He said unto them,
Moses because of the hardness of your hearts allowed you to put away your wives: but from the beginning it was not so.
All Commentaries on Matthew 19:8 Go To Matthew 19
John Chrysostom
AD 407
Nevertheless, with unspeakable wisdom he makes a defense even for these things, saying that “Moses for the hardness of your hearts” had thus made that law. And he does not let Moses remain accused, since it was he himself who had given Moses the law, but he frees him from blame and turns the whole matter onto their heads, as he does everywhere. Just as when they accused the disciples while they were gleaning grain, he showed the accusers themselves to be at fault. When they charged them with eating with unwashed hands, Jesus proved that they themselves were the transgressors; and the same happened over the sabbath. So it happened here too. The Gospel of Matthew, Homily
