And He said to them, “Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery.
Christ reveals that the breaking of marriage and a new union can be not merely a step accepted by society, but sin before God. He values marriage according to the covenant established by God, not according to human convenience or desire. If someone arbitrarily divorces his wife and marries another, he breaks the original covenant and sins against his wife. With this word the Lord places the man before moral responsibility, showing that the outward formulations of the law cannot justify the breaking of the covenant. He defends the woman’s dignity and the holiness of marriage, showing that before God no one has the right to make the covenant of love and faithfulness an object of whim.