Sermon on the Mount: Divorce
Matthew 5:31–32 ESV

“It was also said, ‘Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.’
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.”

In His Sermon on the Mount, Jesus does something radical—He takes familiar laws and pushes them deeper, beyond legalities and into the heart. Divorce, in the culture of Jesus’ day, had become a legal transaction. A man could write a certificate, walk away, and still claim righteousness under the law. But Jesus confronts that mindset head-on.

This passage is not just about marriage—it’s about how lightly people were treating covenant relationships. Jesus is addressing a problem that reached beyond broken homes and into the spiritual posture of the people. They were finding ways to technically keep the law while functionally avoiding the heart of it. And Jesus, as He often does, redirects their attention from surface-level obedience to internal integrity.

Divorce, to Jesus, isn’t just a legal issue—it’s a relational and spiritual one. In these two verses, He isn't outlining legal exceptions. He’s calling out the heart behind a culture that had begun to treat relationships as disposable. When He says that a man who divorces his wife “makes her commit adultery,” He’s confronting the consequences of selfishness, pride, and hardened hearts. These aren’t just actions—they’re heart conditions that ripple through lives and communities.

At its core, this teaching isn’t just about marriage. It’s about fidelity—not only to a spouse but to God’s vision of faithfulness. Jesus challenges us to see relationships not as transactions, but as sacred commitments. He’s inviting His followers to move from permission to purpose, from asking “What am I allowed to do?” to “What does love require of me?”

We live in a world where commitments are often treated as optional and where relationships can be broken with little reflection. But Jesus calls His followers to a higher standard—a standard of covenant, of wholeness, of humility. His words are not just a warning against easy divorce; they are a wake-up call to consider how seriously we take our promises, how deeply we value people, and how closely we reflect the faithfulness of God in our relationships.

This isn’t about condemnation—it’s about calling. Jesus calls us to honor the weight of our words, the depth of our relationships, and the sacredness of commitment. In doing so, He draws us into a life that reflects the kingdom of heaven—not just in what we say, but in how we love, stay, and forgive.