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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:
"The Pharisees also came unto him." (19:3) - Means, the Pharisees came to keep an eye on Jesus. "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." "Have ye not read, that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female." (19:4) - You can read this in Genesis 1:27 and 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 man 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 outlined by Moses in Deuteronomy 24:1-4. However, in this passage, Jesus says that God only permitted divorce in the Old Testament because of the "hardness" of people's hearts (19:8). With few exceptions, God intended marriage to be a lifetime commitment. "Suffered." (19:8) - "Allowed." "Whosoever shall put away his wife...." (19:9) - Jesus is repeating this message from Matthew 5:32, Mark 10:11 and Luke 16:18. "If the case of the man be so with his wife." (19:10) - "If that is the case." "All men cannot receive this saying." (19:11) - "All men cannot accept this teaching." "Save." (19:11) - "Except." "Eunuchs." (19:12) - Emasculated males. Men or boys who have been castrated or whose testicles do not function. |
