Divorce in the New Testament
Jesus Confronts the Pharisees on Divorce
The key New Testament passage on divorce is found in Matthew 19:3-12, where Pharisees approach Jesus with a test question: "Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any and every reason?" Rather than debating the finer points of Mosaic law, Jesus redirects the conversation to the original purpose of marriage. He quotes Genesis 1:27 and Genesis 2:24, declaring, "What God has joined together, let no one separate" (Matthew 19:6). When the Pharisees press Him about Moses permitting divorce through a certificate of dismissal (Deuteronomy 24:1-4), Jesus responds that Moses allowed this "because your hearts were hard," but that this was never God's intention from the beginning.
This exchange reveals Jesus' method of interpreting Scripture: He goes behind the concessions made for human weakness to recover the original divine ideal. Marriage, in His teaching, is not merely a social contract but a union established by God Himself.
The Exception Clause
One of the most debated phrases in the New Testament appears in Matthew 19:9: "Whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery." This exception clause (sometimes called the Matthean exception) is unique to Matthew's Gospel. The parallel accounts in Mark 10:11-12 and Luke 16:18 contain no such exception, presenting an absolute prohibition against divorce and remarriage.
Scholars have offered several interpretations of the Greek term translated "sexual immorality" (porneia). Some understand it as adultery, others as any sexual sin, and still others as referring to unlawful marriages within prohibited degrees of kinship (as in Leviticus 18). The interpretation one adopts significantly shapes one's understanding of whether the New Testament permits any grounds for divorce and remarriage.
The Synoptic Witnesses Compared
Matthew 19:3-12 provides the fullest account of Jesus' teaching, while Mark 10:2-12 covers the same occasion with slightly less detail. Luke 16:18 offers a single verse summary that captures the essence: anyone who divorces and remarries commits adultery, and anyone who marries a divorced person commits adultery.
An important distinction in Mark's account is that Jesus addresses divorce initiated by either husband or wife (Mark 10:12), reflecting the Greco-Roman context where women could also initiate divorce. Matthew's account, set within a Jewish context, focuses primarily on the husband's action, since under Jewish law only the husband could issue a bill of divorce.
Jesus also addressed divorce earlier in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:31-32), where He stated that anyone who divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, causes her to become an adulteress, and anyone who marries the divorced woman commits adultery. This teaching aligns fully with His later, more developed discussion in Matthew 19.
Paul and the Question of Divorce
In 1 Corinthians 7:10-16, Paul addresses divorce in the context of the Corinthian church. He carefully distinguishes between what he received from the Lord and his own apostolic counsel. The Lord's command is clear: a wife should not separate from her husband, and a husband should not divorce his wife (1 Corinthians 7:10-11). If separation occurs, the person should remain unmarried or be reconciled.
Paul then addresses a situation Jesus did not directly cover: marriages between believers and unbelievers. If an unbelieving spouse is willing to live with the believer, the believer should not initiate divorce. But if the unbelieving spouse leaves, the believer "is not bound" (1 Corinthians 7:15). This passage, sometimes called the "Pauline privilege," has been interpreted by many as granting freedom to remarry when an unbelieving spouse abandons the marriage.
The Disciples' Reaction and the Cost of Faithfulness
The disciples' response to Jesus' teaching is revealing. They exclaim, "If this is the situation between a husband and wife, it is better not to marry" (Matthew 19:10). Jesus does not soften His teaching but instead speaks about those who choose celibacy for the sake of the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 19:11-12). His demanding standard shows that Christian marriage calls for a level of commitment that goes beyond what the surrounding culture expected.
This reaction underscores just how radical Jesus' teaching was. In a world where divorce was relatively easy to obtain, Jesus called His followers to a higher standard rooted in God's original design for human relationships.
Enduring Significance for the Church
Jesus' teaching on divorce has shaped Christian ethics for two millennia. The early church fathers overwhelmingly upheld the permanence of marriage, though they debated the scope of the exception clause. The Roman Catholic tradition generally does not recognize divorce but allows annulment in certain cases. Protestant traditions have typically recognized the exception for adultery and, following Paul, for desertion by an unbeliever, while still affirming that marriage is intended to be lifelong.
What remains constant across Christian traditions is the conviction that marriage reflects something of God's own faithfulness. The New Testament frames marriage not just as a human institution but as a picture of Christ's relationship to the church (Ephesians 5:25-33), giving the permanence of marriage a profoundly theological dimension.
Biblical Context
Jesus' teaching on divorce appears primarily in Matthew 19:3-12, Mark 10:2-12, Luke 16:18, and Matthew 5:31-32. Paul addresses divorce in 1 Corinthians 7:10-16. Jesus roots His teaching in the creation narratives of Genesis 1:27 and Genesis 2:24, while engaging with the Mosaic provision found in Deuteronomy 24:1-4. The topic also connects to Malachi 2:16, where God expresses His hatred of divorce, and Ephesians 5:25-33, where marriage is presented as an image of Christ and the church.
Theological Significance
Jesus' teaching on divorce reveals that God's original intention for marriage is permanent, one-flesh union. By grounding marriage in creation rather than in Mosaic legislation, Jesus elevates marriage to a divine institution that reflects God's own faithfulness. The teaching also demonstrates the tension between God's ideal and human sinfulness, showing that the Mosaic concession for divorce was an accommodation to hardened hearts, not a reflection of God's will. The connection between marriage and Christ's relationship to the church (Ephesians 5) gives the permanence of marriage cosmic, redemptive significance.
Historical Background
In first-century Judaism, two major schools debated the grounds for divorce. The school of Shammai held that divorce was permissible only for sexual immorality, while the school of Hillel allowed divorce for almost any reason, even burning a meal. Jesus' teaching aligned more closely with Shammai on the strictness of grounds but went further by challenging the legitimacy of divorce itself. In the Greco-Roman world, divorce was common and could be initiated by either spouse. The Dead Sea Scrolls community at Qumran also appears to have held a strict view on divorce, possibly prohibiting it altogether. Jewish marriage contracts (ketubot) from the period confirm that divorce was a legal process involving financial settlements.