Matthew 19:1-15

Is it OK to get a divorce?

Any pastor can tell you that this is a frequently asked question. Some just give it a flat, “No.” Others say, “Only if there is marital unfaithfulness.” Others are more liberal in their interpretation of when divorce is permitted. (The apostle Paul would be in this last group. See 1 Corinthians 7:15-16)

But what does Jesus say? First we need to understand that Jesus is not being asked if divorce is OK. He is being asked if it is OK for a man to divorce his wife for “any and every” reason. Apparently by this day there was a teaching that allowed a man to divorce his wife for any and every reason. She burnt the toast. She has bad breath. She isn’t as attractive as the other woman I want.

Jesus taught that from the beginning divorce was not God’s plan. In truth there is only one reason why divorce exist. Our hearts are hard. Jesus does say that marital unfaithfulness is extreme enough for divorce. (The marriage covenant has already been broken.) However, He doesn’t say that you must divorce even then. Furthermore, is marital unfaithfulness merely sexual? Is abandonment a form of marital unfaithfulness? How about abuse?

The bottom line is that divorce is never God’s plan; however, we are fallen creatures in a fallen world and there are times when divorce is justified. Those times are not as frequent as some would have us believe but they do exist.

And when divorce happens God is not necessarily through with us. Some would teach this but I just don’t see it in Scripture. And how ironic that this passage ends with a classification of people (children) to whom the self appointed gate keepers of the kingdom would deny full access to Jesus. But Jesus says, “Do not hinder them.”