How did Jesus establish the Sacrament of Marriage?
How did Jesus establish the Sacrament of Marriage?
Question: Please explain how Jesus instituted the Sacrament of Marriage.
— Deacon Paul VanHoudt, Erie, Colorado
Answer: Jesus accomplished this in two manners: by means of his own instruction throughout his public ministry, and additionally, by communicating through his apostle, St. Paul; further, since Jesus still communicates through his Church, the sacrament of marriage has been consistently reaffirmed from the earliest times to the present day.
By the Sea of Galilee during the Sermon on the Mount (Mt 5:31-32), and at Bethany near the Jordan River (Mt 19:4-6), Jesus prohibits divorce and remarriage. He accomplishes this by referring to marriage as a divine creation rather than simply a union between a man and a woman. In this way, he raises what could have been perceived as a purely natural bond to the realm of the supernatural. Reflect on his words from Matthew 19: “Have you not read that from the outset the Creator ‘made them male and female,’ and declared, ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh’? Consequently, they are no longer two, but one flesh. Thus, what God has joined together, no human being should separate.”Mt 19:4-6).
Observe, then, that the Lord Jesus affirms that a legitimate marriage is a creation of God. In Matthew 19, Christ goes beyond simply referencing Genesis 1:27 regarding a man forsaking his parents and cleaving to his wife, the two becoming “one flesh”; he further states that this is what God has united, and that no one should separate. By doing so, one could reasonably infer that he has raised marriage to what the Church would subsequently term a “sacrament.” Sacraments are visible symbols, established by Christ to bestow both sanctifying and specific graces upon us.
Marriage founded ‘in the Lord’
Christ additionally communicates via his apostle St. Paul, who emphasizes that unions should be formed “in the Lord” (1 Cor 7:39). He likewise asserts that these unions are unbreakable (cf. 1 Cor 7:10). Particularly, he regards marriage as a symbol of Christ’s bond with his Church, declaring of sacred marriage, “This is a significant sacrament” (Eph 5:32). Although numerous contemporary translations express, “This is a great mystery,” the two terms signify the same. In the Eastern Churches, the sacraments are referred to as the “mysteries.” Sacramentum is the Latin equivalent of the Greek term mysterion. From that point on, marriage has been viewed as a sacrament. As early as the second century, Church Fathers like Ignatius of Antioch, Tertullian, and others recognized the difference between Christian marriage as a sacrament that should not be mistaken for secular interpretations. In the fourth century, St. Augustine also upheld marriage as a sacrament in opposition to the Manicheans, who rejected this belief. The Council of Trent, opposing Luther and other “reformers,” condemned those who asserted that marriage was not a sacrament. Pope St. Pius X likewise rejected modernist ideas that questioned marriage as a sacrament. The Catechism of the Catholic Church explicitly affirms, “this covenant between baptized individuals has been elevated by Christ the Lord to the status of a sacrament” (No. # 1601).
In conclusion, the Lord has expressed and persists in expressing that holy matrimony is a sacrament for the baptized. Additionally, for those who are unbaptized, the Church honors these as natural unions that still necessitate stability and unity in harmony with Genesis 1:27.
