It was said also, Whosoever shall put away his wife, let him give her a writing of divorcement:
I came not to sweep away the foundation of the Old Testament but to fulfill it, establish it, unfold it, embody it in living form. Fear not that I will subvert God's living oracles; rather, enshrine them in reverence, affection, and character.
AI summary
Commenting on Matthew 5:17-48
The law required a written certificate as a legal check on tyrannical separation. Yet Hillel's school stretched "uncleanness" to mean anything offensive to the husband, opening the door to caprice and depraved inclination in ways that persist even today.
AI summary
The Pharisees confined this commandment to the outward act, but Christ exposes the root: whoever looks on a woman to lust after her has already committed adultery in his heart. The mind's corruption defiles the soul as surely as any bodily transgression.
AI summary
Commenting on Matthew 5:27-32