Matthew 14:1-12). So there was a lot at stake in asking Jesus if He thought that God's law allowed divorce for any reason.
 
Jesus' answer took them right back to Genesis 2:24. Marriage is God's plan and that once united, a man and woman are not free to separate because they become one divinely-constituted new unit, 'one flesh'. The Genesis account (repeated three times by different New Testament writers) makes clear that the anatomical, sexual, emotional, procreative and social design of marriage is God-directed and God-fused - as a man and woman give themselves to each other. Therefore as God has joined the man to the woman, it is not for anybody else to split them apart.
 
Like the Pharisees, Christians today have a variety of views on this topic. Most people want to feel that God is on their side and some try to configure His Word to fit what they would like to be true. Many suggest that Jesus would support what they want to do: but it is important first to hear what Jesus actually said. That is the 'gold standard'. Jesus had no interest in supporting one group who opposed Him, versus another who also opposed Him. Nor was He interested in political neutrality. He simply reiterated the truth which had been available for millennia. We will do well to start there as the gold standard for discipleship in every situation in life.