seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
Matthew 19:1 When Jesus had finished saying these things, he left Galilee and went into the region of Judea to the other side of the Jordan. 2 Large crowds followed him, and he healed them there.
3 Some Pharisees came to him to test him. They asked, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any and every reason?”
4 “Haven’t you read,” he replied, “that at the beginning the Creator ‘made them male and female,’[a] 5 and said, ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh’[b]? 6 So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.”
7 “Why then,” they asked, “did Moses command that a man give his wife a certificate of divorce and send her away?”
8 Jesus replied, “Moses permitted you to divorce your wives because your hearts were hard. But it was not this way from the beginning. 9 I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another woman commits adultery.”
10 The disciples said to him, “If this is the situation between a husband and wife, it is better not to marry.”
11 Jesus replied, “Not everyone can accept this word, but only those to whom it has been given. 12 For there are eunuchs who were born that way, and there are eunuchs who have been made eunuchs by others—and there are those who choose to live like eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. The one who can accept this should accept it.”
13 Then people brought little children to Jesus for him to place his hands on them and pray for them. But the disciples rebuked them.
14 Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” 15 When he had placed his hands on them, he went on from there.
16 Just then a man came up to Jesus and asked, “Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?”
17 “Why do you ask me about what is good?” Jesus replied. “There is only One who is good. If you want to enter life, keep the commandments.”
18 “Which ones?” he inquired.
Jesus replied, “‘You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, 19 honor your father and mother,’[c] and ‘love your neighbor as yourself.’[d]”
20 “All these I have kept,” the young man said. “What do I still lack?”
21 Jesus answered, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”
22 When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth.
23 Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Truly I tell you, it is hard for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of heaven. 24 Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.”
25 When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished and asked, “Who then can be saved?”
26 Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”
27 Peter answered him, “We have left everything to follow you! What then will there be for us?”
28 Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, at the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man sits on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. 29 And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife[e] or children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life. 30 But many who are first will be last, and many who are last will be first.
a. Matthew 19:4 Gen. 1:27
b. Matthew 19:5 Gen. 2:24
c. Matthew 19:19 Exodus 20:12-16; Deut. 5:16-20
d. Matthew 19:19 Lev. 19:18
e. Matthew 19:29 Some manuscripts do not have or wife.
Divorce, children and money..... what a chapter..... Only a couple of commentaries cover all three parts of this chapter.... enduringword.com is one of them.
Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife: Divorce was a controversial topic in Jesus’ day, with two main schools of thought, centered around two of its most famous proponents. The first was the school of Rabbi Shammai (a more strict and unpopular view) and second was the school of Rabbi Hillel (a more lax and popular view).
Among the Jews of that day, marriage was a sacred duty. If a man was unmarried after the age of 20 – except to concentrate on the study of the law – he was guilty of breaking God’s command to “be fruitful and multiply.” According to Barclay, they said that by not having children he killed his own descendants, and had lessened the glory of God on earth.
In theory, the Jews of that day had a high ideal of marriage. Yet they had a low view of women. “The Jews had very low views of women…A wife was bought, regarded as property, used as a household drudge, and dismissed at pleasure.” (Bruce) Today, men also have a low view of women; tragically, women also have a low view of women, and often reject the idea that women should be different than men in any way.
Their low view of women meant that their high ideal of marriage was constantly compromised, and those compromises were made into law, as with the thinking of Rabbi Hillel. Under the thinking of Hillel, “a man could divorce his wife if she spoiled his dinner, if she spun, or went with unbound hair, or spoke to men in the streets, if she spoke disrespectfully of his parents in his presence, or if she was a brawling woman whose voice could be heard in the next house. Rabbi Akiba even went the length of saying…that a man could divorce his wife if he found a woman whom he liked better and considered more beautiful.” (Barclay)
“Perhaps, too, they hoped that Jesus would say something that would entangle him in the Herod-Herodias affair so that he might meet the Baptist’s fate.” (Carson)
Testing Him: So in their question, the Pharisees tried to get Jesus to side with one teaching or the other. If He agreed with the lax school of Rabbi Hillel, it was clear that Jesus did not take the Law of Moses seriously. If He agreed with the strict school of Rabbi Shammai, then Jesus might become unpopular with the multitude, who generally liked access to an easy divorce. The religious leaders had reason to believe they had caught Jesus on the horns of a dilemma.
What God has joined together: Jesus also reminded the Pharisees that marriage is spiritually binding before God. Marriage is not merely a social contract; and as God has joined, He expects man to honor what He has joined and to keep the marriage together.
Joined together: “Sunezeuxen, yoked together, as oxen in the plough, where each must pull equally, in order to bring it on. Among the ancients, when persons were newly married, they put a yoke upon their necks, or chains upon their arms, to show that they were to be one, closely united, and pulling equally together in all the concerns of life.” (Clarke)
“One flesh vividly expresses a view of marriage as something much deeper than either human convenience or social convention…To see divorce as man undoing the word of God puts the whole issue in a radically new perspective.” (France)
Why then did Moses command to give a certificate of divorce, and to put her away: The Pharisees wrongly thought that God commanded divorce where there was uncleanness. One rabbinic saying of that day went: “If a man has a bad wife, it is a religious duty to divorce her.” But Jesus noted the difference between “command” and “permitted.” God never commands divorce, but He does permit it.
The Pharisees thought that Moses was creating or promoting divorce. In fact, he was controlling it.
Because of the hardness of your hearts: Divorce is never commanded, but permitted by God in certain circumstances, and God permits it because of the hardness of human hearts. It was as if Jesus said this: “Here is the ideal; and here is the allowance of God when human sinfulness and hardness of heart has made the ideal unobtainable.”
For there are eunuchs who were born thus: The term eunuch was used figuratively for those who voluntarily abstain from marriage. Jesus here gave three kinds of eunuchs.
· Those who are born without the capacity for sex and marriage.
· Those who are made by others without the capacity for sex and marriage.
· Those who choose to live without sex and marriage for the kingdom of heaven’s sake.
Let the little children come to Me: This also shows us something remarkable about Jesus’ character. He was the kind of man that children liked, and children are often astute judges of character.
What do I still lack? This alone tells us that this man had not perfectly kept the law, because he still knew that there was something missing in his life, prompting the question, “What do I still lack?” There was still something lacking in his life, reflecting something missing in his relationship with God.
Sell all you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me: The call to forsake everything and follow Jesus is a call to put God first in all things. It is full obedience to the first table of the law, which dealt with a man’s relation to God.
He went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions: In this, the wealthy questioner failed utterly. Money was his god; he was guilty of idolatry. This is why Jesus, knowing the man’s heart, asked him to renounce his possessions.
Assuredly, I say to you: We should not diminish the strength of Jesus’ words, nor fail to see their application in our own affluent society. Who among us would not be considered richer than this rich young ruler was?
It is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven: Riches are a problem because they tend to make us satisfied with this life, instead of longing for the age to come. As well, sometimes riches are sought at the expense of seeking God.
Wow.... There is a lot of commentary on this chapter.....
On April fools day 1969 I ran away to get married. The seventies were a turbulent time for the US... and me.... I had six miscarriages and three live births in the seventies.... I worked as a waitress on the graveyard shift at the Waffle House and then the Ranch House while taking care of three children. My husband was a bum.... He wouldn't keep a job... they were all beneath him.... but he wouldn't change a diaper... let alone rinse it out or wash one..... and then he started hanging out with men.... not just hanging out.... becoming a eunuch hanging out.... if you get my drift.....
I was active in the church during the late seventies.... the preacher was trying to save the marriages in the church.... but he gave me an open window.... I could divorce my husband because he was sexually immoral. It took ten years for me to leave him.... it wasn't over the fact that disposable diapers were too expensive..... it wasn't because he wouldn't work.... it was because he started to bring his "friends" around.... that was not something that belonged in marriage..... I got my divorce in 1979.... that was a very turbulent time in my life too.
Yesterday..... Jesus told people to become childlike. Today.... the disciples were keeping kids away from Jesus. That's like keeping ugly babies away from a politician because there might be a bad photo taken or taking time out for children might wreck a perfectly good schedule..... No.... Jesus wasn't that kind of guy.... He wanted to be around kids... kids liked him.... kids trusted him..... and he loved them.... Jesus loves the little children.... why can't we????
AND.... finally money.... money can wreck a marriage.... money can wreck the lives of children..... shiny baubles... little idols.... foldable gods.... what's in your wallet? I worked an 8 hour shift.... sobering up drunks.... waking up long haul truck drivers with strong coffee and lots of bacon.... and waking up families with good food and "tourist tidbits" about Disney World or Sea World or Circus World.... so I could feed my kids and give them a good place to live.... I was in Kissimmee, Fla at the time. Washing diapers at the laundramat while the kids played at my feet..... disposable diapers were expensive back then....
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