Words in italic type have been added for clarity. They are not found in the original Hebrew or Aramaic.

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Marriage and Divorce

Matthew 19:¹ Now it came to pass, when Jesus had finished these sayings, that He departed from Galilee and came to the region of Judea beyond the Jordan.

Matthew 19:² And great multitudes followed Him, and He healed them there.

Matthew 19:³ The Pharisees also came to Him, testing Him, and saying to Him, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for just any reason?”

Matthew 19:⁴ And He answered and said to them, “Have you not read that He who made (created) them at the beginning ‘made them male and female,’

• Jesus is speaking of Himself when He says “He who made them at the beginning”:
  
  • John 1:3 All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.
  • John 1:10 He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him.
  • Hebrews 1:1 God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, ² has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds;
  • Hebrews 1:8a “to the Son He says: 1:10-12 ‘You, Lord, in the beginning laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the work of Your hands. They will perish, but You remain; and they will all grow old like a garment; Like a cloak You will fold them up, and they will be changed. But You are the same, and Your years will not fail.’”
  • Ephesians 3:9 and to make all see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the ages has been hidden in God who created all things through Jesus Christ;

Matthew 19:⁵ and said, ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’?

Matthew 19:⁶ So then, they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate.”

• In marriage, two become one in the flesh.
  See Topic: Quantum Physics and Entanglement

Matthew 19:⁷ They said to Him, “Why then did Moses command to give a certificate of divorce, and to put her away?”

Matthew 19:⁸ He said to them, “Moses, because of the hardness of your hearts, permitted you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so.

• “Because of the hardness of your hearts”, does that describe a spouse who has abandoned their family or a spouse who was abusive emotionally and/or physically? Or is this describing the overall heart of humanity in its sinful and evil condition that makes it impossible to see the pain and neediness in the other’s soul, and unable to act accordingly?

Matthew 19:⁹ And I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality (Or fornication), and marries another, commits adultery; and whoever marries her who is divorced commits adultery.”

Matthew 19:¹⁰ His disciples said to Him, “If such is the case of the man with his wife, it is better not to marry.”

• “Better not to marry”? A statement which suggests the affirmation of the previous problem.

Jesus Teaches on Celibacy

Matthew 19:¹¹ But He said to them, “All cannot accept this saying, but only those to whom it has been given:

Matthew 19:¹² For there are eunuchs (Emasculated men) who were born thus from their mother’s womb, and there are eunuchs who were made eunuchs by men, and there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven’s sake. He who is able to accept it, let him accept it.”

• Eunuch comes from the Greek eunoukhos, meaning “bedroom guard.” In history a eunuch was a man whose job was to guard the bedroom door of a royal woman to protect her. These guards were castrated to make them less threatening to the women they guarded. Later, some men underwent castration so their high voices wouldn’t deepen during puberty, and these eunuch singers became famous in opera houses.
• : Eunuch A man or boy deprived of the testes or external genitals. Castration is any action, surgical, chemical, or otherwise, by which a male loses use of the testicles: the male gonad.
• A Eunuch is a man who has been castrated.

Jesus Blesses Little Children

Matthew 19:¹³ Then little children were brought to Him that He might put His hands on them and pray, but the disciples rebuked them.

Matthew 19:¹⁴ But Jesus said, “Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of heaven.”

Matthew 19:¹⁵ And He laid His hands on them and departed from there.

Jesus Counsels the Rich Young Ruler

Matthew 19:¹⁶ Now behold, one came and said to Him, “Good Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life?”

Matthew 19:¹⁷ So He said to him, “Why do you call Me good? (Why do you ask Me about what is good?) No one is good but One (There is One who is good. But) , that is, God. But if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments.”

Matthew 19:¹⁸ He said to Him, “Which ones?”

Jesus said, “‘You shall not murder,’ ‘You shall not commit adultery,’ ‘You shall not steal,’ ‘You shall not bear false witness,’

Matthew 19:¹⁹ ‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ ”

Matthew 19:²⁰ The young man said to Him, “All these things I have kept from my youth. What do I still lack?”

Matthew 19:²¹ Jesus said to him, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.”

Matthew 19:²² But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.

• What did the young man miss in keeping the law? He loved his money more than he loved God. It became his idol.
• A person in Jewish culture who is “cheap” is referred to as having “an evil eye”; the same in scripture: Deuteronomy 15:9, Proverbs 28:22, Matthew 20:15, Mark 7:22.

With God All Things Are Possible

Matthew 19:²³ Then Jesus said to His disciples, “Assuredly, I say to you that it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven.

Matthew 19:²⁴ And again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”

• The more one amasses riches the less he feels the need to rely on God in faith.
• Abraham gave a tenth of all he had to Melchizedek, the king of Salem (Jerusalem) demonstrating not only this act, but many other times he relied on God instead of his wealth. Abraham is called the “Father of Faith”.

Matthew 19:²⁵ When His disciples heard it, they were greatly astonished, saying, “Who then can be saved?”

Matthew 19:²⁶ But Jesus looked at them and said to them, “With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

Matthew 19:²⁷ Then Peter answered and said to Him, “See, we have left all and followed You. Therefore what shall we have?”

Matthew 19:²⁸ So Jesus said to them, “Assuredly I say to you, that in the regeneration, when the Son of Man sits on the throne of His glory, you who have followed Me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.

• NOTE: The regeneration occurs during the Millennium of 1,000 years when Jesus reigns on earth from Jerusalem.

Matthew 19:²⁹ And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands (Lit. fields), for My name’s sake, shall receive a hundredfold, and inherit eternal life.

Matthew 19:³⁰ But many who are first will be last, and the last first.

• The greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven will be the servant of all. (Mark 9:35)

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