Grant Abbott Supporter Child of Father, Follower of Son, Student of Spirit

I believe Jesus is affirming that, in the eyes of God, the only valid reason for a divorce is sexual immorality = adultery = unfaithfulness. 

If the divorce is for any other reason, in God’s eyes, the marriage union is still valid. If either spouse remarries after they divorce they are committing adultery.

But let’s remember we believe in a God who is gracious and merciful. When people make mistakes resulting in a sin, God is willing to forgive, when confession and repentance has been made.

September 12 2020 • 0 responses • Vote Up • Share • Report

Tim Maas Supporter Retired Quality Assurance Specialist with the U.S. Army

Jesus appears to be assuming that the divorced wife will subsequently marry another man (as she would have been entitled to do under the Mosaic Law, and as would have been normal, since a woman in that time and culture would have had no means of support without a husband).

However, when she does so, it will be in God's view as if her former husband forced her to commit adultery, and the woman's former husband (not the woman herself) will be the one who will be held accountable by God. (In fact, he will be doubly accountable, since (as also noted in the verse cited in the question), he will also be responsible for making the man who marries the divorced woman guilty of adultery, even though, again, the Mosaic Law permitted such a remarriage.) (As Jesus said in Matthew 19:8-9, however, such permission was a concession to the hardness of the human heart, and was not God's original intent for marriage.)

September 09 2020 • 0 responses • Vote Up • Share • Report

jackie pippin Supporter Wife of one. Mother of two. Grandmother of four.

Jesus says that he who marries a divorced woman commits adultery. Luke 16:18, Matt 19:9, and Matt 5:32 

But, Matt 5:32 may have a little twist to it, lost in most English translations. "But I say to you that everyone who divorces his wife, except on the ground of sexual immorality, makes her commit adultery, and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery." MAKES HER. It seems like it is through no fault of her own. The verb for "commit adultery" is passive, an aorist passive infinitive! Being passive means she is not the one committing any wrong. A literal translation from Koine is "To suffer adultery." He makes her suffer adultery. She is the victim of a wrong committed against her! The Greek grammar strongly implies she is the passive recipient of a wrong done to her. The husband's unjust actions force her into a vulnerable position... a consequence thrust upon her by her former spouse."

In the first century, most divorced women had no choice but to remarry simply to survive. Jesus is arguing that if a husband divorces his wife, he is almost forcing her to remarry. This is why the Greek passive voice in Matthew 5:32 is so critical—Jesus is calling out the men who could legally ruin a woman's life on a whim, forcing her into an invalid second marriage. Because God still views the original marriage covenant as intact, her subsequent remarriage is considered adultery—and Jesus places the moral blame for that outcome directly on the husband who cast her out.

Off the bat, I don't know of any more evidence saying a divorced woman in such a case is an "innocent victim." I sincerely hope you find more evidence than I did.

So if a man marries a victim of divorce, is he committing adultery? Houdmann said, "An even more difficult question is a married man who has never been divorced, but is married to a woman who previously had a divorce. There is no Scripture that explicitly deals with this issue." Perhaps Matt 5:32 does deal with it. Food for thought. 

Back to the beginning, Jesus did say that the man who marries a divorced woman commits adultery. The vows before God cannot be broken by man. But Jesus places the moral blame on the first husband.

October 28 2026 • 0 responses • Vote Up • Share • Report