It hath been said , Whosoever shall put away his wife, let him give her a writing of divorcement:
Jesus is quoting an Old Testament law from Deuteronomy — a book of laws given to the Israelite people — which allowed a man to divorce his wife by handing her a written certificate. In the ancient world, this certificate was actually a form of protection for women, giving them legal documentation so they could potentially remarry. But over time, religious leaders had turned this provision into a loophole, allowing men to walk away from marriage for nearly any reason. Jesus is about to challenge that thinking in the verses that follow. This verse is part of the Sermon on the Mount, a famous hillside teaching where Jesus repeatedly quotes the old law and then raises the bar on what it truly requires.
Lord, it is easier to look for loopholes than to love well. Forgive me for the times I've hidden behind what is allowed instead of doing what is right. Give me the courage to ask the harder question — not what the minimum is, but what love actually requires. Amen.
There's a particular kind of thinking that looks for the minimum — what's technically allowed, what gets you off the hook. The Pharisees, the religious leaders of Jesus's day, had turned a provision meant to protect vulnerable women into a permission slip for men to leave whenever they felt like it. It was legal. It had a document. It was fine. Jesus has a way of exposing the distance between what's legal and what's loving. This verse sits in the middle of a teaching where he keeps saying "you have heard it said... but I tell you." He's not tearing up the old law — he's restoring its heart. You may never have signed a divorce certificate, but the same logic shows up everywhere: in the small print you hide behind, the technicalities you use to avoid the harder, more loving choice. The question Jesus keeps pressing isn't "what am I allowed to do?" — it's "what is right?" Those two questions will take you to very different places.
Why do you think Moses allowed divorce certificates in the first place, and what does it tell you about how God sometimes works within human limitations rather than simply overriding them?
Is there an area of your life right now where you've been asking 'what am I allowed to do?' instead of 'what is the most loving thing to do?' What's the difference in that particular situation?
Jesus seems to be deepening the law rather than abolishing it — what does that tell you about the relationship between rules and the heart behind the rules?
How does the way we handle commitment and conflict in our closest relationships affect the people around us — children, friends, coworkers — who are quietly watching?
What would it look like to approach one difficult relationship in your life this week from the question 'what does love actually require here?' rather than 'what is the bare minimum I have to do?'
Whosoever putteth away his wife, and marrieth another, committeth adultery: and whosoever marrieth her that is put away from her husband committeth adultery.
Luke 16:18
The Pharisees also came unto him, tempting him, and saying unto him, Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife for every cause?
Matthew 19:3
For the LORD, the God of Israel, saith that he hateth putting away: for one covereth violence with his garment, saith the LORD of hosts: therefore take heed to your spirit, that ye deal not treacherously.
Malachi 2:16
What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.
Mark 10:9
And he saith unto them, Whosoever shall put away his wife, and marry another, committeth adultery against her.
Mark 10:11
When a man hath taken a wife, and married her, and it come to pass that she find no favour in his eyes, because he hath found some uncleanness in her: then let him write her a bill of divorcement, and give it in her hand, and send her out of his house.
Deuteronomy 24:1
"It has also been said, 'Whoever divorces his wife is to give her a certificate of divorce';
AMP
“It was also said, ‘Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.’
ESV
'It was said, 'WHOEVER SENDS HIS WIFE AWAY, LET HIM GIVE HER A CERTIFICATE OF DIVORCE';
NASB
Divorce “It has been said, ‘Anyone who divorces his wife must give her a certificate of divorce.’
NIV
“Furthermore it has been said, ‘Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.’
NKJV
“You have heard the law that says, ‘A man can divorce his wife by merely giving her a written notice of divorce.’
NLT
"Remember the Scripture that says, 'Whoever divorces his wife, let him do it legally, giving her divorce papers and her legal rights'?
MSG