Divorce Permitted in Matthew 19:9 According to Jesus
Divorce in Matthew 19:9: Jesus' Teaching
In Matthew 19:9, Jesus says, "I tell you that whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery; and he who marries her when she is divorced commits adultery" [1]. This verse is part of a larger discussion between Jesus and the Pharisees about the grounds for divorce, as permitted in Deuteronomy 24:1-4.
The Pharisees' question to Jesus was rooted in a debate between two major Jewish schools of thought at the time: the school of Shammai and the school of Hillel. The school of Shammai held that divorce was permissible only on the grounds of adultery or some other serious moral failing, while the school of Hillel allowed divorce for almost any reason, including something as trivial as burning a meal [2]. Jesus' response was to point back to the creation narrative, emphasizing that marriage is a union between a man and a woman that God intends to be permanent (Matthew 19:4-6).
Jesus' teaching on divorce is framed as a corrective to the Mosaic law's permission of divorce "because of the hardness of their hearts" (Matthew 19:8) [1]. The Mosaic law allowed divorce, but Jesus reasserts the original intention of marriage, stating that divorce was not part of God's design [4]. The "except for sexual immorality" clause in Matthew 19:9 is understood by many as Jesus' allowance for divorce in cases where the marriage has already been broken by adultery.
The phrase "except for sexual immorality" (Greek: porneia) is crucial. Porneia encompasses a range of sexual immoralities, but in this context, it is generally understood to refer to adultery or fornication [3]. The Tyndale House commentary notes that Jesus permits divorce only in the case of unfaithfulness, reaffirming the permanence of marriage as God's created order [3].
The implications of Jesus' teaching are twofold. Firstly, it restricts the grounds for divorce to cases of sexual immorality, contrary to the more lenient views of the time. Secondly, it emphasizes that divorce followed by remarriage is considered adultery if the grounds for divorce are not legitimate [1]. This teaching is consistent with Jesus' other statements on divorce in Matthew 5:31-32 and Luke 16:18.
The early Christian interpretation of Jesus' teaching on divorce is reflected in the writings of various commentators. For instance, Matthew Henry, representing a Nonconformist/Puritan perspective, discusses the apostle Paul's guidance on marriage and divorce in 1 Corinthians 7, highlighting the complexities of applying Jesus' teachings in the context of mixed marriages between believers and non-believers [5].
Adam Clarke, from a Methodist/Wesleyan perspective, connects Jesus' teaching on divorce across the Gospels, noting that the passages in Matthew, Mark, and Luke all contribute to a coherent understanding of Jesus' stance on the permanence of marriage and the limited grounds for divorce [6].
Sources
- Matthew “I tell you that whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery; and he who marries her when she is divorced commits adultery.” -- Matthew 19:9”
- Smith's Bible Dictionary “Smith's Bible Dictionary: Divorce — "a legal dissolution of the marriage relation." The law regulating this subject is found (24:1-4) and the cases in which the right of a husband to divorce his wife was lost are stated ibid ., (22:19,29) The ground of divorce is appoint on which the Jewish doctors of the period of the New Testament differed widely; the school of Shammai seeming to limit it to a moral delinquency in the woman, whilst that the Hillel extended it to trifling causes, e.g., if the wife burnt the food she was cooking for her husband. The Pharisees wished perhaps to embroil our Savi”
- Matthew (Protestant academic) “Tyndale House on Matthew 19:9: 19:9 Jesus permits only one legitimate reason for a man to divorce: if his wife has been unfaithful (see 5:32). In the face of those who thought divorce could be taken lightly, Jesus affirms God’s created order: Marriage was designed to be permanent (see Mark 10:11-12). • commits adultery: This speaks only of the man who divorces his wife unlawfully. In such a case, his remarriage is adulterous. Jesus’ motivation is to reestablish the permanency of marriage.”
- Matthew (Protestant academic) “Tyndale House on Matthew 19:7: 19:7-8 why did Moses say (literally command): The Pharisees thought Jesus had contradicted a command of the law (see Deut 24:1-4), but Moses permitted divorce only as a concession to their hard hearts. Jesus introduced the revolutionary principle that God’s permission is not necessarily his desire (see 1 Cor 6:12). Divorce is never God’s desire (Mal 2:14-16); it is an expression of human sin.”
- 1 Corinthians (Nonconformist/Puritan) “Matthew Henry on 1 Corinthians 7:10: In this paragraph the apostle gives them direction in a case which must be very frequent in that age of the world, especially among the Jewish converts; I mean whether they were to live with heathen relatives in a married state. Moses's law permitted divorce; and there was a famous instance in the Jewish state, when the people were obliged to put away their idolatrous wives, Ezr 10:3. This might move a scruple in many minds, whether converts to Christianity were not bound to put away or desert their mates, continuing infidels. Concerning this matter the apo”
- Luke (Methodist/Wesleyan) “Adam Clarke on Luke 16:18: Putteth away (or divorceth) his wife - See on Mat 5:31, Mat 5:32 (note); Mat 19:9, Mat 19:10 (note); Mar 10:12 (note); where the question concerning divorce is considered at large. These verses, from the 13th to the 18th inclusive, appear to be part of our Lord's sermon on the mount; and stand in a much better connection there than they do here; unless we suppose our Lord delivered the same discourse at different times and places, which is very probable.”