Matthew 19:12 is not a particularly disputed verse when comparing ancient manuscripts and fragments. "For there are eunuchs who have been so from birth, and th

Matthew 19:12 is not a particularly disputed verse when comparing ancient manuscripts and fragments. "For there are eunuchs who have been so from birth, and there are eunuchs who have been made eunuchs by men, and there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. He who is able to receive this, let him receive it." This teaching of Jesus forms the basis of what later Christian writers would expound upon as the "evangelical counsel of chastity", and it is unlikely the master would have counseled the disciple to the embrace of something he himself did not embrace. Would it have been counter-cultural to the Jewish audience hearing Jesus preach those words? Most definitely.