January
28th Matthew
19 Divorce
1:
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; 2: And great multitudes followed him; and he healed them
there. 3: 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? 4: And he answered and said unto them, Have ye not read, that
he which made them at the beginning made them male and female, 5: 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? 6: Wherefore
they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined
together, let not man put asunder. 7: They say unto him, Why did
Moses then command to give a writing of divorcement, and to put her
away? 8: 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. 9: 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. 10: His disciples say unto him, If the case of the man be
so with his wife, it is not good to marry. 11: But he said unto them,
All men cannot receive this saying, save they to whom it is given.
12: 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.
Who
will enter the kingdom?
13:
Then were there brought unto him little children, that he should put
his hands on them, and pray: and the disciples rebuked them. 14: But
Jesus said, Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto
me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven. 15: And he laid his hands
on them, and departed thence.
The
rich young man
16:
And, behold, one came and said unto him, Good Master, what good thing
shall I do, that I may have eternal life? 17: 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. 18: 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, 19: Honour thy father and thy mother: and, Thou shalt love
thy neighbour as thyself. 20: The young man saith unto him, All these
things have I kept from my youth up: what lack I yet? 21: 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. 22: But when the young man heard that saying, he went
away sorrowful: for he had great possessions. 23: Then said Jesus
unto his disciples, Verily I say unto you, That a rich man shall
hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven. 24: 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. 25: When his
disciples heard it, they were exceedingly amazed, saying, Who then
can be saved? 26: But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men
this is impossible; but with God all things are possible. 27: Then
answered Peter and said unto him, Behold, we have forsaken all, and
followed thee; what shall we have therefore? 28: 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. 29: 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. 30: But many that are first shall be last;
and the last shall be first.
Many
people believe that divorce is impossible yet here we have the
religious leaders coming to Christ to discuss the conditions of
divorce according to the Mosaic Law. Divorce is the dissolution of
marriage. This is a test question for Christ. The question is, can a
man divorce his wife for any reason? Christ goes back to ‘first
mention’ that is the original description of marriage. And he
speaks of the union of two people in marriage, however they come back
to him saying that Moses allowed a ‘writing of divorcement’ and
divorce to follow. But Christ returns with the statement that this
was allowed because of the hardness of their hearts. What Christ
meant was that some men could be so unfeeling toward their wives that
they were allowed to divorce their wives to prevent an uncaring and
insufferable marriage relationship. But he says in the beginning this
was not Gods intension. Christ having his eye on innocent wives, who
are being treated very poorly by hard hearted husbands, concedes that
divorce is possible but points out that divorce it to be restricted
to cases of proven unfaithfulness in their wives. Otherwise the
divorce though it might be legal before men still has the same charge
of adultery before God. The Disciples say who would want to be
married? Christ says this word is specific to those who to whom it
applies. At this time little children are brought to him that he
might bless them. The disciples think this is an interference but
Christ said No allow them to come to me because the kingdom of God is
made up of little children. Next we have the interesting case of the
Young man who wanted to obtain eternal life. Here we have a
divergence from teaching for Israel and teaching for the church
today. Christ points him to the Law of Moses which promised
resurrection to eternal life in the kingdom, to those who kept the
Law. Christ said simple ‘if you want to enter into life keep the
commandments’. This is the promise of resurrection not salvation.
When the young man asked, which law? the Lord recited the
commandments. However the young man still felt that something was
missing so he stated confidently that he had kept the law since he
was a child. Christ does not say no you haven’t kept the Law,
rather he invited hi to become one of his disciples and the main
condition in becoming a disciple was to sell what you have a give it
to the poor. This made the disciple totally dependant on the
hospitality of Israel which was the way in which Israel responded to
the message that they brought. He says go and sell all that you have
a give it to the poor and then come and follow me. Charity to the
poorest is the height of law keeping for a Jew. This was too much for
him because he had great wealth. Christ had pin pointed the young
mans one problem – the love of money. He went away sorry that he
had come. Christ then commented to his disciples on how hard it is
for the rich to enter the Kingdom of God. The Disciples are amazed,
none the least because they had retained their fishing boats when
they followed Christ. They say who can be saved? But Christ said with
man it is impossible but it’s not impossible for God. Peter says we
forsook everything, so what will we get in return. Never has legalism
under the law been stated more clearly! Christ promises that the
twelve disciples will sit on twelve throne judging (Administrating)
the twelve tribes of Israel in the Kingdom. And everything they had
lost will be restored a hundred times and they will inherit eternal
life. In contrast, the salvation that christians receive is not a
reward for righteous living nor is it a deal stuck with God in which
he blesses us if we do certain things. Rather it is a gift given to
unworthy, it is salvation given on the basis of grace not reward.
- What does Christ teach about divorce?
- What is the principle for entering the Messianic kingdom?
- What did Christ say that the rich young man should do and why?
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