The Force Of The Word “Except” In Matthew 19:9

Matthew 19:9 reads “And I say unto you, Whosoever shall put away his wife, except it be for fornication, and shall marry another, committeth adultery: and whoso marrieth her which is put away doth commit adultery.” The force of the exception here is that divorce “for fornication” is allowed, but all other causes for divorce and remarriage are ruled out as being scriptural.

For demonstration of that compare to:

• John 3:3 “except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” That would mean there is no other way to enter the kingdom besides being born again, right?

• Luke 13:3 “except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.” This would rule out all other ways to avoid perishing without repentance, correct?

• John 8:24 “except ye believe that I am he, ye shall die in your sins” (ASV). That verse implies there is no other way to avoid dying in sin, other than believing in Christ.

Likewise Matthew 19:9a (“Whosoever shall put away his wife, except it be for fornication, and shall marry another, committeth adultery”) rules out all other scriptural causes to divorce and remarry other than fornication. There is no other cause for divorce permitted by God in His word!

And we should emphasize this exception, because God allows such and because the exception proves the rule. Many will get the idea God’s no divorce law is just the “ideal” unless we stress there is one and only one exception.

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