DIVORCE AND REMARRIAGE
“Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery; and whoever marries her
who is divorced from her husband commits adultery” (Luke 16:18).
Does the Lord Jesus Christ prohibit divorce? Does He discourage marrying a divorced woman?
The foundation of the family goes back to the creation of the world and the husband and wife
were thought to have been brought together by divine appointment. In Proverbs, we read that a
“prudent wife is from the LORD” (19:14). In Genesis, God receives the credit for the match
between Isaac and Rebekah (24:50).
Let’s look at the biblical passages dealing with divorce and remarriage and perhaps arrive at an
understanding of the Lord’s position on divorce and remarriage in Luke 16:18.
“When a man takes a wife and marries her, and it happens that she finds no favor in his eyes
because he has found some uncleanness in her, and he writes her a certificate of divorce, puts it
in her hand, and sends her out of his house . . .” (Deut. 24:1).
According to Jewish law, a man could divorce his wife if he found some uncleanness or
indecency in her. Over time, there arose differing opinions among the Jews as to what
constituted a valid reason for divorcing one’s wife. In the early first century, there were two
schools of thought on the subject. There was the school of Rabbi Hillel, which basically said a
man could divorce his wife for just about any reason, including the reason that he had found
someone more attractive than her. Rabbi Hillel’s position was opposed by Rabbi Shammai, who
argued that divorce was justifiable only on the grounds of adultery.
Matthew 5:32
In His “Sermon on the Mount,” Jesus said this concerning divorce: “Furthermore, it has been
said, ‘Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.’ But I say to you that
whoever divorces his wife for any reason except sexual immorality causes her to commit
adultery; and whoever marries a woman who is divorced commits adultery” (Matt. 5:32).
The Lord Jesus was giving adultery as the only valid reason by which a man could divorce his
wife. If the man divorced her for any other reason than adultery, then the divorce was not
legitimate and if she remarried, she would be committing adultery. Scripture records that even
God Himself issued a bill of divorcement to His wife Israel on the grounds of adultery (Jer. 3:8).
Matthew 19:3-9
Late in the Lord’s ministry, the Pharisees tried to set some of the Jewish people against Him by
asking Him this question: “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for just any reason?”
Whichever answer Christ gave would alienate either the followers of Rabbi Hillel or the
followers of Rabbi Shammai. Instead the Lord reverted to Genesis 2:24 and gave God’s original
purpose in uniting the man and woman in an inseparable bond. Therefore what God has joined
together, men ought not to separate.
Christ went on to say that Moses permitted divorce (Deut. 24:1) because of the hardness of the
people’s heart, but divorce was not God’s intention for marriage. Christ added that divorce was
wrong except for marital unfaithfulness (porneia). If a man divorced his wife for any other
reason and remarried, then he would commit adultery, and whoever married the divorced wife
would also be committing adultery.
Mark 10:1-12
Some Jewish teachers allowed polygamy, therefore marriage to another wife for them was not
adultery. But Jesus taught that a man consorting with two women was as adulterous as a woman
consorting with two men. Under Palestinian Jewish law, a woman could not divorce her husband
(although under extreme circumstances she could request that the court force him to divorce her.
Mark, who writes for readers living where wives could divorce their husbands, brings out the
implications of Jesus’ teaching for them too.
Luke 16:18
“Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery; and whoever marries her
who is divorced from her husband commits adultery.” At first glance, it appears that the Lord is
prohibiting divorce under any reason and prohibiting marriage to a divorced woman. The
meaning of the Hebrew word usually translated “and” (vav) is broad and can be translated many
ways, including the two expressions: “in order that” or “so that.”
Scholars refer to this “vav” as the “and of purpose or intention.” It occurs frequently in biblical
Hebrew, for example: “Let my people go, and [so that] they may worship me in the wilderness”
(Exod. 7:16). Another example: “I will not accept so much as a thread or the thong of a sandal
belonging to you, and [so that] you will not be able to say, ‘It is I who made Abram rich’ ” (Gen.
14:23).
Another look at Luke 16:18 – “Whoever divorces his wife and marries [in order to marry]
another commits adultery; and whoever marries her who is divorced from her husband commits
adultery.” He who divorces his wife in order to marry another commits adultery and anyone
who marries the “divorced” wife commits adultery because the divorce was invalid. This
principle is what the Lord is teaching in Luke 16:18.
1 Corinthians 7:10-16
Divorce of a believer is permitted for a special reason other than marital infidelity. If two people
married and later one became a believer and the other didn’t want to live with a believer and left,
the believer is to let the other person go and can obtain a divorce.
1 Corinthians 7:39
If a believer’s husband dies, then a wife is at liberty to remarry, as long as the prospective
husband is a believer.
2 Corinthians 6:14
“Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness
with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness?”