Seven Observations that Limit One's Interpretation of the Divorce and Remarriage Exception Clause in the Gospel of Matthew

1. According to Jesus, the two are no longer one flesh, and therefore, cannot be separated by humans. This means that no legal divorce in the eyes of men dissolves the one flesh union. Hence, Paul concludes from Jesus' teaching that the woman is bound to her husband as long as he lives, and is only free to remarry if he dies.
2. The response that is given by the Pharisees and the disciples indicates that no exception for remarriage is offered by Jesus.
3. Divorce between two believers is contrary to the forgiveness upon repentance taught in Matthew 18, regardless of the sin committed.
4. Paul interprets Jesus words to be absolute, and hence, he argues that the only two possibilities for someone who has been divorced is to either remain unmarried or be reconciled to one's spouse.
5. Marriage is a picture of the gospel and the relationship between Christ and the Church. Christ does not divorce the church and marry another, nor does the church divorce Christ and marry another. Christ would not be arguing that one can lawfully give a false gospel and false picture of Christ's relationship with the Church by divorcing and remarrying.
6. The other passages make the prohibition absolute. If Matthew presents Jesus as giving an exception, he contradicts the other passages. The Bible cannot contradict itself.
7.  The one flesh union remains intact even after divorce/abandonement, since if the man or woman marries again, they are committing adultery according to Jesus. Likewise, anyone who marries a divorced woman is committing adultery. This would not be true if the one flesh union was dissolved by divorce/abandonment. Hence, the man is still called the woman's "husband" even after she is divorced (1 Cor 7:11) and married to another man (Rom 7:1-3).


All of these limit one's options as to what Jesus is saying in the Gospels. The only options consistent with these observations are the following:

1. The exception of porneia refers to illegitimate sexual unions like incest (e.g., Herod with his brother's wife), and therefore, the divorce of an illegitimate marriage is different than the divorce of a legitimate one, the former authorized and the latter prohibited.
2. The exception of porneia refers to an illegitimate marriage due to the discovery that a woman had previously had sex with another man before marriage, but did not disclose it to her betrothed. He finds out during the betrothal (e.g., Joseph divorcing Mary at the beginning of the book until he finds out she is still a virgin), or on the wedding night (Deut 22:13-21 in the context where the Jews don't practice the death penalty for sexual offenses anymore). Hence, in a similar manner, divorce and remarriage is permitted in the case of this illegitimate marriage, but not one that is legitimate.
3. The word porneia refers to unrepentant whoring/adultery, but is an exception for divorce, not remarriage (Church Fathers, Wenham and Heth, Jesus and Divorce). If repentant, one would restore the marriage, and if not, one would remain unmarried in the hope of repentance and restoration of the partner to whom he or she is bound in one flesh. The issue with this one might still be the reaction of the Pharisees. Their response indicates that Jesus is saying there is no possibility of divorce. Jesus’ resonse itself indicates this, so it is the least likely of the options.

The observations above do not allow for divorce for any other reason, and they do not allow for remarriage under any circumstance.These three above are the only way to interpret Jesus' words in a consistent way with the observations above.