Matthew 19:11

But he said unto them, All men cannot receive this saying, save they to whom it is given. BUT HE SAID UNTO THEM, ALL MEN CANNOT RECEIVE THIS SAYING, SAVE THEY TO WHOM IT IS GIVEN: - q.d., '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....

11._All are not capable of receiving this saying. _By this he means, that the choice is not placed in our hands, as if we were to deliberate on a matter submitted to us. If any man thinks it advantageous for him to want a wife, and, without making any inquiry, lays upon himself an obligation to celibacy, (606) he is widely mistaken. God, who has declared it to be good that a man should have a woman to be his helper, will punish the contempt of his own appointment; for mortals take too much on themselves, when they endeavor to exempt themselves from the heavenly calling. But Christ proves that it is not free to all to make what choice they please, because the gift of continence is a special gift; for when he says _that all are not capable of receiving it, but those to whom it is given_, he plainly shows that it was not given to all. And this reproves the pride of those who do not hesitate...

3-12 The Pharisees were desirous of drawing something from Jesus which they might represent as contrary to the law of Moses. Cases about marriage have been numerous, and sometimes perplexed; made so, not by the law of God, but by the lusts and follies of men; and often people fix what they will do, before they ask for advice. Jesus replied by asking whether they had not read the account of the creation, and the first example of marriage; thus pointing out that every departure therefrom was wrong. That condition is best for us, and to be chosen and kept to accordingly, which is best for our souls, and tends most to prepare us for, and preserve us to, the kingdom of heaven. When the gospel is really embraced, it makes men kind relatives and faithful friends; it teaches them to bear the burdens, and to bear with the infirmities of those with whom they are connected, to consider their peace...

Verse Matthew 19:11. _ALL - CANNOT RECEIVE THIS SAYING_] A very wise answer, and well suited to the present circumstances of the disciples. _Neither_ of the states is condemned. If thou marry, thou dost well-this is according to the order, will, and commandment of God. But if thou do not marry, (because of the present necessity, persecution, worldly embarrassments, or bodily infirmity,) thou dost better. See 1 Corinthians 7:25....

ALL MEN CANNOT RECEIVE THIS SAYING - The minds of people are not prepared for this. This saying evidently means what the disciples had just said that it was good for a man not to marry. It might be good in certain circumstances - in times of persecution and trial, or for the sake of laboring in the cause of religion without the care and burden of a family. It might be good for many to live, as some of the apostles did, without marriage, but it was not given to all people, 1Co 7:1, 1 Corinthians 7:7,1 Corinthians 7:9. To be married, or unmarried, might be lawful, according to circumstances, 1 Corinthians 7:26....

EXPOSITION MATTHEW 19:1 _The beginning of the last journey to Jerusalem_._ The question concerning divorce_._ _(Mark 10:1.) MATTHEW 19:1 WHEN JESUS HAD FINISHED THESE SAYINGS. This is the beginning of a new section of the history, commencing, as usual, with the formulary, AND IT CAME TO PASS. "These sayings" must refer to what was recorded in Matthew 18:1. But St. Matthew's narrative omits many events that happened in the interval between the account of the Galilaean ministry and the history of these last days, that i

BUT HE SAID UNTO THEM,.... With respect to the inference or conclusion, the disciples formed from what he had asserted: ALL MEN CANNOT RECEIVE THIS SAYING; of their's, that it is not good to marry, but it is more proper and expedient to live a single life! every man, as the Syriac version renders it, is not ספק לה, "sufficient", or "fit", for this thing; everyone has not the gift of continency, and indeed very few; and therefore it is expedient for such to marry; for what the disciples said, though it might be true in part, yet not in the whole; and though the saying might be proper and pertinent enough to some persons, yet not to all, and indeed to none, SAVE THEY TO WHOM IT IS GIVEN; to receive such a saying, to live unmarried with content, having the gift of chastity; for this is not of nature, but of grace: it is the gift of God....

MATTHEW 19:11 to.n lo,gon @tou/ton# {C} On the one hand, since the general tendency of scribes is to make the text more explicit, e.g. by adding the demonstrative pronoun, the shorter reading, supported by B ¦1 and several early versions, has a certain presumption in its favor. On the other hand, however, the ambiguity of the reference of tou/ton in the context — does it refer to the deduction made by the disciples (ver. Matthew 19:11), or to the preceding exposition of Jesus (verses Matthew 19:4-9)? — may have prompted some scrib...

7. DEPARTURE FROM GALILEE. Concerning Divorce. Little Children Blessed and the Rich Young Man. CHAPTER 19 _ 1. The Departure from Galilee. (Matthew 19:1 .) 2. Concerning Divorce. (Matthew 19:3 .) 3. The Blessing of Little Children. (Matthew 19:13 .) 4. The Rich Young Man. (Matthew 19:16 .) 5. The Rewards in the Kingdom. (Matthew 19:27 .)_ In the first part of the nineteenth chapter we find a continuation of teachings concerning the kingdom. This, we repeat, is not the same kingdom promised to Israel, as it w

THE QUESTION OF DIVORCE (Mark 10:1 *). In Matthew 19:2 healed replaces Mk.'s taught. Mt. makes Jesus give His own opinion, based on Gen., at once, and it is the Pharisees who bring the Deuteronomic modification into the debate. MATTHEW 19:3. FOR EVERY CAUSE: peculiar to Mt. Mk. makes the questions as to divorce absolute; Mt. gives it a Jewish and more likely form, having in mind the difference between the view of Shammai that a man could put his wife away for serious misconduct _only,_ and that of Hillel that he could do so for any reason, _e.g._ a spoiled dinner or a physical defect. Jesus lifts the subject out of these quibbles to an ideal plane. Note how ...