“I hate divorce,” says the Lord God of Israel. “I hate the person who covers himself with violence,” says the Lord of Armies. “Be careful not to be unfaithful.”
“How horrible it will be for you, experts in Moses’ Teachings and Pharisees! You hypocrites! You lock people out of the kingdom of heaven. You don’t enter it yourselves, and you don’t permit others to enter when they try.
Jesus left there and went into the territory of Judea along the other side of the Jordan River. Crowds gathered around him again, and he taught them as he usually did.
The Pharisees and their experts in Moses’ Teachings complained to Jesus’ disciples. They asked, “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?”
The experts in Moses’ Teachings and the Pharisees were watching Jesus closely. They wanted to see whether he would heal the man on the day of rest—a holy day, so that they could find a way to accuse him of doing something wrong.