31 “Now it was said, ‘Whoever sends his wife away is to give her a certificate of divorce’; 32 but I say to you that everyone who divorces his wife, except for the reason of sexual immorality, makes her commit adultery; and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.

Matthew 5:31-32 (NASB)

You have heard it said…

Jesus now gives us another teaching about the Old Testament (OT) law and the proper way to interpret and apply it. “You have heard it said…but I say” is the structure of these teachings. We saw it a few days ago in verse 27 and also back in Matthew 5:21. Here He goes with another one.

Divorce in the OT

God designed marriage to be between one woman and one man…for life (Genesis 2:24). Marriage is a covenant (not a contract) to love and live with a person of the opposite sex in the most intimate of human relationships. The sexual union is a key part of that intimacy and is unique since it is not in any other relationship. Spiritually, the physical union depicts the coming together of two into one – a uniting and oneness. This is a representation of the relationship within the trinity of God who are three in one. It brings glory to God.

Man corrupted that design with multiple simultaneous wives (even saints of the OT) and, divorce. This ruins God’s plan and complicates the situation since the original covenant cannot be broken. 

And in His grace, God allowed that and even put it into the law. In Mk 10:1-12, Jesus says that this was permitted, “because of your hardness of heart”. This does not break the covenant, the two becoming one, but provides a societal structure to accommodate man’s sinfulness. And it does not negate the original law with its meaning and purpose.

Proper understanding

By the time of Jesus, even this OT accommodation was being abused. “The truth was, however, that the husband exercised this right at pleasure; that he was judge in the case, and dismissed his wife when, and for what cause, he chose.” (Barnes’ commentary)

So Jesus hits the reset button, as he does with other “You have heart is said…”, and goes back to the original meaning of the law. First was murder (v21) then adultery (v27) and now divorce. God never intended for anything but the original plan so He brings them back as in this teaching.

Then He tells them the natural, inevitable, consequence is sin; the woman will be remarried and commit adultery. Not only that, Jesus extends it to the man who marries the divorced wife; he also is affected and sins by committing adultery.

Jesus’ exception

Now regarding Jesus’ exception of marital infidelity, Jesus says divorce is allowed. Why? Because the marital covenant has already been violated. Even so, I still believe God’s preferred solution is patient reconciliation. Does He allow for re-marriage? I tend to think not, since the principle still exists: the couple is still married in God’s eyes. The only true divorce is death. Paul uses it in his example of our dealing with sin and the law (Romans 7:2). 

RЯeflection

• Are you dealing with divorce or on the verge? Please consider God’s original design and know that this is what He blesses. He allows for divorce but it’s an accommodation, even in the NT I believe. Seek Him and consider Biblical Counseling.
• For a more exhaustive discussion on divorce, consider this link to Biblical Counseling view of how to handle the topic.