In recognition of the many wars that have been waged on this small plot of Scripture and the marriages which could be preserved if people indeed followed Jesus' words, we will spend some time discussing this exception clause. Even so, we will need to summarize and simplify the mass of artillery and technical weaponry which scholars have unleashed over these few words. Note its placement in both verses. We will return to this question after we have noted more about these verses. A divorced woman commits adultery if she begins another relationship, but her husband is guilty of causing this sin by putting her away.
Any new relationship following a putting away is adulterous.
Mark and Luke include no exception. Whosoever shall put away his wife, and marry another, committeth adultery against her. Notice that in Mark the prohibition against divorce and remarriage is given to the woman as well as to the man. Paul forbade departing from a marriage partner, forbade remarriage, and encouraged reconciliation if separation did occur. What is significant about this point is that this writing may well have been the earliest New Testament writing on the subject.