In Matthew 19, the Pharisees asked Jesus, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any and every reason?” During that time, there were two different views of the Mosaic law for divorce: the Shammai, which was favored by the Pharisees, and the Hillel, which had a looser interpretation allowing divorce for all kinds of reasons. Jesus replied, “Haven’t you read that at the beginning the Creator 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 flesh.’” Jesus pointed them to God’s original intent for marriage that does not include divorce in His closing statement, “Therefore, what God has joined together, let no one separate.” This statement is not in the original in Genesis 2:24. Jesus was giving His interpretation of the verse.

The Pharisees weren’t satisfied with His answer and asked, “Why then did the Mosaic law permit husbands to divorce of their wives?” Jesus replied them, “Moses permitted you to divorce your wives because your hearts were hard. But this was not this way from the beginning. I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another woman commits adultery.” He  affirmed God’s intent for marriage as permanent but did not deny the Mosaic permission in Deuteronomy 24:1-4 which said, “If a man marries a woman who becomes displeasing to him because he finds something indecent about her, and he writes her a certificate of divorce, gives it to her and sends her from his house, and if after she leaves his house she becomes the wife of another man, and her second husband dislikes her and writes her a certificate of divorce, gives it to her and sends her from his house, or if he dies, then her first husband, who divorced her, is not allowed to marry her again after she has been defiled. That would be detestable in the eyes of the Lord. Do not bring sin upon the land the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance.”

Jesus said Moses allowed the man to write a certificate of divorce to give to his wife because of his hardness of heart, while Moses’ reason was for “something indecent”. Again, Jesus was making an interpretation. In Hebrew, “something indecent” is something that could not be removed by ceremonial cleansing and so warranted the breaking of the marriage. But Jesus defined it very narrowly as “sexual immorality”. He used the Greek word, “porneia” translated by some English Bibles as “adultery,” not the best translation since the Mosaic law prescribed stoning to death for adultery. “Porneia” is very broad and includes all forms of sexual immorality. The context has to determine how it is being used. And Jesus used it in the context of marriage. This implies that any form of sexual infidelity in marriage allows a man to divorce his wife.

The Mosaic law specifically say it is the man who writes his wife the certificate of divorce, because she was considered his property back then. So, the certificate proves she is no longer his property and allows her to be remarried, as women were dependent on their husbands for their livelihood in those days. Thus, it was given for a very practical reason. The certificate also protected the man, so he would not be accused for stealing another man’s property or for committing adultery with a married woman. However, Jesus said it was for a spiritual reason; the hardness of man’s heart, that Moses allowed divorce.

Today, a wife is no longer considered as the property of her husband, and women are capable of providing for themselves. However, the same hardness of heart is still present not just in men but also women. Today, men and women divorce each other for all kinds of reasons.

Therefore, Jesus made it clear that after divorce, remarriage is only allowed after the death of a spouse. So, although He did not denounce the Mosaic permission, He still affirmed God’s intent for marriage. Thus, revealing that not all things allowed in the Bible are necessarily approved by God. For example, in the Old Testament, polygamy was not condemned but even allowed as seen in the patriarchs and the kings. Likewise, in the New Testament, slavery was also not condemned and even Paul instructed slaves to obey their masters. Under the Romans, monogamy is the law. This explains the disciples’ comment to Jesus’ instruction on remarriage, “If this is the situation between a husband and wife, it is better not to marry”, because they understood the implications in their context.

In His replies to the Pharisees’ questions, Jesus was calling the worshipers of God to uphold God’s intent for marriage instead of using the Mosaic law for divorce to do whatever they liked. This law was given to protect the weak and the helpless women from sinful men in Moses’ time.

In addition, it is not just the act but the intent that is important for He also said in the Sermon on the Mount that if a man lusts after a woman in his heart, he has already committed adultery. Thus, if men today are looking for a reason to justify divorcing or remarrying, they are disobeying God, as He intended marriage to be permanent. Therefore, their hearts are just as hard as those whom Moses gave the permission to divorce their wives in the first place.

The point must also be made that the gospel of Jesus Christ is about reconciliation. Reconciliation requires forgiveness, and it includes forgiving an unfaithful spouse, something extremely difficult to do. But it is not impossible, as the prophet, Hosea forgave his unfaithful wife, Gomer. The story of Hosea illustrates the love of God for His unfaithful people, Israel, but it also exemplifies for us that it is possible to love and forgive an unfaithful spouse. If we truly say we love God, then we should also love and forgive like Him; even if it is an unfaithful spouse. The gospel of reconciliation must be practiced in our marriages, especially when sin is trying to destroy it. Jesus said that what God has joined together let no one separates. This includes the husband and the wife. They must not separate because of divorce. Reconciliation is the gospel message for those thinking of divorcing their spouse.