Matthew 19:1Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

Jesus Christ, having frequently departed from Judea due to the animosity of its people towards Him, now returns, as the hour of His Passion approaches. However, He does not yet enter the city of Jerusalem itself, but instead visits only the outskirts of the Jewish territory.

The Lord returns to Judea to ensure that the unbelieving people there cannot claim they were treated unjustly by asserting that He visited the Galileans more frequently than them.

Jesus initially chose fishermen and, in doing so, reverently altered their lives one by one. Why did He do this? Not merely to gather more followers through His arrival but, I believe, also to consecrate various places. He was created for the Jews by the Jews to save the Jews, for the unrighteous by the unrighteous to redeem the unrighteous, for the frail by the frail to rescue the frail. He embodies everything for everyone so that He might bring all to Himself. But what do I mean by everything for everyone? What Paul described of himself can also apply to the Savior. He identified as a Jew not only by heritage but also took upon Himself numerous shameful and humiliating titles, and most astonishingly, He is called sin (2 Cor. 5:21) and a curse (Gal. 3:13).

From Galilee, Jesus traveled to Judea, where a group of Pharisees and Sadducees posed a question to Him regarding the legality of a husband divorcing his wife for any cause. Their intent was to entrap Him through logical reasoning, as any response He provided could lead to a trap. If He had asserted that a husband could dismiss his wife for any reason and allow her to remarry, He would have appeared to promote behavior contrary to modesty. Conversely, if He declared that divorce was not permissible for every transgression, He risked being accused of blasphemy, implying opposition to Moses, who himself was seen as a messenger of God.

After completing His teachings in Galilee, Jesus journeyed to Judea, demonstrating that the righteous Lord expresses His love for some servants while not forsaking others. Just as all are called to honor Him as Lord, He extends His grace to all as His servants. Had He remained in one location, He could not truly be Lord over everyone but only over a portion of them. Departing from Galilee, He entered the regions of Judah, leaving His homeland—where He was born—as if the sun had ascended higher in the east. He arrived in Judea, the place designated for His death, as though the sun was descending amidst the shadows of His suffering. This was all to reveal to us a new dawn via His resurrection. Thus, we can affirm with the apostle: old things have passed away, behold all things are made new (2 Cor. 5:17). And great crowds followed Him.

After JESUS completed His teachings on the forgiveness of sins, He departed from Galilee and traveled to the outskirts of Judea, crossing to the eastern side of the Jordan River. Galilee lies to the north of the Holy Land, while Judea is situated to the south, with Samaria located between them. Although the Lord had previously traversed through Samaria, this time He chose to cross the Jordan and journey along its eastern bank until reaching the vicinity of Jericho. There, He crossed back over the river and entered Judea. This marked His final journey from Galilee, a place He would not return to.

After a series of challenging inquiries, the Pharisees sought His permission to address a contentious question: Is divorce allowable? The predominant rabbinical factions, Hillel and Shammai, approached this issue from differing perspectives. Hillel permitted divorce for virtually any minor infraction, while Shammai imposed stricter limitations. The Lord presented a contrast to both viewpoints by referring to the foundational, natural order of marriage, stating that divorce should not occur except in cases of unfaithfulness. What God has united, let no one sever. When challenged with the question, "Why then did Moses permit it?" He responded that such permission stemmed from the people's inability to uphold the original law.

In their accounts of Christ's ministry beyond Galilee, both Matthew and Mark provide an overarching depiction. Matthew highlights that Christ, even away from Galilee, healed everyone who came to Him in need. Meanwhile, Mark notes that a large crowd congregated around Jesus as He taught them in accordance with His usual practice.

In all His homeland, there was only one place where He could find refuge, and that was Perea, the territory beyond the Jordan River. Thus, He once more retreated to that region and paused there for a while to restore His spirit in preparation for the monumental challenge that lay before Him.

He departed from Galilee and entered the region of Judea. - On the eastern side of the Jordan River, specifically in the area of Perea or ancient Gilead. The western bank of the Jordan, which lay between Galilee and Judea, was occupied by Samaria, providing one route to Judea. However, during this journey, Christ opted not to take this path, even though He had traveled it on previous occasions. Instead, after crossing the Jordan from Galilee, He journeyed along the river’s edge. Subsequently, He crossed the Jordan again, likely close to Jericho, and entered into Judea.

Christ the Redeemer, aware of the danger posed by His vehement adversaries, chose to withdraw from their presence, ‘yielding to their anger, that by His absence He might tame and quiet their passion.’ Therefore, He decided to travel to a region that had only occasionally received His message. He went to the area around the Jordan River and spent some time in Bethabara, where the Forerunner, John, initially baptized those who came to him. As news of the Messiah’s arrival spread, the people began to gather. Consistent with His practice, He taught and healed the afflicted. The powerful preaching of the Forerunner was still vivid in their minds; many remarked that while John performed no signs, everything he had proclaimed regarding Christ was true and verifiable.