To Marry or Not To Marry: The Teaching of Jesus, Pt. 2

<p>For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ <a href="https://www.douglasjacoby.com/divorce-remarriage-iv-the-teaching-of-jesus-pt-2/" target="_blank"><strong>website.</strong></a></p><ol><li><strong>Introduction</strong></li></ol><ul><li>As we have learned, in Matt 19 / Mark 10 Jesus is weighing in on the Shammai-Hillel debate. He rejects the any-cause divorce of Hillel.</li><li>Familiarity with this debate is crucial if we are to appreciate the interaction between Jesus and the Pharisees.</li><li>Yet Mark doesn’t mention the exceptions. In Mark 10 it sounds like <i>all</i> divorce is wrong. (Which it is—often—but many times it’s not the problem it’s the solution.)</li><li>Knowledge of the ancient world is essential for accurate translation of ancient languages, balanced and nuanced theology, and appreciation of the topography of scripture.</li><li>By 2nd C, the interpretation of the House of Hillel rules. “Any cause” divorce is now the only kind among the Jews. The condensed language of the remarriage passages was no longer intelligible. Critical facts relating to divorce and remarriage were forgotten.</li><li>But we’re in a great position to be better informed. Since 1850 every major commentary on Matt has covered the S/H disagreement. Sadly, many scholars don’t pass on this information to their church. Most predictably follow the party line of their denomination. Let’s not do that. You can study the ancient sources and become informed. If you want to do some historical study, I-B’s books are very helpful.</li><li>Let’s do our best to respect God’s Word, taking into account these ancient sources. (As for 2nd-4th century Church Fathers, we will address these in the final talk.) By “ancient sources” I mean essential background information yielded by rabbinic Judaism, Roman law, and numerous M&D documents.</li></ul><p><strong>2. Matt 5:31-32</strong></p><ul><li>Jesus overstates (hyperbole) to grab our attention. Immorality wasn’t the only ground for divorce in the Bible. Jesus is saying that divorce m