Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for just any reason?

Now it came to pass, when Jesus had finished these sayings, that He departed from Galilee and came to the region of Judea beyond the Jordan.  And great multitudes followed Him, and He healed them there.

The Pharisees also came to Him, testing Him, and saying to Him, "Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for just any reason?"  And He answered and said to them, "Have you not read that He who made them at the beginning 'made them male and female,' and said, 'For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh'?  So then, they are no longer two but one flesh.  Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate."  They said to Him, "Why then did Moses command to give a certificate of divorce, and to put her away?"  He said to them, "Moses, because of the hardness of your hearts, permitted you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so.  And I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery; and whoever marries her who is divorced commits adultery."

His disciples said to Him, "If such is the case of the man with his wife, it is better not to marry."  But He said to them, "All cannot accept this saying, but only those to whom it has been given.  For there are eunuchs who were born thus from their mother's womb, and there are eunuchs who were made eunuchs by men, and there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven's sake.  He who is able to accept it, let him accept it."

- Matthew 19:1-12

On Saturday, we read that Peter came to Jesus and said, "Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him?  Up to seven times?"  This was after Jesus had taught about forgiveness in the Church.  Jesus said to him, "I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven.  Therefore the kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants.  And when he had begun to settle accounts, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents.  But as he was not able to pay, his master commanded that he be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and that payment be made.  The servant therefore fell down before him, saying, 'Master, have patience with me, and I will pay you all.'  Then the master of that servant was moved with compassion, released him, and forgave him the debt.  But that servant went out and found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii, and he laid hands on him and took him by the throat, saying, 'Pay me what you owe!'  So his fellow servant fell down at his feet and begged him, saying, 'Have patience with me, and I will pay you all.'  And he would not, but went and threw him into prison till he should pay the debt.  So when his fellow servants saw what had been done, they were very grieved, and came and told their master all that had been done.  Then his master, after he had called him, said to him, 'You wicked servant!  I forgave you all that debt because you begged me.  Should you not also have had compassion on your fellow servant, just as I had pity on you?'  And his master was angry, and delivered him to the torturers until he should pay all that was due to him.  So My heavenly Father also will do to you if each of you, from his heart, does not forgive his brother his trespasses."

Now it came to pass, when Jesus had finished these sayings, that He departed from Galilee and came to the region of Judea beyond the Jordan.  And great multitudes followed Him, and He healed them there.   Jesus leaves His "home country" of Galilee, where He's spent most of His ministry, and come closer to Jerusalem, into Judea.  No doubt His popularity there, with "great multitudes" who follow Him, attracts the attention of the leadership in Jerusalem.

The Pharisees also came to Him, testing Him, and saying to Him, "Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for just any reason?"   The Pharisees come to Jesus with a test; in this case, the test is on the legality of divorce.  Pharisees were experts in the Mosaic Law, and this question requires interpretation of Deut. 24:1-4.  But Jesus will give His own answer, and His own perspective.

And He answered and said to them, "Have you not read that He who made them at the beginning 'made them male and female,' and said, 'For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh'?  So then, they are no longer two but one flesh.  Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate."   My study bible says, "The yearning of a husband and wife for one another was planted in human nature by God before the Fall.  The harmony of Adam and Eve with God and with each other was a great virtue.  Adam considered Eve a part of himself (Gen. 2:23).  When he cut himself off from the love of God, that harmony was broken.  Jesus restores the marriage relationship to its original state, giving it a spiritual dimension."  The essence of Jesus' answer is about love, about the bonding that occurs between two people that goes so deep they become one new entity.  In His clear interpretation, this bond is the work of God.

They said to Him, "Why then did Moses command to give a certificate of divorce, and to put her away?"  He said to them, "Moses, because of the hardness of your hearts, permitted you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so.  And I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery; and whoever marries her who is divorced commits adultery."   My study bible says that "divorce is permitted only for sexual immorality, which destroys a marriage -- a teaching held also by the stricter school of the Pharisees.  The reasons for divorce were eventually increased in the ancient Church to include threat to one partner's life, desertion, and forced prostitution."  It notes that while the Church may grant divorce, it regards it as a spiritual tragedy requiring great pastoral care.  Let's note also that in this question and answer between the Pharisees and Jesus, the perspective is regarding a man divorcing a woman.

His disciples said to Him, "If such is the case of the man with his wife, it is better not to marry."  But He said to them, "All cannot accept this saying, but only those to whom it has been given.  For there are eunuchs who were born thus from their mother's womb, and there are eunuchs who were made eunuchs by men, and there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven's sake.  He who is able to accept it, let him accept it." At Jesus' time, of course, eunuchs were commonly men who were castrated in order to serve in some royal capacity, such as guard of the bedchambers (chamberlain).  Under various forms of autocratic rule, it was possible for eunuchs to hold high authoritative or administrative positions, or to wield influence with nobility.  But Jesus uses this word as analogy, referring to elective celibacy.  My study bible says that "eunuchs are lifelong celibates.  Jesus praises those who have made themselves eunuchs, that is, those who are celibate by free choice and according to God's will for them.  Jesus does not endorse mutilation but the putting away of wicked thoughts.  The first Ecumenical Council (A.D. 325) rejected willful mutilation."

Jesus begins His answer to today's question by the Pharisees with an emphasis on love, on the bonds between people.  We have to remember that it wasn't possible for women to initiate divorce; Jesus is speaking strictly to the case of a man divorcing a woman.  So immediately we must understand the social hierarchy at play.  Women were dependent upon men socially and economically.  A divorce wasn't merely a separation of persons but meant something much greater.  In spiritual terms, however, Jesus focuses on the bond that God creates between people, marriage as a sacrament, and this is also essential for us to keep in mind.  Over and over again, in the recent readings in Matthew's Gospel, Jesus has focused on community:  the importance of the little ones and the strays, the importance of forgiveness and mutual correction.   Here the bond in marriage becomes a core piece of community as Jesus envisions it.  It is important to understand the focus on male and female because it gives us a sense of social hierarchies, and once again the emphasis on the use of power in this community.  Jesus speaks of the ease with which a man could get a certificate of divorce as attributed to the "hardness of your hearts."  It is once again a case of the socially dependent being cast off by the more powerful in the community that He condemns as hardness of heart.  But Jesus' antidote to this is the emphasis on the bond of love that is more powerful than even the family ties the man may have to his own parents, another important indication about wealth and power, as family ties (particularly father and mother) are easily the source of both.  Sexuality, then, serves God's purposes -- in Jesus' perspective -- of love, the bonds created by God.  When He speaks of eunuchs, it's also the case of a voluntary celibacy meant to serve community, "for the kingdom of heaven's sake."  We may have all kinds of questions regarding this teaching and modern life, wherever we may live.  But Jesus' emphasis on the bonds of love and the sacramental nature of marriage still holds its strong message of spiritual purpose to human lives.  It also contains messages here about what we sacrifice for that higher purpose, the calling of a purpose of a real community defined by God who is love.  The Teacher goes back to the purpose and function of creation, the higher capacities of human beings for love, as well as giving us teaching here on what destroys that purpose and love.  How do you define community?  What has God placed in your life in the bond of love?  What is the worth of a sacrament and how do we care for that?  These remain essential questions, even 2,000 years later.