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Matthew 19:1. When Jesus finished these words, he left Galilee and came to the borders of Judea, on the Trans-Jordan side. Matthew 19:2. Many people followed Him and He healed them there. The Lord comes again to Judea so that the unbelieving inhabitants of Judea would not have an excuse to justify themselves by saying that He visited the Galileans more often than them. So, after the teaching, at the end of the conversation, miracles again follow. For we must both teach and do. However, the foolish Pharisees, while they should have believed at the sight of miracles, tempt Him. Listen: Matthew 19:3. And the Pharisees came to Him and, tempting Him, said to Him: Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any reason? Matthew 19:4. He answered them: Have you not read that He who created in the beginning created man and woman (Gen. 1:27)? Matthew 19:5. And he 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, Matthew 19:6. so that they are no longer two, but one flesh. So, what God has joined together, let no man separate. Oh, the madness of the Pharisees! With such questions they thought to block the mouth of Christ. Namely, if He had said: it is permissible to divorce a wife for any reason, they could object to Him: how did You say before that no one should divorce, except from an adulterous wife? And if He said: it is completely impermissible to divorce your wife, then they thought to accuse Him of contradicting Moses, for the latter allowed the removal of his hated wife without a plausible reason. What about Christ? It shows that monogamy was ordained by our Creator from the very beginning. “In the beginning,” says Christ, “God united one husband with one wife, therefore one husband should not be united with many wives, nor one wife with many husbands, but as they were united from the beginning, they should remain so, without dissolving cohabitation without a reason.” In order not to amaze the Pharisees, Christ does not say: “I” created man and woman, but says vaguely: “He who created.” So, according to Him, God is so pleased with marriage that for its sake He even allowed parents to leave in order to cleave to their spouse. Well, now in the book of Genesis it is written that the words: “For this reason shall a man leave his father and mother,” said Adam, and here Christ says that God Himself said: “Therefore he will forsake,” etc. We affirm: what Adam said, he said at the inspiration of God, so that the word of Adam is the word of God. But if Adam and Eve, as a result of natural love and copulation, became one flesh, then just as it is criminal to cut one’s own flesh, it is just as unlawful to separate spouses. The Lord did not say: “Let not Moses separate,” so as not to outrage the Pharisees, but said in general: “Let not man separate,” expressing the great distance between God who united and the man who separates. Matthew 19:7. They say to Him: How did Moses command to give a letter of divorce and divorce her? Matthew 19:8. He says to them: Moses, because of your hardness of heart, allowed you to divorce your wives, but at first it was not so; Matthew 19:9. but I say to you: whoever divorces his wife for reasons other than adultery and marries another commits adultery; and he who marries a divorced woman commits adultery. The Pharisees, seeing that the Lord had stopped their mouths, were forced to refer to Moses, who in his instructions seemed to contradict Christ. They say: how did Moses command to give a letter of divorce and get a divorce? But the Lord, turning every accusation on their head, defends Moses and says: Moses, giving such a law, does not contradict God; He made such a decree because of your hardness of heart, so that you, due to your moral licentiousness, intending to marry other wives, would not begin to destroy your first wives. Indeed, being cruel, the Jews would go so far as to kill their wives if the law forced them to live with them. In view of this, Moses decreed: let wives hated by their spouses receive a divorce document. But I,” the Lord continues, “tell you: it is good to divorce only a criminal, adulterous wife; when someone drives away a wife who has not fallen into fornication, he will be guilty if she begins to commit adultery. It can also be understood this way: “he who is united with the Lord is one spirit with the Lord” (1 Cor. 6:17). In this regard, there is a certain combination of the believer with Christ, since we have all become one body with Him and constitute members of Christ. In fact, no one can dissolve this union, just as Paul says: “Who once separates us from the love of Christ?” (Rom.8:35). For what God has joined together, “neither man, nor any other creature, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers,” as Paul says (Rom. 8:38–39), can separate. Matthew 19:10. His disciples tell Him: if such is a man’s duty to his wife, then it is better not to marry. The disciples were confused and said: if a husband and wife are united in order to remain undissolved for life, so that the husband should not drive away his wife, even if she is evil, then it is better not to marry. It is easier not to marry and fight natural lusts than to endure an evil wife. Christ calls the “duty of man” the indissoluble marital union. Some interpreters, however, understand it this way: if such is a person’s fault, that is, if a husband, illegally driving away his wife, is subject to censure and condemnation, then it is better not to marry. Matthew 19:11. He said to them, “Not everyone can receive this word, but to those who have it, Since the disciples said that it is better not to marry, the Lord says that although virginity is a great thing, not everyone can preserve it, but only those whom God helps. The word “given” here stands for “to whom God helps.” It is given to those who ask, as it is said: “Ask, and it will be given to you.” Everyone who asks receives." Matthew 19:12. for there are eunuchs who were born like this from their mother’s womb; and there are eunuchs who are castrated from people; and there are eunuchs who made themselves eunuchs for the Kingdom of Heaven. Whoever can contain it, let him contain it. The Lord says: the virtue of virginity is accessible to few. “There are eunuchs from their mother’s womb,” that is, there are people who, by the very structure of their nature, do not experience attraction to women: their chastity has no value. There are, further, those who are castrated by people. Those who castrate themselves for the Kingdom of Heaven are not those who cut off their ouds - no, this is cursed - but those who have abstinence. Understand this: there is an eunuch by nature - a person who, according to his natural structure, is not excited to lust. The one who, as a result of the instruction of other people, has removed, as if cut out, the kindling of carnal lust, is castrated by people; one who castrates himself is a person who has inclined toward chastity not by the instructions of others, but by his own disposition. This last one is the most perfect: he was not brought by anyone else to the Kingdom of Heaven, but he himself came to it. The Lord, wanting us to voluntarily practice the virtue of virginity, says: “Whoever can accommodate, let him accommodate.” He does not force virginity and does not despise marriage; He just prefers virginity. Matthew 19:13. Then the children were brought to Him so that He could lay His hands on them and pray; the disciples rebuked them. Matthew 19:14. But Jesus said: Let the little children come and do not hinder them from coming to Me, for to such is the Kingdom of Heaven. Mothers brought children so that their children would receive blessings through the touch of His hands. But women and children approached in disorder and with noise, and therefore the disciples did not allow them. In addition, the disciples believed that the dignity of their Teacher could be humiliated if they offered children. But Christ, showing that the one in whom there is no guile is more pleasing to Him, says: “Let in the children, for of such is the Kingdom of Heaven.” He did not say “these,” but “such,” that is, simple, innocent, non-evil. Therefore, if even now Christians come to any teacher, offering children’s questions, then the teacher should not remove them from himself, but should accept them. Matthew 19:15. And laying his hands on them, he went away from there. Matthew 19:16. And so, someone came up and said to Him: Good Teacher! What good thing can I do to have eternal life? Matthew 19:17. He said to him: Why do you call Me good? No one is good except God alone. This man approached not with the goal of tempting Christ, but with the goal of receiving instruction, since he thirsted for eternal life. Only he approached Christ as a simple man, and not as God. That is why the Lord says to him: “Why do you call Me good? No one is good except God alone,” that is, if you call Me good, while at the same time considering Me to be an ordinary teacher, then you are mistaken: in reality, none of the people are good. Firstly, we very easily shy away from goodness, and secondly, human kindness itself in comparison with the goodness of God is nothing more than malice. If you want to enter eternal life, keep the commandments. Matthew 19:18. He says to Him: which ones? Jesus said: Do not kill; Thou shalt not commit adultery; don't steal; do not bear false witness; Matthew 19:19. honor your father and mother; and: love your neighbor as yourself. The Lord refers the questioner to the commandments of the law, so that the Jews could not say that He despises the law. So what? Matthew 19:20. The young man says to Him: I have kept all this from my youth; what else am I missing? Some condemn this young man as a boastful and vain person. How, they say, did he love his neighbor perfectly while he remained rich? He who loves his neighbor as himself cannot be richer than his neighbor. A neighbor is every person. Others understand it this way: suppose that I kept all this: then what else would I be missing? Matthew 19:21. Jesus said to him: if you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor; and you will have treasure in heaven; and come and follow Me. Matthew 19:22. Hearing this word, the young man went away sad, because he had great possessions. What, he says, you did according to your words, you did only in the Jewish way. If you want to be perfect, that is, My disciple and Christian, then go, sell your property and immediately give everything away, leaving nothing behind under the pretext that you want to constantly give alms. He did not say: “give to the poor,” but “give everything and become poor.” Then, since others, although merciful, lead a life full of all uncleanness, Christ says: “and come and follow Me,” that is, have all the other virtues. But the young man was saddened. Although he desired, although the soil of his heart was deep and rich, the seed of the word of the Lord was suppressed by the thorns of wealth, “for,” the evangelist notes, “he had great possessions.” He who has little is less bound by the bonds of property, but the greater the wealth, the stronger the shackles it imposes. Also: since the Lord was talking to the rich man, he said: “You will have treasure in heaven,” if you are already a lover of wealth. Matthew 19:23. Jesus said to His disciples: Truly I say to you, it is difficult for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of Heaven; Matthew 19:24. Again I tell you: it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God. A rich man will not enter the Kingdom of Heaven while he is rich and has excess, while others do not have what they need. But when the rich man shakes off everything and thus enters the Kingdom of Heaven, he will no longer enter rich. It is just as impossible for one who has much to enter, just as it is impossible for a camel to go through the eye of a needle. Look how Christ said above: “it is difficult to enter,” but here he says that it is completely impossible. Some people by camel do not mean an animal, but a thick rope that sailors use when throwing anchors. Matthew 19:25. Hearing this, His disciples were greatly amazed and said: So who can be saved? Matthew 19:26. And Jesus looked up and said to them: With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible. The philanthropic disciples ask not for themselves, for they themselves were poor, but for all people. The Lord teaches us to measure the work of salvation not by human weakness, but by the power of God. If someone begins to avoid greed, then, with the help of God, he will first succeed in cutting off what is superfluous, and then he will reach the point where he will spend what is necessary on the poor; so God’s help will lead him in a good way to the Kingdom of Heaven. Matthew 19:27. Then Peter answered and said to Him: Behold, we have left everything and followed You; what will happen to us? Although Peter, being poor, apparently did not leave anything big, know that in fact he also left a lot. We humans can be strongly attached to little things. Peter neglected everything pleasant in the world, even suppressed natural love for his parents. These passions fight not only against the rich, but also against the poor. What about the Lord? Matthew 19:28. Jesus said to them, “Truly I say to you, that you who have followed Me, in the regeneration, when the Son of Man sits on the throne of His glory, you also will sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. Will they really sit down? No: the Lord designated a special honor by the manner of sitting. But will Judas also sit down? Again, no: this is said about those who followed, that is, remained faithful to Christ to the end, but Judas did not remain so. God promises benefits to those who are worthy, but when these people change and become unworthy, these benefits are taken away. The same thing happens with disasters: God sometimes threatens us with disasters, but does not send them if we change. By “rebirth” we mean resurrection. Matthew 19:29. And whoever leaves houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands for My name’s sake will receive a hundredfold and will inherit eternal life. Lest anyone think that what was said above concerns only the disciples, the Lord extended the promise to all who act like His disciples. And they, instead of relatives according to the flesh, will have property and brotherhood in Christ, instead of fields - paradise, instead of stone houses - the heavenly Jerusalem, instead of a father - the elders in the church, instead of a mother - old women, instead of a wife - all faithful wives, not by marriage - no, but by spiritual love and care for them. But the Lord does not necessarily command you to separate from your family, but only when they interfere with a pious life. In the same way, He commands to neglect soul and body, and not in the sense that one must kill oneself. Look how God, being good, not only returns to us what we have abandoned, but in addition gives us eternal life. Try to sell your property and give it to the poor. And the property of an angry person is his anger, for an adulterer his adulterous inclination, for a vindictive person his memory of malice, etc. Sell it and give it to the poor, that is, to demons who have nothing good. Return your passions to the perpetrators of passions and then you will have treasure, that is, Christ, in heaven, that is, in your mind, which has risen to heights. You can have heaven within you if you become like the One who is above all heavens. Matthew 19:30. But many who are first will be last, and those who are last will be first. Here Christ points to Jews and Gentiles. Those who were first became last, and the Gentiles who were last became first. So that you clearly understand what is being said, He adapts the following parable to this.