Jesus' Teaching on Divorce and Remarriage

There was a great controversy regarding divorce and remarriage in the days of Jesus. It centered on the interpretation of a phrase in Deuteronomy 24:1, which stated the ground for divorce, “If a man marries a woman who becomes displeasing to him because he finds something indecent about here, and he writes her a certificate of divorce . . .” By Jesus’ day, the Pharisees (Israel’s religious leaders) allowed for divorce for almost any reason at all, based upon their interpretation of the meaning of decent in Deuteronomy 24:1. Jesus set the record straight by not only pointing out the prevailing misinterpretation of Moses’ law, but by setting a standard that allowed for divorce and remarriage for only three reasons; sexual immorality by one’s spouse who is unwilling to repent and live faithfully in the marriage relationship, a believer who is deserted by an unbelieving spouse and third when someone has been married and divorced before coming to Christ. (Matthew 5:31-42; Matthew 19:4-12)