Jesus taught that “Anyone who divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery, and the man who marries a divorced woman commits adultery.” And the church has been arguing about what he meant almost since he said it. For people walking through divorce, the counsel they receive from their Christian friends can sometimes be painful and feel judgmental. For Christians struggling through a challenging or toxic marriage, Jesus’ command can feel stifling. How can putting Jesus’ words into their first-century context help us understand what his teaching means for us today?
