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

Who said to them: All men take not this word, but they to whom it is given.

And he said to them, All cannot receive this word, but those to whom it has been given;

"It is not every man," He replied, "who can receive this teaching, but only those on whom the grace has been bestowed.

But he said to them, Not all men are able to take in this saying, but only those to whom it is given.

And he said to them: "Not everyone is able to grasp this word, but only those to whom it has been given.

"It is not everyone," replied Jesus, "who can accept this teaching, but only those who have been enabled to do so.

All are not capable of receiving this saying. By this he means, that the choice is not placed in our hands, as if we were to deliberate on a matter submitted to us. If any man thinks it advantageous for him to want a wife, and, without making any inquiry, lays upon himself an obligation to celibacy, [1] he is widely mistaken. God, who has declared it to be good that a man should have a woman to be his helper, will punish the contempt of his own appointment; for mortals take too much on themselves, when they endeavor to exempt themselves from the heavenly calling. But Christ proves that it is not free to all to make what choice they please, because the gift of continence is a special gift; for when he says that all are not capable of receiving it, but those to whom it is given, he plainly shows that it was not given to all. And this reproves the pride of those who do not hesitate to claim for themselves what Christ so manifestly refuses to them.

Footnotes

1 - "S'il s'astreigne a n'estre point marie;" -- "if he bind himself not to be married."

All men cannot receive this saying - The minds of people are not prepared for this. This saying evidently means what the disciples had just said that it was good for a man not to marry. It might be good in certain circumstances - in times of persecution and trial, or for the sake of laboring in the cause of religion without the care and burden of a family. It might be good for many to live, as some of the apostles did, without marriage, but it was not given to all people, 1-Corinthians 7:1, 1-Corinthians 7:7,1-Corinthians 7:9. To be married, or unmarried, might be lawful, according to circumstances, 1-Corinthians 7:26.

All - cannot receive this saying - A very wise answer, and well suited to the present circumstances of the disciples. Neither of the states is condemned. If thou marry, thou dost well - this is according to the order, will, and commandment of God. But if thou do not marry, (because of the present necessity, persecution, worldly embarrassments, or bodily infirmity), thou dost better. See 1-Corinthians 7:25.

(3) But he said unto them, All [men] cannot (k) receive this saying, save [they] to whom it is given.
(3) The gift of celibacy is peculiar, and therefore no man can set a law to himself of perpetual celibacy.
(k) Receive and admit, as by translation we say, that a straight and narrow place is not able to receive many things.

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 , "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.

But he said unto them, All men cannot receive this saying, save they to whom it is given--that is, "That the unmarried state is better, is a saying not for everyone, and indeed only for such as it is divinely intended for." But who are these? they would naturally ask; and this our Lord proceeds to tell them in three particulars.

To whom it is given. Only those can receive and live up to this rule who are enlightened by Christianity. The less Christianity, the lower the ideal of marriage. This is the rule everywhere.

But he said to them - This is not universally true; it does not hold, with regard to all men, but with regard to those only to whom is given this excellent gift of God. Now this is given to three sorts of persons to some by natural constitution, without their choice: to others by violence, against their choice; and to others by grace with their choice: who steadily withstand their natural inclinations, that they may wait upon God without distraction.