Last week we looked at the Biblical statements about divorce and remarriage. This week we will look behind the scriptures at the intent of Judaism and Jesus as regards these issues. Our discussion will be based on my view that behind both Moses' and Jesus' words on marriage and divorce are two fundamental concepts. The first is the protection of the vulnerable (meaning women) and the second is the ideal of God's new kingdom (which is a return to Eden).
We will look first at protecting the vulnerable. Protecting the vulnerable was a central part of the Law of Moses. The vulnerable included strangers, slaves, children and especially women. Without the protection of a father or a husband women were completely at risk. Prostitution and begging were often their only recourse when they were cast aside. Rather than allow men to simply cast aside their wives the process of divorce was intended to protect the women involved. The process was that a husband had to give his wife a letter of divorce which stated that he had no claims on her and allowed her to marry again. This process first prevented someone from casting out a wife in the heat of anger. Second it protected the wife's reputation because it said the wife was in morally good standing. Finally it allowed the wife to marry again and thus find protection. While divorce was not seen as the best of all worlds, the Law of Moses understood that there were times when husbands and wives could not live together and thus allowed for divorce and remarriage; divorce and remarriage which protected the rights of the vulnerable.
We will now look at the New Testament context in more detail. Last week we examined the fact that in Jesus' time there was a debate between those who believed in a strict interpretation of Moses commands (followers of Rabbi Shammai) and those who argued for an "any cause" divorce (followers of Rabbi Hillel). An additional piece of context was that Jesus was being asked the question about divorce in the midst of a very politically charged atmosphere. Jesus was traveling through the territory of Herod Antipas who had executed John the Baptist for condemning Herod's marriage to his niece Herodias, who had also been the wife of Herod's half-brother. Thus when the question is posed to Jesus not only is he being asked to take sides in the rabbinic debate, he is also being asked to choose sides in the argument over Herod Antipas's incestuous marriage (and thus possibly putting his life at risk).
As we noted last week Jesus does neither. Instead he focuses on the ideal of God's Kingdom. In the ideal Kingdom men and women become one flesh and nothing ever divides them. This was God's intent from the beginning. Jesus also notes that the reason God gave divorce and remarriage to Israel was because people could not live up to the ideal (they were hard of heart). To divorce and remarry was not God's original intent. What we need to remember however is that there are other places where Jesus offers a contrast between reality and the ideal. Jesus tells his followers if they lust after a woman, they are committing adultery; if they hate someone they have committed murder; and whoever calls someone a fool will go to hell (Matthew 5:21-30). In other words, in the ideal kingdom there would be no divorce, lust, hate or derogatory comments about others. This is the world Jesus desires, but it also the world Jesus knows does not exist.
We witness Jesus dealing with the reality of the world when he encounters a woman who has been married five times. He does not condemn her but offers her eternal life (John 4:7-30). The gift of Jesus is that in the end grace trumps law. While Jesus desires the ideal, he understands that there are times when the ideal is not possible and so proclaims no law against divorce and remarriage. My guess is that few of us who have been or are married have entered marriage without the hope that it is a forever commitment. Unfortunately there are some marriages which cannot survive. As people of grace we at First Presbyterian understand this and so reaffirm that all are welcome, loved and eligible for membership and leadership regardless of whether they are single, married, divorced or remarried.
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