Divorce? Mark 10:1-12

Text: “...Is it lawful for a man to put away (i.e., divorce) his wife?”

Mark 10:2.

Good morning, perplexed Christian!  Your heart’s motives are to be faithful to the Word of God, to obey the principles for life laid down therein.  Yet, sometimes you seem to find what appears to be contradictory instructions in your Bible, and this brings confusion to your mind, and grief to your faithful, yet fallible spirit.  Does this describe you?

The issue of divorce is one such source of confusion in the Church.  Let us look at this issue briefly today.  The Bible, God’s Word, holds no contradictions, only truth and enlightenment. 

“All Scripture is given by inspiration (God-breathed) of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: that the man of God may be perfect (mature), thoroughly furnished unto all good works.” (2 Timothy 3:16-17)

Divorce Allowed: (Matthew 19:8-9) In these two verses from Matthew’s Gospel account Christ - quoting Moses in Deuteronomy 24:1-4 - permits divorce where sexual infidelity is proven to have been committed by either party in a marriage (i.e., “...except it be for fornication...”)  In fact, God at one stage in time, actually commanded the Israelites to divorce and send away the young pagan women they had married, and their children!  (Ezra 10:1-44)

The apostle Paul, under God’s inspiration, instructs the believing spouse of an unbeliever to let the unbeliever depart if he/she so insists, and hereafter the believer is no longer under bondage to the departing marriage partner.  (1 Corinthians 7:15)

Divorce Disallowed: (Malachi 2:16) On the other side of the balance, the Lord God hates divorce as it is written in this verse of equally Spirit-inspired Scripture, because the one who “...puts away...”, or divorces, his/her partner, overwhelms the rejected partner with grief and emotional cruelty. 

Jesus teaches us that marriage should, in principle, last a lifetime.  (Matthew 19:3-6)

Paul also admonishes married Christians NOT to divorce their spouse, and encourages “...unequally yoked...” marriage partners (one saved, the other unsaved) to remain together.  So, what, exactly, is the plan of God reference divorce? (1 Corinthians 7:10-15)

Resolution: (Genesis 2:18-24) God designed marriage to be a one-flesh, lifelong, loving and mutually submissive, union of two people.  God, therefore, views divorce as a violation of His ideal, but mercifully permits divorce in the case where adultery, or marital unfaithfulness, has been proven.  He permits a divorce for the couple, as opposed to the capital punishment of the guilty parties via stoning to death, according to Jewish Law.  (Leviticus 20:10) (Deuteronomy 22:22) (Ephesians 5:21-33)

As we have seen earlier in the study, God also permits divorce in the case of an unbeliever’s insistence on leaving the Christian partner - and the Christian partner, thus deserted, is not deemed to be “...under bondage...” to the unbelieving partner who has deserted the marriage union. 

God our Creator’s perfect marriage IDEAL is once again sinned against by the fallibility, weakness, and total depravity of His fallen creatures.

The word “departs”, in 1 Corinthians 7:15, is ‘chorizo’ in the original Greek.  This Greek word is almost always a technical term for divorce.  Divorce, therefore, is a LAST RESORT solution when adultery/unfaithfulness/abandonment is present in a marriage, and when marital reconciliation proves impossible to achieve.

J.C. Ryle Comments:

“The greater portion of this passage is meant to show’ us the dignity and importance of the relation of marriage. It is plain that the prevailing opinions of the Jews upon this subject, when our Lord was upon earth, were lax and low in the extreme. The binding character of the marri­age tie was not recognized. Divorce for slight and trivial causes was allowable and common. The duties of hus­bands towards wives, and of wives towards husbands, as a natural consequence, were little understood. To correct this state of things, our Lord sets up a high and holy standard of principles. He refers to the original institu­tion of marriage at the creation, as the union of one man and one woman. He quotes and endorses the solemn words used at the marriage of Adam and Eve, as words of perpetual significance, “a man shall leave his father and mother, and cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh.” He adds a solemn comment to these words, — “What God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.” And finally, in reply to the inquiry of His disciples, he declares that divorce followed by re-marriage, except for the cause of unfaithfulness, is a breach of the seventh commandment. Ryle’s Footnote: “I decidedly believe that the re­marriage forbidden by Christ, is re-marriage after a divorce for trivial and frivolous causes, and that His words do not apply to re-marriage after divorce on account of unfaithfulness.” (J.C. Ryle’s Expository Thoughts on the Gospels 1816-1900)

Both Jewish and Roman laws provided the right of divorce and remarriage on grounds of sexual sin.  Luke’s Gospel account does not record Christ’s exceptional circumstances for divorce that Matthew’s does - because all first Century readers would naturally assume adultery to be a valid cause for divorce.  (Luke 16:18)

Christ - quoting Moses in Deuteronomy 24:1-4 - permits divorce where sexual infidelity is proven to have been committed by either party in a marriage (i.e., “...except it be for fornication...”)  Christ Jesus closely defines His position, in Matthew 19:8-9.

Thought: In conclusion therefore, what at first reading appears to be a blatant contradiction in Scriptures is not a contradiction at all.  So, let us work hard at our marriages, be always tender and willing to forgive. Let us seek to renew our marital circumstances with love, knowing that the Lord God of infinite love will forever bless our efforts to live up to His perfect ideals.