Matthew Chapter 19
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Matthew Chapter 19 (Everlasting Life Through Christ)
Matthew Chapter 19 (Everlasting Life Through Christ)
Intro:
So we are picking back up with the book of Matthew in chapter 19, Remember on our last Bible study lesson, we closed with Christ teaching about the servent who owed an unimaginable debt to the King, and the king forgave it but the servent later couldn’t forgive another with a very small debt, ETC ETC.
So taking a look at the first section in this chapter.
Jesus’s Teachings Over Divorce (Mark 10:1-12)
Starting here in this chapter we are going to see Christ teaching over divorce, man and wife, and we are going to dig into the context and why He is teaching over this,
And it came to pass, that when Jesus had finished these sayings, he departed from Galilee, and came into the coasts of Judaea beyond Jordan;
Galilee was the northern part of what we know today as Israel, and Judaea is the southern mountainous region. Just so we have a visual of where this is happening,
So after Christ finishes His parable of the unforgiving servant he departs to the coasts of Judaea.
And great multitudes followed him; and he healed them there.
Again we see this over, and over again Christ never stops His blessings and works for the multitudes.
The Pharisees also came unto him, tempting him, and saying unto him, Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife for every cause?
We have caught the Pharisees in the act before, trying to contradict Christ with scripture, and this is exactly what they are doing here,
“is it lawful for a man to put away his wife for every cause?”
They are questioning him about divorce in a marriage. “is it lawful to divorce your wife for any cause?”
And he answered and said unto them, Have ye not read, that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female,
We see Christ respond with the best defense, TRUE scripture. and let’s take a look at what He is referencing here.
So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.
Male and female were made BY GOD in the image of God.
Back in Matthew.
And said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh?
Christ now referencing Genesis chapter 2
Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.
Christ doesn't change the law, he fulfills it, he further explains it,
Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.
God created man and woman in His image, and the Son of God clearly is stating to these men that whatever God has joined together take care of it, protect it, LET NO MAN TEAR IT APART.
I want to make note here, we see it time and time again that Christ speaks on multiple different levels.
A lot of times He lays things out both spiritual and physical.
Spiritually we are to become ONE flesh with our spouses. we have went over proper biblical marriage before, Ephesians 5 specifically,
But how does this apply on a physical level?
Well just like our works in our faith, our works are the fruit of the spirit,
the fruit of a marriage is when man and woman come together as one spiritually, and they then come together physically as one flesh resulting in what kind of blessing?
A Child
Children are the blessings or fruit God gives us through marriage, and you may ask, “well what about people who cant have children” Christ is going to cover that here in this chapter.
But for verse 6 and (Gen 2 24) marriage was intended to be permanent by God
They say unto him, Why did Moses then command to give a writing of divorcement, and to put her away?
So if God intended marriage to be permanent, Why were there laws for divorcement?
What they are referencing are the Mosaic laws found in
Deut 24 verses 1-4
We are just going to verse 1 there because that is what the Pharisees are speaking about.
When a man hath taken a wife, and married her, and it come to pass that she find no favour in his eyes, because he hath found some uncleanness in her: then let him write her a bill of divorcement, and give it in her hand, and send her out of his house.
Whenever a man finds nothing good of his wife in his own eyes, because he found some uncleanness in her, then they can get a divorce. “intended” to be for sexual immorality. Adultery. That is why it says “uncleanness”
Well what happened like always, man started corrupting this law, they would look at, if your wife was doing something you disagreed with or not doing something you agreed with, They would see that as uncleanness for divorce, People were divorcing their wives if any and every little thing they done would displease them and that is wrong.
A lot of what we see now in modern times.
That is NOT the way the law was intended.
But check out how Christ explains this.
He saith unto them, Moses because of the hardness of your hearts suffered you to put away your wives: but from the beginning it was not so.
Christ explains that Moses made concession due to the sin of the Jews.
In the beginning, Man and Wife were to marry forever, but through the corruption and sin of mankind, sometimes divorce is the answer and could be seen fit.
But it was not seen fit for any and every little inconvenience or disagreement.
And I say unto you, Whosoever shall put away his wife, except it be for fornication, and shall marry another, committeth adultery: and whoso marrieth her which is put away doth commit adultery.
Lets break this verse down in 2 sections.
I want us to look at where it says “except it be for fornication”
The word “fornication” we automatically thing of what?
Sexual immorality. Which is clearly what this is saying, but again Christ speaks on multiple levels.
Lets take that word back to the Greek manuscript.
G4202- fornication- derived from G4203; harlotry (including adultery and incest); figuratively, Idolatry.
So this word in the Greek means sexual immorality, AND figuratively means Idolatry.
I really want to be careful with how I word this,
Marriage is a covenant between two souls a man and a woman entwining them as ONE with God. It is NOT something to be taken lightly and is intended to be a permanent forever by God. Divorce should never even slip through your mind in your marriage.
But looking at how Christ lays this out and further explains this law, sexual immorality is a justifiable reason for divorce
and also Idolatry in a marriage.Which to me means you not putting your spouse where they should be in your heart and in your mind, whether that be below their place bionically or ABOVE Jesus Christ.
The point of marriage with one another is to come together and grow with Christ. Collectively, Ill say it again AS ONE FLESH.
and also to have children. Produce that fruit of a marriage, to raise them up in the word of God so they too can live for Christ.
Christ spoke on children last chapter and how much of a blessing they are.
But again, Divorce is NEVER the answer, but it can be justifiable through certain corruption and sin of man.
Divorce for the wrong sinful reasons is equivalent of adultery.
This is a very strong subject, because I feel like over the years from here even until now, Marriage is not taken as seriously as it should be, and also divorce is either taken too extreme or either not serious enough as well.
Some treat divorce as equivalent as the unpardonable sin and that is not true.
Divorce is not right by God, but God also made it justifiable for specific reasons as a result of the corruption and sin in a marriage by mankind.
His disciples say unto him, If the case of the man be so with his wife, it is not good to marry.
To me, this comment from the disciples shows the importance of the weight this carries.
Marriage is an easy target for sin and corruption. and seeing this and the way culture was then and even in modern times they straight make the statement, “it sounds like marriage causes more conflict than good.” Which is not true this should be read as rhetorical statement not to be taken literally.
But he said unto them, All men cannot receive this saying, save they to whom it is given.
For there are some eunuchs, which were so born from their mother’s womb: and there are some eunuchs, which were made eunuchs of men: and there be eunuchs, which have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven’s sake. He that is able to receive it, let him receive it.
A eunuch is an unmarried man OR a man who has been castrated OR can not reproduce.
So some men are born where they cannot reproduce, some have been castrated by man, and some made themselves infertile for abstenance sake.
But looking at that last part of this verse, “He that is able to receive it, let him receive it”
The shoe does not always fit, the law of divorce might not have been written for you and your spouse.
And this is where I stand personally of if you are studying the law of divorce and contemplating leave your spouse, whether it be biblicaly justifiable or not, There will be a divine sign from God on what decision to make.
and I'm just going to leave it at that.
Now that the law of divorce is out of the way, Lol
Jesus Blessing the Children (Mark 10:13-16,Luke 18:15-17)
Then were there brought unto him little children, that he should put his hands on them, and pray: and the disciples rebuked them.
The disciples turned the children away.
But Jesus said, Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven.
Christ was praying over these children, and laying His hands on them, just like He was everyone else and the disciples rebuked the children to get away.
Our children belong to the kingdom of heaven the same way we do, we can’t hold our children from growing closer to God, don’t be that stumbling block of “oh well they are to young they wont understand at least right now”
That is wrong, we’ve had instances in our church in the past about children being “too loud” during service but I'm telling you now, if ANYONE gets upset over children being here during service James, Papa, and I will personally handle the situation before ANY child would be turned away,
And based on the past Im sure most of, if not all of the women in here will do the exact same!
Whether a child is 2 years old or 12 years old, I know because we can see it with our own eyes, they pick up on the truth. Don’t hinder a child from growing their knowledge and faith because “they wont understand it yet” because There is something divine with Children in the Church. They WILL pickup on the truth. and sometimes easier than most adults.
James covered this last chapter,
And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.
Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
Christ even compares the proper mindset for entering into the kingdom of heaven as little children.
You can teach an old dog new tricks but it is easier for a clean and pure mind to understand the truth rather than erasing the corruption in order to teach the truth.
That is kind of a rough way to say it but, the ways of the world will try and corrupt you even your children at a young age,
Why should our children not already have a foundation of truth BEFORE they are set into the world on their own?
And he laid his hands on them, and departed thence.
And, behold, one came and said unto him, Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life?
I want to make note here that this isn’t a child saying this but rather a wealthy man, which leads us to the last section of this chapter.
The Story of the Rich Man (Mark 10:17-31,Luke 18: 18-30)
This wealthy man comes unto Christ and calls acknowledges Him by “Good Master” and asks what he should do to enter into the kingdom of heaven, have everlasting life.
And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments.
There are 2 different ways I understand this from Christ.
the First being why is this man asking Christ what is good? God already defined what was good when He gave Israel the 10 commandments.
and the second I see Christ somewhat testing this man’s faith. and you will see what I mean by that as we go through this.
So the guideline that God has already established is a good guide to enter the kingdom of heaven.
But Christ is testing the humbleness of this wealthy man because He knows, and we know that mankind falls short of the commandments of God.
Through Jesus Christ is how we enter into eternity.
He saith unto him, Which? Jesus said, Thou shalt do no murder, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness,
I want to clarify here that Christ is not ONLY speaking about these 4 commandments, He is just simply giving a quick reference to ALL of them which are in Exodus 20.
And if you want to make note jot it down
Exodus 20 2-27 and also Leviticus 19:18 which was added of loving one’s neighbor.
The young man saith unto him, All these things have I kept from my youth up: what lack I yet?
I read this as this wealthy man is saying he hasn’t sinned against the commandments of God even through childhood, he has always known the law and has not sinned against it,
Which we all know is impossible and don’t think Christ didn’t recognize this either.
Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me.
Conditional word there “if”
Christ says if you truly are perfect, then sell all your materialistic things to the poor, and you will have treasures in the kingdom of heaven, come and follow Him.
What is neat to me here is how Christ shows he knows this mans heart.
He is the ONLY flesh that followed the commandments of God without sin, even when this man claims he has never disobeyed God’s law, Christ never contradicted the man, He told him “if this is the truth, then depart from you worldly wealth and follow Him.”
The true way man in the flesh can inherit the kingdom of heaven, Through following Jesus Christ.
I just want to point out here,
We just did a Wednesday night Bible study over this, Christ handles this situation with the truth, He isn’t being a stumbling block to the wealthy man, He is simply testing the mans faith with the truth.
You see men on TV all over the world and even here in this small town that will preach over their own accomplishments and “how great of a child of God THEY are” and that isn’t showing humbleness towards Christ.
It isn’t about what WE do it is about what Christ does IN us.
What always gets to me is I have had personal conversations with people throughout the community that the first thing they say talk about is how great of a man their pastor is, and all their accomplishments and how great of a child of God they are,
The point is, they know more about their preacher than they do our Savior.
Subconsciously it seems like they care more about the man speaking on Sunday morning than they do the word of God.
But I say all that to say this,
Don’t be the stumbling block or the “divider” separating someone from the true word of God.
Just like Christ does here, use Him as an example.
Clearly He knows the man has sinned, but instead of pointing out the mans faults, He preaches the truth
“you say you have never sinned, okay then turn away from the world and follow me, follow Christ.”
But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions.
The man was sorrowful, he cared more about his worldly things rather than following Christ.
Then said Jesus unto his disciples, Verily I say unto you, That a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven.
Christ turning this encounter into a learning situation for His followers,
it is harder for a rich man to follow Christ, why? lets keep reading,
And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.
There are 2 ways to look at this verse but either way it is the same outcome,
The camel was the largest animal in Palestine at the time, obviously you can read this from Christ as a hyperbole trying to fit a camel through the tiny hole of a sewing needle.
But another way to read this is some scholars claimed there was a small gate in the city walls of Jerusalem they called “the eye of a needle” because it was so small. The only way a camel could pass through this gate was to take off all the bags, saddles ETC, to nothing but the camel in self and it would have to kneel down in order to pass through the gate. Showing that it was possible but only by removing all the materialistic things off the camel.
Now, I couldn’t find any hard concrete evidence over this. Some biblical scholars claim it to be true but I couldn’t find any direct historical or archaeological proof of said gate existing during this time period, But I wanted to bring it up because you may encounter this explanation,
None the less, Either way you look at it, it is showing just how extreme and difficult it is to enter into the kingdom of heaven when you are wealthy with materialistic treasures instead of treasures in Christ.
When his disciples heard it, they were exceedingly amazed, saying, Who then can be saved?
James and I had this conversation, this response from the disciples is what leads me more towards a literal camel through the eye of a needle because that is impossible, and the disciples respond with exactly that, “if that's true the no one could enter into the kingdom of heaven.”
Take a look at Christ’s response.
But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.
Back in this time and honestly even now, many people believe that if your wealthy, have a lot of money, a big house, nice cars, then that means God is blessing you more. Some people may look at that as “blessings from God toward righteousness”
And to an extent that be true, but I believe it is a lot deeper than that,
For thou shalt eat the labour of thine hands:
Happy shalt thou be, and it shall be well with thee.
And also that every man should eat and drink, and enjoy the good of all his labour, it is the gift of God.
Behold that which I have seen: it is good and comely for one to eat and to drink, and to enjoy the good of all his labour that he taketh under the sun all the days of his life, which God giveth him: for it is his portion.
So clearly we see it is good for us to enjoy the by product of our labor because it is given by God. Right?
Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.
This is Paul speaking to the Galatians here about living by the spirit and NOT by the flesh, clearly he says that whatever your intent is whether that be good or bad is what your reward will be, you can’t fool God.
But one last place I want to go to help tie this all together.
Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.
We should be focusing our labors unto Christ and what He has in store for us, not just so we can have flashy cars, and clothes, ETC.
As a young man, fresh out of school, I was headstrong in chasing that dollar sign,
You can ask both of my parents, I didn't care what career path it would be, or where in the states it would put me all I cared about was how I could make the most amount of money possible,
Before I knew it, I met my wife, we settled down had a son, and built a homestead right where I grew up. and I truly believe that God closed those doors for me for 2 reasons.
1 because He knows my heart better than I do, and looking at it now, hindsight is 20/20, I would've easily fallen into corruption living on the road, Easily
and 2, I now have a greater wealth than I could’ve imagined which is My family, my wife, and my son.
So I say all of that to say this,
Just like the parable from Christ here about the wealthy man, wealth in the flesh isn’t always blessings from God, sometimes materialistic things can be distractions or stumbling blocks planted by Satan in your life, We just read in Ecclesiastes where you should enjoy the fruits of your labor, they are a gift from God, but don’t let it distract you from your TRUE wealth,
You know the saying “money is the root of all evil”
That is false, money isn’t what is evil, it is man kinds love and lust of money that is evil and causes corruption.
But just like what Christ said, it is impossible for a man to enter into the kingdom of heaven on his own, but with God anything is possible.
Don’t be distracted by your materialistic things like the wealthy man here, focus on your treasures in heaven through your works with Christ.
Then answered Peter and said unto him, Behold, we have forsaken all, and followed thee; what shall we have therefore?
Peter saying exactly what we just talked about, the disciples gave up their lives in the flesh to follow Christ and he isn’t asking out of greed but simply for a better understanding.
And Jesus said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That ye which have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.
Christ is kind of showing them how they will inherit leadership roles in Him with spreading The gospel, and also a sort of accountability by being ambassadors for God.
And every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name’s sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life.
But many that are first shall be last; and the last shall be first.
James has covered this multiple times, the greatest thing in our heart MUST be Jesus Christ. above all our family, friends, children, and most especially materialistic things.
This doesn’t mean not to love your family, your children, your friends, it simply means to love God MORE.
This is where I stand on a biblical marriage, notice in verse 29 he even says “forsaken your wife for Jesus’s names sake” If you and your spouse have come together as one flesh, the two of you should boost each other up with your relationship with Christ. don’t just turn your back on spouse, but rather love Christ more with each other,
And that even applies with our children all of us together, family, friends, family in Christ, don’t just turn your back on one another to try and help you grow in faith, that is not what Christ is saying here,
But rather with one another, and helping each other grow our faith and love Christ MORE.
again it is just as simple as keep Christ as your #1 focus in your life, and do everything like you are working for Him and He WILL bless us with treasures greater than we could ever imagine, don’t get caught up in materialistic treasures of the flesh, because what Christ has in store for each and every one of His children and followers FAR surpasses any amount of wealth in the flesh.
Matthew Chapter 19 (Everlasting Life Through Christ)
Matthew Chapter 19 (Everlasting Life Through Christ)
