Matthew 19
February 27
Reading: Matthew 19
1 Now when Jesus had finished these sayings, he went away from Galilee and entered the region of Judea beyond the Jordan. 2 And large crowds followed him, and he healed them there.
3 And Pharisees came up to him and tested him by asking, "Is it lawful to divorce one's wife for any cause?"
4 He answered, "Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female, 5 and said, 'Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh'? 6 So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate."
7 They said to him, "Why then did Moses command one to give a certificate of divorce and to send her away?"
8 He said to them, "Because of your hardness of heart Moses allowed you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so. 9 And I say to you: whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery."
10 The disciples said to him, "If such is the case of a man with his wife, it is better not to marry."
11 But he said to them, "Not everyone can receive this saying, but only those to whom it is given. 12 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."
13 Then children were brought to him that he might lay his hands on them and pray; and the disciples rebuked them.
14 But Jesus said, "Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven."
15 And he laid his hands on them and went away.
16 And behold, a man came up to him, saying, "Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life?"
17 And he said to him, "Why do you ask me about what is good? There is only one who is good. If you would enter life, keep the commandments."
18 He said to him, "Which ones?"
And Jesus said, "You shall not murder, You shall not commit adultery, You shall not steal, You shall not bear false witness, 19 Honor your father and mother, and, You shall love your neighbor as yourself."
20 The young man said to him, "All these I have kept. What do I still lack?"
21 Jesus said to him, "If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me."
22 When the young man heard this he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.
23 And Jesus said to his disciples, "Truly, I say to you, only with difficulty will a rich person enter the kingdom of heaven. 24 Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God."
25 When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished, saying, "Who then can be saved?"
26 But Jesus looked at them and said, "With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible."
27 Then Peter said in reply, "See, we have left everything and followed you. What then will we have?"
28 Jesus said to them, "Truly, I say to you, in the new world, when the Son of Man will sit on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. 29 And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands, for my name's sake, will receive a hundredfold and will inherit eternal life. 30 But many who are first will be last, and the last first."
Early in Matthew 19 the Pharisees bring to Jesus a question that they seem sure will get Him in trouble, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any reason at all?” They know that divorce is a moral evil, and also that Moses allowed it. They think that this is a stumper.
Jesus wrote the Law of Moses. He knows the heart of it, that marriage was created by God for a lifelong union. And Jesus knows that people are hard-hearted and immoral, therefore divorce is allowed in some cases where a husband or wife has been unfaithful. But divorce is always a disaster. It ends something that God has made to be beautiful.
The disciples rightly understand the difficulty of what Jesus is teaching. So, Jesus makes it clear that not all are called to marriage. (vss. 11-12)
In verse 16 a wealthy young man comes to Jesus with a question that seems to be sincere. The man’s self-evaluation in verse 20 is alarming for the reader of Matthew’s gospel. We know that he is overestimating his own righteousness considering Jesus’ teaching in Matthew 5:17-48 and many other places. But Jesus does not confront his misunderstanding. What Jesus does do is bring up the man’s idol, a violation of the first commandment. This man loves his money and property more than Jesus. “He went away grieving.” (vs. 22)
The point of Jesus’ words in verses 23-26 is that it is indeed hard for someone who has much money and property to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. The disciples, like most people, had thought of riches as a blessing from God. Of course, they understood, righteous people are usually rich. Jesus does not see it this way. However, in verse 26, Jesus explains that what is humanly impossible (a rich man being saved) is possible with God. Jesus will die to save people, both rich and poor. But a person still must love Jesus more than riches.
After all this, Jesus reassures Peter that there are rewards awaiting those who make sacrifices out of love and obedience to Jesus. If God has blessed you with wealth, do you use it for the glory of your King Jesus? Are you investing it for eternity? Or does it rule over you?