Divorce: Jesus' attack on the Pharisees

A note about 'Divorce' in Luke 16: 18

Why does Jesus suddenly drop an apparently disconnected and random statement about divorce into the middle of Luke 16? And further, what does he mean by it?

In Luke 16:1-13 Jesus tells a parable about using the power of wealth for eternal purposes, rather than for selfish short term gain. And then, in verses 14-18, Jesus turns his attention to the 'money loving Pharisees'. He accuses them of being corrupted by their wealth and justifying themselves before men--- but inwardly their hearts are far from pure. Outwardly they appear to honour and uphold the Old Testament Law, but inwardly they are corrupt.

And so, in verse 18, as an example of the Pharisees' subterfuge, Jesus weighs into one of their well-known debates. With staccato brevity he demolishes their shrewdly argued (and popular) view of divorce—and then moves on to speak further about the corrupting power of wealth in verses 19-31.

So the context here tells us that Luke 16:18 is not Jesus' definitive teaching on divorce, but simply a rebuke to the Pharisees. In the case of divorce, they had twisted the clear meaning of the Old Testament to serve their own purposes.

Jesus' wider teaching on divorce

A few decades before Jesus’ ministry a new form of divorce called ‘Any Cause’ divorce was introduced by lawyers of the Hillelite party of Pharisees. They derived it from the phrase in Deuteronomy 24:1 where divorce is allowed for “a cause of indecency”. The term ‘indecency’ (literally, nakedness) was understood by all rabbis to refer to adultery, but the Hillelites said that this still left the term “a cause” (literally a thing) undefined. They said that this word indicated a separate type of divorce which was based on ‘a cause’ which could be any cause from a burnt meal to wrinkly skin. They called this the ‘Any Cause’ divorce and, because it could be based on anything, there was no need to present any proof in court— the man simply had to hand over a divorce certificate and the marriage was over.

Other rabbis (such as the rival party of Shammaite Pharisees) said that the phrase ‘a matter of indecency’ did not refer to two types of divorce (adultery and ‘Any Cause’) because the phrase as a whole means ‘nothing else than indecency’. Most of the people, however, preferred the Hillelite interpretation because it provided easy divorces and no embarrassing court appearances.

This helps explain Jesus' direct teaching on Divorce in Matthew 19:

3 Some Pharisees came to him to test him. They asked, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any and every reason?” 4 “Haven’t you read,” he replied, “that at the beginning the Creator ‘made them male and female,’ 5 and said, ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh’? 6 So they are no longer two, but one. Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate.”

7 “Why then,” they asked, “did Moses command that a man give his wife a certificate of divorce and send her away?” 8 Jesus replied, “Moses permitted you to divorce your wives because your hearts were hard. But it was not this way from the beginning. 9 I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for marital unfaithfulness, and marries another woman commits adultery.” (Mt 19:3-9, emphasis mine)

Jesus rejects the idea of divorce for “any and every reason”, that is, the 'Any Cause' divorce of the Hillelite party of Pharisees. Such divorces are invalid and do not end the marriage. Hence, any subsequent marriage would result in adultery, since the first was still in effect.

It is important to notice in Mt 19:9 that Jesus does recognize 'marital unfaithfulness' (literally, porneia) as legitimate grounds for divorce. In effect, he would seem to be affirming the traditional Jewish understanding of grounds for divorce, prior to ‘Any Cause’ divorce becoming popular. Judaism had four grounds for divorce based on the Old Testament: adultery (based on Deut 24:1) and neglect of food, clothing or love (based on Ex 21:10ff). These latter three grounds had been recognised by all factions within Judaism and allowed divorce by women as well as men. They were based on the Mosaic law that a slave-wife could be free of her marriage if her husband neglected her, and the rabbis assumed that if an ex-slave had these rights then so did a neglected free wife or a neglected husband. Paul seems to echo these kinds of neglect as legitimate grounds for divorce in 1 Cor 7:12-13, where a Christian is deserted by an unbelieving spouse. So how would we sum up Jesus' teaching on divorce?

God meant marriage to be an exclusive life-long union between a man and a woman.

Divorce is granted as a concession to the hard-hearted sinfulness of men and women. It is only sanctioned in the Bible under certain circumstances (sexual immorality and desertion/neglect are the main categories). The precise definition of these circumstances ought to be considered prayerfully and with careful study of the relevant passages. See, for example, Gen 2:18,24; Exodus 21:7-11; Deut 24:1-4; Mat 5:31-32; Mat 19:1-12; Mk 10:1-12; 1 Cor 7.

Biblically sanctioned divorce implies the right to remarry.

Even though Paul counsels couples to stay together, it would appear that he does allow couples to separate (without the right to remarry another). The grounds for allowing such separation are not given (domestic violence?); Paul only adds the caveat that if a partner does separate then that person should either remain unmarried or be reconciled to their former partner.

God 'hates' divorce (Mal 2:16) but loves divorcees. So, in the event that a marriage relationship does end in divorce, we ought to operate on a 'retrieval ethic' that tries to 'retrieve' as much good as possible from the ashes of the situation. The grace of God is our model for relating to those in this unfortunate circumstance. The grace of God ought also be our goal for those in this situation.

If you have been divorced and remarried, and due to circumstances of your divorce, you are wondering whether God sees you as an ‘adulterer’ the best thing to do is confess it to God, ask for forgiveness and move forward in building a good marriage now. What is past cannot be undone, but it can be forgiven and the scars healed! (Ps 103:8-12)

Further reading on Biblically sanctioned grounds for divorce can be found in David Instone-Brewer's book, Divorce and Remarriage in the Church (Paternoster, 2003) and Bishop Glenn Davies Biblical Principles of Divorce and Remarriage

Rev Stuart Holman

Senior MinisterThe Church of St Marks Avalon with St Davids Palm Beach