They come to Him indeed, and do not quit Him, lest the multitudes should believe on Him; and by continually coming to Him, they thought to bring Him into difficulty, and to confuse Him by their questions. For they proposed to Him a question, which had on either side a precipice, so that whether He said that it was lawful for a man to put away his wife, or that it was not lawful, they might accuse Him, and contradict what He said, out of the doctrines of Moses. Christ, therefore, being Very Wisdom, in answering their question, avoids their snares.
Chrys., Vict. Ant., Cat. in Marc., and see Chrys. Hom. 62 [note: the same sort of comment is to be found in Origin, in Matt. tom. 14, 17, IIii in Matt. 19, Ambr. in Luc. 8, 9. Auct. Op. Imperfecti in loc. Theophyl. in Matt. 19.]: For being asked, whether it is lawful, he does not immediately reply, it is not lawful, lest they should raise an outcry, but He first wished them to answer Him as to the sentence of the law, that they by their answer might furnish Him with what it was right to say.
Wherefore it goes on: “And He answered and said unto them, What did Moses command you?”
And afterwards, “And they said, Moses suffered to write a bill of divorcement, and to put her away.”
They put forward indeed this that Moses had said either on account of the question of our Saviour, or wishing to excite against Him a multitude of men. For divorce was an indifferent thing among the Jews, and all practised it, as though it were permitted by the law.
Reproduced in full. Translation: Oxford 1841 (Newman), public domain (Public domain).