Matthew 19:10

King James Version (KJV)

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

Adam Clarke
Bible Commentary

If the case of the man - Του ανθρωπου, of a husband, so I think the word should be translated here. The Codex Bezae, Armenian, and most of the Itala, have του ανδρος, which, perhaps, more properly signifies a husband, though both words are used in this sense.

Our word husband comes from the Anglo-Saxon, hus and band : the bond of the house, anciently spelt housebond, - so in my old MS. Bible. It is a lamentable case when the husband, instead of being the bond and union of the family, scatters and ruins it by dissipation, riot, and excess.

It is not good to marry - That is, if a man have not the liberty to put away his wife when she is displeasing to him. God had said, Genesis 2:18, It is not good for man to be alone, i.e. unmarried. The disciples seem to say, that if the husband have not the power to divorce his wife when she is displeasing to him, it is not good for him to marry. Here was a flat contradiction to the decision of the Creator. There are difficulties and trials in all states; but let marriage and celibacy be weighed fairly, and I am persuaded the former will be found to have fewer than the latter. However, before we enter into an engagement which nothing but death can dissolve, we had need to act cautiously, carefully consulting the will and word of God. Where an unbridled passion, or a base love of money, lead the way, marriage is sure to be miserable.

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Albert Barnes
Notes on the Whole Bible

His disciples say … - The disciples were full of Jewish notions. They thought that the privilege of divorcing a wife when there was a quarrelsome disposition, or anything else that rendered the marriage unhappy, was a great privilege; and that in such cases to be always bound to live with a wife was a great calamity. They said, therefore, that if such was the case - such the condition on which people married - it was better not to marry.

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Matthew Henry
Concise Bible Commentary

The Pharisees were desirous of drawing something from Jesus which they might represent as contrary to the law of Moses. Cases about marriage have been numerous, and sometimes perplexed; made so, not by the law of God, but by the lusts and follies of men; and often people fix what they will do, before they ask for advice. Jesus replied by asking whether they had not read the account of the creation, and the first example of marriage; thus pointing out that every departure therefrom was wrong. That condition is best for us, and to be chosen and kept to accordingly, which is best for our souls, and tends most to prepare us for, and preserve us to, the kingdom of heaven. When the gospel is really embraced, it makes men kind relatives and faithful friends; it teaches them to bear the burdens, and to bear with the infirmities of those with whom they are connected, to consider their peace and happiness more than their own. As to ungodly persons, it is proper that they should be restrained by laws, from breaking the peace of society. And we learn that the married state should be entered upon with great seriousness and earnest prayer.

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SDA Bible Commentary (limited)
Volume 1-7

10. His disciples. Apparently it was after Jesus and His disciples had left the Pharisees and entered into a house that the disciples expressed themselves with regard to the matter under discussion (see Mark 10:10).

If the case. That is, if marriage binds a man so strictly as Jesus has just said. It would seem that the disciples had not clearly understood Jesus’ earlier statements with respect to marriage (see Matt. 5:31, 32; Luke 16:18), and that hence they were deeply perplexed by the interpretation Jesus had just given.

Not good to marry. Evidently the disciples reasoned that human nature being what it is, and there being so many circumstances under which husband and wife find themselves incompatible, would it not be better to forgo married life altogether? No doubt the standard Jesus proclaimed seemed at first too high even to the disciples, as it does sometimes to Christians today. What the disciples forgot, and what Christians today are prone to forget, is that Christ offers another solution to marital unhappiness. According to Christ’s formula, where dispositions and personalities are not congenial, the solution is to change dispositions and hearts and lives (see on Rom. 12:2), not partners in marriage. The principles upon which this transformation may be accomplished are clearly set forth in the Sermon on the Mount (see on Matt. 5:38-48; 6:14, 15). If these principles are applied to difficult marital situations, they will effect the same miracles as when applied to other social relationships. There is no marital problem that cannot be solved to the satisfaction of both husband and wife where both are willing to follow the principles Christ laid down in the Sermon on the Mount. And where one is willing to do so, even though the other may not be, it is often possible to attain a truly remarkable degree of marital peace; and many times the final result will be the winning of the unwilling one. Such a reward is more than worth the patience and self-sacrifice it takes.

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Matthew 19:10