All Men Cannot Receive This Saying - Matthew 19:11

Matthew the apostle wrote how, “The Pharisees also came unto” Jesus” tempting him, and saying unto him, Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife for every cause?And he answered and said unto them, Have you not read, that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female. And said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they two shall be one flesh? Wherefore they are no more two, but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man put asunder. They say unto him, Why did Moses then command to give a writing of divorcement, and to put her away? He said 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. And I say unto you, Whosoever shall put away his wife, except it be for fornication, and shall marry another, commits adultery: and whoso marries her which is put away does commit adultery. His disciples say unto him, If the case of the man be so with his wife, it is not good to marry”, and in chapter nineteen and verse eleven of his book, Matthew shares how Jesus responded, “all men cannot receive this saying” where we read:

But he said unto them, All men cannot receive this saying, save they to whom it is given.

The verse reads, “But he said unto them, All men cannot receive this saying, ...”. Matthew began with the words, “but” or “moreover and” “he said” which means “Jesus uttered, declared and proclaimed” “unto them” or “to Jesus' disciples”, “all men” which means “each, every and the whole of men” “cannot receive” or “are incapable of going forward, advancing, proceeding and succeeding in” “this saying” which means “the idea that it is not good to marry”. Matthew shared how Jesus told His disciples not every man was able to abide by the idea of not being married.

The verse goes on to say, “... save they to whom it is given.” Matthew continued with the words, “save they to whom” or “except for and rather to the men” “it is given” or “the capability is granted, supplied, furnished and delivered”. Matthew wrote how Jesus said the ability to remain unmarried was only given to a certain group of men.

When we consider Matthew's words in this verse, we see how Jesus knew that marriage is for most men, and because of this, they are not able to remain “unmarried”. God has given some men the ability to remain single, and they can abide by this idea, but this is not for every man. God knows people, and His desire is to have a relationship with every one of them through His Son Jesus. When people align with God's way of salvation, whether they marry or remain single, their lives are lived according to God's purpose and plan.

Next time Matthew shares how Jesus talks about, “eunuchs”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.

Until tomorrow…there is more…

Look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County" in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore.