EXPLORE IT - Matthew 5:31-32

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

 

A Starter Marriage - A marriage that lasts no more than five years and the couple divorces without having any children.  Many people in our culture today believe their starter marriage helped them to be more successful in their second marriage.  This "trial run" is not what God has in mind when it comes to marriage.

 

In our passage this week, Jesus is addressing a crowd who believes marriage to be something very easily dismissed.  The Mishnah (the first major written record of Jewish oral traditions) allowed for divorce if a wife had spoiled a meal or if a more beautiful woman was available.  When dismissing a wife, the husband would provide her a certificate of divorce so she would be able to marry again, finding someone to provide for her.  Jesus is not agreeable to this arrangement.

 

Jesus introduces a new teaching in our passage.  He says that if a woman is divorced and she remarries, not only is she committing adultery, but the man she marries is also considered to be committing adultery.  Jesus' teaching is emphasizing the importance and permanence of marriage.  Too many couples enter into marriage with a thought to, "If it doesn't work out, we'll get divorced."  God did not design marriage with an escape hatch.  He designed it so, "The two will become one flesh. So they are no longer two, but one" (Matthew 10:8).  As couples approach marriage, we must be mindful of the permanence of God's design for marriage.  We must not enter into marriage lightly.

 

For those who are divorced and remarried, please do not feel condemnation.  "Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus," (Romans 8:1).  Scripture allows for divorce and remarriage when there is adultery, abuse, or abandonment within the marriage.  God's love is greater than our pasts, no matter what.  In accepting His love and His salvation, we are free!

 

Blessings,

Pastor Amy