The Sermon on the Mount and Marriage

[Aaron]

Matthew 5:31-32 - It hath been said, Whosoever shall put away his wife, let him give her a writing of divorcement: But I say unto you, That whosoever shall put away his wife, saving for the cause of fornication, causeth her to commit adultery: and whosoever shall marry her that is divorced committeth adultery.

The misunderstanding and erroneous teaching on these verses has caused untold grief and suffering...generally for the woman. The man isn't unscathed, but generally the woman bears the brunt of this.

Context is king, but even if the context supported the truly monstrous things being postulated about these verses under the guise of virtue, we must remember that even though it was unlawful for David and the men with him to partake of the shewbread when they were starving, Jesus cites Hosea to say, His Father desires mercy, and not sacrifice.

Briefly, the context: Jesus is not bringing a new or higher commandment than that of the law. Jesus was commenting on what the people had heard that had been said by them of old time. Who are 'they of old time?' Not Moses, but the rabbis. A rabbi would teach by citing other rabbis.

Eleazar ben Hananiah ben Hezekiah ben Garon says, "Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy"
[(Mekhilta Attributed to Rabbi Ishmael LIII:II.7) Quoted in 'A Rabbi Talks with Jesus'. Neusner. 1993.
​

And then would follow the teaching of the tradition for the commandment. That Jesus is not quoting Moses is evident in Matthew 5:43 - Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy. That is no where in the law.

What Jesus is doing is responding to the rabbinical corruptions. An eye for an eye was used to justify retaliation for private offenses, though the commandment is not given to private individuals. It was given to the civil government to mete out criminal justice.

So when Jesus says "resist not evil" it is not a universal prohibition. It is not a prohibition on the resistance to evil of every form. He is certainly not commanding us to allow public enemies to go unimpeded and our neighbors unprotected.

His prohibition on swearing is not a prohibition of every form. It is not a prohibition on oaths of office, or marriage, which is an oath, or of putting witnesses in civil and criminal trials under oath.

And so the verses concerning divorce: He is not citing the sole grounds of divorce, but responding to the rabbinical tradition that allowed one to put away his wife if she burned his dinner. Jesus is certainly not saying that one is bound to an abusive or odious spouse.

 

[Van]

Defining marital infidelity allows various views Christ's command. An abusive spouse certainly fails the test of marital fidelity. However the idea that Jesus was citing one of many reasons does not stand up to objective analysis. Not keeping our commitment to our spouse or to God is infidelity.

 

[atpollard]

[Matthew 5:27-32 NKJV]

27 "You have heard that it was said to those of old, 'You shall not commit adultery.' 28 "But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. 29 "If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell. 30 "And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell.​

31 "Furthermore it has been said, 'Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.' 32 "But I say to you that whoever divorces his wife for any reason except sexual immorality causes her to commit adultery; and whoever marries a woman who is divorced commits adultery.
​

If anyone is inclined to read v.31-32 narrowly and literally, they should be prepared to read v.29-30 which immediately preceded them equally narrowly and literally.

Let the divorces be forever banned and the plucking of eyes begin immediately.

 

[agedman]

Matthew 5:31-32 - It hath been said, Whosoever shall put away his wife, let him give her a writing of divorcement: But I say unto you, That whosoever shall put away his wife, saving for the cause of fornication, causeth her to commit adultery: and whosoever shall marry her that is divorced committeth adultery.

His prohibition on swearing is not a prohibition of every form. It is not a prohibition on oaths of office, or marriage, which is an oath, or of putting witnesses in civil and criminal trials under oath.

And so the verses concerning divorce: He is not citing the sole grounds of divorce, but responding to the rabbinical tradition that allowed one to put away his wife if she burned his dinner. Jesus is certainly not saying that one is bound to an abusive or odious spouse.

I would only present the following for the readers to do their own study and bring peace under the leading of the Holy Spirit’s guidance and not my own persuasive presentation.

As shown in Scripture, the typical Jewish wedding involved a public agreement which included a wedding and feast.

However, unlike what is common in our culture, the bride did not immediately leave with the husband, but went back to her home to wait for the husband.

The husband went to prepare a place for the wife. When the husband’s father indicated the place was ready, the husband would go to the place the bride was staying and take her to the new place and consummate the marriage.

Examples of this are given in the Scriptures, and even the Bride of Christ waits for Him to come take her to Himself.

It is therefore this limited time after the wedding yet prior to consummation that should adultery be disclosed divorce is allowed.

Example: “Joseph was willing to put her away, privately…”.

The tradition of the church held to this standard until an English king sought reason to put away his wife and the RCC would not allow him any more freedom to do so.

He then took over as head of the church and perverted the standard for the all believers and unbelievers who look for some excuse.

 

[atpollard]

It is therefore this limited time after the wedding yet prior to consummation that should adultery be disclosed divorce is allowed.

After that time ... adultery was punished by death, making the innocent spouse a widow/widower.
What was the Law for a widow/widower to remarry?

The tradition of the church held to this standard until an English king sought reason to put away his wife and the RCC would not allow him any more freedom to do so.

He then took over as head of the church and perverted the standard for the all believers and unbelievers who look for some excuse.

As a child that grew up discarded following divorce due to adultery ... stoning may have been the better solution. Research shows that a child recovers from the death of a parent sooner and more completely than they recover from the divorce of a parent.