We’ve seen a pattern develop in this part of the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus first repeats a commandment from the Torah prohibiting a sinful action, but then he moves deeper to identify the internal condition of the heart behind the sin. The Old Testament law forbids murder, but Jesus says the real issue is anger. And the Torah condemns adultery, but Jesus addresses the invisible problem of lust. Although easily missed by modern readers, this same pattern continues with Jesus’ remarks about divorce.
First, some cultural context is necessary. In first-century Judea, the proper interpretation of the Old Testament verses governing divorce was hotly debated. To simplify the controversy, one side advocated for lenient divorce rules that allowed a man to divorce his wife for virtually any reason. The other side believed in strict divorce laws that severely limited when a marriage could be dissolved. In his sermon, Jesus clearly sided with the limited view rather than the lenient one, but that’s not the full story.
When read within the context of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus’ words about divorce illuminate a much bigger issue beyond just adultery or even marriage. Once again, he is addressing the condition of the heart from which flippancy about divorce—and many other things—arises.
Those who advocated for an extremely lenient and casual posture toward divorce were looking to justify their selfishness and sometimes their lust without running afoul of God’s commands. Their attitude was similar to that of many people toward taxes. What is the very minimum I am required to pay, and what loopholes can I exploit, without getting into trouble? When this mindset is applied to marriage, however, spouses, families, and entire communities are devastated. In ancient Judea, men with this outlook could justify abandoning their wives and children while maintaining their social reputations and sense of religious righteousness because they believed they were not technically violating God’s law.
But the issue goes even deeper. In the Old Testament, God’s covenant with his people is repeatedly compared to a marriage in which both partners are called to be faithful to each other. We see this metaphor used in Exodus, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Hosea. Of course, the people of Israel repeatedly broke their covenant with God, and the prophets compared their unfaithfulness to adultery. Their hearts were, like the men in Jesus’ day, selfish. They twisted God’s commands to justify their desires and created excuses for their transgressions. The Lord, by contrast, remained faithful to Israel despite their adultery.
I believe this is the deeper problem Jesus addresses in his sermon, and it applies to all our relationships and obligations, including marriage. A self-centered heart that is looking for the minimum required obedience and loopholes to exploit for self-indulgence is not a heart fit for the kingdom of the heavens. Instead, our hearts are to be like God’s—overflowing with self-sacrificial love for others that seeks to maintain connections rather than excuses to sever them.
Daily Scripture
Matthew 5:31-32
Jeremiah 3:6-14
Weekly Prayer
From Charles Spurgeon (1834–1892)
To come to you is to come home from exile,
to come to land out of the raging storm,
to come to rest after long labor,
to come to the goal of my desires and the summit of my wishes.
But Lord, how can a stone rise,
how can a lump of clay come away from the horrible pit?
O raise me, draw me.
Your grace can do it.
Send for your Holy Spirit to kindle sacred flames of love in my heart,
and I will continue to rise until I leave life and time behind me,
and indeed come away.
Amen
