Skip to content

Add your phone number?

Optional. Nothing is sent unless you choose it.
The Historic Faith
Sign in
All Questions
Question 5
When Bercot quotes Jesus’ statement, “If a woman divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery,” and notes “Jesus makes no exception,” what tensions does this create with modern instincts about fairness, equal rights, and protection—what do you do with those tensions if you take Jesus’ words at face value?
Another way to ask: Jesus says a woman who divorces and remarries commits adultery, and Bercot says there’s no exception. If you take that literally, what feels unfair or troubling today, and how do you deal with that?

Direct Answer The transcript creates a sharp tension: modern instincts expect symmetrical rights and exceptions, but Jesus’ statement about a woman divorcing her husband includes “no exception.” If taken at face value, Bercot implies Christians must submit their fairness instincts to Jesus’ authority rather than rewriting His command.

Support from Transcript:

  • Bercot appeals to a setting where women could divorce: “under both Greek and Roman law, a wife could divorce her husband.”
  • He says Jesus addressed that directly: “If a woman divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery.”
  • He emphasizes, “Jesus makes no exception.”
  • He contrasts this with modern church teaching that assumes women can divorce for sexual immorality, saying Jesus “did nothing of the sorts.”
  • He ties obedience to eternal stakes: if his reading is true, being offended is being offended at “Jesus Christ… the real Jesus,” and “if we don't serve the real Jesus, we won't inherit real eternal life.”
Discussion Follow-ups How do you distinguish between compassion for hard cases and altering Jesus’ command? What does it look like to admit the tension without “explaining away” the words?

Jumpstarter 5 of 10
Back Questions Next