The Pharisees hoped to refute Jesus by arguing that in Deuteronomy 24:1, Moses’ teaching contradicts Jesus’ teaching. They phrased their question cautiously, with the words Why then…?,
but they should have known that their interpretation of the passage was wrong, for Mosaic law gave the death penalty for adultery, so the passage they appealed to could not be interpreted as they did. What Moses meant was that once a decision for divorce had in fact already been made, they could give a certificate of divorce, both to restrain the practice of divorce and, if the decision had indeed already been made, to ensure that it occurred in good order. Moses certainly did not give a command to divorce, but the Pharisees interpreted Deuteronomy 24:1 as a command to attack Jesus’ claim that divorce is wrong (Matthew 19:6), thus implying that Jesus elevated his authority over Moses’ authority. If a woman got such a certificate of divorce, they argued, she was free to remarry.
The Pharisees believed that they could refute Jesus. They argued that in Deuteronomy 24:1, Moses’ teaching contradicts what Jesus had just taught. To be sure, they phrased their question cautiously with the words Why then…?
Yet at the same time they should have known that their interpretation of the passage was mistaken, for in the same law adultery carried the death penalty, so the passage they appealed to could not be interpreted in the way that they did. What Moses meant was that once a decision for divorce had in fact already been made, it was permitted to give a certificate of divorce—both to restrain divorce as much as possible and, if the decision had indeed already been made, to ensure that it occurred in good order. Moses certainly did not give a command to divorce.1
In reaction to Jesus’ claim that divorce is impermissible (Matthew 19:6), the Pharisees now pointed to Deuteronomy 24:1. They appealed to this passage as a Mosaic command, and they wanted to know whether Jesus thought he knew better than Moses himself. Did he consider his own authority as overriding that of Moses? If a woman received such a certificate of divorce, they argued, she had the freedom to remarry.2
7 They said to him, “Why then did Moses command one to give a certificate of divorce and to send her away?”