Matthew
19:2-12
Lesson 37
19:2-12
Lesson 37
Matthew 19:2-12
Questions 2 And great multitudes followed him; and he healed them there. 3 The Pharisees also came unto him, tempting him, and saying unto him, Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife for every cause? 4 And he answered and said unto them, Have ye not read, that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female, 5 And said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh? 6 Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder. 7 They say unto him, Why did Moses then command to give a writing of divorcement, and to put her away? 8 He saith unto them, Moses because of the hardness of your hearts suffered you to put away your wives: but from the beginning it was not so. 9 And I say unto you, Whosoever shall put away his wife, except it be for fornication, and shall marry another, committeth adultery: and whoso marrieth her which is put away doth commit adultery. 10 His disciples say unto him, If the case of the man be so with his wife, it is not good to marry. 11 But he said unto them, All men cannot receive this saying, save they to whom it is given. 12 For there are some eunuchs, which were so born from their mother's womb: and there are some eunuchs, which were made eunuchs of men: and there be eunuchs, which have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven's sake. He that is able to receive it, let him receive it. |
Margin notes:
"Great multitudes followed him." (19:2) - Large crowds followed Jesus on His seventy-mile trip. Remember, in lesson 36, Jesus left Galilee for Jerusalem and crucifixion (Luke 9:51). The Pharisees also came unto him." (19:3) - The Pharisees came to observe Jesus and look for a chance to discredit Him. "Tempting him." (19:3) - "Testing Him." "Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife for every cause?" (19:3) - "Is it permitted for a man to divorce his wife for any reason." With this question, the Pharisee hoped to trip Jesus up. "Have ye not read, that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female." (19:4) - "Haven't you read, from the beginning God made them male and female" (Genesis 1:27; 5:2.). "For this cause shall a man leave father and mother..." (19:5) - Jesus is paraphrasing Genesis 2:24. "They twain shall be one flesh?" (19:5) - "The two shall be as one." "Let not man put asunder." (19:6) - "Let no one separate." "Why did Moses then command to give a writing of divorcement." (19:7) - The Pharisees are referring to the rules of divorce and remarriage specified by Moses in Deuteronomy 24:1-4. In this passage, however, Jesus explains that God permitted divorce in the Old Testament only because of the "hardness" of people's hearts (19:8). With a few exceptions, God intended marriage to be a lifetime commitment. "Suffered." (19:8) - "Allowed." "Whosoever shall put away his wife... committeth adultery." (19:9) - Jesus is repeating His teaching from Matthew 5:32, Mark 10:11, and Luke 16:18. "If the case of the man be so with his wife, it is not good to marry." (19:10) - "If that is the case, it isn't good to marry." "All men cannot receive this saying." (19:11) - "Not everyone can understand this teaching." Jesus had "many things to say" to them, but people couldn't grasp it yet (John 16:12). "Save." (19:11) - "Except." "Eunuchs." (19:12) - Emasculated males. Men or boys who have been castrated or whose testicles do not function. "There be eunuchs, which have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven's sake." (19:12) - These men chose not to marry and abstain from sex. |