The Sermon on the Mount, Section 42 D, The Nature of Sin & Divorce

MATT. 5:27-32

A Drastic Approach to Uprooting Sin

"And if thy right eye [the organ of reception] causeth thee to stumble, pluck it out, and cast it from thee," [these words indicate decision and determination, and suggest the conduct of a surgeon, who, to protect the rest of the body, unflinchingly severs the gangrened members.  -Fourfold Gospel

1) The offending eye and hand must go. No matter how dear the "eye"—the idol. No matter how useful the "hand"—the acquisition (cf. Gal_5:24; Col_3:5).
2) Men, under surgical advice, will part with a limb or an organ to save life. So the sinner who hazards his soul for his idol must sacrifice his idol to save his soul.
(3) To neglect the mortifying of a single member may prove the destruction of all the members. When one member sins, all the members sin with it and suffer the penalty. Better one perish in repentance than all perish in Gehenna.
(4) Those duties which are most unpleasant are often most "profitable." God requires nothing from us that will not be to our advantage.—J.A.M., Pulpit Commentary

Adultery in  Heart

"We are here taught, that there is such a thing as heart-adultery, adulterous thoughts and dispositions, which never proceed to the act of adultery or fornication....The eye is both the inlet and outlet of a great deal of wickedness of this kind, witness Joseph's mistress (Gen_39:7), Samson (Jdg_16:1), David, 2Sa_11:2. We read the eyes full of adultery, that cannot cease from sin."  2Pe_2:14
-Matthew Henry

"Here, as in reference to murder, Jesus legislates against the thought which lies back of the act. He cuts off sin at its lowest root. The essence of all vice is intention." -Fourfold Gospel

Divorce

But I say to you that everyone who divorces his wife, except on the ground of sexual immorality, makes her commit adultery, and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.  -Matthew 5:32

"How this matter was rectified and amended by our Saviour. He reduced the ordinance of marriage to its primitive institution: They two shall be one flesh, not to be easily separated, and therefore divorce is not to be allowed, except in case of adultery, which breaks the marriage covenant; but he that puts away his wife upon any other pretence, causeth her to commit adultery, and him also that shall marry her when she is thus divorced. Note, Those who lead others into temptation to sin, or leave them in it, or expose them to it, make themselves guilty of their sin, and will be accountable for it. This is one way of being partaker with adulterers Psa_50:18" -Matthew Henry

"Under OT law, divorce was permitted according to Deu_24:1-4. This passage was not concerned with the case of an adulterous wife (the penalty for adultery was death, see Deu_22:22). Rather, it deals with divorce because of dislike or “incompatibility.” -Believer's Bible

Remarriage Allowable for Innocent Party
"It is often contended that, although divorce is permitted in the NT, remarriage is never contemplated. However, this argument begs the question. Remarriage is not condemned for the innocent party in the NT only for the offending person. Also, one of the main purposes of a scriptural divorce is to permit remarriage; otherwise, separation would serve the purpose just as well."  -Believer's Bible

If Divorce not because of adultery...neither remarry
 But Jesus here limits the right of divorce to cases of unchastity, and if there be a divorce on any other ground, neither the man nor the woman can marry again without committing adultery (Matt. 19:9).-Fourfold Gospel

Another opinion...
"Based on the original text, I strongly believe this verse means that, although God's plan is that two people remain married until death separates them, those who divorce and remarry, in effect, do commit adultery. However, they don't live in adultery. Therefore, God forbid that we should say, "All manner of sin is forgiven all man except for one: divorce." -Jon Courson

Personal Thoughts:

Divorce is a messy business--both in sifting through the Bible's directives and in the real world.  Even in the most necessary circumstances, divorce leaves a wake of injured souls and painful memories.  My primary experience with divorce is through my husband's divorced parents.  Twenty four years into our own marriage and another decade beyond that back to their divorce, the mess is still there.  We have had to work through tendencies and issues in our own marriage that are a result of the way they modeled marriage and love (or lack thereof).  I would caution anyone considering divorce to consider not just the immediate impact of the decision (best for all, not good for them to be around fighting) with the long-term repercussions (baggage that the children will carry into their later relationships).  In this sense, addressing the original sin (lust, coveting a different vision for life) is the core issues.

I accidentally delelted my original post on divorce, but re-reading is never a bad practice though and sometimes yields new insights.  The second reading, I noticed the sequence of Christ's sermon more.  This section begins with a charge to pluck out the eye to spare the soul, is followed by a clarification of the sin of adultry, and then goes into a clarification of the purpose of divorce.  Earlier I missed this sequence, seeing the sections as independent comments.  However, I think that Jesus meant for them to be developed out of each other.

The building emphasis is that sin needs to be addressed early, adultery beginning from the heart, and that divorce is to be avoided if at all possible.