Jesus the Eunuch

If we follow the traditional interpretation in taking “eunuch” in Matthew 19 as a figure for someone who has renounced family and progeny and “manhood” for the sake of the kingdom, then we can surmise that Jesus intends to refer to Himself above all as the one who has become a eunuch for the kingdom. For He has put aside what the ancients would have taken as manhood – honor, retaliation, revenge, violence. Instead, he turns the other cheek, stands silent in court, quietly receives excruciating torture, and voluntarily endures a shameful death, all for the sake of His kingdom.

But with Isaiah 56:3-4 in the background, we can see Jesus as the fruitful eunuch (the male counterpart to the virgin mother, or the barren mother). He renounces future progeny for the sake of the kingdom, but in the next scene in Matthew he is surrounded by children.