Matthew 19

Love as Much as I Do

MATTHEW 19:1-30

19:1 When Jesus had finished these words, He departed from Galilee and came into the region of Judea beyond the Jordan; 2 and large crowds followed Him, and He healed them there.

3 Some Pharisees came to Jesus, testing Him and asking, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any reason at all?” 4 And He answered and said, “Have you not read that He who created them from the beginning MADE THEM MALE AND FEMALE, 5 and said, ‘FOR THIS REASON A MAN SHALL LEAVE HIS FATHER AND MOTHER AND BE JOINED 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 no man separate.”7 They *said to Him, “Why then did Moses command to GIVE HER A CERTIFICATE OF DIVORCE AND SEND her AWAY?” 8 He *said to them, “Because of your hardness of heart Moses permitted you to divorce your wives; but from the beginning it has not been this way. 9 “And I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for immorality, and marries another woman commits adultery.”

10 The disciples *said to Him, “If the relationship of the man with his wife is like this, it is better not to marry.” 11 But He said to them, “Not all men can accept this statement, but only those to whom it has been given. 12 “For there are eunuchs who were born that way from their mother's womb; and there are eunuchs who were made eunuchs by men; and there are also eunuchs who made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. He who is able to accept this, let him accept it. ”

13 Then some children were brought to Him so that He might lay His hands on them and pray; and the disciples rebuked them. 14 But Jesus said, “Let the children alone, and do not hinder them from coming to Me; for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.”15 After laying His hands on them, He departed from there.

16 And someone came to Him and said, “Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may obtain eternal life?” 17 And He said to him, “Why are you asking Me about what is good? There is only One who is good; but if you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments.”18 Then he *said to Him, “Which ones?” And Jesus said, “YOU SHALL NOT COMMIT 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.”

YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.” 20 The young man *said to Him, “All these things I have kept; what am I still lacking?” 21 Jesus said to him, “If you wish to be complete, go and sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.” 22 But when the young man heard this statement, he went away grieving; for he was one who owned much property.

23 And Jesus said to His disciples, “Truly I say to you, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. 24 “Again I say to you, 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.” 25 When the disciples heard this, they were very astonished and said, “Then who can be saved?” 26 And looking at them Jesus said to them, “With people this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

27 Then Peter said to Him, “Behold, we have left everything and followed You; what then will there be for us?” 28 And Jesus said to them, “Truly I say to you, that you who have followed Me, in the regeneration when the Son of Man will sit on His glorious throne, you also shall sit upon 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 farms for My name's sake, will receive many times as much, and will inherit eternal life. 30 “But many who are first will be last; and the last, first.

MATTHEW 19:1-2

19:1 When Jesus had finished these words, He departed from Galilee and came into the region of Judea beyond the Jordan; 2 and large crowds followed Him, and He healed them there.

Large crowds followed him

“When Jesus had finished these words…” Jesus just preached on forgiveness and linking our spiritual freedom to our ability to let go of the wrongdoings we feel others have done to us. We need to differentiate between self-righteous anger and righteous anger. Jesus never displayed the first type of anger, however the second was a frequent companion.

Most of our anger is self-righteous and nothing drains our spirit more than this personal journey down pity lane. Righteous anger is not something we feel about personal wrongdoings but against those who do wrong against the vulnerable. We also saw in Matthew 18 the preeminence that Jesus placed on the Mikros (the least of these). We should feel anger when we see the vulnerable exploited and the disenfranchised manipulated.

However, anger is never enough, it must result in disciplined, righteous action, actions designed to free the vulnerable and raise them to a socially equivalent status.

MATTHEW 19:3-9

3 Some Pharisees came to Jesus, testing Him and asking, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any reason at all?” 4 And He answered and said, “Have you not read that He who created them from the beginning MADE THEM MALE AND FEMALE, 5 and said, ‘FOR THIS REASON A MAN SHALL LEAVE HIS FATHER AND MOTHER AND BE JOINED 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 no man separate.” 7 They *said to Him, “Why then did Moses command to GIVE HER A CERTIFICATE OF DIVORCE AND SEND her AWAY?” 8 He *said to them, “Because of your hardness of heart Moses permitted you to divorce your wives; but from the beginning it has not been this way. 9 “And I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for immorality, and marries another woman commits adultery.”

“Because of your hardness of heart Moses permitted you to divorce your wives”

Most of us do not realize what a statement of female liberation this statement of Jesus was during his times. At the time, a man could divorce his wife just by saying to her, “I divorce thee, I divorce thee, I divorce thee,” three times in front of his friends. Immediately, she had to pick everything up and walk out of the house. Current Sharia Law allows a man to call on a cell phone and tell his wife, “I divorce thee,” three times in front of three “witnesses.” She has to be gone before he arrives at home.

No law favored a woman, but at least this law protected her.

MATTHEW 19:10-12

“There are eunuchs who were born that way from their mother's womb”

The disciples voice the concerns of most men in a chauvinistic society, “If the women have rights, then it is better not to marry.”

Then Jesus brings up some of the potentially most hotly debated sentences in the bible, about Eunuchs. Many believe that, “Eunuchs from their mother’s womb,” is a reference to homosexuality. The term Eunuch [G2135 eunoúchos] is a combination of “good and perfect (eu)” and echo to have and hold or possess. It refers to one who is fine alone in bed or a “keeper of the bed or bed chamber.”

It is not with certainty, but there is possibility that Jesus is telling his disciples that they must accept such people. Certainly, Jesus would never accept ostracizing any person, not when he just demanded protection for the vulnerable—and it is in that context he preaches this sermon.

He goes on to speak about those who were made eunuchs by men—usually to guard a king’s harem and those who are comfortable in bed without anyone, those who are celibate.

What we should know with certainty from these words is Jesus’ acceptance of all people, regardless of their situation or sexual persuasion!

MATTHEW 19:13-15

13 Then some children were brought to Him so that He might lay His hands on them and pray; and the disciples rebuked them. 14 But Jesus said, “Let the children alone, and do not hinder them from coming to Me; for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” 15 After laying His hands on them, He departed from there.

“Let the children alone, and do not hinder them from coming to Me”

This event happens after Jesus tells the disciples to seek the Mikros (“least little ones”).

Matthew 18:10

“See that you do not despise on of these little ones, for I say to you that their angels in heaven continually see the face of My Father who is in heaven.”

Despite this stern reprimand, the disciples go right back to excluding or attempting to rebuke the children who want to be with Jesus. Did they have something more important occurring in their day? Could it be that the presence of the Pharisees or the “rich young property owner,” made the disciples try to chase the children away?

How easily we forget our obligation to our littlest ones. Would that change at all if we realized that investing in our children is the same as investing in our Lord?

All too often children have to go to worship services and liturgies that bore them to tears. Would that please the Lord or would he consider that a hindrance? Is that following his statement, “Do not hinder them from coming to me?” Why must worship always be at our metabolism rate? What would engaging worship look like to a child? Here are seven guidelines to worship that child would find engaging.

1. Colorful

2. Movement

3. Sincerity (children don’t always like someone who is loud and goofy, they like someone who is sincere and consistent)

4. Music (not always loud or fast, some children really love to move to slow music as well)

5. Involvement (let children talk about ways they want to be involved in worship, not just serving the adults attending. Provide for them a meaningful way to be involved)

6. Great aesthetics

7. Wonder and intuitive, worship should lead to wonder with children, not answers to universal questions but amazement with the great mysteries of God’s creation

MATTHEW 19:16-22

16 And someone came to Him and said, “Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may obtain eternal life?” 17 And He said to him, “Why are you asking Me about what is good? There is only One who is good; but if you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments.” 18 Then he *said to Him, “Which ones?” And Jesus said, “YOU SHALL NOT COMMIT 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.”

“If you wish to be complete, go and sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.”

This young man wants to know what he needs to do to get to heaven. Jesus takes him by surprise when he tells the young man whom he needs to be in order to get through the “Eye of the Needle.”

I often hear people seeking advice for God’s “calling” in their lives. God cares far less about what we are doing than who we are being. Position and possessions obviously didn’t matter to Jesus or else he would have told this young man to “Sell all you possess and give the money to me.”

No matter what we “do” in life, we can still be influential through our values. Some of the most influential people in history rejected possessions and positions.

Jesus doesn’t give this message to all people. He knows what each of us needs to give up so we can focus on him undistracted. For this man it was his money, for Nicodemus, it was his knowledge. Nicodemus had to become like a child again—full of wonder and amazement. But Jesus only tells Nicodemus to be born again. He doesn’t say that to the rich young prince. Nor does he tell Nicodemus to sell all his possessions (and Nick was quite wealthy).

There is no cookie-cutter-conversion with Jesus; he knows what each of us must leave behind. For some it is their knowledge for others their possessions. To one person it might be their need to be in control, to another, their need to be the center of attention and gossip.

What do you think Jesus would ask you to give up so you can focus solely on him?

MATTHEW 19:23-30

“With people this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

The disciples, like many of us, choose to focus what is impossible for them rather than what is possible with God.

People often speak of the Eye of The Needle as if it were a night gate outside the main gates of Jerusalem. There is no such gate. It has been said that if a camel were offloaded and kneeled at that proverbial, it could make its way through the evening gate virtually closing down the city to a night attack. This is great legend but there is no truth to it. Jesus’ statement is largely allegorical and a wonderful metaphor. The Lord often spoke with rich parables that painted beautiful images to followers. Probably another reason children loved to listen to him and came from everywhere just to be near him.

The point of the story however, is the fullness of our Creator and what God is able to do. The disciples are ready to give up after this story and the experience of the rich young man. They probably saw dollar-signs and influence all over the prince. He could contribute a lot of funds and maybe even make things easier for Jesus and his followers. They had to be thinking that this was not a good time to drive away someone rich and influential. But when was? When was a good time to send the wealthy away?

Without hesitation, Jesus weighs the man’s attachment to wealth against the impact of him continuing to live the same way he’s always lived. Jesus wasn’t thinking of using the young man’s money or influence, he was thinking about reaching the young man’s soul. He thinks the same way with us. We aren’t saved by what we have or do, we are saved by whom we love.

I’ve known two extremely wealthy people (“0.01 percenters”) who used their resources to go see Mother Teresa while she was alive. Both offered Mother Teresa sizable funds to support her work. Both were told, “Have you no poor in your own city? Go back and take care of them if you want to do something for me.”

Both did exactly that and have made huge impacts on their own communities.

This is the true point of the story. It is not about a camel, it is not about a gate. It is about God doing the impossible through people.

“But many who are first will be last; and the last, first.”

Certainly, the disciples of Jesus would have thought the rich young man would come first-among-followers. Yet, Jesus hangs out with fishermen and tax collectors over him. The young prince could only follow Jesus by becoming a pauper. No wonder the disciples are so confused. Kingdom Economics is confusing to many. It is not that Jesus wants everyone to live austere lives (look at Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus). Austerity itself can become it’s own god.

Our Lord just doesn’t want us to live distracted lives. Whatever it is that distracts me from following him wholeheartedly. That is what Jesus asks me to give away. Peter had to give up his pride, Nicodemus had to give up his academics and titles, the rich young prince had to give up his possessions.

In my heart of hearts, I know what must be given up to follow Christ’s truth instead of my own.