Chapter BY Chapter

Now what happened everywhere that Jesus went?

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         Large crowds followed him.

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And what does Jesus do every time that large crowds follow him?

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         He heals people.

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And every time that a crowd follows Jesus and he heals people, who shows up to dispute him?

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         Pharisees.

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Let’s see what the Pharisees have to say this time.

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Verses 3-9,

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And Pharisees came up to him and tested him by asking, “Is it lawful to divorce one's wife for any cause?”  He answered, “Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female, and said, ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’?  So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.”  They said to him, “Why then did Moses command one to give a certificate of divorce and to send her away?”  He said to them, “Because of your hardness of heart Moses allowed you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so.  And I say to you: whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery.”

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Now, how was this question a test?

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It was a test because it was a debatable hot topic in that time.  The Pharisees wanted to see if Jesus knew all the various laws that the Pharisees were teaching at that time.

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Acceptable reasons for divorce in Jewish Law (https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/560110/jewish/The-Husbands-Grounds-for-Divorce.htm):

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1. Denial of conjugal activity.

2. Desertion.

3. Adultery.

4. Physical abuse.

5. Verbal abuse.

6. Feeding spouse non-kosher food.

7. Physical blemish.

8. Burning the breakfast toast.

 

Now, these cases were not always so easily defined, and the Pharisees struggled to define if it was really serious enough to warrant a divorce.  Was the toast intentionally burned?  Was the wife really that ugly with the physical blemish?  Was the adultery really that blatant?  Was the husband’s physical abuse really that bad?  The Pharisees wanted to keep married partners together because, in the long run, this would be best for the married partners and their society.  So they set rules to make some sort of judgment in these situations.  If the breakfast toast was burned not just on one side, but on both sides, the husband would have grounds for divorce.

This is the argument that the Pharisees wanted to pull Jesus into.  How does Jesus defuse their goal?

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Jesus defuses their goal by referring to the original intention of marriage.  God’s intention was to take one man and one woman and make one flesh with the two of them.  It is not for men to pull them apart or make decisions for them regarding their marriage.  So Jesus blows away their whole idea of having an argument about this by saying that it is not for them to decide to break apart a marriage. 

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So, what are the Pharisees going to say now?

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They quote Deuteronomy 24:1 and ask why then did Moses allow divorce?

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How does Jesus answer this?

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Because of the hardness of their hearts Moses allowed divorce.

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Did Jesus mean that because of the hardness of the Pharisees hearts?

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Could he have meant because of the hardness of the marriage partners hearts?

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Yes, Jesus meant because of the hardness of the marriage partners hearts.

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Some people spend more time in a marriage working on a divorce instead of working on a marriage. 

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Is a marriage a 50/50 proposition?

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No.  A marriage is a 100/100 proposition.  It is something that exists in addition to the 2 people in it.  Both people in a marriage need to be putting their all into the marriage.

 

Recently, I read this book titled, “Do you keep your husband, or do you post him on Craigslist?” This was written by Sonia Frontera.

 

Man, decisions, decisions!

 

The book is also a good resource for the suggestions on how to keep a marriage together!

 

Some suggestions are as follows:

1. Date your marriage partner.

2. Review your marriage periodically and make plans for it to grow.

3. Grow spiritually for yourself.

4. Also have some alone time.

 

Now, Moses’ law made it easy to write a divorce certificate.  Yet, that was not God’s original plan.

 

Jesus also says something with very powerful implications for our society today.  Jesus said that God made them male and female so that the two will be one flesh.  Jesus is affirming that God made marriage for a heterosexual relationship.  That is God’s design. 

 

However, many people and societies have decided for themselves what is right and what is wrong and allowed, or even encouraged homosexuality (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homosexuality_in_ancient_Greece, http://www.ovovideo.com/en/homosexuality-ancient-world/, https://www.quora.com/What-civilizations-accepted-open-homosexuality-When-did-they-exist-and-when-did-they-%E2%80%9Ccease%E2%80%9D-to-exist).

 

The Old Testament forbids homosexuality, and Jesus is affirming that here, although that is not the main topic.  The New Testament made a distinction between sinning once, repenting and getting back on course, and just plain openly and unrepentantly sinning. 

 

Those that sinned openly and unrepentantly were to be set outside of the church.  1 Corinthians 5 deals with someone that boasted about his sexual immorality.  Verses 9-13 tell what to do with such a person:

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I wrote to you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people - not at all meaning the sexually immoral of this world, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters, since then you would need to go out of the world.  But now I am writing to you not to associate with anyone who bears the name of brother if he is guilty of sexual immorality or greed, or is an idolater, reviler, drunkard, or swindler - not even to eat with such a one.  For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Is it not those inside the church whom you are to judge?  God judges those outside. “Purge the evil person from among you.”

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Jesus makes a statement here that is contrary to Mosaic Law.

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“Whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery.”  Some manuscripts add, “And he who marries her that is put away commits adultery.”

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Now, if you are the one that someone committed adultery against, or someone that was wrongfully divorced, Jesus does not say that they commit adultery.  Jesus, therefore, does not condemn the innocent.  The question remains though – do the people in these situations continually commit adultery?

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The tense of commit adultery here is present indicative tense, which is designed to show that this is a fact.  If a continual action or state was meant here, the tense would be perfect or pluperfect.  Therefore, people that have been divorced and remarried in such situations can be considered as not openly and unrepentantly sinning. 

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Now, the disciples make a statement about all of this.

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Verses 10-12,

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The disciples said to him, “If such is the case of a man with his wife, it is better not to marry.”  But he said to them, “Not everyone can receive this saying, but only those to whom it is given.  For there are eunuchs who have been so from birth, and there are eunuchs who have been made eunuchs by men, and there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. Let the one who is able to receive this receive it.”

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Now what is Jesus saying here?  Is Jesus saying that everybody should be celibate, even to the point of making themselves a eunuch if needed to accomplish this?

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First, remember that Jesus’ whole premise is that God made man and woman to be one flesh.  That is God’s design that is meant for us to fulfill.  The disciples come up with the idea that it might be too difficult to keep a marriage together, so maybe they shouldn’t marry at all.  Keep in mind that Jesus is reinforcing God’s plan.  Also, keep in mind that none of Jesus’ disciples ever made themselves eunuchs.  Jesus is saying, “So what are you going to do?  Are you going to make yourselves eunuchs?”  Jesus’ statement about eunuchs is a sarcastic statement.  God didn’t intend for people to be eunuchs, just as God didn’t intend for people to be unmarried.  Jesus’ point is this – find your mate and make it work. 

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Let’s see what happens next.

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Verses 13-15,

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Then children were brought to him that he might lay his hands on them and pray. The disciples rebuked the people, but Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven.”  And he laid his hands on them and went away.

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What is the significance of this?

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Not too long ago, in fact in the last chapter, Jesus said that the disciples needed to humble themselves like little children to enter the kingdom of heaven.  And here they are bumbling along and keeping children from Jesus.  Silly disciples.  Don’t they get it?  Jesus needed to reinforce this idea to the disciples, and that is why Matthew includes this here in his gospel.

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What happens next?

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Verses 16-22,

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And behold, a man came up to him, saying, “Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life?”  And he said to him, “Why do you ask me about what is good? There is only one who is good. If you would enter life, keep the commandments.”  He said to him, “Which ones?” And Jesus said, “You shall not murder, You shall not commit adultery, You shall not steal, You shall not bear false witness, Honor your father and mother, and, You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”  The young man said to him, “All these I have kept. What do I still lack?”  Jesus said to him, “If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.”  When the young man heard this he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.

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In this paragraph, it seems that Jesus is reinforcing deeds for salvation.  Is that what is going on here?

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Is there anything wrong with the rich man’s first question?

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There are plenty wrong with the rich man’s first question.  “What good deed must I do to have eternal life,” he said.  Is eternal life was dependent on doing just one good deed?  Is eternal life dependent on good deeds at all?  Also, does he want to do just one good deed and forget about living a righteous life his entire life?

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Does Jesus reinforce the idea that this man can do just one good deed and gain eternal life for it?

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Jesus says if he would enter life keep the commandments.  Why does Jesus say this?

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1. Commandments is plural.He can’t do just one good deed.

2. The man should have already known this.

 

Then, the man asks which commandments to keep.  Is there something wrong with this question?

 

Yes. He should have known what the commandments were to keep.  Jesus tells him what commandments to keep.  Notice that Jesus includes the commandment to love your neighbor as yourself.  This would make a lifetime of doing good deeds, not just one good deed.

 

The man then says he has kept all these and what does he still lack.  What is wrong with this question? 

 

If he had been listening to Jesus, he should have known what he needed to do and had the assurance that he lacked nothing.

 

Jesus says, “If you would be perfect, sell your possessions, give to the poor and follow me.”

 

Now, did Jesus say that he needed to sell his possessions and give to the poor to gain eternal life?

 

No. He said that he should do that to be perfect.

 

So, the young man goes away sorrowful because he had great possessions.

 

But Jesus uses this as an object lesson.

 

Verses 23-30,

 

And Jesus said to his disciples, “Truly, I say to you, only with difficulty will a rich person enter the kingdom of heaven.  Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.”  When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished, saying, “Who then can be saved?”  But Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”  Then Peter said in reply, “See, we have left everything and followed you. What then will we have?”  Jesus said to them, “Truly, I say to you, in the new world, when the Son of Man will sit on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.  And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands, for my name's sake, will receive a hundredfold and will inherit eternal life.  But many who are first will be last, and the last first.

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What are the lessons from this that we can apply today?

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1. We receive a hundredfold of anything that we give up for following Jesus.In Luke 18:29, Jesus even includes wives in this promise.Does this mean that if we leave our wife to follow Jesus, we get a hundred wives in heaven?

   • The message here is that we don’t miss out on anything by following Jesus.There might not be a hundred wives, but it will be a hundred times better.And maybe, just maybe if you put up with the one you have, she’ll be a hundred times better in heaven.

2. Is it impossible for a rich person to get to heaven?Not really, but riches can easily get in the way of following Jesus.The young rich man in this chapter let his possessions get in the way of following Jesus.

3. Does everyone have to give all their possessions to the poor to get to heaven?That is not the message here.It was a challenge to this young rich man because he let that get in the way of following Jesus.His problem was that even though he kept all the commandments, he wasn’t following Jesus.It might be important to keep your possessions because with them, you can keep income flowing to keep helping others.In Jerusalem there is an “Eye of The Needle” gate.It is designed so that you can’t just ride into the city on a camel.You would have to take everything off your camel, dismount, carefully guide your camel though, squeezing it down as it goes through.A picture of this gate is below.