Ep 137 – Matthew 5:31-32

Today's episode covers Matthew 5, verses 31-32. In these two short verses, Jesus takes on what was an extremely hot topic at that time: Divorce. Then, as today, divorce was a problem among the people of God. And while the Mosaic law had restrictions regarding its use and strict regulations governing its accessibility for the Jewish people, they had begun to act as if divorce was not only a viable option, but in some cases, a preferable one to marriage. And as before, Jesus will deal with the perception regarding divorce and the reality that God intended when He gave the laws concerning it to begin with. For God, marriage was intended to reflect the covenant relationship between He and His people. So, it was all about faithfulness. And Jesus will make that point painfully clear to His audience as He stresses God's unwavering view regarding the marriage covenant. For all practical purposes, Israel had bought into the idea of no-fault divorce. Men were putting away their wives for little or no reason, and thinking nothing of having done so. But Jesus was going to put that mindset to an abrupt halt.