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The woman beside the well
The woman caught in adultery
For decades, disciples have taught that Jesus condemned divorced people to ongoing adultery if they remarried. This teaching rests on the mistaken belief that the Greek word "apoluo" means divorce, distorting Jesus' message. He taught instead that a woman who had been sent away, or put away - separated but not divorced - would commit adultery if she married another man. Men, who could have more than one wife, sinned by withholding the divorce certificate that would allow her to remarry. Jesus called this "adultery against her" (Mark 10:11). Many passages challenge this doctrine of devils that forbids marriage (1 Tim. 4:1–3). For now, let's examine Jesus' conversation with the woman at the well as recorded by John.
John 4:15-18 The woman saith unto him, Sir, give me this water, that I thirst not, neither come hither to draw. Jesus saith unto her, Go, call thy husband, and come hither. The woman answered and said, I have no husband. Jesus said unto her, Thou hast well said, I have no husband: For thou hast had five husbands; and he whom thou now hast is not thy husband: in that saidst thou truly.
First, those who distort Jesus' teaching on divorce deny that divorce, as God defined it (Deut. 24:1,2; Jer. 3:8), ends a marriage. They therefore claim that remarriage after divorce is adultery because the couple remains married - as though no divorce occurred. Ironically, they come close to the truth: as we noted, a person who is merely "put away" remains married and commits adultery by marrying someone else. Their error is extending that reasoning to a legal divorce as God defined it. Let's test this doctrine by examining Jesus' conversation with the woman at the well.
The woman had been married and divorced five times, yet Jesus affirmed her statement, "I have no husband." She was with a man but was not married to him; her sin was fornication, not adultery. By contrast, Jesus told the woman "taken in adultery" to "go, and sin no more" (John 8:11). In neither case did he say the woman had no right to marry. This is consistent with Paul's teaching that every man and woman should have a spouse to "avoid fornication" (1 Cor. 7:1,2). Will you follow Jesus and Paul by allowing unmarried people to marry, or side with Satan, who benefits when people teach against marriage (1 Cor. 7:8,9; 27, 28; 1 Tim. 4:1-3)?
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