Perhaps to avoid the stringency of Jesus’ requirements for marriage, some have maintained that Matthew 19:9 does not apply to non-Christians. They insist, therefore, that the verse has no bearing on the marital status of non-Christians who wish to become Christians. It is claimed that Matthew 19:9 is “covenant legislation” and was intended by Jesus to apply only to those who have already entered into His Christian covenant. Hence, it is alleged that non-Christians who have been divorced and remarried for reasons other than fornication may “start fresh” when they become Christians and remain in whatever marriage relationship they are in at the time they are baptized. Only at that point are they to be considered amenable to Matthew 19:9.

One attempt to defend this viewpoint is the claim that the word “whoever” generally refers—even in the Old Testament—to those who are already in covenant relationship with God.¹ However, hos (ό΄ς) is a relative pronoun which, when used with an (ά΄ν) and a verb in the subjunctive mood, means “whoever.” It carries no peculiar application to Christians, as if its use indicates that those being referenced are in a covenant relationship with God. The claim is grammatically incorrect and linguistically indefensible. The parallel inMatthew 5:32 uses pas (πάς) which simply means “all” or “everyone.”

Reasons Why Matthew 19:9 Is Not Limited to Christians:

1. In context, Jesus was speaking specifically to Jews—not Christians. Christianity had not even been established.

2. Jesus answered their question about divorce (vs. 3). They were not asking Jesus what His divorce policy would be once His kingdom was established. They desired to know His will for Jews right then. The frequent allusion that some make to the divergent views of Hillel and Shammai² is further proof that Jesus was directing His remarks to His pre-Christian contemporaries.

3. Nor did Jesus’ teaching in Matthew 19:9 commence its application in Acts 2. It went into effect when it was first uttered to the entire human race in Genesis 2:24—intended for all people for all time: “Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.” This divine declaration was not limited to Adam and Eve—as shown by Jesus’ quotation of it in the first century A.D. Deuteronomy 24 did not conflict with this original Law of Marriage. It was simply an attempt to minimize and contain the stubborn abuses of the Israelites.³ On the other hand, God’s declaration at the beginning of human history was intended to apply to all human beings—Jew, Gentile, Christian, non-Christian—for all time.

4. To see the fallacy of the claim that “whoever” throughout the Bible is used to refer to those in covenant relationship with God, simply examine passages that use the word and insert “Christian(s),” or “the Christian who,” or “those already in covenant relationship with Jesus” in the following verses where “whoever” occurs:

• Mark 16:16—“Whoever [the Christian who] believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever [the Christian who] does not believe will be condemned.” “Whoever” cannot refer to Christians since a person does not become a Christian until baptism. Who is to believe and be baptized—Christians or non-Christians? Those already in covenant relationship with Christ, or those not yet in covenant relationship?
• John 3:16,18—“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever [is already in covenant relationship with Christ] believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life…. Whoever [already in covenant relationship with Christ] believes in him is not condemned, but whoever [already in covenant relationship with Christ] does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.” Once again, “whoever” must refer to non-Christians who are being urged to become believers by entering into covenant relationship with Christ.
• John 4:14—“whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst.” Can non-Christians drink the water? Or must they already be in covenant relationship before they drink? To ask is to answer.
• John 5:24—“I tell you the truth, whoever [already in covenant relationship with Christ] hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life.” Who crosses over from death to life—Christian or non-Christian? The “whoever” refers to the non-believer whom Jesus challenges to cross over from death to life.
• John 8:12—“When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, ‘I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.’” Jesus was admonishing non-Christians—unbelievers—to follow Him.
• John 10:9—“I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. He will come in and go out, and find pasture.” What is the status of the person prior to entering through Jesus? That person is not in covenant relationship with Christ.
• Revelation 22:17—“The Spirit and the bride say, ‘Come!’ And let him who hears say, ‘Come!’ Whoever is thirsty, let him come; and whoever wishes, let him take the free gift of the water of life.” Who is the “bride”? The bride is the church—the receptacle of the saved, i.e., Christians. Here the Holy Spirit and the church are inviting outsiders—those not yet in covenant relationship with God—to enter into fellowship with Him by drinking the water of life.

The Old Testament has the same application:

• Genesis 4:13-14—“Cain said to the LORD, ‘My punishment is more than I can bear. Today you are driving me from the land, and I will be hidden from your presence; I will be a restless wanderer on the earth, and whoever finds me will kill me.’” Was Cain concerned that those in covenant relationship with God might kill him?
• Genesis 9:6—“Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed; for in the image of God has God made man.” Were only those in covenant relationship with God subject to this declaration?
• Genesis 12:3—“I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.” In His remarks to Abraham, was God speaking only of covenant people—or all peoples on earth?
• Genesis 44:10—“‘Very well, then,’ he said, ‘let it be as you say. Whoever is found to have it will become my slave; the rest of you will be free from blame.’” Acting as an Egyptian, did Joseph mean to refer only to covenant people? Or did he use “whoever” to refer exclusively to his brothers—not his father or other family members, nor anyone else?
• Job 29:11—“Whoever heard me spoke well of me, and those who saw me commended me.” Job was a Gentile living among Gentiles. Were all those who had heard of Job in a covenant relationship with God?
• The numerous uses of “whoever” in the Psalms, Proverbs, and Ecclesiastes are intended to refer to all people who should benefit from the wisdom given. For example, Ecclesiastes 12:13 says the “whole of man” is to obey God. Does this verse refer only to those in covenant relationship with God? And consider Proverbs 8:35-36—“For whoever finds me finds life and receives favor from the LORD. But whoever fails to find me harms himself; all who hate me love death.” Proverbs 12:1—“Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge, but he who hates correction is stupid.” Are these universal instructions, or are they limited only to those in covenant relationship with God?
• Daniel 3:6—“Whoever does not fall down and worship will immediately be thrown into a blazing furnace.” Was the decree of Nebuchadnezzar addressed only to those who were in covenant relationship with God?
• Daniel 5:7—“The king called out for the enchanters, astrologers and diviners to be brought and said to these wise men of Babylon, ‘Whoever reads this writing and tells me what it means will be clothed in purple and have a gold chain placed around his neck, and he will be made the third highest ruler in the kingdom.’” Was this offer by Belshazzar addressed to those who were in a covenant relationship with God?
• Zechariah 2:8—“ For this is what the LORD Almighty says: ‘…whoever touches you touches the apple of his eye. I will surely raise my hand against them.’” The “whoever” refers to surrounding nations that God warned not to harm His people—pagan nations that were alienated from God.

Many more instances of the term “whoever” could be cited. Notice the flawed rationale: Go to passages that refer only to certain people, and then conclude that since “whoever” in those verses refers to those people, “whoever” must always or generally refer to those people. The Hebrew and Greek terms that underlie the English word “whoever” do not support this peculiar contention.⁴ Since the Bible reports primarily activities by those who were believers in God, most occurrences of the word do pertain to them—even as the words “you” and “they” refer to them—simply because they are the audience. But it absolutely does not follow that, therefore, “covenant people,” or Jews, or Christians inhere in such words and do not apply to a universal audience. Indeed, the Bible uses the word precisely in the same fashion as we use the English word “whoever.” Ask yourself: Do you use “whoever” only when talking to or about Christians?

To summarize: Matthew 19:3-12 constitutes divine directives concerning the only grounds for divorce in God’s sight for all people who have ever lived or will live. It is “human race” legislation which God, Himself, articulated at the very beginning of the world, and Jesus reiterated in response to His disciples’ question. God’s intention for all people is that they marry an eligible partner the first time they marry and remain married to that spouse for life. The only exception to this all-encompassing directive is that if one of the marriage partners commits fornication, the innocent partner has the scriptural right to divorce that unfaithful spouse and remarry a scripturally eligible partner, while the fornicator must remain single for life.⁵

Endnotes

¹ Lonnie Ritchie (2024), Sunday Morning Bible Study, May 5^th; Recorded live Magnolia church of Christ, Magnolia, TX, https://www.facebook.com/watch/live/?ref=watch_permalink&v=1188268528826915.

² Two prominent Jewish rabbis in the first century whose influence resulted in the creation of two “schools” of followers who tended to be antagonistic toward each other. See Marcus Jastrow and S. Mendelsohn (1906), “BET HILLEL AND BET SHAMMAI,” Jewish Encyclopedia, 3:115-116, https://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/3190-bet-hillel-and-bet-shammai.

³ Dave Miller (2021), “Did Jesus Disagree With Moses on Divorce?” Reason & Revelation, 41[7]:74-77, July, https://apologeticspress.org/did-jesus-disagree-with-moses-on-divorce-5975/.

⁴ Greek grammarian Robertson states that the clause in Matthew 5:32 “pictures any one in general without a definite individual in mind”—A.T. Robertson and W. Hersey Davis (1931), A New Short Grammar of the Greek Testament, for Students Familiar with the Elements of Greek (London: R.R. Smith), p. 323.

⁵ For a more detailed study of Matthew 19, see Dave Miller (1985), “To Whom Does Matthew 19:3-12 Apply?” Apologetics Press, https://apologeticspress.org/to-whom-does-matthew-193-12-apply-4187/. For an extensive study of divorce and remarriage, see Thomas Warren, ed. (1978), Your Marriage Can Be Great! (Jonesboro, AR: National Christian Press).

Published September 28, 2026

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