WHAT ABOUT MATTHEW 19:9-THE “EXCEPTION CLAUSE?”
“And I say unto you, Whosoever shall put away his wife, except it be for fornication, and shall marry another, committeth adultery: and whoso marrieth her which is put away doth commit adultery”. [Matt: 19:9].
To fully appreciate the
subject regarding “divorce and re-marriage” the above scripture must be studied
and fully understood. There are a number of points we need to address. Most
Christians, including theologians, agree that the book of Matthew was written
“mainly” to/for the Jews. With this in mind we can expect to find some
characteristics pertaining to Jewish customs. In studying this subject I am
convinced the above scripture is one such example. Let us do some investigation.
In the gospel of Mark we
read:
“And in the house his
disciples asked him again of the same matter. And he saith unto them, Whosoever
shall put away his wife, and marry another, committeth adultery against her.
And if a woman shall put away her husband, and be married to another, she
committeth adultery”. [Mark:
In the gospel of Luke we
read.
“Whosoever putteth
away his wife, and marrieth another, committeth adultery: and whosoever
marrieth her that is put away from her husband committeth adultery”. [Luke:
On reading these scriptures
in Mark and Luke we have no other choice but to conclude that, should a husband
or wife put away/divorce their spouse and marry another, Jesus calls this
adultery: period end of discussion. There are no exception clauses in these
precious passages of scripture, and we need to recall that you can only commit
adultery if you are married. We know that there are no mistakes or
contradictions in the word of God, so why the exception clause in Matthew, that
for many seems to contradict the scriptures in Mark and Luke.
Every good bible teacher
will admit that the clear passages of scripture must be used to understand the
not so clear passages. We have clearly seen in both the book of Mark and Luke
what our Lord has to say regarding “putting away” and re-marrying, and that is;
anyone engaging in this behaviour is committing adultery. So to
clear this issue up, we go back to the fact Matthew was written mainly for a
Jewish audience and begin to study the subject in greater detail.
In scripture we have illustrations whereby when a Jewish couple were espoused/betrothed [that is engaged to be married] they were referred to as husband and wife. The perfect example of this is in the book of Matthew with the case of Joseph and Mary. We read:
“Now
the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother
Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with
child of the Holy Ghost. Then Joseph her husband, being a just man,
and not willing to make her a public example, was minded to put her away
privily”.
[Matthew 1: 19-20].
From these verses of scripture we learn how the
“except it be for fornication” clause neatly fits into
place. When we read of Mary being espoused, it speaks of Mary being bound or
betrothed to Joseph, even though they were not yet actually married. In Jewish
custom, when a couple were betrothed they were
expected to continue that relationship resulting in Marriage. They were called
husband and wife as seen by the above scripture referring to Joseph as Mary’s
husband even thou they were not yet married. In 1Corinthians
“Now concerning
virgins I have no commandment of the Lord: yet I give my
judgment, as one that hath obtained mercy of the Lord to be faithful. I suppose
therefore this is good for the present distress, I say, that it is good for a
man so to be. Art thou bound unto a wife? Seek not to be loosed. Art thou
loosed from a wife? seek not a wife. But and if thou marry, thou has not
sinned: and if a virgin marry she has not sinned. Nevertheless such will have
trouble in the flesh: but I spare you”.
Once again we have the yet
unmarried men and virgins, being seen as husband and wife. This betrothal
period was to be taken very seriously, so seriously in fact, to break it, one
had to get a divorce to be loosed from the situation, even thou they were NOT
married. I trust you are now beginning
to see the relevance of the “exception” clause, but let’s continue.
We have many bible translations, and translators will occasionally use different words to interpret the Greek. Our passage of scripture in Matthew 19:9 is one such example. In reading from various bibles we have the following words being used for the Greek word porneia. [fornication, sexual immorality, adultery, illicit sex, marital unfaithfulness, unchastity]. However which best fits the context and situation, as porneia is both used in a narrow sense and a broad sense through out scripture. I am persuaded fornication is the best. Using the example of Joseph and Mary we understand that Joseph thought Mary had broken their espousal/betrothal contract. Hence he thought she had committed fornication [had sex while not married], giving Joseph the right to divorce/ put her away privily. If this had been the case, he could have divorced her and found himself another bride to be, as they were not yet married.
This is why we have the
“exception” clause in Matthew. It applies to the betrothal/espousal period
only. This is why the disciples answered: “If the case of
the man be so with his wife, it is not good to marry”. They knew that
Jesus was saying to them, that once married, you were married for life. It
turned the focus back to the scriptures, these scriptures plainly stated that,
Yahweh made man and woman, and a man was to leave his father and mother and
cleave to his wife, whereby the “mystical” union of marriage took place making
them one flesh in the eyes of Yahweh. No more two, but one flesh, and with this
came a declaration: “What therefore God has joined together,
let not man put asunder”.
With this in mind we have no
confusion as regards the words of Jesus in Mark and Luke. In fact Jesus could
say nothing else when challenged with this subject other than: “Whosoever
shall put away his wife, and marry another, committeth adultery against
her. And if a woman shall put away her
husband, and be married to another, she committeth adultery”.
We are told in Genesis that
marriage makes the two one, no more two but one. Yahweh has total authority
over marriage, not man or the State, and only Yahweh can dissolve this union if
He so pleases. Make no mistake; marriage is till death do us part; any efforts
to distort or change this treasured truth should be challenged and rebuked.
Jesus said in Matthew 5:37: “But let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh
of evil”.
We would do well to adhere
to the scriptures whenever preaching or teaching the word of Yahweh, as only
the Word can change evil hearts, resulting in repentance and the salvation of
souls.
Friends let us not be guilty
of changing the words of the Christ. Let us be faithful servants of Yahweh,
teaching others to be faithful to the scriptures and not looking for ways to
tickle the itching ears of man. I understand compassion must be shown when
dealing with this subject; however we Christians must submit to the ways and
commandments of our Lord and saviour as they are perfect in every aspect.
We must stand strong on the
word of the living God, trust that He knows what is needed in our lives, give Him the chance to heal broken hearts, allow Him to
bring people to repentance. Yahweh will judge all deeds correctly and fairly in
His time; let us not fall into the snare of trying to do that which only Yahweh
has the right to do.
In summary, we have no
exception clauses in the book of Matthew, nothing that gives a license from
Yahweh for a married couple to divorce and re-marry. We see once again the
wonderful harmony of Yahweh’s precious word, no contradictions, no confusion
and if confusion appears to be in the word of Yahweh, rest assured that
confusion totally rests with us.
May our Lord continue to
bestow His amazing grace and mercy on us, and may we praise Him in word and
action worshipping Him in spirit and truth.
In His love and service,
Philip Hammond.
e-mail philandeb@optusnet.com.au