Matthew 19

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 19:7

Why did Moses then command? If, as you assert, God ordained that marriage should be indissoluble, how comes it that Moses commanded ( ἐνετει ì λατο ) us to practise divorce, and prescribed rules as to its conduct? They are referring to Deuteronomy 24:1 , Deuteronomy 24:2 . Jesus had escaped the trap which was laid for him, and foiled them by the very words of Scripture and the plain intention of the first institution. But they see their way to opposing the authority of the great... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 19:8

Moses because of ( προ Ì ς , with a view to, to meet) the hardness of your hearts; your obstinacy, perverseness. You were not honest and pure enough to obey the primitive law. There was danger that you would ill treat your wives in order to get rid of them, or even murder them. The lesser evil was regular divorce. But the enactment is really a shame and reproach to you, and was occasioned by grave defects in your character and conduct. And it is not true to say that Moses ... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 19:9

And I say unto you. Our Lord here enunciates the law which was to obtain in his kingdom, which, indeed, was simply the reintroduction and enforcement of the primitive and natural ordinance. Except it be for fornication; εἰ μη Ì ἐπι Ì πορνει ì ᾳ : nisi ob fornicationem (Vulgate). This is the received reading. Tregelles, Tischendort; Westcott and Hort omit ει ). The parallel passage in St. Mark (where Christ is stated to have made the remark to his disciples "in the... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 19:10

His disciples say unto him. Our Lord appears to have repeated privately to the disciples what he had said publicly to the Pharisees. If the case ( ἡαἰτι ì α ) of the man be so with his wife. Some commentators take αἰτι ì α to signify guilt : "if such guilt appertains to the married state." But the meaning is plain enough anyway, and the word, as here used, corresponds to the Latin causa, and the Hebrew dibrah, which may denote "case," "condition," etc. The... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 19:11

Our Lord makes a gentle reply to this observation of the disciples concerning the inexpediency of marriage under some circumstances. You say true, he seems to mean, but all men cannot receive this saying; i . e . their words, "It is not good to marry." But he endorses these words in a different signification from theirs. Their objection to marry arose from the impossibility of putting away a wife for any cause. Christ passes over these ignoble scruples, and enunciates the only... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 19:11

Varieties in receptiveness. "All men cannot receive this saying." It is not quite clear to what the term "this saying" refers. It may be the rule laid down by our Lord in Matthew 19:9 . It may be the exclamation of the disciples in Matthew 19:10 . It may be that our Lord refers generally to marriage, and intends to say that the question of entering into the marriage state is one which each man must settle for himself, according to natural capacity, material circumstances, and cultured... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 19:12

Our Lord proceeds to note three classes of men to whom it is given to abstain from marriage. There are some eunuchs, which were so born. The first class consists of those who are physically unable to contract matrimony, or, having the power, lack the inclination. They are compulsorily continent, and are not voluntary abstainers. Neither is the second class: those which were made eunuchs of men. Such were common enough in the harems and courts of Orientals. The cruel and infamous treatment... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 19:13

Christ, having laid his blessing on marriage, now blesses its fruit. Then . This happened directly after the preceding conversation. Mothers were won to his side by his elevation of woman to her true position, and his marked tenderness to children. Little children ( παιδι ì α ). St. Luke calls them τα Ì βρε ì φη , "their infants." These were babes whom the mothers carried in their arms, and who were too young to understand the meaning and importance of the act of Christ in... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 19:13

The folk who are interested in the children. It is difficult for us to conceive of the good man who does not love flowers, song, spring time, and children. We might be quite sure that the "best of men who e'er wore earth about him" loved the children. But in the East all children are kept in the background; female children are despised by their fathers, and even male children are in the women's hands until quite big. So our Lord's interest in children seemed new and strange to his disciples.... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 19:13-15

Benediction of little children . ( Mark 10:13-16 ; Luke 18:15-17 .) read more

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 19:7

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 19:8

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 19:9

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 19:10

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 19:11

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 19:11

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 19:12

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 19:13

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 19:13

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 19:13-15

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