Expert: Thurman C. Petty, Jr. - 1/20/2006

Question
-Hi Thurman, thanks for the response, just one more clarifying question if I might. Jesus was not just telling them that they could put away their wifes as long as they gave here the proper divorcement papers, but, He was telling them that the only legitimate cause for divorce would be for fornication and any other cause than that would cause them to be living in adultery? Sorry to be such a bother. Thanks, Steven Estes------------------------
Followup To
Question -
Hello my question is about Jesus' statement in Matt.19:9, specifically His use of the word apoulo (put away). In this context, was Jesus telling them that they just need to stop sending away their wifes WITHOUT divorce papers OR is Jesus telling them that the only cause for divorce is fornication? Does apoulo mean divorce in the context? It was suggested to me that all that Jesus was telling them was that they need to stop getting rid of their wives without divorcing them and they just needed to start giving them the proper divorcement papers. Any thoughts? Thanks, Steven Estes
Answer -
Dear Steven,

Thank you for your question about the meaning of Jesus' statement as it appears in Matt. 19.9.

Here is the statement in context:

Mat 19:3  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?"
Mat 19:4  "Haven't you read," he replied, "that at the beginning the Creator 'made them male and female,'
Mat 19:5  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'?
Mat 19:6  So they are no longer two, but one. Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate."
Mat 19:7  "Why then," they asked, "did Moses command that a man give his wife a certificate of divorce and send her away?"
Mat 19:8  Jesus replied, "Moses permitted you to divorce your wives because your hearts were hard. But it was not this way from the beginning.
Mat 19:9  I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for marital unfaithfulness, and marries another woman commits adultery."

There are many texts in the Bible that deal with this problem in one way or another. But let's stay with this one for a while.

The subject which Jesus spoke to, is the question of the Pharisees: “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any and every reason?” So what Jesus says in this passage should be taken in this context.

Referring to the creation of Man, Jesus said:

Mat 19:4  "Haven't you read," he replied, "that at the beginning the Creator 'made them male and female,'
Mat 19:5  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'?
Mat 19:6  So they are no longer two, but one. Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate."

God never intended that there should be divorce of any kind. He created man and woman to marry for life, and, in the context of Eden in which the Tree of Life resided, that would have been for eternity.

In a paradise, such our planet was before sin, there never would have been a need for divorce. Divorce is basically caused by selfishness of one party or the other—usually both allow selfish attitudes to rule, driving them apart.

When a man leaves his father and mother and  becomes united to his wife, the two become one flesh. Logically, “one” is indivisible.  When two become one, they no longer live for self; it's no longer “me and you,” it's “us.”

The one fleshness of marriage involves a lot more that the physical act of coitus. The two become one spiritually and emotionally as well. They are two individuals and will retain their individuality, but their goals in life move in unity.

After sin entered, as witnessed in Geneses 3:8-13, there was no more unity between Adam and Eve. They were not “sticking up” for each other, but blaming each other and, by extension, they were blaming God.

The Pharisees mentioned the statement of Moses that he gave men permission to give a certificate of divorce and then to send her away. This was a much more humane ruling than women suffered in the pagan nations of the times, but a cruel practice at any rate. It condemned a woman to live alone, away from her home and children, with little or no financial support. Such women were also all but abandoned by the community as well.

But why did God allow this to happen. Jesus gives the reason:

Mat 19:8  Jesus replied, "Moses permitted you to divorce your wives because your hearts were hard.”

But God didn't like divorce:

Mal 2:16  "I hate divorce," says the LORD God of Israel, "and I hate a man's covering himself with violence as well as with his garment," says the LORD Almighty. So guard yourself in your spirit, and do not break faith.

(The statement of “covering himself with violence,” refers to spouse abuse.)

Jesus then states the only reason that God would allow for divorce: “fornication.” Today, fornication is usually thought of as sex between people who are not married. But in Bible times, fornication was a blanket term that included all illicit sexual activities—including pornography (Matt 5:27, 28). However, the committing of these things is a present act, not an act that occurred before marriage, as some wish to interpret it. When people marry, they, in effect, forgive any sexual wrong-doing that may have occurred prior to taking their vows.

So, to wrap it up, Jesus, without condemning Moses, points out that his permission to allow for divorce, was because of the hardness of people's hearts. But he limited it by the fact that a certificate had to be given to the party who was being divorced. But Jesus pointed out, God hates divorce, and only allowed it in the case where a man or woman committed an illicit sexual act of any kind.

Thank you again for your question. I invite you to visit my web site— www.PettyPress.com —where I've posted a wealth of Biblical material.

Thurman C. Petty, Jr.
All Experts  Bible Instructor
Petty@hyperusa.com

Answer
Dear Steven,

Thanks for your additional question. You make the statement that for a person to be divorced for any reason than fornication would be “living in adultery.”

If you'll notice, Jesus used a more punctiliar verb: “commits” (KJV “committeth”). The idea of someone “living in adultery”, it seems to me, is foreign to the Bible, which deals with present actions. Of course, we may have been guilty of wrong-doing in the past, and may still need to repent of that sin.

When a man marries a woman and takes her to the marriage bed, they form a physical union that bonds them for life. If one of them breaks that bond by making love to another, then the union with their spouse is broken, and defacto, the person has become one with the new lover. If they stay together, they are not living in adultery (legally speaking they would be, but not necessarily Biblically), they commit adultery when they first transgress.

Here in Matt. 19, Jesus speaks from the side of the husband who has divorced his wife and marries another. But in Matt. 5 He looks at it from the other side, that of the woman whose husband divorces:

Mat 5:31  "It has been said, 'Anyone who divorces his wife must give her a certificate of divorce.'
Mat 5:32  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.

God bless,

Thurman

PS If you want to discuss this or any other Bible topic, you can save both of us time if you write strait to me via e-mail—Petty@hyperusa.com.