Verse-by-Verse Commentary
The Book of Matthew
Chapter 19: What God Hath Joined Together
Matthew 19 turns from Galilee toward Jerusalem and takes up some of the hardest questions of the human heart. The Pharisees test Jesus on divorce, and He answers by carrying them back past Moses to the beginning, to God's own design: 'they twain shall be one flesh... What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.' He receives the little children the disciples would have turned away, for 'of such is the kingdom of heaven.' Then a rich young man comes seeking eternal life, keeps the commandments outwardly, yet cannot part with his possessions, and 'went away sorrowful.' Jesus warns how hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom, 'easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle,' yet gives the great hope: 'with God all things are possible.' To those who have left all to follow Him He promises a hundredfold and everlasting life. The chapter honors God's order for marriage and the family, exposes the grip of riches on the heart, and holds out the surpassing worth of following Christ.
About This Commentary
This is a verse-by-verse study of Matthew chapter 19. For each section you will find the KJV text, word studies that sharpen the meaning, plain explanation, and a Gospel Focus. Here Jesus upholds God's design for marriage, welcomes the little children, and meets the rich young ruler. Every Scripture quotation is from the King James Version.
Setting the Stage
One Flesh from the Beginning
Jesus carries marriage back to God's creation order, before Moses' concession.
Of Such Is the Kingdom
He forbids none, and lays His hands on the little ones brought to Him.
He Went Away Sorrowful
A moral, earnest young man loves his riches more than eternal life.
An Hundredfold
Those who leave all for Christ receive far more, and everlasting life.
Let Not Man Put Asunder (Matthew 19:1-15)
Jesus grounds marriage in God's creation design and welcomes the little ones the disciples would have turned away.
They Twain Shall Be One Flesh
"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; And great multitudes followed him; and he healed them there. 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? And he answered and said unto them, Have ye 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 twain shall be one flesh? Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath 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 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. 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. His disciples say unto him, If the case of the man be so with his wife, it is not good to marry. But he said unto them, All men cannot receive this saying, save they to whom it is given. 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. Then were there brought unto him little children, that he should put his hands on them, and pray: and the disciples rebuked them. But Jesus said, Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven. And he laid his hands on them, and departed thence."
Word Study
"joined together," Greek sunezeuxen (συνέζευξεν). The word means to yoke together, to join as two are joined under one yoke. Marriage, Jesus teaches, is not a mere human contract to be dissolved "for every cause," but a joining that God Himself performs: "What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder." The union of husband and wife into "one flesh" is God's own work and God's own design "from the beginning." Because God does the joining, no man has the right lightly to break it.
Explanation
Questioned about divorce, Jesus reaches back past Moses' concession to creation itself: "from the beginning" God made them male and female and joined them into "one flesh," and "what therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder." Marriage is not a human arrangement to be dissolved at will but a divine welding. The disciples, startled at the weight of it, hear that some are called to celibacy "for the kingdom of heaven's sake." And when children are brought, Jesus rebukes those who would shoo them away: "of such is the kingdom of heaven," for the kingdom belongs to the dependent and small.
Gospel Focus
The Pharisees come "tempting" Jesus with a hotly disputed question: "Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife for every cause?" Rather than take sides in their debate, Jesus lifts the whole matter back to its foundation. "Have ye not read, that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female"? Marriage is not a shifting human custom but the Creator's design, given at the beginning: a man and a woman, leaving and cleaving, becoming "one flesh." And the binding word: "What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder." When they press Him with Moses' permission of a "writing of divorcement," Jesus draws the crucial distinction: Moses "because of the hardness of your hearts suffered you to put away your wives: but from the beginning it was not so." God's permission of divorce under the law was a concession to human sin, not His design or His will. His will is the lifelong, one-flesh union of the beginning. This is a weighty and tender subject, and Jesus treats it with both clarity and honesty. He upholds the sanctity and permanence of marriage as God's gift and God's joining; He does not pretend the brokenness caused by sin does not exist, but neither does He lower the standard to accommodate it. His disciples, sobered, wonder whether it is better not to marry at all, and Jesus acknowledges that some, for the kingdom's sake, are given a single life, "he that is able to receive it, let him receive it." Then, fittingly, in a passage about marriage and the home, "little children" are brought to Him. The disciples rebuke those who bring them, but Jesus overrules: "Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven." The Lord who designed marriage delights in the children it brings, and He welcomes the small and the lowly, laying His hands on them in blessing. Here is the God who honors the family He created, guards the covenant of marriage, and gathers the little ones to Himself.
What Lack I Yet? (Matthew 19:16-22)
An earnest, moral young man asks the way to life, but goes away sorrowful when Christ touches his treasure.
He Went Away Sorrowful
"And, behold, one came and said unto him, Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life? And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments. He saith unto him, Which? Jesus said, Thou shalt do no murder, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Honour thy father and thy mother: and, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. The young man saith unto him, All these things have I kept from my youth up: what lack I yet? Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me. But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions."
Word Study
"good," Greek agathos (ἀγαθός). The young man calls Jesus "Good Master," and Jesus replies, "Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God." He is not denying His own goodness or His deity; He is pressing the young man to weigh his own words. If only God is truly good, and you rightly call Me good, then consider who I am. The question is a door, not a disclaimer. Standing before the ruler is the one good God come in flesh, and the young man's easy compliment hides how little he has grasped of the One he is speaking to.
Explanation
The rich young ruler asks what good thing he must do to have eternal life, and Jesus probes his word "good": "there is none good but one, that is, God." He is not denying His own goodness but inviting the man to reckon with whom he is addressing -- if Jesus is good, and only God is good, then who is Jesus? The commandments the man claims to have kept expose nothing until Jesus names his true god: "sell that thou hast... and come and follow me." He goes away sorrowful, for his wealth owned him. The one thing he lacked was the willingness to let Christ be first.
Gospel Focus
Here is one of the saddest scenes in the Gospels: a promising seeker who comes so near and turns away. The young man is earnest, respectful, and morally upright, "all these things have I kept from my youth up." He runs to the right person and asks the right question, "what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life?" Yet his very question betrays his error: he thinks eternal life is earned by some "good thing" he can do. Jesus first tests his word "good", "there is none good but one, that is, God", to make him reckon with who is standing before him and with the true measure of goodness. Then, meeting the young man where he is, on the ground of the commandments, Jesus lists the second table of the law. The young man claims to have kept them all, and still feels the lack: "what lack I yet?" His conscience knows something is missing. So Jesus lays His finger on the one thing that ruled his heart: "go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor... and come and follow me." This was not a general rule that every believer must sell everything, but the exact test this man needed. His riches were his god, and no one can serve both God and money. Would he give up his treasure to gain the true treasure, Christ Himself? "He went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions." Notice, it was not that his possessions were so great, but that they had such a hold on him; he did not so much own them as they owned him. He wanted eternal life, but he wanted his wealth more. This is the searching lesson of the passage: it is possible to be moral, sincere, religious, and even drawn to Christ, and still be lost, because one thing is held back from Him. Christ will be Lord of all or not at all. What is the "one thing" you are clutching that keeps you from wholly following Him? Whatever it is, it is a poor exchange for eternal life and for Christ.
With God All Things Are Possible (Matthew 19:23-30)
Riches make the kingdom hard to enter, yet God can save the impossible, and all who leave everything for Christ gain a hundredfold.
Every One That Hath Forsaken... Shall Receive an Hundredfold
"Then said Jesus unto his disciples, Verily I say unto you, That a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven. And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God. When his disciples heard it, they were exceedingly amazed, saying, Who then can be saved? But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible. Then answered Peter and said unto him, Behold, we have forsaken all, and followed thee; what shall we have therefore? And Jesus said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That ye which have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. And every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name's sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life. But many that are first shall be last; and the last shall be first."
Word Study
"the regeneration," Greek palingenesia (παλιγγενεσία). The word means a new birth, a making-again, a renewal. Here it points to the great renewal of all things when "the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory", the restored, glorified world of the age to come. The same word is used of the new birth of the believer (Titus 3:5). Both are God's work of making new: He who renews the individual by His Spirit will one day renew the whole creation, and His faithful people will share in that glory.
Explanation
Jesus states the near-impossibility bluntly -- easier for a camel to pass through a needle's eye than for a rich man to enter the kingdom -- because riches breed a self-sufficiency that cannot receive grace. The astonished disciples ask, "Who then can be saved?" and the answer opens the only door: "with men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible." Salvation is God's work, not man's achievement. To Peter's question about their forsaking all, Jesus promises a hundredfold return and eternal life, while warning that "many that are first shall be last" -- the kingdom overturns every earthly ranking.
Gospel Focus
The young man's sorrowful departure prompts a sobering word: "a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven." Then the vivid picture, "It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle," the largest beast through the smallest opening, an image of impossibility. Riches are dangerous not because money is evil in itself, but because it so easily becomes a rival god, breeding self-sufficiency and choking out dependence on the Lord. The disciples are stunned, "Who then can be saved?", for if the blessed, respectable rich cannot make it, what hope is there for anyone? Jesus lifts their eyes to the only hope there is: "With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible." No one, rich or poor, saves himself; salvation is the work of God, who can break the grip of any idol and give a new heart. Here is grace: the very thing man cannot do, God does. Then Peter, contrasting himself with the ruler who kept his goods, asks, "we have forsaken all, and followed thee; what shall we have therefore?" Jesus does not rebuke the question but answers it with lavish promise. In "the regeneration," the renewal of all things, the apostles will share Christ's glory; and "every one that hath forsaken" home or family or lands "for my name's sake" shall "receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life." What we give up for Christ is never loss but the best of investments; He is no man's debtor. Yet He ends with a warning against pride even in sacrifice: "many that are first shall be last; and the last shall be first." It is not the outward reckoning of who gave up most, but the heart that follows Christ, that God rewards. The rich young ruler kept his treasure and lost his soul; the disciples lost their all and gained Christ, a hundredfold, and life everlasting. Which trade will you make?
Chapter 19 in Review
Matthew 19 takes up marriage, children, riches, and the cost of following Christ. Tested on divorce, Jesus carries the question back past Moses to God's design "from the beginning": male and female, "one flesh," a union God Himself joins, so "let not man put asunder." Moses' permission of divorce was a concession to "the hardness of your hearts," not God's will. He welcomes the little children the disciples would turn away, "of such is the kingdom of heaven." Then a rich young man, moral and earnest, asks the way to life but "went away sorrowful" when Christ asked for his treasure. Jesus warns that it is "easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle" than for a rich man to enter the kingdom, yet gives the great hope, "with God all things are possible," and promises "an hundredfold" and everlasting life to all who leave everything for His name.
For the Apostolic reader the chapter honors God's order and exposes the heart. Marriage is God's creation and God's joining, to be held sacred and permanent; the family and its children are precious to the Lord who made them. The rich young ruler stands as a solemn warning that morality, sincerity, and religious interest are not enough: Christ must be Lord of all, and whatever we clutch above Him, be it wealth or anything else, will keep us out of the kingdom. Yet the chapter is finally full of hope, for salvation is God's own impossible-with-men work, and no sacrifice made for Christ is ever a loss. He gives back a hundredfold now and everlasting life to come. The passage sets before every reader the same choice the young man faced: to hold our treasure and go away sorrowful, or to let it go and follow the good Master, who is Himself the treasure and the life.
- Marriage is God's creation design and God's joining; His will is a permanent, one-flesh union (19:4-6).
- Moses' permission of divorce was a concession to human sin, not God's original will (19:8).
- Jesus welcomes the little children: "of such is the kingdom of heaven" (19:14).
- Morality and sincerity are not enough; Christ must be Lord even of our treasure (19:21-22).
- Salvation is impossible for man but possible for God, who breaks every idol's grip (19:26).
- Whatever is forsaken for Christ's name is repaid a hundredfold, with everlasting life (19:29).
Questions for Reflection
- Do you hold marriage as God's sacred joining, or as a human arrangement of convenience?
- What is the "one thing" you are clutching that keeps you from wholly following Christ?
- Are you trusting your own goodness for life, or the God who alone is good?
- Do you believe that whatever you surrender to Christ, He repays a hundredfold?
References & Sources
Scripture is quoted from the King James Version (KJV). Supporting passages are listed so every claim can be verified in its own setting. God's design for marriage from the beginning: Genesis 1:27; 2:24. Moses' writing of divorcement: Deuteronomy 24:1-4. The regeneration and new birth: Titus 3:5; Acts 3:21. Riches and the heart: 1 Timothy 6:9-10, 17; Matthew 6:24. If anything here does not look right, a verse, a reference, or a wording, please tell us at info@FruitBearers.net. Thank you for helping us keep Bible Learning error free.
- Marriage, divorce, and the little children: Matthew 19:1-15; Mark 10:1-16; Genesis 1:27; 2:24; Deuteronomy 24:1-4.
- The rich young ruler: Matthew 19:16-22; Mark 10:17-22; Luke 18:18-23.
- The cost and reward of discipleship: Matthew 19:23-30; Mark 10:23-31; Luke 18:24-30; Titus 3:5.