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← Divorce and Remarriage

Mark 10:10-12

And in the house the disciples asked him again about this matter. And he said to them, ‘Whoever divorces his wife and marries another, commits adultery against her; and if she divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery.’

Catholic Perspective

When the Pharisees ask Jesus whether it’s morally permissible for a man to divorce his wife, their aim is to discredit him in the eyes of the Jews (Mark 10:2-9). To speak against divorce, the Pharisees reason, would be to contradict the Law of Moses.

Jesus answers by placing divorce within the full context of the Torah, the first five books of Hebrew scripture (then thought to be authored by Moses). Moses made concessions on divorce to appease the Israelite’s “hardness of heart,” (see Deut. 24:1-4), but according to Jesus, this concession does not justify divorce and remarriage.

Quoting the word of God to strengthen his point (Genesis 2:24), Christ reaffirms the permanence of a valid marriage without exception (Mark 10:7-9). Jesus further clarifies his teaching to his disciples in private (Mark 10:10-12). He also affirms the sanctity of marriage in a strikingly matter-of-fact way in the Sermon on the Mount (Matt. 5:31-32; see also Luke 16:18).

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Next Verse

Matthew 19:9

And I say to you: whoever divorces his wife, except for unchastity, and marries another, commits adultery; and he who marries a divorced woman, commits adultery.
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