And Pharisees came up to him and tested him by asking, “Is it lawful to divorce one's wife for any cause?” He answered, “Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female, and said, ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.” They said to him, “Why then did Moses command one to give a certificate of divorce and to send her away?” 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. And I say to you: whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery.”
The disciples said to him, “If such is the case of a man with his wife, it is better not to marry.”
There will be no attempt in this small post to answer all the questions the above text presents us. The main thrust of the text is Jesus answering questions from religious leaders who were trying K to trap Him in all His teachings, much less in marriage and divorce. Their question was, “Is it lawful to divorce your wife for any cause?” This question is framed by Matthew’s account as though they were “testing” Him. However, this was a paramount question in that day for a variety of Pharisaical teachings on the subject. Some religious schools in that day taught you could divorce for ANY reason. Others taught for just ADULTERY. Some taught you could if you simply found a better woman who pleased you more. Whichever group this was asking was probably both trying to test Jesus and also get one up on their religious counterparts.
Jesus sends them right to the written Word. This is a great statement by anyone faced with a cultural question: “What does the Bible say?” Jesus first sends them to the very beginning, to a time God created the earth and man and woman and to a time God instituted the marriage bond. He wants them to know, first and foremost, God’s original intent. This, too, is a great apologetic tool when confronted about the weighty questions in life. Asking what God’s original intent is a marvelous way to focus difficult questions.
The leaders attempt to trip up Jesus by making Him explain what Moses stated in light of what Jesus just said about the original design of the marriage relationship, which was to not divorce. Moses did give permission to divorce (Deuteronomy 24:1). Jesus’ interpretation of that passage was that Moses DID permit divorce but it was not a choice afforded to a husband (or either spouse) to make their lives more comfortable. It was because of hardness of heart. That hardness could be an immoral spouse, or it could be an unforgiving and difficult spouse. The way to interpret this passage is based upon this point. Jesus is going to say, “Yes, Moses did permit divorces for sexually immorality! But you are missing the point, Pharisees. If you had a soft heart of love for your spouse this WOULD NOT be a question.” It is clear that Moses (and Jesus’ interpretation of that passage) is saying that God did allow the original plan of marriage to be interrupted if there was an immoral failing in the sexual arena. However, the divorce was based upon the hardness of heart. Jesus had just told Peter in chapter 18 that we are to forgive 70 x 7 (Matthew 18:21-22). If your spouse is unfaithful, based upon that teaching of Jesus, you should seek to forgive. The sexual immorality in this passage is most likely speaking about adultery specifically. However, there can be some variant views of the Greek word used here. But, again, the potent point of the passage is that it is acceptable to divorce a spouse. However, you have to come to the understanding that this was not the original intent and God prefers it not to so. Jesus is teaching that a divorce will flow from someone’s hard heart.
NOTE: Since I have personally lived this in my life 30+ years ago, I find this teaching of Jesus exactly what happened. I never wanted a divorce and refused to sign the papers. This WAS the passage I went to for strength and just kept asking God to make sure my heart does not harden. I discovered that one spouse can be hardened, even if the other is not.
No comments:
Post a Comment