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Matthew 19:9

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Chapter 19

Divorce

1When Jesus had finished saying these things, he left Galilee and went into the region of Judea to the other side of the Jordan.2Large crowds followed him, and he healed them there.

3Some Pharisees came to him to test him. They asked, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any and every reason?”

4“Haven't you read,” he replied, “that at the beginning the Creator ‘made them male and female,’Gen. 1:275and said, ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh’Gen. 2:24?6So they are no longer two, but one. Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate.”

7“Why then,” they asked, “did Moses command that a man give his wife a certificate of divorce and send her away?”

8Jesus replied, “Moses permitted you to divorce your wives because your hearts were hard. But it was not this way from the beginning.

9I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for marital unfaithfulness, and marries another woman commits adultery.”

10The disciples said to him, “If this is the situation between a husband and wife, it is better not to marry.”

11Jesus replied, “Not everyone can accept this word, but only those to whom it has been given.12For some are eunuchs because they were born that way; others were made that way by men; and others have renounced marriageOr have made themselves eunuchs because of the kingdom of heaven. The one who can accept this should accept it.”

13Then little children were brought to Jesus for him to place his hands on them and pray for them. But the disciples rebuked those who brought them.

14Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.”15When he had placed his hands on them, he went on from there.

Topics: marriage immorality divorce fornication sexual cleave_to_wife remarriage

Hide Notes

Jamaica - (eBible Novice) about 1 year ago.

Many problems come to the surface in this verse. For instance, what is meant by the word wife? Some have taken the divorce decree to be valid only during the engagement period, as in the case of Joseph and Mary (Matt. 1). Then “wife” means the woman to whom a man is engaged, a legitimate meaning. However, Deut. 24:1 is not talking about an engagement period, clearly the historical context to the discussion in Matt. 19. It specifically says the husband is to send her out of his house. They are already living together! Another question is the meaning of immorality. The word here (as is the term in Deut. 24:1) is a very general one and may refer to any kind of sexual immorality: premarital, extramarital, harlotry, homosexuality, and even bestiality. Of great importance is the problem of whether the exception clause only grants the right to divorce the wife or does it also give permission to remarry? Probably the latter is correct. In other words, immorality not only is grounds for divorce but also for remarriage. The last part of v. 9 probably means that a man who marries a woman who has been divorced because of her immorality commits adultery in marrying her. It should be noted that the bill of divorce protected the wife. A husband could not flippantly rid himself of his wife by a simple oral statement. He must have grounds and the decree was to be written. Even if there are sufficient grounds for divorce, it would be better for no divorce to take place. Lifetime marriages are God's ideal (v. 8). It is no accident that the passage on divorce in ch. 19 immediately follows the discussion on forgiveness in ch. 18.

Shadel - (eBible Novice) 6 months ago.

When may a man/woman divorce.