Isaiah 56
December 13, Year 2
[4-5] For thus says the LORD:
“To the eunuchs who keep my Sabbaths,
who choose the things that please me
and hold fast my covenant,
I will give in my house and within my walls
a monument and a name
better than sons and daughters;
I will give them an everlasting name
that shall not be cut off.
We continue with the symbolism of spiritual reproduction, this time in the eunuch, symbolizing both male and female people sacrificing marriage and biological children for the sake of the kingdom of God.
Says Jesus:
“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. Let the one who is able to receive this receive it.” (Matthew 19:12)1
As an aside, the Bible and the people of God have long recognized the existence of persons who don’t exactly fit the original created order of male-and-female reproduction.
All reproductive people are dimorphous, providing either the male or the female “half” necessary for reproduction.
But not all of us can do so typically, if at all.
Furthermore, while all of us have disordered dimensions in our sexual “loves,” some are disordered to the point of preventing participation in the parenting context necessary to raise healthy children.
But all of us are called to contribute to the flourishing of children and to their maturation into flourishing adults.
(There are far better statements than this; I’m attempting a quick sketch of the orthodox understanding of sexuality.)
Jesus, and his servant the apostle Paul, encouraged formal celibacy for the purpose of undistracted service in the expansion of the kingdom of God, making themselves “eunuchs,” in effect.
Note, however, that this serves to increase spiritual reproduction—evangelism and discipleship.
Indeed, Jesus—and Paul and countless others—exemplified just this pattern.
And where would the rest of us be without them?
See Pieter Valk, “The Case for Vocational Singleness.” Christianity Today November 25, 2020.