NIV Biblical Theology Study Bible NIV Biblical Theology Study Bible | Page 144
Matthew 19:15 | 1737
19:1 y Mt 7:28
19:2 z Mt 4:23
19:3 a Mt 5:31
19:4 b Ge 1:27; 5:2
19:5 c Ge 2:24;
1Co 6:16; Eph 5:31
19:7 d Dt 24:1-4;
Mt 5:31
19:9 e Mt 5:32;
Lk 16:18
19:11 f Mt 13:11;
1Co 7:7-9, 17
19:13 g Mk 5:23
19:14 h Mt 25:34
i Mt 18:3; 1Pe 2:2
Divorce
19:1-9pp — Mk 10:1-12
19
When Jesus had finished saying these things, y he left Galilee and went into the re
gion of Judea to the other side of the Jordan. 2 Large crowds followed him, and he
healed them z there.
3 Some Pharis ees came to him to test him. They asked, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce
his wife a for any and every reason?”
4 “Haven’t you read,” he replied, “that at the beginning the Creator ‘made them male and
female,’ a b 5 and said, ‘For this reason a man will l eave his father and mother and be united
to his wife, and the two will become one flesh’ b ? c 6 So they are no longer two, but one flesh.
Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.”
7 “Why then,” they a
sked, “did Moses command that a man give his wife a certificate of
divorce and send her away?” d
8 Jesus replied, “Moses permitted you to divorce your wives because your hearts were
hard. But it was not this way from the beginning. 9 I tell you that anyone who divorces
his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another woman commits adultery.” e
10 The disciples said to him, “If this is the situation between a husband and wife, it is
better not to marry.”
11 Jesus replied, “Not everyone can accept this word, but only those to whom it has
been given. f 12 For there are eunuchs who were born that way, and there are eunuchs
who have been made eunuchs by others — and there are those who choose to live like
eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. The one who can accept this should ac
cept it.”
The Little Children and Jesus
19:13-15pp — Mk 10:13-16; Lk 18:15-17
13 Then people brought little children to Jesus for him to p
lace his h
ands on them g and
pray for them. But the disciples rebuked them.
14 Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the king
dom of heaven belongs h to such as these.” i 15 When he had placed his hands on them, he
went on from there.
a 4 Gen. 1:27 b 5 Gen. 2:24
19:1 — 22:46 Journeying to the Temple. Jesus
leaves Galilee to head for Jerusalem but more
specifically for the temple at Passover time.
Matthew again sandwiches a narrative be-
tween two discourses (18:1 – 35; 23:1 – 39) as
Jesus teaches both his disciples and other
people along the way.
19:1 — 20:34 Seven discrete passages com-
prise this section on Jesus’ final journey, only
one of which involves a miracle. Preparing his
disciples for his departure by means of teach-
ing them and the others he encounters along
the way must take priority.
19:1 – 12 God intends for married couples to
remain together as long as they live. If adul-
tery breaks the one-flesh uniqueness de-
signed for marriage, divorce and remarriage
are possible though never ideal. For those
who cannot accept these regulations, a celi-
bate, single life is the appropriate alternative.
19:3 Pharisees. Were already debating the
interpretation of Deut 24:1. See note on
5:31. test. Could also be translated “trap” or
“tempt.” This and further “testings” associate
the religious leaders with Satan.
19:4 – 5 Jesus quotes Gen 1:27 and 2:24, God’s
purposes for marriage from the very dawn of
creation.
19:5 leave his father and mother and be
united to his wife. Transfer their most im-
portant human allegiance from parents to
spouse. become one flesh. Consummate
that commitment with sexual intercourse
and close, loving fellowship.
19:6 what God has joined together. Applies
to the newly formed marital union. Nothing
limits this to Christian marriages or any other
subset of marriages, as if there were certain
married couples that God has not joined. let
no one separate. Refers to husband, wife, and
any other third party.
19:7 – 8 divorce. Divorce was permitted under
various circumstances in OT times, but Jesus
says this was a concession to the Israelites,
whose “hearts were hard” (v. 8). “But it was
not this way from the beginning” (v. 8), be-
fore the giving of the law, and so it is not to
be this way among Jesus’ followers. Hard-
heartedness, therefore, cannot be a legiti-
mate reason for divorce in the age of the new
covenant. Jesus is reaffirming God’s original
intention that marriage be permanent and
lifelong.
19:9 See notes on 5:31, 32. The person “com-
mits adultery” because divorce in antiquity
was typically for the purpose of remarriage.
But even the rupture of the first marriage by
itself may be a metaphor for adultery, just as
faithless Israel was likened to a prostitute
throughout the OT (see especially Hosea).
except for sexual immorality. The followers
of both Hillel and Shammai, two Pharisaic
contemporaries of Jesus, agreed that sexual
infidelity required divorce, as did all known
Greco-Roman views of the day. Jesus, how-
ever, merely permits rather than requires
divorce. Some have argued that “divorces”
here means merely separation; others, that
divorce but not remarriage is what is permit-
ted. Others translate “sexual immorality” as
“premarital intercourse,” or “incest.” But all of
these alternatives appeal to much less com-
mon meanings of the words in question and
do not fit the context as naturally.
19:10 Jesus’ position is more stringent than
either of the two main Pharisaic approaches
(see notes on 5:31,32). Little wonder the
disciples think it might be “better not to
marry.”
19:11 Not everyone can accept this. Jesus
acknowledges that some have indeed been
given the gift of celibacy, but he recognizes
that many cannot accept this lot in life.
19:12 eunuchs. There are literal eunuchs,
either born deformed or castrated at some
point in their lives, and metaphoric eunuchs,
those who voluntarily adopt the (celibate)
single life “for the sake of the kingdom” (cf.
1 Cor 7:32 – 35). Those who can “accept” this
last option should do so.
19:13 children. They were second-class citi-
zens in antiquity. A great rabbi shouldn’t be
bothered by them, Jesus’ disciple s naturally
think. Jesus disagrees.
19:14 for the kingdom . . . belongs to such
as these. The point is not that children are
automatically saved but that those who ac-
knowledge their dependence on God, like
many children do, can then come to Jesus in
the right spirit. Cf. 18:1 – 5.
19:15 placed his hands on them. Conveyed a
blessing from God.