Matthew 5:32

Matthew 5:32. Fornication, or unchastity.

Maketh her to commit adultery, not by the fact of her being divorced, but in view of the extremely probable case of another marriage.

When she is put away. The force of the original is best given thus. The Romanists claim that this includes one divorced for the sufficient cause just mentioned, but it is doubtful, since, grammatically, the reference is still to the one divorced on insufficient grounds. Besides, a woman divorced for adultery would be stoned, according to the law, and there is here no reference to infidelity on the part of the man. The application to the case of a man is not only required by the spirit of Christ's teaching in general, but by the fact that He is here speaking of and condemning the sin of the man. This high ideal of the marriage union (comp. Ephesians 5:22-23) is the basis of social morality. To oppose it is not only unchristian, but to demoralize the family, and to make war against the welfare of humanity.