Jesus’ Teaching on Divorce

“It was also said, ‘Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.’ But I say to you that everyone who divorces his wife, except on the ground of sexual immorality, makes her commit adultery and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.” –Matthew 5:31-32 (ESV).

A certificate of divorce in the time when Jesus lived on the earth, and for quite some time before, had been easy to acquire.  For example in one of the Jewish books of the interpretation of the law, Mishnah Gittin 9:3,  Essentially, the bill of divorcement that was easily allowed read, “Lo, thou art free to marry any man.” Divorce and remarriage were widely practiced in the first century.  Jesus was succinct in his statement here in the Sermon on the Mount concerning divorce and remarriage.  To get a fuller view of his teachings on the subject, confer Matthew 19:1-12.  There he explains that Moses, because of the ‘hardness of men’s hearts’ allowed divorce.  But from the beginning (when God joined Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden) that was not the intention.  Except for unfaithfulness—adultery, sexual immorality—the marriage vows should not end in divorce.  “What God has joined together, let not man separate” (Matthew 19:6b) lies at the heart of the importance and sacredness of marriage.  We often hear a comment which we state far too glibly of a successful marriage:  “Their marriage was made in heaven.”  Far from meaning that the couple are compatible, they build a beautiful and worthwhile life together, actually all marriages should be considered “made in heaven,”  for marriage is a sacred relationship each to the other and to God.

If Jesus were to walk the earth today, and see in our own country and other places in the world, the high divorce rate (it is approaching the alarming statistic of half the marriages ending in divorce), would He be any more lenient in stating His terms of divorce and remarriage?  No. The principles He gave in the first century A. D. still hold today.  Regardless of man’s disregard of the sacredness and intended permanence of marriage, Jesus held up standards for us to follow, and these have not changed.  Marriage is not merely a human agreement but a relationship in which God enters in.  Marriage is so sacred and precious that the metaphor of marriage is used to describe Christ and believers—His church—as the “bride of Christ.”

The topic of adultery and divorce is so prevalent that almost three pages are given to the discussion of it in the study helps in The New English Study Bible.  To summarize, whether it is acceptable to marry again after divorce was not God’s original intention for marriage.  Jesus was rebuking the first-century practice of easy divorce for trivial reasons.  Likewise, He appeals to us today to think highly of marriage, to recall that the vows are made before man and God and are both legally and spiritually binding.  When there is divorce, for whatever cause, it represents failure to live according to God’s plan.  This behooves us all to think of how serious a matter is the commitment of marriage.  Just because our social norms make divorce easy, the original intention of God was for marriage to be permanent and fulfilling.  We remember the admonition in that great love chapter of the Bible, I Corinthians 13.  There we read, “Love suffers long and is kind” (v. 4).  When true love is the center of marriage, and spouses are attentive and perceptive to each other, the need for divorce does not arise.  It is a “’til death do us part” partnership that seeks the best one for the other in mutual love, respect and longevity of the marriage.  Thoughts of divorce nor unfaithfulness do not enter such a trusting loving relationship.

Love One Another for Love Is of God

“Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. He who does not love does not know God, for God is love. In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loves us, and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.” –I John 4:7-11 (NKJV). Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil, does not rejoice in iniquity but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails…And now abide faith, hope love, these three, but the greatest of these is love.” –I Corinthians 13:4-8a, 13 (NKJV).

Today is Valentine’s Day. This day to express love will have telephone lines, e-mail out- and in-boxes busy, facebook messages composed and sent, cards received in the mail, floral deliveries made, gifts bestowed. All because someone loves someone else. And all of this is very good. I was hard-pressed to select Scriptures on love for this special day because there are so many references, in both Old and New Testaments, that teach of love. Checking Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Old and New Testaments for references to love (in its various forms), I found five full columns of very fine print leading to scriptures from many of the Bible books from Genesis to Revelation. Love is an important emotion, one that every person needs for spiritual and emotional nurture, and an ingrained capacity which is part of our nature because we are created in the image of God, and “love is God is of God” for “God is love.” I selected the passages cited above from I John 4 and I Corinthins 13 with prayer and thanksgiving, because I considered them to teach us much we need to know about love, its nature and purpose. I hope we reread the verses several times today and pray that our love for God and others may grow day by day. There’s much truth in the popular song, “It’s love, it’s love, it’s love that makes the world go ‘round.”

We’ve often heard of the various Greek terms used for love in the New Testament, and of these agape (noun) and agapao (verb) are used to express God’s love for His Son and for His children, and for their proper attitude toward each other in Christian love. We have a perfect expression of the love of God for us in the Lord Jesus Christ: “For God so loved the world that he gave His only begotten Son…” (John 3:16). How amazing, how deep, how complete that love: “whosoever believeth.” Christian love results from His first loving us and is manifested as a fruit of His Spirit working in us. We practice agape love when we manifest love one for another as it is described in the Corinthian passage cited above.

On St. Valentine’s Day I lost one of the great loves of my life, and I think about that sad anniversary each February 14. I was a young teenager of fourteen when my beloved mother died on Valentine’s Day. Although the grace of God helped me through that difficult period of loss, I’ve wondered since how it might have been if I could have known her devoted love for a longer period in my life. I did, however, grow up often asking, “What would my mother advise me to do in this situation?” And as I thought through challenges, her love still surrounded me. Then I had a great love from my life partner, Rev. Grover Jones. We had had two dates before Valentine’s Day rolled around when we first met. We were falling in love and it seemed for sure it was to be more than “puppy” love. He gave me a single red rose from the florist shop, with fern and baby’s breath on February 14, 1948. That was my first gift from him. As long as he was able he remembered Valentine’s Day by giving me red roses. The number grew to a dozen as we had less penurious days. After his illness, my dear children, remembering how their Dad had given me our “love remembrance” of roses on Valentine’s Day, continued to send me roses. This Valentine’s Day, love God and shed his love abroad to the significant others about you. It will do your heart good.

Beware of Covetousness

“You shall not covet your neighbor’s house: you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male servant, or his female servant, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor’s.” -Exodus 20:17 (ESV). “And He said to them, ‘Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.” –Luke 12:15. (ESV) “But earnestly desire the higher gifts. And I will show you a still more excellent way.” –I Corinthians 12:31 (ESV).

Covetousness arises out of a desire to possess more than we have; it is to long for, to reach after things. To covet was so much a part of human nature that God gave the last of the Ten Commandments to deal with the inordinate desire of wanting that which is not one’s own, whether it be to lust after one who is not legally linked in marriage, to desire possessions, or anything (an all-inclusive term for every thing not one’s own that persons might want). Scholars view the tenth commandment as reaching very deep into our nature because it deals with thought. Covetousness—wanting what is not rightly ours—is inward, heart-felt. Human laws cannot take cognizance of what goes on in the heart. It is true that oftentimes murder (the “thou shalt not kill” commandment) is ruled premeditated, beginning first in the heart. But covetousness is definitely “of the heart” and can motivate persons to commit murder or adultery or stealing.

The context of Jesus’ teaching about covetousness in Luke 12:15 followed after one from the crowd said, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.” (Luke 12:14). How many of us have seen covetousness demonstrated following the reading of a will? So often, heirs think they do not get their rightful share, and ill-will, animosity and greediness result. Jesus followed His answer by giving the parable of the rich man whose land yielded plentifully. He built more granaries in which to store his crops and thought he could “eat, drink and be merry.” But God came to the greedy man, telling him that very night his soul would be required of hm. “And then whose will those things be which you have provided? So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.”” (Luke 12:20-21). Jesus was firmly teaching that one’s life does not consist of an abundance of possessions. There is a better way than always wanting more for selfish purposes. But earnestly desire the best gifts,” Paul urges, “abd I will show you a more excellent way.” (I Corinthians 12:31). Then he goes immediately into that fine discourse on love recorded in I Corinthians 13. Love is the more excellent way. When genuine love for the Lord is in our heart, there is no room for the dark secrets of covetousness and inordinate desire for that which we should not have. In Luke 12:15, Jesus said that the covetous person will not “be rich toward God.” In Ephesians 5:5 Paul says they who covet are like the idol worshipers, virtually denying faith in God and replacing the love for God on things. How serious an offense to our loving God to covet. It is indeed understandable that He would make one of the Commandments: “Thou shalt not covet."