Matthew 19:1

Above it was shown how one must come to eternal life by the common way; here he teaches how one must come by the way of perfection, which is treated with respect to two things: with respect to continence, and with respect to voluntary poverty. …

And it came to pass, that when Jesus had finished these sayings,....

In these verses we have the mind of Christ declared on two subjects of great moment. One is the relation of husband and wife; the other is the light in which we should regard little children in the matter of their souls. It is difficult to overrate the importance of these two subjects: the well-being of nations and the happiness of society are closely connected with right views upon them. Nations are nothing but a collection of families.

And it came to pass, that when Jesus had finished these sayings, he departed from Galilee--This marks a very solemn period in our Lord's public ministry. So slightly is it touched here, and in the corresponding passage of Mark (Mr 10:1), that few readers probably note it as the Redeemer's Farewell to Galilee, which however it was.

In these verses we have the mind of Christ declared on two subjects of great moment. One is the relation of husband and wife; the other is the light in which we should regard little children in the matter of their souls. It is difficult to overrate the importance of these two subjects: the well-being of nations and the happiness of society are closely connected with right views upon them. Nations are nothing but a collection of families. The good order of families depends entirely on keeping up the highest standard of respect for the marriage tie, and on the right training of children. We ought to be thankful that, on both these points, the great head of the church pronounced judgment so clearly. With respect to marriage, our Lord teaches that the union of husband and wife ought never to be broken off, except for the greatest of all causes, namely, actual unfaithfulness. In these days when our Lord was upon earth divorces were permitted among the Jews for the most trifling and frivolous causes. The practice, though tolerated by Moses to prevent worse evils—such as cruelty or murder—had gradually become an enormous abuse, and no doubt led to much immorality ( Malachi 2:14–16 ). The remark made by our Lord’s disciples shows the deplorably low state of public feeling on the subject. They said, “If the case of the man be so it is not good to marry ”They meant, of course, “if a man may not put away his wife for a slight cause at any time, he had better not marry at all.” Such language from the mouths of apostles sounds strange indeed! Our Lord brings forward a widely different standard for the guidance of his disciples. He first founds his judgment on the original institution of marriage.

Beyond Jordan - Or, by the side of Jordan. Matthew begins here to give an account of Christ’s journey (the only one he mentions) to Jerusalem, a little before the passover, at which he was crucified. See Mar 10:1; Luk 9:51. Jesus came from Galilee (which lay to the north of Judea) into the coasts of Judea; and from thence, in his way to Jerusalem, he went through Jericho, (Mat 20:17, Mat 20:29), which lay at the distance of sixty furlongs, or seven miles and a half from Jordan, to the western side of it. See Joseph. War, book iv. chap. 8. sect. 3. It seems, therefore, most probable, that the course of Christ’s journey led him by the side of the river Jordan, not beyond it. That the Greek word περαν, especially with a genitive case as here, has sometimes this signification, see on Joh 6:22 (note); see also Bp. Pearce.