“No it is not. Jesus was not saying some men castrate themselves for God’s kingdom, which is what your interpretation implies.”
Let’s go back to the Instructions For Life (aka Torah, aka the five books of Moses).
Do not to let a eunuch marry into the Jewish people. Deuteronomy 23:2
I said that there is a prohibition in the Torah for a eunuch to marry. That’s all. It could be because of a genetic defect or the individual was forced to become one. Making oneself a eunuch is not allowed under Torah so John the Baptist, Paul, and Elijah would have never done that.
Paul did have a wife and never made himself a eunuch if he was serious about following Torah. The Eyn Sof has made it very, very, VERY clear that Jewish men are supposed to get married. This is not required of women. Paul wouldn’t advocate celibacy for those who weren’t eunuchs nor advocate they make themselves eunuchs because of Torah prohibitions.
We don’t know the question that was posed to him by whatever congregation was asking him in regards to his answer. Is it possible that homosexuals were needing to know how they could serve in a congregation without participating in homosexuality because they made a life change and decided to walk in a more Godly fashion?
Plus, you’d never see him promoting never getting married. The question from the congregation that elicited his answer about the benefits of never being married probably originate from those who aren’t allowed to marry per the Torah or men who don’t want to marry because they can’t bear the thought of doing so (i.e. homosexuals).
Yes, let's do that, because Life is what it is all about. The LORD thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me; unto him ye shall hearken; According to all that thou desiredst of the LORD thy God in Horeb in the day of the assembly, saying, Let me not hear again the voice of the LORD my God, neither let me see this great fire any more, that I die not. And the LORD said unto me, They have well spoken that which they have spoken. I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee, and will put my words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him. And it shall come to pass, that whosoever will not hearken unto my words which he shall speak in my name, I will require it of him. And when Peter saw it, he answered unto the people, Ye men of Israel, why marvel ye at this? or why look ye so earnestly on us, as though by our own power or holiness we had made this man to walk? The God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob, the God of our fathers, hath glorified his Son Jesus; whom ye delivered up, and denied him in the presence of Pilate, when he was determined to let him go. But ye denied the Holy One and the Just, and desired a murderer to be granted unto you; And killed the Prince of life, whom God hath raised from the dead; whereof we are witnesses. And his name through faith in his name hath made this man strong, whom ye see and know: yea, the faith which is by him hath given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all. And now, brethren, I wot that through ignorance ye did it, as did also your rulers. But those things, which God before had shewed by the mouth of all his prophets, that Christ should suffer, he hath so fulfilled. Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord; And he shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you: Whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began. For Moses truly said unto the fathers, A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me; him shall ye hear in all things whatsoever he shall say unto you. And it shall come to pass, that every soul, which will not hear that prophet, shall be destroyed from among the people. Yea, and all the prophets from Samuel and those that follow after, as many as have spoken, have likewise foretold of these days. Ye are the children of the prophets, and of the covenant which God made with our fathers, saying unto Abraham, And in thy seed shall all the kindreds of the earth be blessed. Unto you first God, having raised up his Son Jesus, sent him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from his iniquities.
Paul and Christ’s teaching on this are clear. There can be a benefit to remaining single and serving God for both men and women. Now this may not fit with your understanding of the Torah or with your religious beliefs, but that is what is written from the teaching of Christ and Paul.
Paul went into detail on the subject and said that there was no general command to remain single (though there were commands about whom one could marry), but rather that remaining single was permitted and being married was permitted. Christians are allowed to stay single or get married. If they stay single, they must be celibate. If they marry, they must marry another Christian.
If you believe God wants all of His followers to marry, fine. There are more significant issues of faith distinguishing traditional Christianity from modern Judaism.
There was a time when Christianity was largely regarded as a sect of Judaism. After the diaspora and later, after people persecuted Jews under the banner of Christendom, Christianity became a predominantly Gentile religious system, and both Judaism and Christendom began to splinter into various sects. What seems to be common among them is how each one thinks they most faithfully represent the original tenets of their faith.
If I only believed the Hebrew scriptures and did not accept the Greek scriptures we call the New Testament, I would be inclined to agree with your point of view. God said it was not good for man to be alone, so He made Eve. The New Testament does not contradict this as a general principle, but clarifies that there are exceptions to the rule. The Hebrew scriptures support this as well:
Isaiah 56:3-7
Do not let the son of the foreigner
Who has joined himself to the Lord
Speak, saying,
“The Lord has utterly separated me from His people”;
Nor let the eunuch say,
“Here I am, a dry tree.”
For thus says the Lord:
“To the eunuchs who keep My Sabbaths,
And choose what pleases Me,
And hold fast My covenant,
Even to them I will give in My house
And within My walls a place and a name
Better than that of sons and daughters;
I will give them an everlasting name
That shall not be cut off.
“Also the sons of the foreigner
Who join themselves to the Lord, to serve Him,
And to love the name of the Lord, to be His servants—
Everyone who keeps from defiling the Sabbath,
And holds fast My covenant—
Even them I will bring to My holy mountain,
And make them joyful in My house of prayer.
Their burnt offerings and their sacrifices
Will be accepted on My altar;
For My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations.”
Christ quoted from this passage after overturning the money-changers’ tables and driving out the sacrificial animals from the temple courtyard. This was the only part of the temple in which Gentile proselytes could be present, but the Jewish leaders had turned it into a stinking zoo. There was no place for Gentile worshipers, but Christ reproved this before it was fashionable to oppose racism. In fact, Christ’s reproof against the racism of the contemporary Jewish leaders was what got Him into the most trouble with them.
The Messiah was expected by these contemporaries to liberate Israel from the oppression of Rome. Expectations were high because many interpreted Daniel 9 to mean that the arrival of the Messiah had to take place then. But Jesus came proclaiming a different kind of liberation and salvation. Even His own disciples expected Him to lead them into a military victory. After all, what army could stand against someone with the power to raise the dead? He spoke about wars and war strategy. His disciples asked when He would establish His kingdom. So, when He died on the cross for the sins of mankind (or Daniel says, He was cut off but not for Himself), it was not something they expected (even though He had told them beforehand and it was written in the scriptures). And when He rose from the dead and His disciples were eye witnesses to this, they were also surprised to be told that the Gospel of the Kingdom must be preached to the Samaritans and Gentiles. The Gospel proclaimed this message with the commands to repent and believe for salvation from our sins.
Paul wrote a great deal explaining how God’s plan involved mysteries concealed in the Hebrew scriptures. To the modern Jew these may seem like a made up religion. It does not seem to line up with the understanding of the heroes of their scriptures like Abraham, Moses, and David. Did God break His covenants with these men? No. Are the Jews God’s chosen people? Yes. Then why does it seem they have been cast away in favor of the Gentiles under the doctrines of Christianity?
It is because God chose Israel to bring salvation to the whole world. Did God pick Israel to be His people because of their exceptional wisdom, numbers, strength, or righteousness? No.
Deuteronomy 7:6-8
“For you are a holy people to the Lord your God; the Lord your God has chosen you to be a people for Himself, a special treasure above all the peoples on the face of the earth. The Lord did not set His love on you nor choose you because you were more in number than any other people, for you were the least of all peoples; but because the Lord loves you, and because He would keep the oath which He swore to your fathers, the Lord has brought you out with a mighty hand, and redeemed you from the house of bondage, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt.
Deuteronomy 9:4-7, and 13
“Do not think in your heart, after the Lord your God has cast them out before you, saying, ‘Because of my righteousness the Lord has brought me in to possess this land’; but it is because of the wickedness of these nations that the Lord is driving them out from before you. It is not because of your righteousness or the uprightness of your heart that you go in to possess their land, but because of the wickedness of these nations that the Lord your God drives them out from before you, and that He may fulfill the word which the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Therefore understand that the Lord your God is not giving you this good land to possess because of your righteousness, for you are a stiff-necked people.
“Remember! Do not forget how you provoked the Lord your God to wrath in the wilderness. From the day that you departed from the land of Egypt until you came to this place, you have been rebellious against the Lord. “Furthermore the Lord spoke to me, saying, ‘I have seen this people, and indeed they are a stiff-necked people....’”
Israel was chosen like Jonah. God knew Jonah would run the opposite direction from where God sent Him. So God had already, in His sovereignty, prepared a storm, a fish, a vine, and a worm to teach Jonah and us His heart. Nineveh repented because they learned how the God of Israel was stronger than Dagon when they learned Jonah had been swallowed by the whale and was rescued from it by God. This would not have happened if God had picked a more cooperative prophet to deliver the message. Jonah’s disobedience cost him a price, but God used it to save a city which would have otherwise been destroyed. God can turn evil into good, just as He did with the evil Joseph’s brothers did to him. The sign of the prophet Jonah was fulfilled in Christ. Jewish and Gentile leaders (figuratively representing mankind) cooperated to put Christ on the cross, but this was done according to the sovereignty of God to fulfill all of the promises, covenants and prophecies since the world began. And He transformed this great evil and curse into His blessing and goodness and mercy for all nations.
God cares for people. He does not want people to remain in their sin and perish. God chose Israel to be the guardians of His law. He chose Israel to be the nation into which Messiah would be born. He also knew that Israel’s stubbornness and rebellion would result the message of salvation being spread around the world. He knew that His blessing and favor on the Gentiles would provoke Israel to jealousy, much as Jonah was offended that God did not destroy Nineveh as He had intended. Yet, God will soon bring all of Israel to salvation as He has promised (as in Daniel 9). Until then, He always has had a faithful remnant among Israel. That remnant today is made up of Jews who recognize the Messiah to be Jesus, Who is the Savior of the world.