Abstract

VILJOEN, Francois P.. Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount: Protecting women from abusive divorce practices. In Skriflig (Online) [online]. 2025, vol.59, n.1, pp.1-7. ISSN 2305-0853.  https://doi.org/10.4102/ids.v59i1.3147.

Domestic violence and abusive divorce practices remain significant issues in contemporary societies. This article presents a New Testament perspective on addressing these injustices, sdemonstrating how prevailing views on adultery and deplorable divorce practices exacerbated the vulnerability of women within the patriarchal society of the time. This article examined Jesus's two antithetical arguments in the Sermon on the Mount against the abusive practices of adultery and divorce, highlighting his protective stance towards women. It explores Jesus's opposition to unjust divorce practices and their relationship with adultery, emphasising the importance of inner purity and the necessity for men to regulate their thoughts and desires to uphold the sanctity of marriage. CONTRIBUTION: This article illustrated how misinterpretations of adultery and divorce practices further aggravated the vulnerability of women in that era. Although Jesus's theses were directed towards his followers, the findings of this study underscored the urgent need for societal reform and the establishment of robust support systems to combat and prevent abuse against women.

Keywords : adultery; divorce; abuse; patriarchal; Sermon on the Mount; greater righteousness; antitheses; bill of divorce; divorce letter.

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