Whoever puts away his wife, and marries another, commits adultery: and whoever marries her that is put away from her husband commits adultery.
Matthew 5:32 But I say unto you, That whosoever shall put away his wife, saving for the cause of fornication, causeth her to commit adultery: and whosoever shall marry her that is divorced committeth adultery.
Matthew 19:9 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.
Mark 10:11,12 And he saith unto them, Whosoever shall put away his wife, and marry another, committeth adultery against her…
and he who marries a divorced woman commits adultery
This phrase further underscores the permanence of marriage. In the historical context, women often faced significant social and economic challenges after divorce. By stating that marrying a divorced woman results in adultery, Jesus elevates the status of marriage and protects the dignity of women, who were often marginalized. This teaching challenges the prevailing cultural norms of the time, where men could easily divorce their wives. It also connects to the broader biblical theme of covenant faithfulness, as seen in God's unwavering commitment to His people despite their unfaithfulness (Hosea 2:19-20). The emphasis on adultery serves as a warning against undermining the divine institution of marriage, which is meant to reflect God's unchanging love and faithfulness.
• From creation God intended marriage to be lifelong: “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh” (Genesis 2:24).
• God openly declares, “I hate divorce” (Malachi 2:16), underscoring how seriously He views the breaking of the covenant.
• Jesus confirms the permanence of marriage in Matthew 19:6—“So then, they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate”.
• Paul echoes this in 1 Corinthians 7:10-11, commanding husbands and wives not to leave each other, or, if they do, to remain unmarried or be reconciled.
• Remarriage while a first spouse is still living disregards the “one flesh” union. Romans 7:2-3 states that a woman “is bound to her husband as long as he lives; but if her husband dies, she is released from the law of marriage”.
• Mark 10:11-12 parallels Luke’s thought: “Whoever divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery against her.”
• Matthew 19:9 mentions an exception in the case of sexual immorality, yet Luke records the absolute principle to stress the gravity of dissolving a God-given bond for personal convenience.
• Adultery violates the seventh commandment (Exodus 20:14) and defiles what Hebrews 13:4 calls “the marriage bed.”
• Scripture treats adultery as a sin that wounds both the body and the soul (Proverbs 6:32-33) and demands repentance and forgiveness (1 John 1:9).
• By labeling remarriage after unjustified divorce “adultery,” Jesus underscores that a civil decree cannot overturn God’s moral decree.
• The Lord lays responsibility on the new spouse as well, echoing Matthew 5:32: “Whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.”
• Herod Antipas’s marriage to Herodias, condemned by John the Baptist (Mark 6:17-18), illustrates this principle—both parties were guilty.
• Marriage choices therefore must consider God’s prior covenant claims, not merely civil eligibility.
• Both partners in such a union stand accountable before God. James 2:10-11 reminds us that breaking even one command makes a person “guilty of all.”
• First Thessalonians 4:3-5 calls believers to sanctification, “that each of you learn to control his own body in holiness and honor.”
• Genuine repentance involves turning from the sin, seeking forgiveness, and, where possible, making things right (Luke 19:8-9).
Luke 16:18 declares that divorce does not dissolve the one-flesh covenant in God’s eyes; therefore remarriage after an illegitimate divorce brings the parties into ongoing adultery. Jesus upholds God’s design from Genesis, warns against casual dissolution of marriage, and calls His followers to honor lifelong covenant faithfulness.
(18) Whosoever putteth away his wife.--On the special points involved, see Notes on Matthew 5:31-32; Matthew 19:3-9. Here, again, the explanation that has been given of the parable of the Unjust Steward, offers the only satisfactory explanation of the introduction of a topic apparently so irrelevant. The doctrine and discipline of divorce which the Pharisees taught, lowering the sacredness of the life of home, and ministering to the growing laxity of men's morals, was precisely what was meant by the steward's bidding the debtors take their bill and write fifty, or fourscore measures, instead of the hundred. (See Note on Luke 16:6-7).Verse 18. - Whosoever putteth away his wife, and marrieth another, committeth adultery: and whosoever marrieth her that is put away from her husband, committeth adultery. The teaching of the rabbis in the time of our Lord on the question of the marriage he was exceedingly lax, and tended to grave immorality in the family life. In the late unlawful marriage of Herod Antipas with Herodias, in which so many sacred and family ties were rudely torn asunder, no rabbi or doctor in Israel but one had raised his voice in indignant protest, and that one was the friend and connection of Jesus of Nazareth, the prophet John the Baptist. Divorce for the most trivial causes was sanctioned by the rabbis, and even such men as Hillel, the grandfather of that Gamaliel whom tradition speaks of as the rabbi whose lectures were listened to by the Boy Jesus, taught that a man might divorce his wife if in the cooking she burnt his dinner or even over salted his soup (see Talmud, treatise 'Gittin,' 9:10). SS. Luke and Paul, different to the great masters of profane history, like Thucydides, or Livy, or Xenophon, were evidently at no pains to round off their narratives. They give us the account of the Lord's words and works very much as they had them from the first listeners and eye-witnesses. When the notes and memories were very scant and fragmentary, as appear to have been the case in the Lord's discourse which St. Luke interposes between the parable of the steward and that of Dives and Lazarus, the fragmentary notes are reproduced without any attempt to round off the condensed, and at first sight apparently disconnected, utterances. So here, directly after the fragmentary report of certain sayings of Jesus, the great parable of Lazarus and Dives is introduced with somewhat startling abruptness; nothing of St. Luke's is added - simply the original report as Luke or Paul received it is reproduced. The following is probably the connection in which the famous parable was spoken. When the Lord spoke the parable-story of the unjust steward, he pressed home to the listeners, as its great lesson, the necessity of providing against the day of death, and he showed how, by the practice of kindness here towards the poor, the weak, and the suffering, they would make to themselves friends who would in their turn be of use to them - who would, in their hour of sore need, when death swept them out of this life, receive them into everlasting habitations. We believe that the Master, as he spoke these things, purposed - either on that very occasion, or very shortly after, when his listeners were again gathered together - supplementing this important teaching by another parable, in which the good of having friends in the world to come should be clearly shown. The parable of Lazarus as Dives, then, may be regarded as a piece of teaching following on to and closely connected with the parable of the unjust steward. Nine verses, however, as we have seen are inserted between the two parables. Of these, vers. 10-13 are simply some reflections of the Master on the parable of the steward just spoken. Then comes ver. 14 - a scornful interruption on the part of the Pharisee listeners. Our Lord replies to this (vers. 15-18), and then goes on, either then or very soon after, to the same auditory, with the parable of Lazarus and Dives, which is, in fact, a direct sequel to the parable of the unjust steward, and which St. Luke proceeds to relate without any further preamble.