Concept #4 - The Gospels
Jesus Confirms the Genesis View of Marriage
Mark 10:2-9 Some Pharisees came and tested him (Jesus) by asking, "Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?"
"What did Moses command you?" he replied.
They said, "Moses permitted a man to write a certificate of divorce and send her away."
"It was because your hearts were hard that Moses wrote you this law," Jesus replied. "But at the beginning of creation God 'made them male and female.' 'For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.' So they are no longer two, but one. Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate."
What is it that the Pharisees trying to test Jesus? Were they wondering if He had a 'liberal' view of marriage? Or were they hoping that a strict application might get Jesus into the same trouble with Herod that destroyed John the Baptist. Jesus asks them what Moses (the Law) taught, they referred to Deuteronomy stating that Moses permitted them to write a certificate.
Knowing full well that Moses was neither permitting nor commanding God's people to divorce a wife Jesus cuts through their little game. He declares that passage was written because of their hard hearts. Meaning that they were going to divorce as they wished and God was controlling their actions by pointing out that the woman will be defiled by the divorce and remarriage. (See concept 3)
The next thing Jesus does is head for the solid foundation of marriage found in Genesis 1 & 2. Jesus sums up that teaching by stating that what God has joined together (yoked together), man is not to separate. As usual, most translations follow the precedent set by the King James and insert the word let. It is not in the Greek. It is not implied by the grammatical structure. The Greek word is a present active imperative for the word separate. The word for 'not' is in the text. Therefore, the better translation should simply be, "man is not to separate". Thus Jesus commands us to not separate what God has yoked together.
That is plenty clear and simple. What He teaches in Luke 16 is just as plain.
Luke 16:18 Anyone who divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery, and the man who marries a divorced woman commits adultery.
If the man is a divorcee or the woman is a divorcee and either one marries someone other than their husband, they commit adultery. In short, remarriage after divorce is a sin.
Matthew 5:31-32 "It has been said, 'Anyone who divorces his wife must give her a certificate of divorce.' But I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for marital unfaithfulness, causes her to become an adulteress, and anyone who marries the divorced woman commits adultery.
This passage is in the context of that portion of the Sermon on the Mount where Jesus is extending the depth of the Law's reach to reveal our complete sinfulness and need for Him. He has extended murder to include hatred. He has extended adultery to include lust. And now He appears to show the extended damage of divorce. Jesus knew that most of the Jewish men used Deuteronomy 24 as an excuse to be able to divorce their wives… for whatever reason, if not for unfaithfulness.
But Jesus continues to reveal the depth of their depravity by showing them their responsibility for forcing their divorced wives to remarry because of their need for financial support. The women had no alternative unless they were unusually resourceful and aggressive in business. Jesus is aiming to show those arrogant men, that their selfish desire to divorce so they can have "legal" adultery with their next wife brings condemnation upon themselves for the position they put their first wife in.
The only out for the man from such responsibility is if she has already played the harlot while married to him. Then she has already committed adultery and the husband's hand to divorce her will remain untarnished by what she will choose to do. Nothing is said here to give that man permission to marry another.
Please note that Jesus does say that if anyone marries the divorcee that person commits adultery. Jesus pursues this more deeply late in Matthew 19.
Let me say at this time that it would be wise to not assume gender roles are static. The husband can be divorced by the wife just as the husband can divorce the wife. I do not believe Jesus is siding with one gender against another. I do believe one may substitute genders in the role of the divorcer and the divorcee.
So does Matthew present a Jesus who contradicts what Luke clearly states about remarriage after divorce?
Matthew 19:3-12 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?"
"Haven't you read," he replied, "that at the beginning the Creator 'made them male and female,' 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'? So they are no longer two, but one. Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate."
"Why then," they 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. I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for marital unfaithfulness, and marries another woman commits adultery."
The disciples said to him, "If this is the situation between a husband and wife, it is better not to marry." Jesus replied, "Not everyone can accept this word, but only those to whom it has been given. For some are eunuchs because they were born that way; others were made that way by men; and others have renounced marriage because of the kingdom of heaven. The one who can accept this should accept it."
This passage brings out Jesus' theology of marriage completely. Many who want to justify remarriage will twist and turn in the wind of time to contort the plain and simple meaning of this passage. However, none of the previous three simpler passages can be contradicted or ignored. A spouse puts their partner into an adulterous situation when they divorce, unless that person has already committed adultery.
Many who try to dodge this simple understanding of the earthly permanence of marriage in the mind of Christ lose sight of the forest by study of the individual trees. Then they don't even understand the tree they are observing. Let us first look at this forest. Then we will re-examine some of the parts to demonstrate further that Jesus believes that marriage is about God and remarriage to a different person while the first partner is alive is not right.
As in Mark, the Pharisees come to test Jesus by asking him if it is lawful to divorce a wife for some kind of reason. Jesus answers that question by pointing them to the theology of marriage as found in Genesis 1 and 2. Marriage is about God's image and the two persons are made into one being. Jesus then puts it very strongly by stating that as a result of this theology (therefore) man is not to separate what God has joined. As in Mark, that is a timeless aorist indicative in the imperative, command, form. The word 'let' is not found in the Greek. It is not the permissive form of a verb. Jesus commands men to not separate a couple by divorce. That is not an option. It is not a suggestion. It is a command. When the Pharisees push the issue further with the Deuteronomy passage, Jesus gives them such a 'hard' answer that even His own disciples pipe up with the horror of such a rigid teaching. "…it is better not to marry." That statement helps us to understand that what Jesus teaches here is not a warm fuzzy that tickles the ears of mankind. This "forest" on marriage is not meant to comfort those who wish to be done with their spouse. It is meant to preserve the sanctity and permanency of marriage upon this earth. It is meant to comfort those in the anguish of marital problems that God wants them to work out their problems with His help.
With this "forest" in mind let us take a look at that part of this passage known as the exception clause. Without a doubt many who hope to use Scripture to justify their divorce and remarriage try to bend this exception around to their cause. Is that possible?
Andrew Cornes has written the most thorough book in all points on the issue of divorce and remarriage. After looking at this passage from all angles, on page 218 in "Divorce & Remarriage", ©1993 by Andrew Cornes and published in the USA by Eerdmans, Cornes sums up the possible ways to apply this exception cause. He notes that pro divorce and remarriage author, J. Murray ("Divorce" ©1961 Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing) believes that 'Jesus chose the most natural spot in the sentence to place the exception clause.' And so Murray states "where else could the exception clause be put?" (p. 41). Cornes argues thus:
If Matthew had written: 'Anyone who divorces his wife and marries another, except in the case of marital unfaithfulness, commits adultery', Murray's case would be all but proven…
If Matthew had written: 'Anyone who divorces his wife and marries another, commits adultery except in the case of marital unfaithfulness', Murray's case would be unanswerable…
But as it is, the exception phrase comes after the verb 'divorce' and modifies the clause 'anyone who divorces his wife. This is the obvious - indeed the only - position in the sentence that Matthew could put the phrase if he wanted to say that divorce is permissible in the case of adultery but remarriage is not.
The spouse may need to divorce, that is, to separate from their partner because of infidelity. The word Jesus uses for the reason to separate is porneia. Pornography comes from it, it is not just the word for adultery that he uses to describe what happens if remarriage occurs. Most importantly, Jesus does not give them permission, let alone command, to remarry. This fits well with the 'forest' and it sets right in line with what Jesus is recorded saying in Mark, Luke, and Matthew 5. It is based upon the truth of God's law in Genesis and Deuteronomy. Marriage is a lifetime and remarriage is defilement from adultery.
So is marriage really permanent on earth? That is what Concept #5 is all about.
Copyright 2009, Tim Carpenter
