Matthew 19:12 Commentary and Bible Study

The Lord identifies three types of eunuchs. There are congenital eunuchs; there are those who are castrated and made eunuchs by human hand; and there are those who make themselves eunuchs in order that they may better serve God. It is the last of these three that he was referring to when he said that the disciples’ saying about not marrying should be received only by those to whom it is given. These are not literal eunuchs but metaphorical eunuchs in that they have forfeited marriage and its happiness in order the better to serve God. Such, we believe, was the apostle Paul who said, ‘Nevertheless, to avoid fornication, let every man have his own wife … ⁶ But I speak this by permission, and not of commandment. ⁷ For I would that all men were even as I myself. But every man hath his proper gift of God, one after this manner, and another after that. ⁸ I say therefore to the unmarried and widows, It is good for them if they abide even as I. ⁹ But if they cannot contain, let them marry’ (1 Corinthians 7:2-9). Here is the noblest of reasons for being a eunuch, but not all have this gift, and for one who does not have it to attempt to be such a eunuch is to expose himself to excess temptation. The danger is of course strong desire that leads to fornication, and this Paul has mentioned. But one reason that the Lord does not include for becoming a eunuch is the one the disciples have suggested: because the marriage bond is indissoluble. That should not even been raised as a problem in the minds of those who are brought together by the Lord in Christian marriage. If it does suggest itself, it should be put out of mind straight away.