Hi NNS,
I'm glad this is in bible study.
How do you understand that remarriage is not allowed after a divorce that Jesus clearly stated is lawful?
Mathew 5:32
Wondering
Regarding Divorce, in Mathew 5:31-32
31 “It has been said, ‘Anyone who divorces his wife must give her a certificate of divorce. 32 But I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, makes her the victim of adultery, and anyone who marries a divorced woman commits adultery.
Mark 10:1-12, (Also in Mathew 19:1-9)
Jesus then left that place and went into the region of Judea and across the Jordan. Again crowds of people came to him, and as was his custom, he taught them.
2 Some Pharisees came and tested him by asking, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?”
3 “What did Moses command you?” he replied.
4 They said, “Moses permitted a man to write a certificate of divorce and send her away.”
5 “It was because your hearts were hard that Moses wrote you this law,” Jesus replied. 6 “But at the beginning of creation God ‘made them male and female.’ 7 ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, 8 and the two will become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two, but one flesh.9 Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.”
10 When they were in the house again, the disciples asked Jesus about this. 11 He answered, “Anyone who divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery against her. 12 And if she divorces her husband and marries another man, she commits adultery.”
And in 1 Corinthians 7:8-9
to the unmarried and the widows I say: It is good for them to stay unmarried, as I do. 9 But if they cannot control themselves, they should marry, for it is better to marry than to burn with passion.
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Jesus explained divorce as allowed because of our state of hard hearts. I think He knew of our sinful nature and how unfair we can be to eachother so God let us divorce. But only if our partner commits sexual immorality (as far as I can tell he's talking about adultry only), or after being widowed are we ok to remarry without worry of committing adultry. This is at least the best of my understanding of it anyways. To anyone who divorces and remarries in any other way, we should be prayerful and seek God. He is good to us and has given us our redemption from our sins. But still we should not use that excuse of being loved and free, to commit what we know is wrong. Again though this is how I understand it from the best of my knowledge. It is not an easy lesson though.