19:3 Then some Pharisees
1 came to him in order to test him. They asked, “Is it lawful
2 to divorce a wife for any cause?”
3 19:4 He answered, “Have you not read that from the beginning the Creator
made them male and female,
4 19:5 and said, ‘
For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and will be united with his wife, and the two will become one flesh’?
5 19:6 So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.”
19:7 They said to him, “Why then did Moses command us
to give a certificate of dismissal and to divorce her?”
6 19:8 Jesus
7 said to them, “Moses permitted you to divorce your wives because of your hard hearts,
8 but from the beginning it was not this way.
19:9 Now I say to you that whoever divorces his wife, except for immorality, and marries another commits adultery.”
Adultery is the most widely condemned of the sexual sins; it is mentioned in the Ten Commandments, all four Gospels, and ten other books of the Bible.You shall not commit adultery. (NIV, Exodus 20:14)
But a man who commits adultery lacks judgment; whoever does so destroys himself. (NIV, Proverbs 6:32)
And a certain ruler questioned Him, saying, "Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?" And Jesus said to him, "Why do you call Me good? No one is good except God alone. You know the commandments, 'Do not commit adultery, do not murder, do not steal, do not bear false witness, honor your father and mother.'" (NAS, Luke 18:18-20)
The word translated as "adultery" in the New Testament of the Bible is the Greek word moicheia. Its primary meaning was sexual intercourse between a married woman and any man other than her husband. However, the New Testament generally forbids all extramarital sex, so sexual intercourse between a married man and any woman other than his wife is also forbidden. In common usage today, "adultery" includes both cases above.
Adultery destroys marriages. The adulterer shows total disregard for the marriage vows and for his or her spouse. In this passage, Jesus reminds us that not only should we always be faithful, we should also avoid the lustful fantasies that can cloud our judgment and tempt us into actual adultery:You have heard that it was said, 'You shall not commit adultery'; but I say to you, that everyone who looks on a woman to lust for her has committed adultery with her already in his heart. (NAS, Matthew 5:27-28)
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