Eunuchs

^{Mathew 19:12} 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.

Here in the middle of Mathew 19 we have a rather difficult and cryptic statement made by Jesus concerning eunuchs.  Looking at the passage in context, Jesus had just been speaking on divorce and sexual purity.  His teaching gave a much broader definition of adultery than what was understood by the Israelite.  Jesus said that only for fornication can there be divorce.  Any other reason and the new marriage was adulterous.  Then he goes on to talk about the eunuchs.

What is a eunuch?  According to the dictionary 1: a castrated man placed in charge of a harem or employed as a chamberlain in a palace

2: a man or boy deprived of the testes or external genitals

3: one that lacks virility or power

This seems insufficient to cover all of the meanings Jesus brings up, so lets go back and take a look at the original language.  In the Greek, the word was eunouchos (and eunochizo), that hold a similar meaning to the dictionary definition literally, but, can also mean to live unmarried, and by implication, without having sex.  So what Jesus was talking about was abstaining from sexual relations when one is not married.

There are some that were born that way, perhaps being literally incapable by defect, or perhaps born with a low sex drive or disinterest in sex.  There were some eunuchs made that way by men, these were mostly of the slave ranks or of those who worked with the royal harems.  They were physically made unable to perform.  Then there are some who have made themselves abstinent for the kingdom of God.

It is in this last context where we find the correlation to what Jesus was speaking about in the previous verses.  Jesus had been clearly saying that many folks had been committing adultery.  The alternative to this is abstinence, being a eunuch for God.  In verse 11 though Jesus says that not everyone can bear being abstinent.  It is only for those to whom it is given.  The rest had better stay married, or reconcile.

My next blog I will get a little more into the single life as a Christian.