19:1 came into the region of Judea Jesus may have taken a path that goes around Samaria to reach Judaea.

19:3 Pharisees See note on John 1:24.

in order to test him Their real intention is to discredit Jesus by getting Him to contradict what Moses taught about divorce (compare Matt 16:1; 22:18, 35).

for a man to divorce his wife The Pharisees themselves had different interpretations of the law on divorce. The school of Hillel interpreted Deut 24:1 loosely and taught that Moses permitted divorce for any reason. The school of Shammai followed a stricter interpretation that allowed divorce only in cases of adultery. Compare Deut 24:1–4 and note.

19:4 male and female Jesus refers to the creation account (Gen 1:27).

19:5 the two will become one flesh Jesus appeals to Gen 2:24 to teach that God intended marriage to be permanent.

19:7 Why then did Moses command us At first, Jesus seems to be prohibiting all divorce, so the Pharisees invoke Moses’ law as justification for divorce. See Deut 24.

19:8 hardness of heart Jesus is saying that Moses made a concession due to the sinful attitude of their Jewish ancestors.

19:9 except on the basis of sexual immorality Jesus allows for divorce—the tearing of a union made by God (Matt 19:6)—when someone is sexually unfaithful. To Jesus, divorce is never desirable. However, Jesus (and Moses before Him) recognized that human sinfulness can irrevocably damage a marriage.

marries another Jesus seems to be addressing Deut 24:1, which speaks of a wife losing favor in her husband’s eyes and then being divorced. Men might have been misusing this passage in Jesus’ lifetime, as the Pharisees’ questions seem to imply (Matt 19:3, 7). Thus, Jesus likely is speaking about divorces that are based on the wrong reasons—such as a man choosing to divorce his wife so that he can be with another woman without committing adultery. The purpose of Jesus’ statement is to emphasize that divorce goes against God’s intention for marriage. He likely means that divorce for sinful reasons is the equivalent of adultery.

19:12 eunuchs who were born as such Refers to men who cannot reproduce due to a physical defect.

who were made eunuchs by people Refers in this instance to castration, whether intentional or accidental. In the ancient Near East, some slaves or palace officials would be castrated so that they could not sleep with the master’s wife (or wives) or women in his harem. See note on Esth 1:10.

have made themselves eunuchs Refers metaphorically to a voluntary decision to remain single and sexually abstinent. Jesus is not prescribing mutilation of the genitalia, as that would involve destroying God’s creation. Compare 1 Cor 7:8–9.

19:14 to such belongs the kingdom of heaven Compare Matt 18:3–4.

19:16 eternal life Describes life in the kingdom of the Messiah, which starts now but extends forever (compare John 3:16–17).

19:17 Why are you asking me about what is good God already had defined what is good when He gave the Israelites the 10 commandments.

one who is good Refers to God, the giver of the commandments.

19:18 Which ones Jesus responds with a representative sampling of the 10 commandments (see Exod 20:2–17), to which he adds the command about loving one’s neighbor (Lev 19:18).

do not commit murder See Exod 20:13.

do not commit adultery See Exod 20:14.

do not steal See Exod 20:15.

do not give false testimony See Exod 20:16.

19:19 honor your father and your mother See Exod 20:12.

love your neighbor as yourself See Exod 20:17; Lev 19:18.

19:21 perfect Describes being complete or mature.

sell your possessions Jesus sees the young man’s attachment to his possessions as a hindrance to faith. He commands the man to rid himself of whatever prevents him from making a total commitment to the kingdom of heaven.

19:22 he went away sorrowful The only instance of someone declining to follow Jesus after a direct invitation.

19:23 with difficulty The challenge comes from being overly attached to earthly goods.

19:24 go through the eye of a needle Jesus employs this ridiculous impossibility to capture His hearers’ attention and emphasize the great sacrifice necessitated by the kingdom of heaven (Matt 19:21). See note on Mark 10:25.

19:25 they were extremely amazed Jesus’ remarks in Matt 19:23–24 reverse the conventional wisdom of His day. It was commonly believed that if someone was blessed with riches, they had God’s approval and were thereby assured of entrance into His kingdom of heaven.

19:28 in the renewal of the world The larger trajectory of Jesus’ comment is the forthcoming new heaven and earth (Rev 21). The language of the Greek text, though, implies a process—one that began with Jesus coming to earth and continues through the gospel spreading around the world (compare Rom 8:19–22; Mark 1:15). The culmination of this process is the new creation.

sit on twelve thrones judging the twelve tribes Jesus states that the Twelve will share in the leadership responsibilities of His kingdom—which they begin doing shortly after Jesus’ ascension, when they become ambassadors for the gospel (see Acts 2).

19:29 eternal life See v. 16 and note.

19:30 many who are first will be last, and the last first Jesus describes an end-times reversal of roles in the kingdom of heaven. This statement corresponds with the reversal of expectations in vv. 23–24 (see note on v. 25).