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Truth Not Trickery Part 2: What DID Jesus Say? Marriage and Eunuchs.

Homosexuality and the Bible 
Truth NOT Trickery Part 2:  


 WHat did Jesus say?  

One day... Jesus was preaching to and teaching the people, local religious leaders would often come to harass Jesus as He was teaching. This day one called out to Jesus testing Him on matters of the Israelite Law (guidelines passed down from Moses).
 This is the account of what was said  reported Matthew, Jesus’ disciple and close friend : 
 "Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any and every reason?"
Jesus replied, "Haven't you read that in the beginning the Creator 'made them male and female, and said, 'For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh? So they are no longer two, but one? 
Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate."
 "Why then..." the religious leader asked, "did Moses command that a man give his wife a certificate of divorce and send her 
away?"
 Jesus replied, "Moses permitted you to divorce your wives because your hearts were hard. But it was not this way from the beginning. I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for marital unfaithfulness, and marries another woman commits adultery."
 Then the disciples said to him, "If this is the situation between a husband and wife, it is better n o t   t o   m a r r y !"
 Jesus replied, "Not   e v e r y o n e   can accept this word, but only those to whom it has been given. For some are eunuchs because they were born that way; others were made that way by men; and others have renounced marriage because of the kingdom of heaven. Anyone who can accept this should accept it." (Mat. 19 3-12 NLV)
Now some of you might be saying 
                                  “What in the heck is a EUNUCH? And better yet why does it matter?”
Well.... 
           the word is most commonly used to refer to a male that has been castrated or one has no desire for women. 
History tells us many stories of eunuchs, from as early as 8th Century B.C., Chinese kept castrated males in the palace to serve and guard the harems. Eunuchs served throughout the world from Egypt (and other parts of Africa) to India and even Pakistan. 
The Eunuchs in the Bible are depicted as effeminate men whose various roles included being in charge of  the women in the harem, the head of palace treasury and other similar palace duties. Eunuchs throughout time were seen as especially trusted because they weren’t a threat to other men, meaning they could be trusted around their women. 
So now that you know, 
                        allow me to explain why it matters:

Jesus’ reply to His disciples about marriage is the key. He does a great job talking about the complexities of marriage, stating that divorce should never really be an option and if you choose to divorce for any reason other than infidelity then you are making yourself an adulterer. But Jesus doesn’t just leave it there, He goes  a bit deeper saying not all were born to live like this...Jesus goes on to say: 
“For there are eunuchs who were born so from their mother’s womb; and there are eunuchs who were made eunuchs by men; and there are eunuchs who made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. To him who can comprehend, that is enough.” (Matthew 19:12 Lamsa)
Now in the verse you just read the Aramaic plural word m'haym-ne is translated to eunuchs,  but the root meanings of m'haym-ne in this form are: trusted ones, faithful ones, or believers. In addition, m’haym-ne  was a loosely used term in reference to homosexual males because they were “trusted” around women that were married or not relatives. 
The “born eunuchs”  that Jesus is talking about in the above verse are referring to homosexual males or a-sexual men born without a sexual drive. Since they were “born eunuchs” they didn’t need to be castrated because they didn’t naturally desire women. 
In the second part Jesus says:
"and there are eunuchs who were made eunuchs by men;" 
This is referring to ‘man-made’ or castrated eunuchs.  These type of  eunuchs   were castrated young men appointed by the king to be servants in the king’s palace. Often they were castrated at the first signs of puberty, which caused major hormonal changes in the men. They were often prisoners of war, captives, or exiles (Isaiah 39:7 ). The final portion of the passage should read: "and there are believers who made themselves castrated ones (or celibate ones) for the sake of the kingdom of heaven." For in that day some men chose to be castrated or remain celibate for the sake of holiness and purity.    
Now many people argue and debate, about what exactly Jesus meant by  “born eunuchs”... They will try and say Jesus meant something else, they will try and twist things to seem as though you are wrong for believing that God loves you... but don't be fooled by this!  It is just hateful TriCkerY! 
Time and time again God is so C L E A R about the kingdom of heaven and His love for us! 
“ For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through Him might be saved.”
(John 3:17 NLT) 
“But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy,  made us alive with  
Christ       
even when we were dead in transgressions — it is by grace you have been saved!” (Ephesians 2:4-5 NIV)
“Scripture reassures us, "No one who trusts God like this—heart and soul—will ever regret it." It's exactly the same no matter what a person's religious background may be: the same God for all of us, acting in the same incredibly generous way to everyone who calls out for help. "Everyone who calls, 'Help, God!' gets help." (Romans 10:11-13 The Message)
God is not an evil god, He does not place restrictions on us that we cannot meet. How can God say “I did NOT send my son to condemn...” 
 and then us feel condemnation?  
It just
              isn’t possible.  

For so long I struggled with trusting in God because I couldn’t wrap my heart around loving and trusting a god that hated me for being who I was. It was a long road to the true and personal relationship that I have now. But now that I’m here looking back I realize it was mostly because I DIDN’T KNOW JESUS. I thought I knew Jesus, I knew what people told me about Jesus. 
         I knew about God but I didn't know God. 
  I had an image of God- but it wasn’t my own it was shaped by all the things people said  or even yelled at me. And I soon realized I didn’t really know Him on a personal level. He wasn’t my savor for real, but more like this “idea of a God”. 
           And the Truth  minus the Trickery is that you WON’T feel condemnation if you run to Christ Jesus. Because when I finally put all my personal stuff on the shelf. I saw God’s hand at work, and I heard His voice for the first time so clearly telling me...  
“There is no condemnation in Christ.” 
And so many times I had been told I was going to hell just for being gay, but I didn’t understand- It just didn’t “click” with me, it didn’t seem to make sense to me that God would create me just to hate me... and the Truth  is... He didn’t. 
God created you JUST the way you are... and if you open your heart and expand your mind you will be able to see that so clearly. 
But I can’t see it for you, 
and I can’t believe for you...
         and I can’t trust in God for you... 
But 
 I can pray for you, and I will  pray for you...but I won’t be there when you stand in front of God. 
And the excuse... “Someone told me I was going to hell...” 
May or may not cut it for you...
but if you are reading this... then you have at least heard the Truth  - and now you have two choices: 
  1. Blindly choose to accept or reject it.
or 


2. Challenge what you’ve read and seek the Truth  yourself.
I strongly encourage you to try the second option  -  I do not wish for you to blindly accept what I say.  
But I implore you - 
to explore 
I beg you -
                            to look,
the word of God says seek and you shall find, knock and the door will be opened up to you -
 and there is one thing that I can promise you, 
if you pray, and seek God’s face, and ask Him to show you His love
     --- He will.
But you can’t let things people say to you steal your faith, so many people will try and twist and turn things and make you feel like you can’t be gay or lesbian and be a christian. 
But God’s word clearly says other wise... 
and if you are still having problems after you pray maybe it’s time to think about
 WHO  is shaping your image of God. 
And is it out of love....
                                          or hate?  
Is someone using their idea God to manipulate...                                you?  
“You can safely assume you’ve created God in your own image when it turns out God hates all the same people you do.” - Anonymous 
Think.
For yourself. 
Take.
Charge of your faith! 
Don’t 
ever 
              let anyone shape YOUR  image of God.
                                 instead.
Let
God 
shape you.
and show you...
  Just
                                 How great
 His love...
 really is. 
“You can pray for anything, and if you have faith in God, you will receive it." 
Matthew 21:22   

I love you with the love of the love of the Lord -
 Be blessed brothers and sisters...
and please,
please,
  Be a blessing to others. 
R. Calloway 
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