Bible Study What did Jesus really think about divorce?

[Pavel Bilek]

There are these descriptions of Jesus' words in the gospels:

Matthew 5

31 “It was said, ‘Whoever divorces his wife must give her a legal document.’
32 But I say to you that everyone who divorces his wife, except for immorality, makes her commit adultery, and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.

Matthew 19

3 Then some Pharisees came to him in order to test him. They asked, “Is it lawful to divorce a wife for any cause?â€Â
4 He answered, “Have you not read that from the beginning the Creator made them male and female,
5 and said, ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and will be united with his wife, and the two will become one flesh’?
6 So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.â€Â
7 They said to him, “Why then did Moses command us to give a certificate of dismissal and to divorce her?â€Â
8 Jesus said to them, “Moses permitted you to divorce your wives because of your hard hearts, but from the beginning it was not this way.
9 Now I say to you that whoever divorces his wife, except for immorality, and marries another commits adultery.â€Â

Mark 10

2 Then some Pharisees came, and to test him they asked, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?â€Â
3 He answered them, “What did Moses command you?â€Â
4 They said, “Moses permitted a man to write a certificate of dismissal and to divorce her.â€Â
5 But Jesus said to them, “He wrote this commandment for you because of your hard hearts.
6 But from the beginning of creation he made them male and female.
7 For this reason a man will leave his father and mother,
8 and the two will become one flesh. So they are no longer two, but one flesh.
9 Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.â€Â
10 In the house once again, the disciples asked him about this.
11 So he told them, “Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her.
12 And if she divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery.â€Â

Luke 16

18 Everyone who divorces his wife and marries someone else commits adultery, and the one who marries a woman divorced from her husband commits adultery.


It was unthinkable for Jews that a wife would divorce a husband. The law stated that man could divorce his wife. The opposite was impossible. Women were in a disadvantageous position and certainly applauded what Jesus said because he awarded them equality.

According to tradition, Mark wrote his gospel in Rome. Latinisms in his writing suggest that he was familiarized with that environment. Roman law allowed women to divorce. Mark is the oldest and shortest gospel, the other two synoptic gospels derived from it (interesting analysis is http://members.aol.com/DrSwiney/analysis.html), nevertheless neither Matthew nor Luke have Mark 10,12 included. We can deduce that Mark reinterpreted Jesus for a different environment.

Jews did not dispute the law of Moses, discussions were held only on the causes for which divorce is permitted. So the Pharisees' question in Matthew 19,3 is meaningful in the Jewish environment, in Mark we can again see a shift.

Different schools had different constructions of the law. According to some, the only cause for divorce was adultery, according to some others a man was allowed to divorce his wife even if she burned his soup. Strict schools constrained men, liberal schools were giving freedom to men. From the question in Matthew 19,3 we can understand that Pharisees expected Jesus to have the most liberal approach and were trying to trap him in his liberalism. They wanted him to face boundaries of liberalism and looked forward to see him setting some. Jesus handled the question by shifting it from the level of law to the level of natural order.
Matthew's "except for immorality" depicts first Christians' effort to reconcile the answer from that situation with practical life.

Love comes with freedom, law comes with fear. We are passing Jesus when we see him as a legislator. Jesus did not like laws. In Mark 10,3 he showed his distance by asking like he didn't know them. People condemned him just because they were afraid to give up their law-based life and base it on love. The marriage was made for people, not people for the marriage.

 

[nadab]

“What God has yoked together let no man put apart.†(Matthew 19:6) We often hear those well-known words by Jesus Christ quoted as the final pronouncement in a marriage ceremony.

By those words, though, did Jesus mean that all marriages are to be permanent and that there is not to be any divorce whatsoever? Taking the words by themselves, that would appear to be the case. However, what prompted Jesus to make such a statement? Was he setting out something new?

Jesus’ statement at Matthew 19:6 was part of his answer to the Pharisees’ question: “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife on every sort of ground?†(Matthew 19:3-6) Not being satisfied with the answer, the Pharisees questioned him further by asking: “Why, then, did Moses prescribe giving a certificate of dismissal and divorcing her?†Thereupon, Jesus said: “Moses, out of regard for your hardheartedness, made the concession to you of divorcing your wives, but such has not been the case from the beginning.†Then he added: “I say to you that whoever divorces his wife, except on the ground of fornication, and marries another commits adultery.â€Â(Matthew 19:7-9)

We must note that Jesus’ statement, “such has not been the case from the beginning,†was made in reference to divorce that was accomplished by “giving a certificate of dismissal.†In other words, when God instituted the first marriage between Adam and Eve, he did not provide them with “every sort of ground†for dissolving their marriage. As a perfect couple, they had every reason to make their marriage a success. It would be successful if they continued to live according to God’s law and direction.

When mankind lapsed into sin and imperfection, so did the institution of marriage. (Romans 5:12) Since humans were no longer perfect, human relations became strained and tainted by selfishness, greed, and self-interest. That was what Jesus referred to as “hardheartedness,†because of which the Mosaic Law made room for divorce. Yet, Jesus reminded the Pharisees: “Such has not been the case from the beginning.†Now, under imperfect conditions, mates should put forth the effort needed to resolve any difficulties and problems instead of using them as grounds or excuses for breaking up their marriage. However, Jesus pointed out that there is one exception, namely, fornication. Marital infidelity can be grounds for breaking up a marriage.

It is interesting to note how various explanations of the clause “except on the ground of fornication†have been put forth to uphold certain views on divorce. Catholic authorities generally dismiss this clause on the ground that parallel accounts in Mark and Luke do not contain it. However, McClintock and Strong’s Cyclopedia explains: “The plain reconciliation of the passages must be found in the principle that an exception in a fuller document must explain a briefer one, if this can be done without force. Now, as divorce for that one reason was admitted by all, Mark and Luke might naturally take this for granted without expressing it.â€Â

Some argue that since Jesus used the word “fornication†(Greek, por·nei´a) and not “adultery†(Greek, moi·khei´a), he must have meant some improper act before the marriage that would make the marriage null and void. This is unnecessarily restricting the meaning of the word. Various authorities recognize that por·nei´a means “unchastity, harlotry, prostitution, fornication,†and that at Matthew 19:9 “it stands for, or includes, adultery.†Others argue that Jesus was citing fornication merely as one example among many grounds for divorce. Clearly, this is forcing an opinion on the text.

From the foregoing, it is clear that the Bible does not say that all marriages are to remain permanent and no divorce is permissible for any reason at all. On the other hand, the Bible provides only one acceptable basis for divorce, namely, “the ground of fornication.â€Â

Realizing that marriage should be a lastng union with only this ground for divorce, the disciples are moved to say: “If such is the situation of a man with his wife, it is not advisable to marry.â€Â(Matt 19:10) There is no question that one who is contemplating marriage should seriously consider the permanence of the marital bond!

 

[Catholic Crusader]

Read this magazine article:
http://www.catholic.com/thisrock/2006/0610btb.asp

 

[nadab]

In giving the sermon on the mount at Matthew chapters 5-7, Jesus removes many wrong beliefs or allowances under the Mosaic Law covenant. When Jesus previously quoted from the Hebrew Scriptures, commonly called the Old Testament, he said: “It is written.†(Matthew 4:4, 7, 10) But six times in the Sermon on the Mount, he introduced what sounded like statements from the Hebrew Scriptures with the words: “It was said.†(Matthew 5:21, 27, 31, 33, 38, 43) Why? Because he was referring to the Scriptures as interpreted in the light of Pharisaic traditions that contradicted God’s commandments. (Deuteronomy 4:2; Matthew 15:3)

For example, Jesus said: “You heard that it was said, ‘You must not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that everyone that keeps on looking at a woman so as to have a passion for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.†(Matthew 5:27, 28) How could a man commit adultery with a woman "in his heart" ? James 1:14, 15 warns: “Each one is tried by being drawn out and enticed by his own desire. Then the desire, when it has become fertile, gives birth to sin; in turn, sin, when it has been accomplished, brings forth death.†All our desires originate "in the heart", and God warns that "the heart is more treacherous than anything else and is desperate."(Jer 17:9) Jesus said that "out of the heart come wicked reasonings, murders, adulteries, fornications, thieveries, false testimonies, blasphemies. These are the things defiling a man."(Matt 15:19)

In Jesus’ third statement, he said: “Moreover it was said, ‘Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.’ However, I say to you that everyone divorcing his wife, except on account of fornication, makes her a subject for adultery, and whoever marries a divorced woman [that is, one divorced on grounds other than sexual immorality] commits adultery.†(Matthew 5:31, 32) Some Jews dealt treacherously with their wives and divorced them on the flimsiest of grounds. (Malachi 2:13-16; Matthew 19:3-9) Oral traditions allowed a man to divorce his wife “even if she spoiled a dish for him†or “if he found another fairer than she.â€Ââ€â€Mishnah.

Today, generally, distinction is made between “fornicators†and “adulterers.†According to modern usage, those guilty of fornication are unmarried persons who willingly have sexual relations with someone of the opposite sex. Adulterers are married persons who willingly have sexual relations with a member of the opposite sex who is not their legal marriage mate. However, the term “fornication†is a rendering of the Greek word por·nei´a and includes all forms of illicit sexual relations outside of Scriptural marriage, including lesbianism, homosexuality and beastality.(Lev 20:13, 15, 16) Hence, Jesus’ words at Matthew 5:32 and 19:9 mean that the only ground for divorce that severs the marriage bond for the innocent mate is por·nei´a on the part of one’s marriage mate.

 

[tim-from-pa]

My personal belief on this is that divorce is wrong, and even more so if one remarries while the spouse still lives. Saying all that, I realize that human nature being what it is this is not always possible as sin is sometimes stronger than the grace that God has given to us if we so chose being in the flesh yet.

Therefore, in spite of my strong position against it, I am not heartless and callous with those who do divorce as several of my friends are that way themselves. I'm just glad, for whatever reason, the God kept my wife and I going strong for 22 years. I think divorce and remarriage for either of us would seem inconceivable.

Therefore, I side with the disciples that said, "If the case of the man be so with his wife, it is not good to marry."

And again, I take the deeper meaning of marriage as Paul pointed out and not become so entangled in the man-woman counterpart that merely is a type. In the Law, once a wife was divorced, the husband could not take her back. Indeed, the marriage was to last for the lifetime of each until a death was present. God divorced Israel, but not the Jews. God's chosen nations can be compared to two wives he had. He divorced the one and punished the other. The divorced one could not be reunited unless the husband died and could be married legally again. Christ was that husband that died and became a new man, and thus Israel could become remarried to Christ by the new birth--- the age of the New Covenant in Christianity. Most Christian peoples and traditional Christian nations are unbeknownst to themselves the actual, physical seed of Abraham now converted to Christianity. Those who do not accept it will later in the Kingdom age and be restored along with the Jews in the land of Israel.

Don't confuse this with replacement theology that teaches because the Jews rejected Christ, the covenants go merely to the Gentiles by faith. The covenants included the gentiles, but the promises are still primarily to Israel as Paul pointed out in Romans.

I think that is the lesson and profound prophecy contain in the marriage laws, rather than laying a guilt trip on people, perhaps young starry-eyed kids, that made a bad choice outside the will of the Lord.