{"id":29760,"date":"2025-09-14T19:03:49","date_gmt":"2025-09-14T19:03:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/immanuelfamily.org\/?post_type=cpl_item&p=29760"},"modified":"2025-10-01T14:12:23","modified_gmt":"2025-10-01T14:12:23","slug":"a-word-on-divorce","status":"publish","type":"cpl_item","link":"https:\/\/immanuelfamily.org\/es\/sermons\/a-word-on-divorce\/","title":{"rendered":"A Word on Divorce"},"content":{"rendered":"

A Word on Divorce<\/strong><\/p>\n

Several months ago, a viral video featured Camille, a woman who expressed her desire to divorce her “perfect husband” because her relationship expectations were unfulfilled. In the video, shared with her TikTok followers, she sought advice, explaining her feelings. Here\u2019s a refined version of her quoted statements:<\/p>\n

Camille said:
\n\u201cFor the entire 10 years of our marriage, I\u2019ve felt like I\u2019m searching for something in our relationship that we don\u2019t have. I want to be clear: there\u2019s nothing about my husband, as an individual, that I don\u2019t love. He\u2019s the most self-disciplined, loyal, hardworking, and genuinely good person you could meet. That\u2019s why I haven\u2019t left. But my expectations for our marriage, which I\u2019ve always held, aren\u2019t being met\u2014and I\u2019m not sure if anyone\u2019s truly are.
\nThe reason I\u2019m even considering divorce is that I feel I can\u2019t be myself with him.\u201d<\/p>\n

The question I want to ask this morning is this: What drives a 32-year-old woman to say, \u201cI have the perfect husband, but I think I need a divorce\u201d? Why would she feel this way?<\/em><\/p>\n

If you were sitting across from Camille, what would you say to her? Would you approve or disapprove? Why?<\/p>\n

For the next several moments I want us to consider what God’s word would have to say about Camille and about the broader understanding of divorce in our culture.<\/p>\n

Main Idea: God Opposes Divorce, so should we!<\/strong><\/p>\n

Now before we proceed further, I want to say that this sermon is not aimed at anyone in particular I am not trying to single out anyone who has either been affected by divorce personally or knows someone who has been affected by divorce what we are going to do is consider what God’s word tells us about divorce.<\/p>\n

I also want to say that if you are here and you’ve never been married I don’t want you to say well this sermon is not about me rather what I want us to do is consider what God’s word says about divorce and observe how that’s even applicable to our lives in general.<\/p>\n

As we heard a little bit ago, the book of Malachi 2<\/em> explicitly says that God disapproves of divorce: \u201cFor the man who does not love his wife but divorces her, says the LORD, the God of Israel, covers his garment with violence, says the LORD of hosts\u2026\u201d<\/em> (Malachi 2:16, ESV). And in the passage we are considering, in the gospel of Matthew, Jesus confirms that divorce is not the desired outcome of a marriage.<\/p>\n

So, let\u2019s explore this idea of divorce from Matthew 5:31-32, where Jesus introduces a third rebuttal to the common teaching, and it focuses on how one treats a fellow neighbor, and is an extension of the previous discussion on adultery\u2026<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

In the passage we have read we see three ideas emerge in stages, each building on each other\u2026<\/p>\n

The first idea we learn from this passage is this:<\/p>\n

God Opposes Divorce: <\/strong>first, because it mocks His creation order<\/strong><\/p>\n

To understand this passage, I think that we need to zoom out and look at the bigger picture of what Jesus is saying. To do that, we have to turn to other biblical passages that highlight and clarify what He is communicating here in Matthew 5. I think the place we must go first is Matthew 19, where Jesus also addresses the topic of marriage and divorce, and expands what he says here.<\/p>\n

In Matthew 19, Jesus is presented with a situation. The situation comes in the form of a test. That means those who are asking are not amicable to Jesus. They are not looking for clarification; rather, they are looking to trap Him in a misstatement.<\/p>\n

Look at verse 3 of chapter 19: \u201cAnd Pharisees came up to Him and tested Him by asking, \u2018Is it lawful to divorce one\u2019s wife for any cause?\u2019\u201d<\/em> The question before Jesus is this: can any reason\u2014whatever that reason may be\u2014serve as grounds for a husband to give his wife a certificate of divorce?<\/p>\n

Now, the reason the Pharisees ask this question is because it was a polemical issue in Jesus\u2019 day. It was one of those hot-button questions where, no matter what side you landed on, you were placed in a particular camp. Think of it like our modern-day equivalent of the question, \u201cDo Black Lives Matter or do All Lives Matter?\u201d However you answer, you have to phrase it carefully. You cannot deny that all lives matter, but at the same time you must acknowledge that Black lives in particular matter.<\/p>\n

This is the kind of conundrum Jesus is presented with: \u201cCan I divorce my wife for any cause?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

So, I want us to look at this carefully.<\/p>\n

Divorce Debate in Matthew 19: A First-Century Jewish Controversy<\/strong><\/p>\n

Let\u2019s allow this to shed some light on what Jesus says earlier\u2026<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Context of the Debate<\/strong><\/p>\n

First, in that day and age, divorce could only be initiated by men. And if you weren’t a woman of means it could potentially put you in a situation where you’re at a disadvantage.<\/p>\n

Second, in Matthew 19, the Pharisees test Jesus with a question: Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any reason whatsoever?<\/em> This question reflects a significant first-century Jewish debate rooted in the interpretation of Deuteronomy 24:1, which states, \u201cIf a man marries a woman who becomes displeasing to him because he finds something indecent about her…\u201d<\/em> The Hebrew phrase \u201c<\/em>something indecent\u201d is at the heart of the controversy.<\/p>\n

Two Schools of Thought<\/strong><\/p>\n

The debate centers on two prominent Jewish schools of thought:<\/p>\n