Divorce

So we are right here in the midst of the of the statements where Jesus says, “You have heard that it was said...”

In essence, Jesus is teaching and informing the depth of what the Law was communicating.

Last Wednesday, Bro. Kristian led us in our lesson on Lust...

One might consider Jesus gave this section to build on the previous.

Let’s Read

Matthew 5:31–32 ESV

31 “It was also said, ‘Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.’ 32 But I say to you that everyone who divorces his wife, except on the ground of sexual immorality, makes her commit adultery, and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.

If you read verses 31 - 32 what immediately jumps out about these two verses?

They don’t agree....they are antithetical.

They further or continue the argument that began in the previous verses.

Matthew 5:27–30 ESV

27 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ 28 But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart. 29 If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into hell. 30 And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body go into hell.

Do you see the parallel connection between vs. 28 and vs. 32?

Matthew 5:32 ESV

32 But I say to you that everyone who divorces his wife, except on the ground of sexual immorality, makes her commit adultery, and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.

Let’s look at the O.T.

Deuteronomy 24:1–4 ESV

1 “When a man takes a wife and marries her, if then she finds no favor in his eyes because he has found some indecency in her, and he writes her a certificate of divorce and puts it in her hand and sends her out of his house, and she departs out of his house, 2 and if she goes and becomes another man’s wife, 3 and the latter man hates her and writes her a certificate of divorce and puts it in her hand and sends her out of his house, or if the latter man dies, who took her to be his wife, 4 then her former husband, who sent her away, may not take her again to be his wife, after she has been defiled, for that is an abomination before the Lord. And you shall not bring sin upon the land that the Lord your God is giving you for an inheritance.

Based on these passages two Pharisees, Shammai and Hillel debated divorce.

Hillel - allowed a man to divorce his spouse for “any good cause”; (being a bad cook).

Shammai - said only for adultery. (Mishnah — Git. 9:10)

This idea of “adultery” is actually the Greek word porneia —meaning sexual sin of a multitude of kinds or all kinds, but this not the intention here.

Jesus would have taken Rabbi Shammai to a further degree or been even more strict.

Divorce was permitted because of the hardness of men’s hearts, but not recommended.

Matthew 19:8 ESV

8 He said to them, “Because of your hardness of heart Moses allowed you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so.

In essence, Jesus was pushing them to go deeper and understand that divorce was sin in that it:

Broke what God joined

opened the door to sin

was a result of sin

increased sinful opportunity.

Look at the last half of vs. 32

Matthew 5:32 ESV

32 But I say to you that everyone who divorces his wife, except on the ground of sexual immorality, makes her commit adultery, and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.

The Greeks would have taken this as license to remarry...that there was a license for divorce.

But here Jesus informs further.

Matthew 2. Paradigmatic Preaching: The Sermon on the Mount (5:1–7:29)

“What is more, it was probably not the taking of a new husband that made the wife commit adultery, since some divorced women remained unmarried. Jesus maintains that the divorce itself creates adultery—metaphorically, not literally—through infidelity to the lifelong, covenantal nature of marriage”

There is a huge possibility that Jesus was not being exclusive, but that He was giving a portion of what is needed to be understood.

Paul most likely believed this when he wrote:

1 Corinthians 7:15 ESV

15 But if the unbelieving partner separates, let it be so. In such cases the brother or sister is not enslaved. God has called you to peace.