Matthew 19
BBCMatthew 19:1
E. Concerning Marriage, Divorce and Celibacy (19:1-12) 19:1, 2 After completing His ministry in Galilee, the Lord turned southward to Jerusalem. Though His exact route is unknown, it seems clear that He traveled through Perea, on the east side of the Jordan. Matthew speaks of the area loosely as the region of Judea beyond the Jordan. The Perean ministry extends from 19:1 to 20:16 or 20:28; it is not clearly stated when He crossed the Jordan into Judea. 19:3 Probably it was the multitudes that followed Him for healing that alerted the Pharisees to the Lord’s whereabouts. Like a pack of wild dogs, they began to close in, hoping to trap Him by His words. They asked if divorce was legal on any and every ground. No matter how He answered, He would infuriate some segment of the Jews. One school took a very liberal attitude toward divorce; another was extremely strict. 19:4-6 Our Lord explained that God’s original intention was that a man have only one living wife. The God who created male and female decreed that the marriage relationship should supersede the parental relationship. He also said that marriage is a union of persons. God’s ideal is that this divinely ordained union should not be broken by human act or decree. 19:7 The Pharisees thought they had caught the Lord in a flagrant contradiction of the OT. Hadn’t Moses made provision for divorce? A man could simply give his wife a written statement, then put her out of the house (Deu_24:1-4). 19:8 Jesus agreed that Moses had permitted divorce, not as God’s best for mankind, but because of Israel’s backslidden condition: Moses because of the hardness of your hearts permitted you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so. God’s ideal was that there be no divorce. But God often tolerates conditions that are not His directive will. 19:9 Then the Lord stated with absolute authority that the past leniency on divorce was henceforth discontinued. Hereafter there would be only one valid ground for divorceunchastity. If a person was divorced for any other reason and remarried, he was guilty of adultery.Although not directly stated, it would seem from the words of our Lord that where a divorce has been obtained on the grounds of adultery, the innocent party is free to remarry. Otherwise divorce would serve no purpose not equally achieved by separation. Sexual immorality, or fornication, is generally taken to mean adultery. However, many capable Bible students think it refers only to pre-marital immorality which is discovered after marriage (see Deu_22:13-21). Others believe it refers to Jewish marriage customs only and that is why the exception clause is only here in Matthew, the Jewish Gospel. For a fuller discussion of divorce, see notes on Mat_5:31-32. 19:10 When the disciples heard the Lord’s teaching on divorce, they proved themselves creatures of extremes by adopting the absurd position that if divorce is obtainable on only one ground, then to avoid sinning in the married state it would be better not to marry at all. But that would not save them from sinning in the single state. 19:11 So the Savior reminded them that the ability to remain celibate was not the general rule; only those to whom special grace was given could forego marriage. The dictum, All cannot accept this saying, but only those to whom it has been given, does not mean that all cannot understand what follows, but that they cannot live a continent life unless they are called to it. 19:12 The Lord Jesus explained that there are three types of eunuchs. Some men are eunuchs because they were born without the power of reproduction. Others are so because they were castrated by men; oriental rulers often subjected the harem attendants to surgery to make them eunuchs. But Jesus especially had in mind those who have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven’s sake. These men could be married, and they have no physical impairment. Yet in dedication to the King and His kingdom, they willingly forego marriage in order to give themselves to the cause of Christ without distraction. As Paul wrote later, He who is unmarried cares for the things of the Lordhow he may please the Lord (1Co_7:32). Their celibacy is not physical but a matter of voluntary abstinence. Not all men can live such a life; only those divinely empowered: But each one has his own gift from God, one in this manner and another in that (1Co_7:7).
Matthew 19:13
F. Concerning Children (19:13-15) It is interesting that children are introduced shortly after the discourse on divorce (see also Mar_10:1-16); often they are the ones who suffer most severely from broken homes. Parents brought their little children to Jesus to be blessed by the Teacher-Shepherd. The disciples saw this as an intrusion and annoyance, and rebuked the parents. But Jesus intervened with those words that have since endeared Him to children of every age, Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them, for of such is the kingdom of heaven.Several important lessons emerge from those words. First, they should impress the servant of the Lord with the importance of reaching children, whose minds are most receptive, with the Word of God. Second, children who wish to confess their faith in the Lord Jesus should be encouraged, not held back. No one knows the age of the youngest person in hell.
If a child truly wishes to be saved, he should not be told that he is too young. At the same time, children should not be pressured into making a false profession. Susceptible as they are to emotional appeals, they should be protected from high-pressure methods of evangelism. Children do not have to become adults to be saved, but adults have to become like children (Mat_18:3-4; Mar_10:15). Thirdly, these words of our Lord answer the question, What happens to children who die before they reach the age of accountability? Jesus said, … of such is the kingdom of heaven. That should be adequate assurance to parents who have suffered the loss of little ones. Sometimes this passage is used to support the baptism of young children in order to make them members of Christ and inheritors of the kingdom. Closer reading will show that the parents brought the children to Jesus, not to the baptistry. It will show that the children were already possessors of the kingdom. And it will show that there is not a drop of water in the passage.
Matthew 19:16
G. Concerning Riches: The Rich Young Ruler (19:16-26) 19:16 This incident provides a study in contrasts. Having just seen that the kingdom of heaven belongs to little children, we will now see how difficult it is for adults to enter. A rich man intercepted the Lord with an apparently sincere inquiry. Addressing Jesus as Good Teacher he asked what he had to do to have eternal life. The question revealed his ignorance of the true identity of Jesus and of the way of salvation. He called Jesus Teacher, putting Him on the same level as other great men. And he spoke of gaining eternal life as a debt rather than as a gift. 19:17 Our Lord probed him on these two points. In asking, Why do you call Me good? There is no one good but One, that is, God, Jesus was not denying His own deity, but was providing the man with an opportunity to say, That’s why I call You goodYou are God.To test him on the way of salvation Jesus said, But if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments. The Savior was not implying that man can be saved by keeping the commandments. Rather, He was using the law to produce conviction of sin in the man’s heart. The man was still under the delusion that he could inherit the kingdom on the principle of doing. Therefore, let him obey the law which told him what to do. 19:18-20 Our Lord quoted the five commandments dealing primarily with our fellow man, climaxing them by saying, You shall love your neighbor as yourself. Blind to his own selfishness, the man boasted that he had always kept these commandments. 19:21 Our Lord then exposed the man’s failure to love his neighbor as himself by telling him to sell all his possessions and give the money to the poor. Then he should come to Jesus and follow Him. The Lord did not mean that this man could have been saved by selling his possessions and giving the proceeds to charity. There is only one way of salvationfaith in the Lord. But in order to be saved, a man must acknowledge that he has sinned and fallen short of God’s holy requirements. The rich man’s unwillingness to share his possessions showed that he did not love his neighbor as himself. He should have said, Lord, if that’s what is required, then I’m a sinner. I cannot save myself by my own efforts. Therefore, I ask You to save me by Your grace. If he had responded to the Savior’s instruction he would have been given the way of salvation. 19:22 Instead, he went away sorrowful. 19:23, 24 The rich man’s response prompted Jesus to observe that it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. Riches tend to become an idol. It is hard to have them without trusting in them. Our Lord declared that it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God. He was using a figure of speech known as hyperbolea statement made in intensified form to produce a vivid, unforgettable effect. It is clearly impossible for a camel to go through the eye of a needle! The needle’s eye has often been explained as the small door in a city gate. A camel could get through it by kneeling down, but only with great difficulty. However, the word used for needle in the parallel passage in Luke is the same word used to describe the needle used by surgeons. It seems clear from the context that the Lord was not speaking of difficulty, but of impossibility. Humanly speaking, a rich man simply cannot be saved. 19:25 The disciples were astonished by these remarks. As Jews living under the Mosaic code, by which God promised prosperity to those who obeyed Him, they correctly viewed riches as indicative of God’s blessing. If those who thus enjoyed God’s blessing couldn’t be saved, who could? 19:26 The Lord replied, With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible. Humanly speaking, it is impossible for anyone to be saved; only God can save a soul. But it is more difficult for a wealthy man to surrender his will to Christ than for a poor man, as evidenced by the fact that few rich men are converted. They find it almost impossible to replace trust in visible means of support for faith in an unseen Savior. Only God can effect such a change. Commentators and preachers invariably inject here that it is perfectly all right for Christians to be rich. It is strange that they use a passage in which the Lord denounces wealth as a hindrance to man’s eternal welfare, to justify the accumulation of earthly treasures! And it is difficult to see how a Christian can cling to riches in view of the appalling need everywhere, the imminence of Christ’s Return, and the Lord’s clear prohibition against laying up treasures on earth. Hoarded wealth condemns us as not loving our neighbors as ourselves.
Matthew 19:27
H. Concerning Rewards for Sacrificial Living (19:27-30) 19:27 Peter caught the drift of the Savior’s teaching. Realizing that Jesus was saying, Forsake all and follow Me, Peter gloated that he and the other disciples had done exactly that; then he added, What shall we have? Peter’s self-life was showing, the old nature reasserting itself. It was a spirit each of us must guard against. He was bargaining with the Lord. 19:28, 29 The Lord assured Peter that everything done for Him would be rewarded handsomely. As to the twelve specifically, they would have places of authority in the Millennium. The regeneration refers to Christ’s future reign on earth; it is explained by the expression, when the Son of Man sits on the throne of His glory. We have previously referred to this phase of the kingdom as the kingdom in manifestation. At that time the twelve will sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. Rewards in the NT are closely linked with positions of administration in the Millennium (see Luk_19:17, Luk_19:19). They are awarded at the Judgment Seat of Christ, but manifested when the Lord returns to earth to reign. As to believers in general, Jesus added that all who have left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands for His sake shall receive a hundredfold, and inherit eternal life. In this life, they enjoy a world-wide fellowship of believers that more than compensates for severed earthly ties. For the one house they leave, they receive a hundred Christian homes where they are warmly welcomed. For lands or other forms of wealth forsaken, they receive spiritual riches beyond reckoning. The future reward for all believers is eternal life. This does not mean that we earn eternal life by forsaking all and sacrificing. Eternal life is a gift and cannot be earned or merited. Here the thought is that those who forsake all are rewarded with a greater capacity for enjoying eternal life in heaven. All believers will have that life but not all will enjoy it to the same extent. 19:30 The Lord closed His remarks with a warning against a bargaining spirit. He said to Peter, in effect, Anything you do for My sake will be rewarded, but be careful that you are not guided by selfish considerations; because in that case, many who are first will be last, and the last first. This is illustrated by a parable in the next chapter. This statement may also have been a warning that it isn’t enough to start out well on the path of discipleship. It’s how we finish that counts. Before leaving this section we should notice that the expressions kingdom of heaven and kingdom of God are used interchangeably in verses 23 and 24; therefore, the two terms are synonymous.