11But He said to them, "All cannot accept this saying, but only those to whom it has been given: 12For there are eunuchs who were born thus from their mother's womb, and there are eunuchs who were made eunuchs by men, and there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven's sake. He who is able to accept it, let him accept it."
What is the "it" that Jesus talks of? Celibacy? I am going to assume Jesus is talking of celibacy, since that is the heading of this section. Jesus uses the term of eunuch, which according to my dictionary means castrated. But I wonder if Jesus is referring not only to physical castration, but also those without sexual desire or those with the inability to perform sexually either by choice or some other reason, all of which lead to a celibate state. Even though man was designed for the married state, there are those who are born to remain celibate, those who are forced to be celibate, and those who choose to be celibate for the kingdom of heaven's sake.
What does it mean to be celibate for the kingdom of heaven's sake? At first I just assumed it meant those who were entering the priesthood, or those who commit to a life of celibacy in order to focus their lives on a closer relationship with God. But there are many things we do for the kingdom of heaven's sake. Celibacy could easily be a part of what we do in order to be righteous. For example, celibacy before marriage, or celibacy when our spouse is not around.
Is this in answer to the disciples' claim at the end of the last verse that they thought maybe it is better to not marry? This instruction is very different from Jesus' many other instructions. Many times I have read that He said "He who has ears to hear, let him hear!" Those instructions apply to everyone. Here He says "He who is able to accept it, let him accept it." Who is able to accept it? Jesus said not all, but only to those to whom it has been given: those who were born that way, those who were forced to be that way, and those who do it for the kingdom of heaven's sake. I wonder if Jesus is responding to their statement by saying that those who do as the disciples suggest, decide for the kingdom of heaven's sake to not marry, must accept celibacy.