In this Teachings of Jesus series of posts, I want to help people more easily understand and conceptualize the Jesus lifestyle. Matthew 5 thru 7 gives us the essence of the Jesus movement in three chapters, often called "The Sermon On the Mount".

This post is the second covering a section where Jesus deals with the topics of lust and divorce. Jesus calls His listeners to move past common cultural rules and boundaries and into deeper personal policies of caring deeply for human beings.

You can read about the lust portion of The Sermon On the Mount here. In a nutshell, when it comes to adultery, Jesus tells us to think beyond just controlling our bodies. We should not even allow our minds to move past healthy relational boundaries.

Jesus is ultimately concerned about the vulnerability of women in His day. Using the letter of the laws, with no regard for the spirit of said laws, people of Jesus' time were using and abusing women through lust and divorce. There would be no room for this in the Movement He was starting.

Now we'll look at a few verses that I believe have been the source of great pain and frustration for followers of Jesus. If we understand the context of the teaching, we can better apply His Divine Wisdom.

I wish Jesus gave us an entire book on marriage and a lot of clarity on divorce. Rather, we only have a few verses. Here are the verses in the Sermon On the Mount. Then, we'll talk about what they say and what they don't say.

THE “PLAIN” TEACHING OF JESUS

31 “It has been said, ‘Anyone who divorces his wife must give her a certificate of divorce.’ 32 But I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, makes her the victim of adultery, and anyone who marries a divorced woman commits adultery.

This is often considered one of the most straightforward teachings from Jesus on divorce. It is also thought to be exhaustive. Put simply, “If no one cheated, divorce is a sin.” Divorce is usually understood to be a massive unforgivable wedge between a person and God. The Bible says God hates divorce, it’s true. I’ve been asked. “Pastor, am I going to hell because I got divorced.”

I want to take a look just under the surface. The details would have said more to an ancient crowd than they tell us today.

FACT #1

In past posts, I've written that there is a specific formula Jesus uses throughout His sermon. Whenever Jesus launches with the verbiage, “It has been said… but I tell you…”, He’s invoking an awareness of a common understanding, and then taking it to another level with His new interpretation.

By mentioning a certificate of divorce, Jesus is immediately drumming up the ancient Jewish understanding of divorce. Moses had told the Israelites they could divorce, so long as they gave a certificate that made it legal. SUPER IMPORTANT!: There was an ongoing debate about whether or not a man could divorce his wife for any reason, so long as he gave her a certificate. When Jesus uses His formula, "You've heard it said... certificate of divorce...", He is clearly calling His listeners to this debate. He is about to give His opinion on a well-known debate! This immediately removes the teaching from an exhaustive treatment of divorce and into a very specific question about divorce. Let me rephrase Jesus: "You guys talk about divorcing your wives for any reason by simply giving her a certificate and calling it legal. Here's my take on that!"

FACT #2

For the most part, only men could initiate a divorce in those days. Horrifying as it was for a woman, most women were their husband’s property. They had few rights. She could rarely choose to leave their husband. Did you notice that Jesus only addresses a man divorcing his wife? That’s why. That doesn’t mean it was the way it should be. It just means that was how it was back then. Had Jesus talked to women about a cause for divorce, it would have been cruel because they simply didn’t have that option....