Matthew 19:10-12 – Celibacy and Christian service

In verse 10, the disciples made a startling remark. They said to Jesus, “If the relationship of the man with his wife is like this, it is better not to marry.” It revealed what was in their hearts on hearing Jesus’ very demanding teachings concerning divorce. It could well be that they themselves were entertaining the common ideas that any Jew had. Too bad for them they heard the master’s instruction.

Is it not true that we do not always fully understand the wisdom of God? Just think of it, if divorce is a thing that God allows us to do at will, then man will always take the easy way out. We will always choose the path of least resistance. Look at it this way, God intents for us to work out any difficulty we may encounter in our marital relationship and to resolve any conflict. Remember the vows we have made on our wedding day. It’s a commitment we have made to stay devoted to the relationship in good times as well as the bad –in richer or poorer, in sickness or in health etc. Remember, it is till death do us part! Perhaps like the disciples, many in our days also think that Jesus’ instruction is unrealistic.

In verse 11 Jesus told them that not everyone can accept what the disciples were proposing – to stay unmarried. Jesus then described three categories of people who would stay single. Firstly, he said that there are those who can’t get married. They are people who are physically incapable of sexual relationship and had been like that since birth. Then He referred to a second class of people, those that made themselves eunuchs. In the ancient world, we know that there were those that would deliberately castrate themselves in order to serve in a royal or rich household. The purpose is to keep their employers from worrying that they would misbehave with the women in the household. Thirdly, there are those who chose to be celibate and stay unmarried, to give themselves wholly to the work of God and His Kingdom.

Celibacy is not something that everyone can enter into. For one who chooses to be a celibate, the Apostle Paul said that they could devote himself more fully to serve the Lord. They have less family concerns and can focus and concentrate on the ministry. We all know that celibacy is not God’s demand. But in serving the Lord, we must know that some sacrifices must be made to deal with the demands of our flesh. For God’s sake, let’s be willing to make them!