Matthew 19:1-15

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. ² And great multitudes followed Him, and He healed them there. 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?” ⁴ And He answered and said to them, “Have you not read that He who made them at the beginning ‘made them male and female,’ 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’? ⁶ So then, they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate.” ⁷ They said to Him, “Why then did Moses command to give a certificate of divorce, and to put her away?” 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. ⁹ And I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery; and whoever marries her who is divorced commits adultery.” ¹⁰ His disciples said to Him, “If such is the case of the man with his wife, it is better not to marry.” ¹¹ But He said to them, “All cannot accept this saying, but only those to whom it has been given: ¹² For there are eunuchs 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.” ¹³ Then little children were brought to Him that He might put His hands on them and pray, but the disciples rebuked them. ¹⁴ But Jesus said, “Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of heaven.” ¹⁵ And He laid His hands on them and departed from there.

Commentary 

Vs. 1-2 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. ² And great multitudes followed Him, and He healed them there. 

The Lord Jesus now leaves Galilee and moves south to the region of Judea beyond the Jordan, the land where John began baptizing when he first testified of Christ (John 1:19-28). Now following the Lord Jesus Christ was great multitudes of people who likely would’ve been joining the throng as He traveled. And so, it is there where the ministry of John and Revelation of Christ began that Jesus heals them. 

Vs. 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?” 

Now the Pharisees also came there, having prepared themselves with another question for Him, by which they may once again test Him. For they were not at all interested in seeing or believing all the good that Jesus was doing, they only wanted to see if He could be tripped up in some way, or see if Jesus’ own Words or teachings could be used against Him in some way, or worse could be used to infuriate the crowds against Him. And yet in the face of all of their schemes the Lord Jesus Christ never compromised the Word of God or capitulated to their schemes by abandoning His Ministry. Now the Pharisees question, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for just any reason?” Was a loaded question because at that time there was quiet a diverse amount of teachings and differing understandings on the subject of what constituted a lawful divorce in the eyes of God. 

Vs. 4-5 ⁴ And He answered and said to them, “Have you not read that He who made them at the beginning ‘made them male and female,’ 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’? 

Now the Lord Jesus’ response to the Pharisees question is to first rightly quote the Scripture, citing from the Book of Genesis the Lord Jesus looks right back to the beginning, when God created us male and female. And thus, His designs for us all, is for us all, to first and foremost be His image bearers in the gender in which He created us (vs. 4). There is then no grounds for the transgender lies that are now permeating this degenerating world in which we now live. For from the beginning the clear distinction of the genders (and thus our unique roles as God’s image bearers as male and female) has always been, and must always be defended by us who have escape the demonic and degenerating lies of this world. Therefore, the Lord Jesus in answering the Pharisees first questions them, saying: “Have you not read that He who made them at the beginning ‘made them male and female,’ 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’? ^Vs.4-5 Clearly the Pharisees who prided on themselves on their knowledge of the Word of God had read that passage from the Scripture. And yet as Jesus demonstrates here they had not understood it, because they had only come to misuse the Law given through Moses (which came later) to justify their own evil hearts desires to divorce their wives as they saw fit. Now looking at the passage before us there is a natural progression of growth, of a man leaving his father and mothers household and taking a wife for himself, and thus starting his own family. Not that every man must get married and start a family, but in the discussion of what constitutes a lawful divorce, one must also understand what constitutes a lawful marriage. The Scriptural basis of which is rooted in the holy matrimony of a man and woman. Not a man and a man, or woman and a woman; all which is only abominable and exceedingly grotesque in the sight of God, and everyone who by faith In Lord Jesus Christ has escaped Satan’s influence and control Lev. 18:22-25; Rev.1:27; 1 Cor 6:9-11; Col.1:13-14). And so, when a man leaves his mother and father and takes a woman as his wife he enters into a marriage covenant and holy union with her, and thus they become one flesh again, just as woman was first taken from man (Gen. 2:21-24). 

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

Again, when a man and a woman enter into marriage and holy union they are no longer two, but one flesh, coming then full circle in God’s creation plans and designs for humanity. Therefore, the Lord Jesus Christ say’s “what God has joined together, let not man separate.” Leaving no doubt that divorce is not in God’s designs or desires for anyone. 

Vs. 7-8 ⁷ They said to Him, “Why then did Moses command to give a certificate of divorce, and to put her away?” 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.  

Clearly the Pharisees were misrepresenting what Moses taught, as well as the intent of it. For God never commanded them, or anyone else to divorce their wives. For as the Lord Jesus Christ declares to them, “Moses, because of the hardness of your hearts, permitted you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so.” Again, by returning to the beginning of creation when God created man and woman, and thus the institution of marriage, the Lord Jesus Christ makes it clear that His desires and designs were never for anyone to divorce their spouse. The provision then that Moses allowed divorce and the Pharisees cited (Deut. 24:1-4) was not to be used by them or anyone else as a convenience, because the marriage institution is to picture the Lord’s relationship with His people (consider Ephesians 5:25-33). 

Vs. 9 ⁹ And I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery; and whoever marries her who is divorced commits adultery.” 

Therefore, in correcting the Pharisees misunderstanding and misuse of the Law of God the Lord Jesus Christ now makes it clear that divorcing one’s spouse so that they might marry another, as the Pharisees often abused that provision in the Law to do, is only to commit adultery against them. Therefore, divorcing one’s spouse except for sexual immorality so that one may marry another is only to commit adultery. Similarly, whoever marries her who is divorced commits adultery. Thus, by stating as much the Lord Jesus Christ clarifies for us all what constitutes just grounds for a divorce.

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

Now with the Lords teaching the Kingdoms Law on divorce the disciples are taking aback with it, and so in a moment of haste they say, “If such is the case of the man with his wife, it is better not to marry.” Now by saying as much their intent was that by remaining single one would be kept from sinning by not divorcing their wife. However, the Lord’s intent was not to forbid marriage in His Kingdom but to preserve its purity. Any teaching then that forbids marriage between a man and a woman who has not broken a previous marriage covenant is not of God (consider 1 Timothy 4:1-4; Hebrews 13:4). 

Vs. 11-12 ¹¹ But He said to them, “All cannot accept this saying, but only those to whom it has been given: ¹² For there are eunuchs 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.” 

In hearing the disciple’s hasty response about not marrying, the Lord Jesus now teaches about those who are eunuchs. Now a eunuch as a basic premise is an emasculated man. And so, the Lord Jesus makes it clear that there are eunuchs who were born that way, and there are eunuchs who were made eunuchs by men, (a practice often employed by ancient kings to those who were set over the harems). However, in His last example the Lord Jesus Christ picks upon what the disciples hastily asserted and says there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the Kingdom of heavens sake; that is there are men who by their own choice will not take a wife, and so they remain sexually undefiled by women for the Kingdom of heavens sake (see Rev. 14:4). Therefore, in concluding His teaching on this the Lord Jesus Christ says, “He who is able to accept it, let him accept it.” 

Vs. 13-15 ¹³ Then little children were brought to Him that He might put His hands on them and pray, but the disciples rebuked them. ¹⁴ But Jesus said, “Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of heaven.” ¹⁵ And He laid His hands on them and departed from there. 

It is at this point that little children are brought to the Lord Jesus so that He may put His hands on them (i.e. bless them) and pray for them. However, the disciples rebuke those who initially brought their children to Him; likely thinking they were only interrupting the Lord Jesus while He was teaching. However, Jesus is not at all offended by those who did so, and instead He says to them, “Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of heaven.” A wonderful picture of the innocence and the ease and approachableness that we will all enjoy with God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ in the Kingdom of heaven. And so when the children came to Jesus He laid His hands on them, letting them all experience the love and kindness of God for them all, and having done so Jesus departed from there. 

Scripture Quotations

The New King James Version. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1982.