Matthew 19:11

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

Matthew 19:11 Meaning and Commentary

Matthew 19:11

But he said unto them
With respect to the inference or conclusion, the disciples formed from what he had asserted:

all men cannot receive this saying;
of their's, that it is not good to marry, but it is more proper and expedient to live a single life! every man, as the Syriac version renders it, is not (hl qpo) , "sufficient", or "fit", for this thing; everyone has not the gift of continency, and indeed very few; and therefore it is expedient for such to marry; for what the disciples said, though it might be true in part, yet not in the whole; and though the saying might be proper and pertinent enough to some persons, yet not to all, and indeed to none,

save they to whom it is given;
to receive such a saying, to live unmarried with content, having the gift of chastity; for this is not of nature, but of grace: it is the gift of God.

Matthew 19:11 In-Context

9 And I say to you, Whoever shall put away his wife, except for lewdness, and shall marry another, committeth adultery: and whoever marrieth her who is put away, committeth adultery.

10 His disciples say to him, If the case of the man is so with [his] wife, it is not good to marry.

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

12 For there are some eunuchs, who were so born from [their] mothers womb: and there are some eunuchs, who were made eunuchs by men: and there are eunuchs, who have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven's sake. He that is able to receive [it], let him receive [it].

13 Then were brought to him little children, that he should put [his] hands on them, and pray: and the disciples rebuked them.