What is the context?
Jesus leaves Galilee and goes to the region beyond the Jordan, followed by crowds whom He heals. Some Pharisees test Him with a question: may a man divorce his wife for any reason? Jesus answers by taking them back to the creation of man and woman and their union as one flesh.
His answer brings together Genesis 1:27 and Genesis 2:24. Marriage belongs within the Creator's purpose. Jesus says that people must not separate what God has joined.
The Pharisees appeal to Moses' certificate of divorce. Deuteronomy 24:1–4 describes a divorced woman who marries again and forbids her first husband from taking her back after that second marriage ends. Jesus distinguishes permission because of hard hearts from God's purpose at the beginning.
The question about any reason also has a background in Jewish discussion of divorce. Mishnah Gittin 9:10 records different readings: the school of Shammai requires sexual indecency, while the school of Hillel allows divorce even over a spoiled meal. Those recorded positions help explain why the grounds for divorce could be disputed.
Jesus' warning about remarriage includes an exception for sexual immorality. The Greek word is πορνεία, porneia (por-NAY-ah). Thayer's entry gives the broad sense of unlawful sexual relations and includes adultery among its uses. Christians differ over the particular situation meant here and how the exception applies.
How is this passage commonly understood?
Christians agree that Jesus calls for faithfulness in marriage. They differ over the meaning of the exception and the circumstances in which divorce or remarriage can be accepted.
The Catholic Church teaches that a valid marriage between baptized spouses cannot be ended by human power once they have had marital relations. Its Catechism, 2382–2386, distinguishes that bond from separation or a civil divorce needed to protect rights or children. The US Catholic bishops' notes on Matthew 19:9 and 5:31–32 read the exception as concerning an unlawful union, such as a marriage between prohibited relatives, rather than the ending of a lawful marriage.
The Reformed Westminster Confession, 24.5–6, permits an innocent spouse to divorce and remarry after adultery. It also recognizes deliberate desertion that neither church nor civil authority can remedy as grounds for ending the marriage. This reading considers Matthew's exception alongside 1 Corinthians 7:10–16.
The Orthodox Church in America's Holy Synod guidelines, section F, uphold lifelong marriage while allowing a bishop to consider a later marriage after civil divorce, with repentance and care for those affected. The United Methodist Church's Social Principles, Marriage: Divorce, recognize divorce as sometimes necessary when a marriage becomes destructive or cannot be repaired, and do not rule out remarriage. They also state that faithfulness does not require remaining in an abusive relationship. These are the stated approaches of those churches.
Some individual teachers take a stricter reading of remarriage than their own wider tradition. John Piper's personal position paper understands Matthew's exception as sexual unfaithfulness during betrothal, connecting it with Joseph's contemplated divorce in Matthew 1. He distinguishes that reading from his church's official position. This is his personal reading, which differs from other Baptist readings.
Where does this fit in God's plan?
The one-flesh passage Jesus uses also helps explain Christ's love for His people. In Ephesians 5:25–33, Paul repeats Genesis 2:24 and explicitly connects it with Christ and the church. Christ gives Himself for her, makes her holy, and cares for her as His own body.
Marriage can therefore display the faithful, self-giving care at the heart of God's saving work. Jesus' return to the Creator's purpose asks people to take that relationship seriously. Paul's connection adds depth to its meaning by showing the love with which the Savior gathers and cares for His people.
What is our position?
We don't have a position on this passage yet. When our study reaches a conclusion the text supports, it will appear here.