Today’s Passage: Matthew 5:31-32
Jesus keeps walking through the old commands, holding each one up to the light. Here He picks up marriage and divorce. In His day a man could write out a short certificate and send his wife away, and some treated that paper as a simple, tidy exit. Jesus reaches past the paper to the promise underneath it.
As you read, hold this: God means marriage to be kept and honored, not treated as disposable.
Matthew 5:31 (BSB)
³¹ It has also been said, ‘Whoever divorces his wife must give her a certificate of divorce.’
This was the accepted rule. Hand the woman a written certificate, and the parting was considered done and proper. Over time the focus drifted onto the paperwork. Get the certificate right, and a man felt free to leave. Jesus is about to show that a marriage is far more than a form to fill out.
Context A certificate meant to protect
In that world, a man could dismiss his wife by handing her a written certificate. It was first meant as a mercy, so she could remarry and not be left destitute. But some teachers stretched it, saying a man could send his wife away for almost any reason at all. The safeguard had quietly become an easy exit.
Matthew 5:32 (BSB)
³² But I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, brings adultery upon her. And he who marries a divorced woman commits adultery.
Jesus lifts marriage back to the height God gave it. A husband and wife are joined into something real, and that bond is not undone by a slip of paper. He names one exception, where unfaithfulness has already broken the marriage. Otherwise He will not let a man simply apolyō, pronounced ah-po-LOO-oh. Strong's G630, to release, send away, let go, dismiss. The word means to send away, to let go. It was used for freeing a prisoner or dismissing a crowd. Jesus takes that easy sending-away and stops it in its tracks. What God has bound together is not ours to release at will. his wife and treat marriage as something to discard at will. And notice whom He is guarding. In that world a dismissed wife was often left with nothing, and Jesus stands squarely on her side.
Study notes What God has joined
Jesus is not laying a heavier rule on people. He is calling marriage back to what it was made to be, a lasting bond given by God. Later He says it even more plainly.
"Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate." Mark 10:9 (BSB)
God is the one who joins a husband and wife. That is why marriage is meant to be kept, and why walking away lightly is such a serious thing.
If your own story carries a broken marriage, your own or the one you grew up inside, hear this gently. Jesus honors marriage highly, and He also draws near to the wounded. He is the God who mends what has been torn. No failure puts you past His grace. He calls us all upward, and He carries us there Himself.
Personal Application
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Where are you tempted to treat a promise as something easy to walk away from?
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What is one way you could honor marriage this week, in your own home or in how you speak of it?
Decision of the day: Do one concrete thing today to honor marriage as God’s good gift. If you are married, tell your spouse one specific way you are committed to them. If you are not, speak well of marriage and pray for one couple you know. And if your own story holds a broken marriage, receive this today: God’s grace covers you fully, and He is not finished with your story.
Pray to Close
The central truth: God means marriage to be kept and honored, not treated as disposable.
Praise: praise God, who keeps every promise He makes and never treats His people as disposable.
Ask: ask God for the faithfulness to keep the promises you have made.
Yield: if your story holds a broken place, yield it to the God who heals and redeems.
Worship for Today
Promises · Maverick City Music
This song sings about the God who keeps every promise He makes, even when we cannot. Marriage is meant to echo that kind of faithfulness, and where we fall short, His steadfast love holds us. He remains the God who keeps His word.
Listen: