The Sermon on the Mount · Matthew 5:31-32

Divorce in the Sermon on the Mount: A Hard Saying Handled With Grace

Matthew 5 to 7 · Jesus’ greatest sermon, the manifesto of the kingdom

Jesus tightens the loose divorce practice of His day, teaching that marriage is not to be discarded lightly. Where some men used a certificate of divorce to dismiss a wife for almost any reason, Jesus protects the vulnerable and honors the permanence God intended for marriage. This is one of the sermon's hard sayings, and it must be held with honesty about God's design and deep pastoral care for those whose marriages have broken.

It hath been said, Whosoever shall put away his wife, let him give her a writing of divorcement: But I say unto you, That whosoever shall put away his wife, saving for the cause of fornication, causeth her to commit adultery: and whosoever shall marry her that is divorced committeth adultery.Matthew 5:31-32 (KJV)

What Jesus said

It hath been said, Whosoever shall put away his wife, let him give her a writing of divorcement. Jesus quotes the common practice, then limits it: whoever divorces his wife, except for the cause of sexual immorality, causes her to commit adultery, and whoever marries a woman so divorced commits adultery. In a fuller discussion later in Matthew, He roots this in creation, in God's making them male and female and joining them as one flesh.

The thrust is clear. Marriage is not a disposable arrangement to be ended at a husband's convenience. Jesus raises its dignity and permanence far above the casual dismissals of His day, and He does so, tellingly, in a way that shields the wife who in that culture had little power to protect herself.

What it meant then, and what it means now

In first-century Judaism a debate raged over how easily a man could divorce his wife. Some taught he could do it for the smallest displeasure. A dismissed woman was often left destitute and shamed, dependent on remarriage to survive. Into that setting Jesus speaks not first as a lawgiver tightening rules but as a protector of the discarded, refusing to let the strong throw away the weak.

Today marriage is again treated by many as easily ended. Jesus' words still call His people to take their vows with the seriousness God attaches to them, to fight for their marriages, and to resist the throwaway spirit of the age. Yet they must be read as He gave them, with the same care for the vulnerable and the wounded that filled His own dealings with people.

How it goes to the heart

Jesus is not handing married people a new weapon to wield against each other, nor a fresh cause for pride in those who have never divorced. He is exposing the hardness of heart that treats a covenant as disposable. The command reaches past the paperwork to the disposition that would abandon a spouse rather than love, forgive, and persevere.

That same searching grace means the passage is not meant to crush those already carrying the grief of a broken marriage. Many have been divorced against their will, or have fled abuse, or have found Christ only after a marriage ended. Jesus, who sees the heart, does not treat all stories alike, and neither should His people.

How it has been misapplied, and rightly applied

This teaching has been misused as a club, wielded to shame the divorced as though they carried a permanent mark, or to trap people in danger by forbidding any separation whatever. Neither honors the heart of Christ. Scripture itself recognizes that some marriages are broken by unfaithfulness or desertion, and it never commands anyone to remain in the path of harm.

Rightly applied, the passage does two things at once. It calls the church to uphold marriage as a lifelong, sacred bond and to resist ending it lightly. And it calls the church to receive the divorced with the same mercy Jesus showed, without condescension, offering forgiveness where there is repentance, comfort where there is grief, and a full place in the family of God. There is no sin, including the failures around marriage, that the cross does not cover for those who come to Christ.

A closer look at the words

To understand these two verses, it helps to know the debate behind them. Jewish teachers argued over a phrase in the law about a husband finding some uncleanness in his wife. One school allowed divorce only for serious immorality; another permitted it for almost anything, even a spoiled meal. Many men took the loose view, and wives paid the price. Jesus sides firmly with the sanctity and permanence of marriage.

In the fuller discussion recorded later in Matthew, Jesus grounds His teaching not in the concession of divorce but in the creation of marriage, in God’s making them male and female and joining them as one flesh, and He says what God has joined together, let no one separate. The certificate of divorce was permitted because of hardness of heart, He explains, but it was not so from the beginning.

The exception He names, for the cause of fornication or sexual immorality, shows that Jesus is not laying down a mechanical rule with no exceptions, but confronting the casual, self-serving divorce of His day. His aim is to protect the covenant and the vulnerable partner within it, not to trap anyone in cruelty or danger.

Living this today

Read in a throwaway culture, these words call married believers to take their vows with the seriousness God attaches to them, to fight for their marriages rather than discard them, and to seek help and healing before concluding a marriage is beyond repair. Marriage is meant to be a lifelong covenant, and the church does well to surround struggling couples with real support.

Yet this teaching must never become a weapon. Many carry deep grief over a marriage that ended against their will, or fled genuine danger, or came to faith only after divorce. Scripture never commands anyone to remain in the path of harm, and it recognizes that unfaithfulness and desertion can break a marriage. Safety and honest pastoral care come first for anyone in danger.

For the divorced, the word of Christ is not a permanent mark of shame but the same grace He offered everyone He met. There is no failure around marriage that the cross does not cover for those who come to Him, and there is a full, unashamed place in the family of God for the divorced. The church is called to receive them exactly as Jesus would.

None of this is meant to reopen old wounds, but to set the whole subject under the mercy of Christ. Whether you are fighting for a hard marriage, grieving one that ended against your will, or beginning again after failure, the same Lord who honors the covenant also binds up the brokenhearted. Bring it all to Him honestly, and let His people walk beside you rather than stand over you in judgment, for that is how Jesus Himself would meet you.

How it points to Christ

Behind every command about marriage stands a marriage that will never break. The Scriptures call Christ the bridegroom and His people the bride, and He is the husband who keeps covenant even when His people are unfaithful. He does not put us away; He pursues, forgives, and cleanses us to present us to Himself.

So the ideal Jesus lifts up is one He Himself embodies. His faithfulness is the ground of hope both for marriages that need healing and for those wounded by divorce. He is not only the lawgiver who honors marriage but the Savior who binds up the brokenhearted, and in Him even the deepest failures of love are not the end of the story.

A note for every tradition: the Sermon on the Mount is honored across the whole church as the heart of Jesus’ teaching. This is faithful, mainstream exposition, holding the hard sayings with both honesty and grace. Above all it points to Christ, who alone lived this sermon perfectly and gives grace to all who follow Him.

Continue in the sermon: Lust and purity · Oaths and your word · Who is Jesus? · The whole Sermon on the Mount