Divorce
19 When Jesus had finished saying these things, he left Galilee and went
into the region of Judea to the other side of the Jordan. 2 Large crowds
followed him, and he healed them there.
3 Some Pharisees came to him to test him. They asked, “Is it lawful for
a man to divorce his wife for any and every reason?”
4 “Haven’t you read,” he replied, “that at the beginning the Creator
‘made them male and female,’[Gen. 1:27] 5 and said, ‘For this reason, a man will leave
his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one
flesh’[Gen. 2:24]? 6 So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has
joined together, let no one separate.”
7 “Why then,” they asked, “did Moses command that a man give his wife a
certificate of divorce and send her away?”
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.”
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. 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 accept it.”
The Little Children and Jesus
13 Then people brought little children to Jesus for him to place his
hands on them 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 kingdom of heaven belongs 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
16 Just then a man came up
to Jesus and asked, “Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?” 17 “Why do you ask me
about what is good?” Jesus replied. “There is only One who is good. If you want
to enter life, keep the commandments.”
18 “Which ones?” he inquired.
Jesus replied, “‘You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery,
you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, 19 honor your father
and mother,’[Exodus 20:12-16; Deut. 5:16-20] and ‘love your neighbor as yourself.’[Lev. 19:18]”
20 “All these I have kept,” the young man said. “What do I still lack?”
21 Jesus answered, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions
and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow
me.”
22 When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great
wealth.
23 Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Truly I tell you, it is hard for
someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of heaven. 24 Again I tell you, it is
easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is
rich to enter the kingdom of God.”
25 When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished and
asked, “Who then can be saved?”
26 Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with
God all things are possible.”
27 Peter answered him, “We have left everything to follow you! What then
will there be for us?”
28 Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, at the renewal of all things,
when the Son of Man sits on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will
also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. 29 And
everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or
wife[Some manuscripts do not have or wife.] or children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much
and will inherit eternal life. 30 But many who are first will be last, and many
who are last will be first.
19:1–23:39 The narrative section of the fifth book of the
gospel. The first part (Mt 19:1–20:34) has for its setting the journey of Jesus
from Galilee to Jerusalem; the second (Mt 21:1–23:39) deals with Jesus’
ministry in Jerusalem up to the final great discourse of the gospel (Mt 24–25).
Matthew follows the Marcan sequence of events, though adding material both
special to this gospel and drawn from Q. The second part ends with the
denunciation of the scribes and Pharisees (Mt 23:1–36) followed by Jesus’
lament over Jerusalem (Mt 23:37–39). This long and important speech raises a
problem for the view that Matthew is structured around five other discourses of
Jesus (see Introduction) and that this one has no such function in the gospel.
However, it is to be noted that this speech lacks the customary concluding
formula that follows the five discourses (see note on Mt 7:28), and that those
discourses are all addressed either exclusively (Mt 10; 18; 24; 25) or
primarily (Mt 5–7; 13) to the disciples, whereas this is addressed primarily to
the scribes and Pharisees (Mt 23:13–36). Consequently, it seems plausible to
maintain that the evangelist did not intend to give it the structural
importance of the five other discourses, and that, in spite of its being
composed of sayings-material, it belongs to the narrative section of this book.
In that regard, it is similar to the sayings-material of Mt 11:7–30. Some have
proposed that Matthew wished to regard it as part of the final discourse of Mt
24–25, but the intervening material (Mt 24:1–4) and the change in matter and
style of those chapters do not support that view.
19:1 In giving Jesus’ teaching on divorce (Mt 19:3–9), Matthew
here follows his Marcan source (Mk 10:2–12) as he does Q in Mt 5:31–32 (cf. Lk
16:18). Mt 19:10–12 are peculiar to Matthew.
19:1 When Jesus finished these words: see note on Mt
7:28–29. The district of Judea across the Jordan: an inexact designation of the
territory. Judea did not extend across the Jordan; the territory east of the
river was Perea. The route to Jerusalem by way of Perea avoided passage through
Samaria.
19:3 Tested him: the verb is used of attempts of Jesus’
opponents to embarrass him by challenging him to do something they think
impossible (Mt 16:1; Mk 8:11; Lk 11:16) or by having him say something that
they can use against him (Mt 22:18, 35; Mk 10:2; 12:15). For any cause
whatever: this is peculiar to Matthew and has been interpreted by some as
meaning that Jesus was being asked to take sides in the dispute between the
schools of Hillel and Shammai on the reasons for divorce, the latter holding a
stricter position than the former. It is unlikely, however, that to ask Jesus’
opinion about the differing views of two Jewish schools, both highly respected,
could be described as “testing” him, for the reason indicated above.
19:4–6 Matthew recasts his Marcan source, omitting Jesus’
question about Moses’ command (Mk 10:3) and having him recall at once two
Genesis texts that show the will and purpose of the Creator in making human
beings male and female (Gn 1:27), namely, that a man may be joined to his wife
in marriage in the intimacy of one flesh (Gn 2:24). What God has thus joined
must not be separated by any human being. (The NAB translation of the Hebrew
bāśār of Gn 2:24 as “body” rather than “flesh” obscures the reference of
Matthew to that text.)
19:7 See Dt 24:1–4.
19:9 Moses’ concession to human sinfulness (the hardness of
your hearts, Mt 19:8) is repudiated by Jesus, and the original will of the
Creator is reaffirmed against that concession. (Unless the marriage is
unlawful): see note on Mt 5:31–32. There is some evidence suggesting that
Jesus’ absolute prohibition of divorce was paralleled in the Qumran community
(see 11QTemple 57:17–19; CD 4:12b–5:14). Matthew removes Mark’s setting of this
verse as spoken to the disciples alone “in the house” (Mk 10:10) and also his
extension of the divorce prohibition to the case of a woman’s divorcing her
husband (Mk 10:12), probably because in Palestine, unlike the places where
Roman and Greek law prevailed, the woman was not allowed to initiate the
divorce.
19:11 [This] word: probably the disciples’ “it is better not
to marry” (Mt 19:10). Jesus agrees but says that celibacy is not for all but
only for those to whom that is granted by God.
19:12 Incapable of marriage: literally, “eunuchs.” Three
classes are mentioned, eunuchs from birth, eunuchs by castration, and those who
have voluntarily renounced marriage (literally, “have made themselves eunuchs”)
for the sake of the kingdom, i.e., to devote themselves entirely to its
service. Some scholars take the last class to be those who have been divorced
by their spouses and have refused to enter another marriage. But it is more
likely that it is rather those who have chosen never to marry, since that suits
better the optional nature of the decision: whoever can…ought to accept it.
19:13–15 This account is understood by some as intended to
justify the practice of infant baptism. That interpretation is based
principally on the command not to prevent the children from coming, since that
word sometimes has a baptismal connotation in the New Testament; see Acts 8:36.
19:16–30 Cf. Mk 10:17–31. This story does not set up a
“two-tier” morality, that of those who seek (only) eternal life (Mt 19:16) and
that of those who wish to be perfect (Mt 19:21). It speaks rather of the
obstacle that riches constitute for the following of Jesus and of the
impossibility, humanly speaking, for one who has many possessions (Mt 19:22) to
enter the kingdom (Mt 19:24). Actual renunciation of riches is not demanded of
all; Matthew counts the rich Joseph of Arimathea as a disciple of Jesus (Mt
27:57). But only the poor in spirit (Mt 5:3) can enter the kingdom and, as
here, such poverty may entail the sacrifice of one’s possessions. The Twelve,
who have given up everything (Mt 19:27) to follow Jesus, will have as their
reward a share in Jesus’ (the Son of Man’s) judging the twelve tribes of Israel
(Mt 19:28), and all who have similarly sacrificed family or property for his
sake will inherit eternal life (Mt 19:29).
19:16 Gain eternal life: this is equivalent to “entering
into life” (Mt 19:17) and “being saved” (Mt 19:25); the life is that of the new
age after the final judgment (see Mt 25:46). It probably is also equivalent
here to “entering the kingdom of heaven” (Mt 19:23) or “the kingdom of God” (Mt
19:24), but see notes on Mt 3:2; 4:17; 18:1 for the wider reference of the
kingdom in Matthew.
19:17 By Matthew’s reformulation of the Marcan question and
reply (Mk 10:17–18) Jesus’ repudiation of the term “good” for himself has been
softened. Yet the Marcan assertion that “no one is good but God alone” stands,
with only unimportant verbal modification.
19:18–19 The first five commandments cited are from the
Decalogue (see Ex 20:12–16; Dt 5:16–20). Matthew omits Mark’s “you shall not
defraud” (Mk 10:19; see Dt 24:14) and adds Lv 19:18. This combination of
commandments of the Decalogue with Lv 19:18 is partially the same as Paul’s
enumeration of the demands of Christian morality in Rom 13:9.
19:20 Young man: in Matthew alone of the synoptics the
questioner is said to be a young man; thus the Marcan “from my youth” (Mk
10:20) is omitted.
19:21 If you wish to be perfect: to be perfect is demanded
of all Christians; see Mt 5:48. In the case of this man, it involves selling
his possessions and giving to the poor; only so can he follow Jesus.
19:23–24 Riches are an obstacle to entering the kingdom that
cannot be overcome by human power. The comparison with the impossibility of a
camel’s passing through the eye of a needle should not be mitigated by such
suppositions as that the eye of a needle means a low or narrow gate. The
kingdom of God: as in Mt 12:28; 21:31, 43 instead of Matthew’s usual kingdom of
heaven.
19:25–26 See note on Mk 10:23–27.
19:28 This saying, directed to the Twelve, is from Q; see Lk
22:29–30. The new age: the Greek word here translated “new age” occurs in the
New Testament only here and in Ti 3:5. Literally, it means “rebirth” or
“regeneration,” and is used in Titus of spiritual rebirth through baptism. Here
it means the “rebirth” effected by the coming of the kingdom. Since that coming
has various stages (see notes on Mt 3:2; 4:17), the new age could be taken as
referring to the time after the resurrection when the Twelve will govern the
true Israel, i.e., the church of Jesus. (For “judge” in the sense of “govern,”
cf. Jgs 12:8, 9, 11; 15:20; 16:31; Ps 2:10). But since it is connected here
with the time when the Son of Man will be seated on his throne of glory,
language that Matthew uses in Mt 25:31 for the time of final judgment, it is
more likely that what the Twelve are promised is that they will be joined with
Jesus then in judging the people of Israel.
19:30 Different interpretations have been given to this
saying, which comes from Mk 10:31. In view of Matthew’s associating it with the
following parable (Mt 20:1–15) and substantially repeating it (in reverse
order) at the end of that parable (Mt 20:16), it may be that his meaning is
that all who respond to the call of Jesus, at whatever time (first or last),
will be the same in respect to inheriting the benefits of the kingdom, which is
the gift of God.
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