Matthew 19


Matthew 19 is the nineteenth chapter in the Gospel of Matthew in the New Testament section of the Christian Bible. The book containing this chapter is anonymous, but early Christian tradition uniformly affirmed that Matthew composed this Gospel. Jesus commences his final journey to Jerusalem in this chapter, ministering through Perea. It can be seen as the starting point for the passion narrative.

Text

The original text was written in Koine Greek. This chapter is divided into 30 verses.

Textual witnesses

Some early manuscripts containing the text of this chapter are:

Locations

The events recorded in this chapter took place in Galilee and Judea beyond the Jordan, before Jesus and his party later enter Jericho, on their way to Jerusalem. Jesus leaves Galilee at this stage in Matthew's narrative : the Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary reflects that "few readers probably note it as the Redeemer's Farewell to Galilee". He does not return there until after his resurrection from the dead. Subsequently, the announcement of the angels that Jesus has risen, Jesus' own greeting to the women who meet him and the final words of Matthew's gospel, the final appearance of Jesus and his commission to "make disciples of all the nations" all refer back to the Galilee, which Jesus leaves at this time.
In, after blessing the little children, Jesus "departed from there", but no indication is given of where he went. The Jerusalem Bible renders this text as " went on his way". The writer of the Pulpit Commentary confidently asserts that at this point Jesus "set out from Peraea, journeying towards Jerusalem", and theologian John Gill agrees with this interpretation. In the rich young man "went away" from his encounter with Jesus, leaving Jesus to speak with his disciples about the difficulty faced by "a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven".

Verse 1

The contains a formula which Matthew has already used several times: in Matthew 7:28, 11:1 and 13:53. Eduard Schweizer treats the formula as a section divider.

Verse 2

Johann Bengel notes that "there" is not specific: it refers to many places where cures were performed.

Verse 3

In the Textus Receptus, the sentence refers to, but the word 'the' is excluded from later critical editions, hence many translations speak of "some" Pharisees. Jesus' teaching on divorce has already been set out in the Sermon on the Mount, but here the teaching is further elucidated. The conversation concerning divorce and marriage given in Mark 10:1ff. is, on the whole, set out in "a more original shape".

Verse 10

The may be translated as "it is better not to marry" or "it is not better to marry". Arthur Carr, in the Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges, describes Jesus' ruling as "a revolution in thought brought to pass by Christ".

Verses 16–24

These verses convey the episode of Jesus and [the rich young man], concluding with "it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for the rich to enter into the Kingdom of Heaven".

Arts

The events of this chapter are combined in Rembrandt's Hundred Guilder Print.