NOTES for Mat 19:1-15
1 And it came to pass, that when Jesus had finished these sayings, he departed from Galilee, and came into the coasts of Judaea beyond Jordan; |
2 And great multitudes followed him; and he healed them there. |
3 The Pharisees also came unto him, tempting him, and saying unto him, Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife for every cause? |
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, |
5 And said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh? |
6 Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder. |
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 because of the hardness of your hearts suffered you to put away your wives: but from the beginning it was not so. |
9 And I say unto you, Whosoever shall put away his wife, except it be for fornication, and shall marry another, committeth adultery: and whoso marrieth her which is put away doth commit adultery. |
10 His disciples say unto him, If the case of the man be so with his wife, it is not good to marry. |
11 But he said unto them, All men cannot receive this saying, save they to whom it is given. |
12 For there are some eunuchs, which were so born from their mother's womb: and there are some eunuchs, which were made eunuchs of men: and there be eunuchs, which have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven's sake. He that is able to receive it, let him receive it. |
13 Then were there brought unto him little children, that he should put his hands on them, and pray: and the disciples rebuked them. |
14 But Jesus said, Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven. |
15 And he laid his hands on them, and departed thence. |
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Let us notice that the question about divorce is asked by the Pharisees, who were used to clarifying legal subtleties. But from the subtleties of interpreting the law, Jesus brings them back to the meaning of the creation of man and woman, to the God-given possibility of their unity, which surpasses human legal arrangements. At the same time Christ notes that Moses' ruling on divorce was dictated by human reasons. In doing so He Himself testified that among what tradition has preserved there are also human elements. But they do not cancel the fact that, at its foundation, Revelation was given to us from above. And now Jesus proclaims the indissolubility of marriage as the norm established from the beginning.
In our time it is hard to accept these words and even harder to fulfill them. Marriages fall apart easily and are not regarded as permanent unions; even for many who come into the Church, it is already too late to keep the commandment of one marriage. Perhaps the words whoever is able to accept this, let him accept it may serve as consolation. But a merciful attitude toward those who cannot fulfill the commandment with complete precision does not cancel what has been established as the norm that was meant to prevail in the world.
It is hard to understand why the disciples tried to keep children from coming to Christ. Perhaps they thought that only adults, people capable of understanding His words, dared come to the Teacher. But He can become close to every age.
Christ's call to let the children come to Him and not hinder them answers the question of when Christian upbringing and entry into the Church can begin. There is no need to wait for the age of conscious understanding; He loves us from the womb and can reveal Himself to us at any age.
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