First Discourse in Matthew: Divorce & Adultery

“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away; it is better for you to lose one of your members than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away; it is better for you to lose one of your members than for your whole body to go into hell.
“It was also said, ‘Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.’ But I say to you that anyone who divorces his wife, except on the ground of unchastity, causes her to commit adultery; and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery. ~ Matthew 5:27-32


Adultery is the highest invasion of property. ~ Court Opinion, Regina vs. Mawgridge, 1707

It's OK for a man to commit adultery if his wife is ugly. ~ Howard Stern


Sadly, Howard Stern shows us that some haven't come all that far in terms of the male/female dynamic in adultery. In Mawgridge vs. the Crown, it was determined that one is guilty only of manslaughter - killing in a fit of passion - if one's property (ie: one's wife!) is being violated by another man and you kill the culprit.

Adultery for much of history has been told from the perspective of the husband.

Not so for Jesus.

On the surface, it doesn't really sound that way. Adultery is grounds for divorce here. But at the time, a man could easily put his wife aside without much of a to-do.

Leaving women destitute.

Because, you know, wives were property.

But for Jesus, you can't simply set aside your wife: not if you think she's ugly, not if you are tired of her, not if someone younger comes along.

Wives aren't disposable.

For our 21st century ears, it's hard not to hear this without thinking that Jesus is casting some judgment on adultery.

And don't get him wrong. He's not big on the notion.

But for Jesus' first century hearers, he wanted to be clear that women were not property.

He wanted to be clear that they had a voice.

He wanted to be clear that those without a voice deserved agency.
A message that frequently still sometimes needs to be hammered home. 


Prayer: Lord, let me always lift the rights up of those who have little voice. Amen

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