Matthew 19

Matthew 19:1

Thus far in Matthew’s gospel, we have seen the revelation of the King and the rebellion against the King. Now we come to the retreat of the King as Jesus takes His disciples away for a season of intensive discipleship. Jesus is headed toward Jerusalem, the city wherein He will be crucified, buried, and resurrected.

Matthew 19:2

As Jesus heals the multitudes, the Pharisees are only interested in arguing with Him. This should not be surprising, for the Pharisaical mentality always wants to debate rather than celebrate. The issue of divorce and remarriage was the hot controversy of the day. Two schools of thought proposed by two influential rabbis fueled the debate. Hillel was the liberal rabbi who said that, according to the Law of Moses, there were many justifications for divorce. For example, saying anything negative about her husband’s mother would render a wife unclean and justify her husband divorcing her. Or if a husband saw a woman fairer to look upon than his wife, his wife would be unclean by comparison and he would be justified in divorcing her. Needless to say, Hillel had a great following among those looking for a way out of their marriages.

Shammai, on the other hand, was very conservative and said there were virtually no grounds for divorce. Thus, the debate concerning divorce and remarriage was as heated as it is in the church today.

Matthew 19:4

In answer to their question, Jesus said, “Go back further than the Law of Moses. Go back to the Garden of Eden, for there you will discover the root of the matter.”

Matthew 19:7

In other words, the Pharisees are asking Jesus, “If the union of two who become one is to remain for as long as they live, why does the Old Testament offer the option of divorce at all?”

Matthew 19:8

Jesus answered by saying that the Law of Moses made provision for divorce not because God desired it, but because of the hardness of men’s hearts. Divorce was never God’s heart or God’s intention. But because the people had become so hardened, the Law of Moses allowed this heathen custom of divorce to take place within prescribed boundaries (Deuteronomy 24). Notice, divorce is not mandated in the event of adultery. It is simply allowed. While Jesus is not saying there must be divorce if there is infidelity, He acknowledges that it is possible for a relationship to be dealt a deathblow by infidelity, making it the one ground for divorce. According to Old Testament Law, the penalty for adultery was not divorce but death. Then came Jesus. In John 8, the Pharisees brought Him a woman who was caught in the act of adultery and He said to her, “I don’t condemn you. I forgive you and free you to a better way of living. Go your way and sin no more.” Though the law came by Moses, grace and truth indeed came by Jesus (Joh_1:17).

Matthew 19:9

Jesus is saying, “Divorce, not the result of adultery results in adultery if there is remarriage.” This raises all kinds of questions. What if a person falls into trouble and difficulty in his marriage when he’s twenty years old, and, after going through twenty-five years of being single and walking with the Lord, he meets someone special and wants to get married? If he does so, will the couple live in adultery? Is adultery the unpardonable sin? Is divorce the unpardonable sin? To answer, look at perhaps the most famous marital failure in history, a man after God’s own heart, a man named David. After his affair with Bathsheba, David killed her husband to cover his sin. God dealt with David by allowing the child conceived to be short-circuited into eternity. His death greatly affected David. But once David was dealt with, the next child from his union with Bathsheba was Solomon, the subsequent king of Israel and part of the Messianic line. Of all David’s wives, which were many, Bathsheba remained in a prominent place. Even at the end of his life, it was Bathsheba who had access to David and who was instrumental in establishing the next phase of his kingdom. On the basis of David’s life, in which we see the Lord dealing with the situation through chastening, adjusting, and correcting, I do not believe a person who has had a failure in a previous marriage lives in continual adultery in a second marriage. If such were the case, God would not have blessed Solomon. I do believe that where there is divorce and remarriage, there is inevitably a tearing away of a previous relationship and a coming together of a new relationship. Thus, there is in that act adultery. Jesus does not say, however, that although there is an act of adultery, the person who remarries lives in adultery. I once talked with a young man about twenty-five years of age who was part of our church family and on leave from an elite branch of the air force. He had fallen in love with a lady who also loved the Lord but who had been married at age seventeen. After her marriage failed, she was, at age twenty-five, a single mom. This young pilot sat in my office weeping as he said, “I love this lady deeply. But if I marry her, I fear we’ll be living in adultery all of our lives.” “I can’t tell you what to do,” I said. “But I do know this: I’m a bride and I have failed greatly. But my Bridegroom, Jesus Christ, was willing to absorb my pollution and iniquity to bring me into His love and into His family. Therefore, I do not believe it is against the heart of God for you to enter into a relationship to redeem that mother and childeven if it means absorbing pollution and bearing iniquitybecause that’s exactly what Jesus did for me.” I take time to address this issue because I believe it is important. On one hand, people are taking divorce far too lightly because they fail to realize its seriousness. On the other hand, the church too often mistakenly stands ready to judge and condemn couples who have admittedly failed, but who have sought the Lord and are now starting a new life together. There needs to be a balance in this very sober and serious matter of divorce.

Matthew 19:10

The disciples said, “If what You say is true, Master, it’s better not to get married at all. It’s too tricky, too dangerous, and too troublesome.”

Matthew 19:11

Jesus answered that there are some who are born eunuchs. That is, they remain single because they were born without any desire for the opposite sex. Others were made eunuchs. That is, they were made eunuchs through castration, which was a common practice of conquering nations upon men placed in certain positions; for example, those in charge of the king’s harem. Still others made themselves eunuchs by choosing to live a single lifestyle for the sake of the kingdom. The apostle Paul would later write that the single state was a superior state (1Co_7:25-26) because one could devote himself fully and completely to the work of the kingdom. On the other hand, Philip, the great evangelist who preached to the city of Samaria in Acts 8 and saw virtually the entire city get saved, had a wife and four daughters who grew up to be prophetesses. So, if you’re given the grace and the calling to remain single, rejoice in that and in the freedom it affords you to serve God with abandon. If you’re not single, be like Philip and raise godly kids. And if there has been a failure in your past, know there is a redemptive plan for your future as you seek the Lord with sincerity.

Matthew 19:13

I don’t think it’s coincidental that right after dealing with the issue of divorce, Jesus turns His attention toward the children, for children are always directly affected by the divorce of their parents. Of this same event, Luke writes: “And they brought unto him infants…” (Luk_18:15). The Greek pronoun he uses for “they” is masculine. In other words, it was the men who brought their kids to Jesus. I like that! Dad, how do you lay hands on your kids? While I think it’s important that we discipline them, I do wonder sometimes if a lot of us aren’t heavy on the laying on of hands in discipline and too light on the laying on of hands in blessing. When was the last time you pronounced a blessing on your child? Whenever Jesus ministered, there was a release of His virtue so noticeable to Him that even in the midst of a crowd He was aware of it (Luk_8:46). No doubt, ministry exacted a toll on Jesus, which may explain why His disciples were trying to protect Him.

Matthew 19:14

Contrary to what His disciples thought, Jesus is never too tired for anyoneespecially children.

Matthew 19:16

This one who came was rich; he was young; and he was a ruler. In other words, he had made it to the top occupationally; he was set financially; and he was young and healthy physically. In response to this encounter with the rich young ruler, throughout the rest of this chapter Jesus will contrast the poverty of riches with the richness of poverty.

Matthew 19:17

Scripture records that there is none righteous, no not one (Rom_3:10). Only God is good. Thus, Jesus asks, “Since God alone is good, are you saying I am God?” There are those who declare that on the basis of the Seventh Commandment, we should never kill under any circumstance. However, Jesus’ rendering of the Seventh Commandment, given here, is, “Thou shalt do no murder.” You see, freedom and redemption often come only by the shedding of blood. Politically and historically, we are free today because many men shed blood and gave their lives for the freedom we enjoy in this country. The same is true spiritually and eternally. We are free because one Man shed His blood and paid the price for our salvation. “What lack I yet?” That is the question still being asked. According to an article in a newsmagazine, in the ’80s people made a living. In the ’90s, they were to make a life. No longer would young executives arrive at the office at six o’clock in the morning and be the last to leave at night. Long weekends, family time, and recreation would be the order of the day. In going from one extreme to another, however, our generation found emptiness once again. The only way to be fulfilled in life is through a relationship with God through Jesus Christ.

Matthew 19:21

Knowing his possessions were possessing him, Jesus’ desire was to free this rich young ruler. “Simplify your life,” He said, “and follow Me.” Please understand that poverty does not produce automatic spirituality. That’s not what Jesus is saying. Many of the greatest men in Scripture were exceedingly wealthy. Abraham, David, and Solomon; Nicodemus, Zacchaeus, and Joseph of Arimathea were all men of great possessions. Possessions are not inherently wrong. But when they begin to dictate how you spend your time and how you make decisions, you’re in trouble. Jesus was dealing with the particular issue in this man’s life that was holding him back. In your life, in my life, there might be another issue entirely.

Matthew 19:23

It’s hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom because riches can make one independent of God and intolerant of others. Riches can cause us to say, “Why should I pray or seek God when I can consult my banker or stockbroker?” Riches can cause us to ask, “Why is everyone so poor? Why don’t they have the initiative, the industry, or the energy I do? What’s wrong with them?” When you become independent of God and intolerant of others, you forfeit the kingdom. Riches can be dangerous indeed if they make us stiff of knee and hard of heart.

Matthew 19:24

The Talmud, the Jewish body of teaching present in Jesus’ day, contained the similar phrase, “It is easier for an elephant to go through the eye of a needle.” Elephants were common in Persia or Iran, where the Talmud was written, but not in Jerusalem. So Jesus modified the Talmud with something His Jerusalem audience could relate to: a camel. Was He talking about a literal needle and camel, or was He, as G. Campbell Morgan strongly suggests, speaking of something else? In Jerusalem, all commerce would stop when the gates of the city of Jerusalem were closed on the Sabbath day and every evening at sunset. Commerce stopped because camels and caravans could no longer enter. But there was a little gate called the Needle Gate that was actually a gate inside of the main gate. It could be opened to allow access and egress to only one person at a time. The only way a camel could possibly get through this Needle Gate would be if all of the baggage was removed from his back and if he crawled through the gate on his knees. I believe it is very possible that this is what Jesus was alluding to, saying, “There is a way for a rich man to enter the kingdom, but only if he places no priority on his possessions and is willing to fall to his knees in humility.”

Matthew 19:25

The disciples were amazed because in those days, the rabbis taught that the closer one was to God, the richer he would be. Prosperity theology was around even back then. Here, however, Jesus totally shoots that theory down by saying, “Contrary to Jewish theology, riches can actually hinder one entering the kingdom.”

Matthew 19:26

Even a rich man can be saved by the grace and power of God.

Matthew 19:27

“We’ve left everything to follow You,” Peter says. “What the rich young ruler wasn’t willing to do, we’ve done. How will our faithfulness be rewarded?”

Matthew 19:28

Jesus answers Peter by saying, “Any who forsake land, wealth, or family to follow Me will be ushered into the kingdom with great rewards.” Big deal, you might be thinking. Heaven’s too far away to think about. I don’t care about rewards there. But you will definitely care then. Only what you do for the Lord will bring you eternal reward. Jesus will reward you greatly for whatever you’re giving up for Him now. Mark adds this promise to his account of the same story: And Jesus answered and said, Verily I say unto you, There is no man that hath left house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my sake, and the gospel’s, But he shall receive an hundredfold now in this time, houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands, with persecutions; and in the world to come eternal life.Mar_10:29-30 In other words, what you give up for the Lord and for His kingdom will not only be rewarded eternally but will be returned to you a hundred times over presently. What does this mean? Does it mean, as some suggest, that if I make a vow or “plant my seed,” I’ll get a whole bunch of money in the mail next month? I don’t think so. I believe Jesus is saying that, as part of the kingdom, we have access to a hundred houses and a hundred families. I’m so thankful for the churchfor people who love the Lord, who care about each other, who stand by one another, and who share with those in need.

Those who are radically following Jesus will find not only rewards in Heaven, but benefits on earth. Our needs will be met a hundred times over because we’re part of a community; we’re part of a family; we’re part of the Kingdom.

Matthew 19:30

“Watch out, Peter,” Jesus says. “You’re proud of the fact that you have given much to follow Me. But many that are first shall be last, and many that are last shall be first. There will be some surprises in heaven.”