II. DIVORCE (vv. 31-23)
To fully understand Jesus' teaching on divorce, we have to listen to him in light of the whole conversation of scripture.
We cannot read these two verses without reading Matthew 19, where Jesus speaks more thoroughly on the subject.
Matthew 19:3-9 NIV
3 Some Pharisees came to him to test him. They asked, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any and every reason?” 4 “Haven’t you read,” he replied, “that at the beginning the Creator ‘made them male and female,’ 5 and said, ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to 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.” 7 “Why then,” they asked, “did Moses command that a man give his wife a certificate of divorce and send her away?” 8 Jesus replied, “Moses permitted you to divorce your wives because your hearts were hard. But it was not this way from the beginning. 9 I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another woman commits adultery.”
Jesus was speaking to people whose lives were fully immersed in Jewish laws. There are some key phrases here that indicate to us that the conversation is about Jewish laws.
"Certificate of Divorce" (Deut. 24)
There are only 2 laws out of the 613 Jewish laws that cover divorce. One is specific about giving a certificate of divorce.
Deuteronomy 24:1-4 NIV
1 If a man marries a woman who becomes displeasing to him because he finds something indecent about her, and he writes her a certificate of divorce, gives it to her and sends her from his house, 2 and if after she leaves his house she becomes the wife of another man, 3 and her second husband dislikes her and writes her a certificate of divorce, gives it to her and sends her from his house, or if he dies, 4 then her first husband, who divorced her, is not allowed to marry her again after she has been defiled. That would be detestable in the eyes of the Lord. Do not bring sin upon the land the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance.
According to the Law of Moses, If a man finds something indecent about his wife, he can write her a certificate of divorce.
WHAT DOES INDECENT MEAN?
2 predominant arguments during Jesus’ time come from Rabbi Shammai and Rabbi Hillel.
Rabbi Shammai argued that the matter of indecency must be regarding a serious breaking of the marriage vow (cf. Exodus 21:10-11).
Rabbi Hillel believed that a man could divorce his wife if she simply displeases him (burns a meal, gains weight, refuses to listen).
Hillel's view was the more popular one.
“Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any and every reason?”
The Pharisees wanted to know Jesus' political position on the issue of divorce.
In Jesus' response, he overlooks the two political positions and points toward the purpose of marriage by reciting verses from Genesis 1 and 2.
Genesis 1:27 NIV
27 So God created mankind in his own image,in the image of God he created them;male and female he created them.
Genesis 2:24 NIV
24 That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is united to his wife, and they become one flesh.
In Genesis, the first opportunity God gives humans to bear his image toward one another is through marriage.
* Out of one humanity, God makes two.
* God created them so that they would stay fully committed to one another and take care of one another.
* God reinforced this unity by giving them the gift of being physically united through sex.
* When the two come together to be physically reunited as one, life is created through their union.
We bear the image of God by staying fully committed to one another, taking care of one another, and creating life together.
Jesus makes it clear that God is serious about the issue of divorce. “Therefore, what God has joined together, let no one separate.” Divorce is not God's ultimate will for us.
Matthew 19:7-9
“Why then,” the Pharisees asked, “did Moses command that a man give his wife a certificate of divorce and send her away?”
Jesus replied, “Moses permitted you to divorce your wives because your hearts were hard. But it was not this way from the beginning.”
Jesus explains that while it is not God’s will for marriages to end in divorce, he made an allowance for it to happen because he knew that some people would have hardened hearts and refuse to fulfill their marriage vows (cf. Exod. 21:10-11).
Exodus 21:10-11 NIV
10 If he marries another woman, he must not deprive the first one of her food, clothing and marital rights. 11 If he does not provide her with these three things, she is to go free, without any payment of money.
Adultery is not just ending up in bed with someone else’s spouse or using someone as a sexual object.
Jesus explains that the heart of adultery is also refusing to fulfill our marriage vows because refusing to honor our marriage vows robs our spouse of their divine purpose of bearing the image of God.
While God's ultimate desire is for divorce not to be an option, he has given some permissions as a way of caring for the victim of an abusive relationship when one party has refused to honor their marriage vows and commitments.
Lust and divorce are two sides of the same coin.
They are both symptoms of a deeper heart issue.
These passages are more about elevating and glorifying the purpose of sexuality and marriage than it is about condemning us for our sins.
The sermon on the mount must be read in light of the gospel.
The good news is that Jesus died in our place so that our attention would be more on striving for righteousness than focusing on running from our failures.
