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Luke 16:18
“Everyone who divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery, and he who marries a woman divorced from her husband commits adultery.”
Marriage and divorce are the subjects of today’s passage, and the first question we need to ask is why there is no immediately apparent connection between this verse and what precedes it. If we dig a little deeper, however, it seems that Jesus has been critiquing the Pharisees for a variety of wrong views they held (see vv. 1–17). His instruction on marriage and divorce is an implicit critique of the view of at least some Pharisees who taught that divorce was acceptable in a wide number of cases, even for something as trivial as a husband’s being displeased with his wife’s cooking. Our Lord in today’s passage is speaking against such a view by using strong language to emphasize the importance of maintaining the marital bond.
The covenant of marriage is emphasized throughout the Bible, but the Pharisees had failed to recognize the importance of maintaining the marital bond. Jesus points out that those who divorce and remarry are committing adultery not to say that divorce is never acceptable or that all who divorce commit adultery, but rather that those who flippantly and casually seek divorce for any number of reasons are committing adultery. While Jesus speaks primarily to the male party here because men had more power in regard to divorce in Jesus’ context, the principle applies more broadly. Neither husband nor wife may sue for divorce without sound biblical warrant.
When is divorce biblically permissible? Jesus indicates elsewhere that divorce may occur in cases of sexual immorality (Matt. 19:1–12) and Paul explains that abandonment can constitute grounds for divorce (1 Cor. 7:12–16). Moreover, the church has recognized that abandonment, or desertion, can occur through abuse. The Westminster Confession of Faith states that “nothing but adultery, or such willful desertion as can no way be remedied by the church, or civil magistrate, is cause sufficient of dissolving the bond of marriage: wherein, a public and orderly course of proceeding is to be observed; and the persons concerned in it not left to their own wills, and discretion, in their own case” (24.6). Christ holds marriage in high honor, and Paul tells us that marriage even points to the relationship that Christ has with His church (Eph. 5:32). Therefore, let us be faithful in our own marriages and seek to encourage others to be faithful as well.
Coram Deo Living before the face of God
Each marriage is different, and great wisdom is often needed to evaluate when there is a biblical reason for divorce. This is one reason that God has given shepherds to the church, entrusting the care of our souls to pastors and elders who will wisely apply His Word to protect innocent parties and uphold His law. May we all study carefully the biblical teaching on marriage and divorce, and may we endeavor to think and act with wisdom in these matters.
for further study
- Deuteronomy 24:1–4
- Malachi 2:16
- Matthew 5:31–32
- Mark 10:1–12
the bible in a year
- Psalms 105–106
- Romans 15:1–21