Matthew 5:32, commentary and pictures

In the Sermon on the Mount Christ declared that unfaithfulness to the marriage vow is the sole ground that frees husband or wife from its claims, so that marriage cannot be dissolved except for fornication, sexual immorality and adultery. A divorce granted by the laws of the land for any other reason does not by itself end the marriage in God's sight, and those so divorced are still husband and wife according to the law of God. The innocent spouse who obtains a legal divorce because the other was guilty of adultery is free to marry another, but without that cause neither party has the right to marry another and divorce gives no unrestricted liberty to remarry. A husband who puts away his wife for any other reason causes her to commit adultery and makes her vulnerable to it, and whoever marries her that is divorced commits adultery. This condemned the custom of putting away a wife for trivial offenses and treating marriage lightly, and hedged the marriage relation about with judicial restriction to protect it from unholy passion, as part of Christ's unfolding of the far-reaching law that requires obedience from the heart.

Sermon Setting and Authority

Matthew 5:32 belongs to the Sermon on the Mount, given especially to the disciples gathered close about Jesus while the assembled multitude also heard it. His words were specially addressed to the disciples yet designed to reach the hearts and consciences of the mixed crowd assembled there. In that sermon Christ taught the conditions and principles of His kingdom of divine grace rather than worldly greatness. That teaching disappointed hopes for earthly glory and for freedom from the yoke of bondage and restoration of ancient glory. At the same time He corrected false ideas and opposed the doctrines and practices of the self-righteous scribes and Pharisees.

The verse is part of Christ's explanation of the law in the Sermon on the Mount, revealing the law's full reach and true meaning. In doing so He corrected the distorted presentation of its requirements by the religious teachers. His teaching stands in contrast to the repeated sayings of the rabbis, and its authority comes from Christ's teaching, not from human tradition. That law is far-reaching, reaching into every part of life and to the heart, condemning evil and requiring perfect obedience. Christ exemplified it in His sinless life.

Its claims reach to the heart and require the spirit of the law in the heart, because the state of the heart regulates life and character. Unless this inward principle is impressed, instruction in the law fails. It reveals the truth about God's government, showing that God's commandments define the consequences of disobedience. Jesus' teaching in Matthew 5:21-48 is the standard by which Scripture is to be learned, rather than relying on repeated human sayings and teachings. Unlike the repeated traditions of the rabbis, His teaching provides the standard for virtue and holiness to be followed as the authoritative guide for life and character.

His plain sayings in Matthew 5 are to be believed and practiced, so that living by these words develops Christlike character and puts divine principles in the heart.

Marriage Bond and Divorce

Jesus condemned the custom then existing of putting away a wife for trivial offenses and treating marriage lightly, striking at the primary cause of that laxness by condemning the unholy passions that found the marriage institution a barrier to the gratification of lust. That practice of putting away for trivial reasons brought great wretchedness, misery, crime, and sin. The marriage relation is to be hedged about and protected by judicial restrictions, so that there can be no legal separation between husband and wife save for the cause of adultery.

Marriage cannot be dissolved except for unfaithfulness to the marriage vow, and fornication, sexual immorality, and adultery is the sole and only ground that frees a husband or wife from the marriage vow in God's sight and the one lawful ground to separate, with the vow remaining binding and neither party released from its claims except when adultery violates the marriage bed. A husband who divorces his wife for any reason other than sexual immorality causes her to commit adultery and makes her vulnerable to adultery, and whoever marries her that is divorced commits adultery. A divorce granted by the laws of the land does not by itself end a marriage in God's sight or in Bible light, so those only legally divorced for any other reason are still husband and wife according to the law of God.

An innocent wife or spouse who obtains a legal divorce on the ground that the other was guilty of adultery is free to be married to whom she chooses or to marry another man, but without that cause she has no right to marry another man, so divorce gives neither spouse unrestricted liberty to remarry. The marriage vows bind husband and wife under God's law, requiring a married man to honor and remain faithful to his wife, resisting impurity in thought, word, and deed and keeping his marriage vows.