lon ger two , but one flesh . There fore what God has joined to geth er , let no one sep a rate .”
7
“ Why then ,” they asked , “ did Mo ses com mand that a man give his wife a cer tif i cate of di vorce and send her away ?”
8
Jesus re plied , “ Mo ses per mit ted you to di vorce your wives be cause your hearts were hard . But it was not this way from the be gin ning . 9 I tell you that any one who di vorc es his wife , ex cept for sex u al im mo ral i ty , and mar ries an oth er wom an com mits adul tery .”
10
The dis ci ples said to him , “ If this is the situ a tion be tween a hus band and wife , it is bet ter not to mar ry .”
11
Jesus re plied , “ Not ev ery one can ac cept this word , but only those to whom it has been giv en .
12
For there are eu nuchs who were born that way , and there are eu nuchs who have been made eu nuchs by others — and there are those who choose to live like eu nuchs for the sake of the king dom of heav en . The one who can ac cept this should ac cept it .”
The Little Children and Jesus
19:13-15pp — Mk 10:13-16 ; Lk 18:15-17
MattheW 19:22 | 1569
14
Jesus said , “ Let the lit tle chil dren come to me , and do not hin der them , for the king dom of heav en be longs to such as these .” 15 When he had placed his hands on them , he went on from there .
The Rich and the Kingdom of God
19:16-29pp — Mk 10:17-30 ; Lk 18:18-30
16
Just then a man came up to Jesus and asked , “ Teach er , what good thing must I do to get eternal life ?”
17
“ Why do you ask me about what is good ?” Jesus re plied . “ There is only One who is good . If you want to en ter life , keep the com mand ments .”
18
“ Which ones ?” he in quired .
Jesus re plied , “ ‘ You shall not mur der , you shall not com mit adul tery , you shall not steal , you shall not give false tes ti mo ny , 19 hon or your fa ther and moth er ,’ a and ‘ love your neigh bor as your self .’ b ”
20
“ All these I have kept ,” the young man said . “ What do I still lack ?”
21
Jesus an swered , “ If you want to be per fect , go , sell your pos ses sions and give to the poor , and you will have trea sure in heav en . Then come , fol low me .”
22
When the young man heard this , he went away sad , be cause he had great wealth .
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13
Then peo ple brought lit tle chil dren to Jesus
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for him to place his hands on them and pray for |
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them . But the dis ci ples re buked them . |
a
19 Exodus 20:12-16 ; Deut . 5:16-20
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b
19 Lev . 19:18
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19:7 “ Why then ,” they asked , “ did Moses command ” At first , Jesus seems to be prohibiting all divorce , so the Pharisees invoke Moses ’ law as justification for divorce . See Dt 24 . 19:8 hearts were hard Jesus is saying that Moses made a concession due to the sinful attitude of their Jewish ancestors . 19:9 except for sexual immorality Jesus allows for divorce — the tearing of a union made by God ( Mt 19:6 ) — when someone is sexually unfaithful . To Jesus , divorce is never desirable . However , Jesus ( and Moses before him ) recognized that human sinfulness can irrevocably damage a marriage . In the Greek text , Jesus speaks only about men because , in the patriarchal culture of ancient Israel , only men had this type of legal right . It seems that Jesus ’ overall intention is not to specify every possible exception for divorce , but rather to emphasize the importance of keeping marriages intact . marries another Jesus seems to be addressing Dt 24:1 , which speaks of a wife losing favor in her husband ’ s eyes and then being divorced . Men might have been misusing this passage in Jesus ’ lifetime , as the Pharisees ’ questions seem to imply ( Mt 19:3,7 ). Thus , Jesus likely is speaking about divorces that are based on the wrong reasons — such as a man choosing to divorce his wife so that he can be with another woman without committing adultery . The purpose of Jesus ’ statement is to emphasize that divorce goes against God ’ s intention for marriage . He likely means that divorce for sinful reasons is the equivalent of adultery . 19:12 eunuchs who were born that way Refers to men who cannot reproduce due to a physical defect . who have been made eunuchs by others Refers in this instance to castration , whether intentional or accidental . In the ancient Near East , some slaves or palace officials would be castrated so that they could not sleep with the master ’ s wife ( or wives ) or women in his harem . See note on Est 1:10 . choose to live like eunuchs Refers metaphorically to a voluntary decision to remain single and sexually abstinent . Jesus is not prescribing mutilation of the genitalia , as that would involve destroying God ’ s creation . Compare 1Co 7:8 – 9 .
19:13 – 15 In this short scene , Jesus welcomes children and lays his hands on them in prayer as a sign of blessing .
19:14 kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these Compare Mt 18:3 – 4 .
19:16 – 30 Jesus uses this encounter with a wealthy young man to teach his disciples about the dangers of wealth . He also gives a glimpse into what awaits those who have left everything to follow him .
19:16 eternal life Describes life in the kingdom of the Messiah , which starts now but extends forever ( compare Jn 3:16 – 17 ). 19:17 Why do you ask me about what is good God already had defined what is good when he gave the Israelites the Ten Commandments . One who is good Refers to God , the giver of the commandments . 19:18 Which ones Jesus responds with a representative sampling of the Ten Commandments ( see Ex 20:2 – 17 ), to which he adds the command about loving one ’ s neighbor ( Lev 19:18 ). 19:21 perfect Describes being complete or mature . sell your possessions Jesus sees the young man ’ s attachment to his possessions as a hindrance to faith . He commands the man to rid himself of whatever prevents him from making a total commitment to the kingdom of heaven . Jesus ’ instructions suggest that the man has not truly kept the commandments , beginning with the first one — the command to have no other gods except Yahweh ( Ex 20:3 ). The man ’ s wealth is his god , and he is unwilling to part with it . 19:22 he went away sad The only instance of someone declining to follow Jesus after a direct invitation .