Matthew 5:31 31And it was said, “Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.” 32But I say to you that everyone who divorces his wife except for a matter of sexual immorality causes her to commit adultery, and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.
Jesus continues with his comparison of kingdom values to the best religious values of his time. He deals with topics of real life, where people often struggle and actions that lead to other problems. He goes beyond the letter of the law and gets to the heart motive that should undergird the law and be inclusive of other laws. Marital problems and divorce are not a modern problem only. Ever since Adam and Eve disobeyed God, marriage relationships have been plagued with selfishness, misunderstanding, compromise, and brokenness. Today, people do not even know what God’s intent in creating human beings is all about with the many distortions of human relationships.
In this passage, Jesus links divorce and adultery. People had a misunderstanding of Genesis 24:7-8 and thought Moses, as the author of the Torah, gave permission to get a divorce. This understanding came because of poor interpretation of the Bible and bad cultural influence–two problems we also have today. God was giving specific instructions to Abraham about the future marriage of his son Isaac and not giving a universal law for all times.
Jews had a high view of marriage in the first century. They abhorred divorce and adultery. However, in Jewish culture, women were often relegated to positions of inferiority, were dominated by men, and had little say about legal matters such as about marriage and divorce. Divorce was a one-way action because only the man could divorce. Divorce was as simple as handing the woman a divorce certificate in the presence of two witnesses. Jews in Jesus’ day were divided and confused about divorce. There were two opinions. Rabbi Shammai taught that only adultery was grounds for divorce, while Rabbi Hillel allowed divorce for many reasons, including poor cooking.
The general rule for God’s people is not to divorce. Jesus gives the exception here of when the other partner is unfaithful and commits sexual immorality (porneias). Easy divorce makes the the spouse a victim. In that culture, divorced women had few resources unless their families accepted them back, and they could even end up in slavery or prostitution because they might not have any means of supporting themselves.
What Jesus says here is a prevention and not a cure. He tries to keep marriages together. The cure for broken marriages comes in what Jesus offers through the cross and resurrection. God hates divorce because it ruins the lives of his beloved creatures, but God also offers hope for those who are broken through divorce. Divorce is a form of death but with a living memory. The scars of brokenness do not easily go away. But the good news of the gospel is that God forgives.
For older posts, click here.