Matthew 19 - Devotional Thoughts from my Homiletics

 We’re talking about relationships today.

Aim: God has a plan for every life and will bring that plan to fruition.

1.Jesus healed, spoke about divorce, and placed hands on children (Matthew 19:1-15)

2.Jesus said, “it is hard for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of heaven,” and, “first will be last and…last will be first” (Matthew 19:16-30)

 

Remember last week we ended the chapter with Jesus telling a parable about an unforgiving servant.  He said “This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother or sister from your heart.”  I pray that has stuck with you throughout the week and that God used this challenging word to open paths of reconciliation between you and God and others.

Matthew 19 opens with Jesus leaving Galilee and going to the region of Judea to the other side of the Jordan.  It’s difficult to gauge exactly how long this journey may have taken, but my searches say anywhere from 6-14 days of walking.  Matthew 19:2 says large crowds followed Him and He healed them there.  I don’t know if a huge crowd followed Him from Galilee all the way to Judea (that would be dedication), or if the crowd grew as they traveled.  I can just imagine the people following on foot for days…a week…two.  Waiting for Jesus to stop, speak, heal, pray, touch them with His words and His hands.  Will we see another feeding miracle like we heard about?  Will He pick me out of the crowd to heal me?  Picking up people along the way: Who are you following?  Who is this Jesus you speak of?  Jesus is the Healer!  And that’s exactly what He did when He got where He was going in Judea.  Enter some Pharisees.

Read Matthew 19:3-9.

Some Pharisees came to test Jesus.  Again.  Their hearts were hard.  Still.  They didn’t expect to see the promised Messiah.  They expected to expose Jesus as a fraud so they could hang onto the power they possessed.  But Jesus kept passing their tests.  His followers were growing in number.  He was winning people to the kingdom of heaven.  He was changing lives.  The Pharisees didn’t like it.

Don’t we do the same thing?  Keep testing until we get what we want?  I’ve got a movie on my Christmas viewing list called “While You Were Sleeping.”  It’s a romantic comedy with Sandra Bullock and Bill Pullman.  Bullock plays a character named Lucy, a token taker on the El train in Chicago, who swoons over this businessman (Peter) as he boards the train every day.  Well, he gets pushed onto the tracks, Lucy saves him, Peter ends up in a coma.  In true romantic comedy fashion, several misunderstandings play out, and Peter’s family think Lucy is his fiancé!  Lucy gets to know the family and actually falls for Peter’s brother, Jack.  In one scene, Jack is visiting the comatose Peter, talking about Lucy, and cuts a deck of cards, saying, “High card gets Lucy.”  After looking at the card, he says, “Alright. We’ll go best out of three.”  Do we do that?  Don’t we change the rules until the outcome favors what we want? Pushing for our will rather than submitting to God’s?  That’s what these Pharisees were doing.

“Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any and every reason?” they asked.  Perhaps the spokesman was trying to justify a personal decision he’d recently made or was about to make.  Scripture said this was a test.  And Jesus answered their question stating that this was not God’s intent from the beginning.  He specifies the joining of male and female.  He says what God has joined, let no one separate.  Maybe this was spoken over you at your own wedding ceremony.  I’m a little saddened that this probably won’t be said at my daughter’s wedding in April because they’re having a civil ceremony.

I think verses 7 and 8 are interesting.  The Pharisees ask: “Why then did Moses command that a man give his wife a certificate of divorce and send her away?”  Jesus responds by saying, “Moses permitted you to divorce your wives because your hearts were hard…”  The emphasis is mine, but I believe it illustrates the contrast between the condition of the hearts of the wandering Israelites and God’s plan for marriage.  We are still wandering in this area, today.  The truth is that marriage is a picture of the relationship between Christ and the Church.  The Bridegroom is absolutely faithful.  He loves the Bride enough to die for her to secure her place with Him in heaven.  And we, the Bride, are called now to prepare ourselves for the Bridegroom’s arrival.  How do we do that?  A few chapters ago, Jesus told us: die to yourself, take up your cross, and follow me.  That’s how we do that.  We follow Jesus.  We seek Jesus.

So the disciples hear this and say to Jesus, “If this is the situation between a husband and wife, it is better not to marry.”  Jesus tells them that not everyone can accept this teaching, but those who can, should.  When you’re single, you don’t have the conflict of serving God or spouse.  You can fully commit to serving God without hesitation. This condition is desirable.  But it’s not for everyone.  The Bible says that we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works that God appointed to us in advance.  Maybe God created you to minister to a spouse.  To lead them to Jesus.  Think about that – marriage is ministry.  If you’re single, pray about whether God intends you to marry if it’s your desire, and ask Him to bring you a godly spouse.  If He doesn’t bring someone along, ask Him if He intends you to be single and ask Him to fill you with the desire to be in His will.  If you’re married, stay married.  Honor your spouse.  If you’re in an abusive situation, seek help.  Honor God and ask Him for guidance and direction.

So far, we’ve seen Jesus love the crowd by healing them.  We’ve seen Him love the Pharisees by telling them the truth about marriage.  We’ve seen Him love the disciples by revealing the value of singleness. Now let’s look at His love for children.

Read Matthew 19:13-15.

Jesus took time to love on children before moving on.  How quickly the disciples forgot that Jesus told them at the beginning of chapter 18 “…unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.”  He also said, “And whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me.”  The disciples weren’t welcoming the children.  They were rebuking the people who brought the children.  Jesus told them to let the children come.  Don’t hinder them.  They are worth a delay in travel plans to hug them.  Children are to be treasured.  Loved. Taught.  Prayed for and prayed with.  My four year-old grandson has the heartiest little, “Amen!” when I finish praying over our food.  How do you treat the children in your life?  Do you have children in your life?  Are there children in your church who could use your attention and your prayers?  Is that maybe a ministry God is calling you to.

Jesus loves people.  All people.  Crowd member.  Sick.  Well. Pharisee.  Married.  Divorced.  Widowed.  Single.  Disciple.  Parent.  Guardian.  Child.  He died for every single one of us!  That’s a lot of love!

Principle:  All people and relationships are important to God.

 

Application 1.What decisions will you make today to align yourself with what Jesus teaches about marriage, singleness or children?

 

Let’s keep going.

 

Read Matthew 19:16.

 

A young man approaches Jesus to inquire about eternal life.  Does this seem promising?  Or is the hair on the back of your neck standing up at how he asked the question, “…what good thing must I do to get eternal life?”  Jesus answers:

 

Read Matthew 19:17.

 

Oh boy!  Here’s a head scratcher.  First of all, only God is good.  Plus, no one can earn eternal life.  So, why is Jesus telling him to keep the commandments?  Who can keep the commandments?  Nobody!  This conversation seems more challenging with every word.  But Jesus is starting to point this man toward Himself as Savior.

 

Read Matthew 19:18-19.

 

Oh no!  Did the young man really just ask “which ones?”  Yes.  Have you ever done the bare minimum to get by?  I have.  But wait.  Jesus answers him!  The ten commandments can be thought of in two parts.  The first four commandments are about man’s relationship to God (no other gods, no idols, don’t take God’s name in vain, honor the Sabbath).  Jesus doesn’t mention any of them.  He only lists the last six commandments, which are about man’s relationship to man.  Why didn’t He mention the first four?  Jesus’ words are purposefully attempting to lead this young man to see his problem: not only does he not have a relationship with God, he doesn’t have a relationship with his fellow man, and he is task-oriented and thinks he can work his way into heaven by accomplishing a checklist on his own terms.  He’s proven this by his questions.  He is about to prove it again.

 

Read Matthew 19:20.

 

Ouch!  The young man doesn’t even think about it.  And he is completely wrong.  Only Jesus perfectly kept the commandments.  Oh, Lord, where am I as misguided about myself as this young man was.  Please reveal any such areas to me so I can confess.  In verse 21, Jesus gives the final attempt to clue this man in to where his problem is.

 

Read Matthew 19:21-22.

 

So sad. To be so attached to the temporal.  To the world.  To what the world prizes.  But what do we learn from this interaction?  People can know about salvation and inquire about salvation but choose not be saved.  People can love money more than they care about other people or eternity.  Are you living for the temporal or the eternal?  Do you know for a fact you are saved?  What is Jesus asking you to give up to follow Him?  What are you struggling to give up to follow Jesus?  That might be an idol.

 

In the last few verses of the chapter, Jesus offers an explanation and some encouragement to the disciples.

 

Read Matthew 19:23-30.

 

Jesus acknowledges that it is difficult for a rich person to enter the kingdom of heaven.  He says it’s easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.  The eye of a needle referred to a smaller gate used by pedestrians.  This gate was not designed for camels (“kamelos”) to go through.  There is also some thinking that the eye of a needle referred to an actual needle and the Greek word was actually “kamilos,” which means cable.  It would be near impossible to thread a needle with a cable.  Just as it would be near impossible for a camel to go through the pedestrians’ gate.

 

The disciples are perplexed again.  This time, about who can be saved.  Jesus tells them, “with God, all things are possible.”  It’s not about what the disciples can “do.”  It’s about what Jesus is about to do!  Hallelujah!  God made the way.  God paid the price.  God does the work.  We only need to believe Jesus is the Savior.

 

Peter steps up once again to say that the disciples have left everything to follow Jesus, where the young man was unwilling to do that.  Jesus assures him and the other disciples, “you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.”  Ooh.  Did you catch that?  Not all of the disciples…only those who have followed Jesus.  “And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life.”  What have you left for Jesus’ sake?  Don’t despair.  It will absolutely be worth it.  Hold on.  He is coming back.  We are one week closer to that day.

 

The final verse of the chapter should probably be included in the next chapter since it sets up the parable Jesus tells in chapter 20.  He says, ”But many who are first will be last, and many who are last will be first.”  God’s ways are not man’s ways.  God’s thoughts are not man’s thoughts.  The greatest in the kingdom is the least, like a child.  Keep that in mind for next week.

 

Principle 2:  With God, all things are possible.

 

Application 2.How will you submit to God in an area where you’ve been struggling to die to yourself?

 

For whom are you praying who isn’t yet saved?  Who has God brought into your life with whom you can share the gospel? Keep following Jesus.  Keep seeking Him.  Keep studying and praying.  Keep dying to yourself every day, then take up your cross and follow Him.  God is at work!