better not to get married?

Matthew 19:1-12

Here Jesus addresses the whole issue of divorce. The Pharisees actually raise the question and the historical context is a debate that was taking place about divorce: can a man divorce his wife for just any reason or is divorce reserved only for cases of sexual immorality. Jesus clearly comes down on the morally conservative side of the question, reminding his audience that a man and woman who have joined themselves sexually are one flesh. God has put them together and humans must not separate that which is put together by God. The Divine design for marriage is one man and one woman for life. However, the Law made provision for divorce because of the sinfulness of the human heart.
We must keep in mind the culture in which Jesus was speaking. In this culture, women were treated like property. The father transferred ownership of the woman to the husband in the marriage ceremony, often for an agreed upon price. Jesus' teaching here provides protection for the woman and raises the level of respect demanded for her.
There are a couple observations I would like to make:
1) I don't think that it is a coincidence that this section on marriage follows right after Jesus' teaching on forgiveness. I default to applying this to students, congregants, etc. and don't often consider the implications of Jesus' teaching for my wife and my family. I think I need to be better at asking for forgiveness and not just assuming that I have been or will be forgiven. I think I need to be better at offering forgiveness. I need to be more gracious in my family.
2) I have to wonder about the state of the nation when, immediately after Jesus says that God's will is that no one should get divorced except for reasons of sexual immorality, the disciples say, "Well, if that's the case, it's probably better not to get married at all." Really!! In essence they are saying that they only want to get married if they can get rid of their wives whenever is convenient. Wow! And I thought things were bad now.