Matthew 19:1 and 2:
19:1And it came-to-pass when Jesus completed these words he departed away-from Galilee and went into the boundaries of Judea, other-side of the Jordan, .2and many crowds followed him and he attended-to them there.
It happened (became, came into being) when Jesus completed these words (brought these spoken-accounts to their ending issue at this time, referring to what is recorded towards the end of chapter 18) he departed away-from Galilee (he lifted or took himself away changing his location from Galilee) and came into the boundaries/borders of Judea, which is across the Jordan river, and a lot of throngs of people followed him and he attended to them there (he treated them, was therapeutic, took care of them as necessary there).
This period of time would most likely have been following the Feast of Dedication which occurred in December 27 AD, during the winter of 27/28 AD.
[Reference: Mark 10:1; John 10:40-42.]
Verses 3-8:
.3And Pharisees came-towards him tempting him and saying, “If it is permitted (for a husband) to loosen his wife from (himself) according to every cause?” .4But the (one) having answered said, “You read that the (One) having created from (the) beginning ‘a male and a female He made them,’ .5and He said, ‘By-reason-of-this a man will leave-down (his) father and mother and he will be glued-together-towards his wife and the two will be into one flesh,’ didn’t you? – .6so-that they will no-longer be two but one flesh; therefore that-which God yoked-together man must not separate.” .7They say to him, “Why therefore did Moses command to give a book of departure and to loosen her from (himself)?” .8He says to them that “Moses towards your hardheartedness permitted you to loosen your wives from (yourselves), but from (the) beginning it did not become2 thus.
The verb "to tempt" in this context means: to make trial-of or try in the bad sense of putting to the test with evil and ill-intent enticing to do wrong, trying to cause another to fall-aside from the truth of God's Word, enticing to make someone disbelieve what God says during that specific situation. The devil is the source of tempting with/by evil.
The Pharisees came towards Jesus tempting him and saying, “If it is permitted for a husband to loosen his wife from himself according to every cause (is it available, possible for a husband to unbind, unfasten, release away from himself, let go of his wife/woman in accordance with all/every ground for charge, reason for accusation)?” The motivation of these Pharisees was to tempt Jesus; they did not really want to know God’s intention/will regarding this issue!
But Jesus answered by saying (he replied giving his judicial sentence by speaking to them in response to their temptation), “You read that:
We should notice that Jesus said that God made them a male and a female from the beginning of their existence – there is no mention of so-called ‘evolution’ as though mankind came from monkeys or worms or fish, etc. In fact Genesis 2:7, 21, and 22 explain in detail the physical making of mankind, and the fullness of Genesis 1:27 includes the spiritual creating of the male and the female when God placed holy spirit-life within Adam and Eve upon the condition that they would believe and obey what God says to them.
Also, the verb translated "leave-down" in the phrase "a man will leave-down (his) father and mother" does not mean that the man who is the son of his father and mother will disown, forsake or abandon his parents at the time he glues himself together towards his wife. But, it means that the man will leave them remaining behind where they are and he continues on to do what he must do. Thus the husband will still have his father and mother being his parents, and therefore, provided that they are still alive when this husband and wife's children are born, the children will also be able to have access to his father and mother and to share their companionship.
Jesus’ answer was, “You read that the (One) having created from (the) beginning ‘a male and a female He made them,’ and He said, ‘By-reason-of-this a man will leave-down (his) father and mother and he will be glued-together-towards his wife and the two will be into one flesh,’ didn’t you?....” The construction of this question indicates that the expected unspoken answer to Jesus’ question by the Pharisees must be, “Yes, we Pharisees have read this.”
Jesus continues:
The verb “to yoke together” means: to jointly-yoke, co-yoke, to yoke in conjunction with another on the same yoke. Here, God yoked together the man and woman. They are to live and work in service to God on the same team, so-to-speak, as oxen being joined together by the yoke for the purpose of working together, tied to the same wooden/metal bar or frame by-which they work within its limitations plowing a field going evenly together in the same direction according to their master's direction and instruction. The husband and wife’s master must be the only true God and they are both to willingly live their lives and work together in service to God.
Jesus said, “You read that the (One) having created from (the) beginning ‘a male and a female He made them,’ .5and He said, ‘By-reason-of-this a man will leave-down (his) father and mother and he will be glued-together-towards his wife and the two will be into one flesh,’ didn’t you? – .6so-that they will no-longer be two but one flesh; therefore that-which God yoked-together man must not separate.” God’s fullness of this truth has been coming to pass since the day of Pentecost when God via the resurrected Lord Jesus Christ made available to mankind His gift of permanent holy spirit-life whereby all who receive it become limbs of the one spiritual body in Christ, and all have the hope of glory to come when Christ will gather all holy-people/Christians together with him giving them their new spiritual bodies like the one he has already received from God (refer to I Corinthians 6:16-20; II Corinthians 6:14; Galatians 3:27-29; Ephesians 5:31 and 32).
The Pharisees say to Jesus, “Why therefore did Moses command (enjoin, charge) to give a book of departure (to give his wife a small book, scroll, paper which specifically only contains the portion of writing pertaining-to a standing-away from her husband, something in writing which indicates that she is now in a position of standing away from him, a divorcement, divorce paper) and to loosen her from himself (to unbind, unfasten, release her away from himself, let go of his wife/woman)?”
Jesus says to them that “Moses towards your hardheartedness permitted you to loosen your wives from yourselves (Moses allowed you Israelites to loosen your wives from yourselves this way in consideration of the hardness of the center/core of your beings, the seat of your whole personal selves and life became hard, as having dried-up from lack of water and becoming stiff like a leaf having detached itself from the tree, by your refusal of what God says Who is the source of your water/nourishment to give and maintain your life) – but from the beginning it did not become and continues not to be thus (but from the start it did not come to pass to be, did not come into being, and it has still not become in this manner).” The truth of how God intends man/husband/male and woman/wife/female to be together has not changed.
[Reference: Deuteronomy 24:1 (at the end of the forty years); Matthew 5:31; Mark 10:2-9. Note: verbs with a superscript 2 (2) immediately following them indicate the "perfect" tense - details are provided in the "Relevant Notes" link of this study.]
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