10 His disciples say to him, If the case of the man be so with his wife, it is not good to marry.
And Jehovah Elohim said, It is not good that Man should be alone; I will make him a helpmate, his like.
Drink waters out of thine own cistern, and running waters out of thine own well. Thy fountains shall be poured forth, as water-brooks in the broadways. Let them be only thine own, and not strangers' with thee. Let thy fountain be blessed; and have joy of the wife of thy youth. As a lovely hind and a graceful roe, let her breasts satisfy thee at all times: be thou ravished continually with her love.
A foolish son is the calamity of his father; and the contentions of a wife are a continual dropping. House and wealth are an inheritance from fathers; but a prudent wife is from Jehovah.
It is better to dwell in a corner of the housetop, than with a contentious woman, and a house in common.
But concerning the things of which ye have written [to me]: [It is] good for a man not to touch a woman; but on account of fornications, let each have his own wife, and each [woman] have her own husband.
But I say to the unmarried and to the widows, It is good for them that they remain even as I.
I think then that this is good, on account of the present necessity, that [it is] good for a man to remain so as he is. Art thou bound to a wife? seek not to be loosed; art thou free from a wife? do not seek a wife. But if thou shouldest also marry, thou hast not sinned; and if the virgin marry, they have not sinned: but such shall have tribulation in the flesh; but I spare you.
But I wish you to be without care. The unmarried cares for the things of the Lord, how he shall please the Lord; but he that has married cares for the things of the world, how he shall please his wife. There is a difference between the wife and the virgin. The unmarried cares for the things of the Lord, that she may be holy both in body and spirit; but she that has married cares for the things of the world, how she shall please her husband. But I say this for your own profit; not that I may set a snare before you, but for what [is] seemly, and waiting on the Lord without distraction.
A wife is bound for whatever time her husband lives; but if the husband be fallen asleep, she is free to be married to whom she will, only in [the] Lord. But she is happier if she so remain, according to my judgment; but I think that *I* also have God's Spirit.
But younger widows decline; for when they grow wanton against Christ, they desire to marry, being guilty, because they have cast off their first faith. And, at the same time, they learn also [to be] idle, going about to people's houses; and not only idle, but also gossipers and meddlers, speaking things not becoming. I will therefore that the younger marry, bear children, rule the house, give no occasion to the adversary in respect of reproach. For already some have turned aside after Satan.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible » Commentary on Matthew 19
Commentary on Matthew 19 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
CHAPTER 19
Mt 19:1-12. Final Departure from Galilee—Divorce. ( = Mr 10:1-12; Lu 9:51).
Farewell to Galilee (Mt 19:1, 2).
1. And it came to pass, that when Jesus had finished these sayings, he departed from Galilee—This marks a very solemn period in our Lord's public ministry. So slightly is it touched here, and in the corresponding passage of Mark (Mr 10:1), that few readers probably note it as the Redeemer's Farewell to Galilee, which however it was. See on the sublime statement of Luke (Lu 9:51), which relates to the same transition stage in the progress of our Lord's work.
and came into the coasts—or, boundaries
of Judea beyond Jordan—that is, to the further, or east side of the Jordan, into Perea, the dominions of Herod Antipas. But though one might conclude from our Evangelist that our Lord went straight from the one region to the other, we know from the other Gospels that a considerable time elapsed between the departure from the one and the arrival at the other, during which many of the most important events in our Lord's public life occurred—probably a large part of what is recorded in Lu 9:51, onward to Lu 18:15, and part of Joh 7:2-11:54.
2. And great multitudes followed him; and he healed them there—Mark says further (Mr 10:1), that "as He was wont, He taught them there." What we now have on the subject of divorce is some of that teaching.
Divorce (Mt 19:3-12).
3. Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife for every cause?—Two rival schools (as we saw on Mt 5:31) were divided on this question—a delicate one, as De Wette pertinently remarks, in the dominions of Herod Antipas.
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—or better, perhaps, "He that made them made them from the beginning a male and a female."
5. And said, For this cause—to follow out this divine appointment.
shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh?—Jesus here sends them back to the original constitution of man as one pair, a male and a female; to their marriage, as such, by divine appointment; and to the purpose of God, expressed by the sacred historian, that in all time one man and one woman should by marriage become one flesh—so to continue as long as both are in the flesh. This being God's constitution, let not man break it up by causeless divorces.
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—as a civil lawgiver.
because of—or "having respect to."
the hardness of your hearts—looking to your low moral state, and your inability to endure the strictness of the original law.
suffered you to put away your wives—tolerated a relaxation of the strictness of the marriage bond—not as approving of it, but to prevent still greater evils.
But from the beginning it was not so—This is repeated, in order to impress upon His audience the temporary and purely civil character of this Mosaic relaxation.
9. And I say unto you, Whosoever shall put away his wife, except, &c.—See on Mt 5:32.
10. His disciples say unto him, If the case of the man be so with his wife, it is not good to marry—that is, "In this view of marriage, surely it must prove a snare rather than a blessing, and had better be avoided altogether."
11. But he said unto them, All men cannot receive this saying, save they to whom it is given—that is, "That the unmarried state is better, is a saying not for everyone, and indeed only for such as it is divinely intended for." But who are these? they would naturally ask; and this our Lord proceeds to tell them in three particulars.
12. For there are some eunuchs which were so born from their mother's womb—persons constitutionally either incapable of or indisposed to marriage.
and there are some eunuchs which were made eunuchs of men—persons rendered incapable by others.
and there be eunuchs which have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven's sake—persons who, to do God's work better, deliberately choose this state. Such was Paul (1Co 7:7).
He that is able to receive it, let him receive it—"He who feels this to be his proper vocation, let him embrace it"; which, of course, is as much as to say—"he only." Thus, all are left free in this matter.
Mt 19:13-15. Little Children Brought to Christ. ( = Mr 10:13-16; Lu 18:15-17).
For the exposition, see on Lu 18:15-17.
Mt 19:16-30. The Rich Young Ruler. ( = Mr 10:17-31; Lu 18:18-30).
For the exposition, see on Lu 18:18-30.