Expert: Joe Norman - 9/1/2010

Question
Joe,

I was reading your response to a divorce/remarriage question dated 11/1/2007.  Everything you said about Jesus's response to the Pharisees makes sense, but with one exception.  

You state that the crux of the argument is that they were putting away their wives without going through the three steps of a Mosaic divorce... they were basically putting away the wife without divorcing.  However, if this were the case, wouldn't Jesus be allowing them to remarry (in the case of adultery) WITHOUT the person being divorced (remarrying after only having "put away" the spouse)?

Thank you for a reply.

Answer
Hi Thomas,

Thank you for asking me your questions. I would like to point out that often times our understanding of something becomes deeper as we continue to study God's Word. My understanding of the words of Jesus on divorce and remarriage has also deepened and I no longer hold to the position I once did regarding the word "apoluo" literally meaning put away. As I continued to study I saw the problems with that position as you have pointed out above. But you make a mistake many others do as well regarding what we call "the exception clause".

Jesus words were..."except for fornication" not "except for adultery". Now many will argue that adultery is included under the term fornication but please keep in mind this was Old Covenant. The New Covenant had not yet been established and Jesus lived under the Law of Moses. He was being questioned regarding Deuteronomy 24:1-3. The penalty for adultery was death by stoning and so there was no need for divorce papers.

So what we need to determine is what did Jesus mean when He used the word fornication or "porneia". That word can be both sexual in nature as well as figurative. But let's examine the words of Jesus overall first.

Matt.19:9
9 And I say unto you, Whosoever shall put away his wife, except for fornication, and shall marry another, committeth adultery: and he that marrieth her when she is put away committeth adultery.

From this sentence what Jesus says and what many assume are completely different. He said...whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery...unless the cause is fornication. So what if the cause is fornication? Logic would lead one to think no one is guilty of adultery by the divorce and marrying someone new if fornication was the cause of the divorce.

So what again would be the definition of fornication as used by Jesus? I am convinced it is any major breaking of a marriage vow that would bring shame upon the man...or woman depending on the guilty party.

In Deuteronomy 24:1-3, we see Moses mentioned a cause for divorce and that cause was completely ignored by most Jewish men and Pharisees. Most in the time of Jesus followed the School of Hillel who believed the Jewish man could divorce his wife for any cause.

The cause Moses spoke of was a Hebrew word "ervah" which literally meant "uncleanness, nakedness, a blemish...but figuratively could mean something to cause disgrace, shame, or a blemish of character. The bottom line is no one should divorce without a serious reason that seems too big to work through.

But back to the words of Jesus...it is very clear the actions which caused anyone to be guilty of adultery was the divorce and marrying someone new so it should also be clear the "adultery" was also one time. Also since adultery was met with being stoned to death, Jesus was making it very clear how serious it was for someone to end a marriage without a serious cause. Again this was all under the Law of Moses.

Under the New Covenant adultery is no longer punished by being stoned to death. We have a more Grace centered system due to the blood of Jesus Christ. The "traditional" teaching ignores the proper context of what Jesus said and to whom and tries to twist His correction of the Pharisees on the Old Covenant to be written as New Covenant teaching. They also insert many assumptions with nothing to guide us to such conclusions. Nowhere does Jesus imply the new marriage is a continuous adultery relationship. Nowhere does Jesus say if a person is guilty of adultery they must either reconcile to their original spouse or live the rest of their lives celibate.

There is also one other detail that should not be ignored. In Matthew 5:32 Jesus says whosoever shall put away his wife except for the cause of fornication...MAKES her an adulteress. The putting away or divorcing of his wife is what makes her an adulteress unless the cause is "fornication". Why? It is clearly because she no longer is able to remain faithful to her marriage covenant due to being put away i.e. divorced without a serious cause. Then he says and whosoever marries her put away commits adultery. Why? Because her divorce was not justified and therefore should not have happened. But again, all this was Old Covenant teaching which is very clear if you carefully study that entire sermon on the Mount. He speaks of "Thou Shalt Not Kill" and giving a gift at the altar. He also said in verse 17, "Think not that I came to destroy the law or the prophets: I came not to destroy, but to fulfil."

There is one other part of Jesus' words that has been severely twisted by many though the years. That is what He said about eunuchs.

Now after Jesus said what He did to the Pharisees, His disciples concluded it was probably best to never marry at all. So many falsely assume they meant it is best if you divorce to never marry again, but that isn't what the disciples said.

Matt.19:10-12
10 His disciples said to Him, "If such is the case of the man with his wife, it is better not to marry." 11 But He said to them, "All cannot accept this saying, but only those to whom it has been given: 12 For there are eunuchs who were born thus from their mother's womb, and there are eunuchs who were made eunuchs by men, and there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven's sake. He who is able to accept it, let him accept it."

Jesus responded by making it clear that few can accept living celibate - only those to God has given such an ability or gift. Some Eunuchs are born as such ( birth defect), some are made by man (surgical), and some have MADE THEMSELVES (figuratively) eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of Heaven.

No one is to be FORCED to live celibate. It is a choice a person must make for themselves. This seems to be parallel to the words Paul spoke regarding celibacy in I Corinthians 7.

1 Cor.7:7-9
7 For I wish that all men were even as I myself. But each one has his own gift from God, one in this manner and another in that. 8 But I say to the unmarried and to the widows: It is good for them if they remain even as I am; 9 but if they cannot exercise self-control, let them marry. For it is better to marry than to burn with passion.

Paul lived celibate his entire life so that he could focus all his attention on serving God. Yet, he knew everyone has their own "gift" from God. He tells the "unmarried" (which includes those divorced for any cause because nothing indicates "unmarried" should be limited to "never married") and widows they should remain as he is (celibate) but if they lack self-control they should marry because it is better to marry than to burn with passion.

Marriage is intended to help us avoid fornicating. We see what happens to those not able to control themselves when making a vow of celibacy when we see all the Catholic priests molesting altar boys. Few have the "gift" from God to endure a celibate life without fornicating.

I do hope I have helped you in your understanding of the words of Jesus. If you have follow-up questions or need help with anything else, please let me know. Also remember that I am just as human as you and can be wrong. Each of us has the responsibility to prove what is taught by someone...whether it is true or not.

In Christian Love, Joe Norman