NOTES for Mat 19:3-12

Let us decide seriously for ourselves whether we trust Jesus and the words He speaks. For if we do, we must draw some quite definite conclusions from today's Gospel passage:

first, one should enter marriage with the conviction that it is for life, not with the thought, “If I do not like it, I will get divorced”;
second, marriage is God's work, and the strength of a marriage is determined by our trust in Him;
third, adultery is the death of a marriage;
fourth, a second marriage after divorce is impossible;
fifth, monastic life (or, more precisely, celibacy) is possible only through a special calling from God, not as a means of solving one's personal problems in relationships with the opposite sex;
sixth, all this, of course, applies to those who consider themselves Christians and must not be used by us to condemn the people around us!