After dealing with anger, contempt and obsessive desire, Jesus turns to the matter of divorce. In Jesus day as was the case all the way back to the teachings of Moses, divorced women were far worse off than divorced men, and it was virtually impossible for a woman to instigate divorce.

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Jesus speaks to the men in the crowd and once again points out that he is calling his disciples to a higher level of responsibility than Moses had called them. A man was seen to be righteous if he at least gave his wife a certificate of divorce when he separated from her. This allowed her to defend herself against a charge of adultery if found with another man, as such a charge could result in her speedy death. A certificate would make it possible for her to marry another man or make a living as a prostitute. Yes, it was pretty tough for a woman in the first century and of course still is in many parts of the world.

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Jesus tells his hearers that there is little room for divorce in God’s kingdom, but the main thing to remember is that there are no winners. A woman who is divorced will culturally be considered spoiled and find it very hard to live a meaningful and happy life. She will live, even remarried as though she carries the shame of adultery.

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So what is Jesus really getting at when one remembers his attention to matters of the heart? Jesus is commanding married people to be kind to one another and to only consider divorce as a last resort. He does not rule out divorce completely, but gives reason for it. The breakdown of the marriage vows is reason for it, but divorce is unnatural and will cause great pain.

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It is important to read the Sermon on the Mount with the hyperbole of “eyes gouged out” and "hands cut off” in the back of our minds. As Jesus continues to utter words which seem hard to comprehend, it is important to see the thrust of his teaching more than trying to literally put full stops and crossed tee’s everywhere.

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If a married couple, by God’s grace curate their hearts so as to curb anger and lust and contempt, it will be highly unlikely that such a marriage will end in divorce. Jesus’ teaching about thriving in the kingdom is being built layer upon layer, truth upon truth. The life of the kingdom is lived from the inside out and so is a marriage. Both people in a marriage need to be caring for their heart. Jesus is suggesting we need to become the type of people who can be married for the long haul and be compassionate to one another. In this environment marriages can thrive.