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19:
1-10 Marriage and divorce
Jesus completed his ministry in Galilee, then he turned southwards, and
began to move towards Jerusalem. He began to work on the eastern side of the
Jordan river (probably the region known as Perea). As usual, huge crowds began
to move to where he was, hoping for healings and free food.
The Pharisees however, came for different reasons. They wanted to trick
Jesus into making a mistake in judgement, or some contradiction, or a slip of
the tongue. One of these Pharisees had a a curly question :
"Is it in line with God's Law that a man may divorce his wife for
any reason at all?"
"No" said Jesus, "Divorce is against God's Law. If you go
back to the beginning, you'll see why.
"When God created humans, there were just two of them. A man and a
woman. (Gen.1:27)
"God brought the man and the woman together and they formed a single
unit. This is why God says that a man must leave his parents and cleave to his
wife. When this happens, the man and the woman are just like the first two
humans. They form a single unit together. (Gen.2:24)
"This union between the man and the woman is very special. It is
ordered and sanctioned by God, because He created it to be this way. Therefore,
it is not up to humans to break this union, by declaring a divorce."
The Pharisee thought he had caught Jesus out now, because he referred to
Deuteronomy 24:1-4.
"Then why" said the Pharisee, "Did Moses allow people to
write bills of divorcement?"
"Because" said Jesus, "People are sinners, and they don't
always obey the rules which God has designed for them. It was never God's best
plan, and His ideal has always been that there should never be a divorce! He
wants marriages to last a life-time, but Israel had become rebellious and
disobedient, so Moses allowed divorce to help keep the peace.
"But I say, as the Messiah, and Law-giver of Israel, that the
original rule still stands. The only reason a man may divorce his wife is
because of adultery or sexual immorality (unchastity) on the part of his wife.
(Or vice versa) In this case, if anyone marries the divorced person, they commit
adultery with them. This is because, despite what people do or say, in God's
sight, the divorcee is still married."
(In this case, the innocent, or chaste partner, is permitted to marry
again - otherwise divorce would serve no purpose not equally achieved by a
simple case of separation.)
The Pharisee was silenced, but the disciples were still bothered by what
Jesus had said. They jumped to the extreme conclusion that it was better to
never be a husband, than to have a wife who became an adulteress! But what the
disciples forgot was that even unmarried people can slip into sexual immorality
- getting married first doesn't make much difference.
19:11,12
Celibacy
Jesus then explained certain aspects of celibacy - the ability to avoid
all sexual immorality while remaining single (and therefore unmarried).
"Only some men and women can remain single and be content with it.
God helps these people to live continent lives, but these people must also feel
a strong calling to stay single - otherwise it will be a difficult trial for
them.
"But there are other kinds of celibacy. There is the biological
kind, when a person has some physical defect which prevents them from being able
to reproduce. And there is the imposed kind, such as the case where an oriental
king or ruler has his servants (eunuchs) castrated to prevent any interference
with his harem. And finally, there is the spiritual kind, which I have already
mentioned - these are the people who refuse to be married because they want to
give themselves wholeheartedly to the work of the kingdom. You see, marriage is
a tremendous distraction, and it devours time. Some Christians remain single
because they know life is short.
"But God never forces a person to remain single. It is a calling,
and those who follow it are doing so freely, with God's blessing on them."
19:13-15
Little children
Jesus now turned his attention to children, the little people who suffer
so much from broken homes. These are the innocent ones, who are pulled this way
and that by the wickedness and hard-hearted actions of their rebellious parents.
As Jesus moved along the street, little children (Greek = paidion) were
brought to him, and requests were made by those who brought them that Jesus
should place his hands on the children, and pray for them. Jesus was delighted
to do this as he loved children dearly.
But the disciples were annoyed. They tried to stop Jesus' ministry from
being cluttered by seemingly trivial distractions - after all, a child was too
ignorant and naive to know what was going on, right?
Wrong. Jesus was angry with them for presuming so much. He told his
disciples to back off!
"You leave those children alone" he said, "Stop getting in
the way. Its people like this who belong to God's kingdom!"
The disciples moved out of the way and the people resumed bringing the
children to Jesus. Lovingly, and happily, he rested his hands on each one, and
prayed for them.
Then, when the children had all been seen, and prayed for, and ministered
to, Jesus moved on.
(Notice that Jesus clearly showed us that children go to heaven, though
at what age a child passes into accountability we are not told. It is different
for each child.)
19:16-22
The covetous man
During his travels, a rich young man came to Jesus, with a very sincere
request.
"Good Teacher" said the young man, What should I do to have
eternal life?"
(Jesus had several things to straighten out before he got to the
question. First of all, he did not like to be called "Good" because it
brought him down to the level of sinners, who can also be called
"good".)
"Why do you call me Good?" said Jesus, "God is the only
One you should use that word for. All goodness comes from Him, and he is
perfectly good. Humans are not good! You ought to be careful what you say!
(This was another way for Jesus to force the fact into the conversation
that he was God, because only God was truly good.)
(And secondly, Jesus did not like to be called a "Teacher"
because that put him on the same level as all the other "teachers".)
"But as to gaining eternal life, let me go through the ten
commandments, and you tell me how many of them you have kept.
"Oh, I've kept them all!" said the young man.
"Lets see then" replied Jesus, "Have you ever murdered? or
committed adultery? or stolen anything? or lied? or dishonoured your parents? or
failed to love your neighbours as you love yourself?"
"Yes" said the young man, "As far as the written Law goes,
I have done all this."
"Then go and sell everything you have, and gain some treasure in
heaven instead of down here on earth, and when you've reduced yourself to the
barest minimum in possessions, be one of my followers!"
The young man was cut to the heart, because he loved being rich, and he
enjoyed the wealthy life-style. Sadly he turned away. The sacrifice was too
great for him - he could not bear to part with what he owned.
(You see, Jesus did not quote one of the ten commandments - "You
shall not covet" (= you shall not hoard things, or be greedy) - which was
the very commandment which this young man was breaking all the time.)
19:23-30
All things are possible with God
As the rich young man walked sadly away, Jesus watched him until he had
slipped out of sight amidst the crowd, and then he turned to his disciples, who
had been listening.
"It is very, very hard for a rich person to get into God's
kingdom" said Jesus, "In fact, its virtually impossible. It would be
like a horse trying to squeeze through a drinking straw! Or an elephant trying
to fly!"
(In the Greek, Jesus said it was easier for a camel to go through the eye
of a needle, than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God. This hyperbole was
used to catch the disciple's attention. The eye of a needle is a small door,
fixed in a gate, and opened after dark. A loaded camel had to be first unloaded
before it could pass through, hence the idea of a rich man first discarding all
his security before entering into dependence on God alone, rather than his
self-sufficiency.)
(The disciples were probably familiar with the Old Testament, so they
quite possibly knew that one of God's blessings is wealth. (Deut.8:17,18,
2Chron.1:12, Ecc.5:19 ) It gives the Lord pleasure to make His servants wealthy!
So how could this blessing now bar the way into God's kingdom? It just didn't
make sense!)
"Not many people can be saved then!" said the disciples,
astonished.
Jesus looked at them, noting their expressions. His barbed wit had caught
their attention perfectly.
"What I mean" said Jesus , "Is that anyone who relies on
their wealth as a way to impress God into letting them in, is trusting in the
wrong thing. People must come to God in the way He says, with empty hands and
open heart. "
(It is very difficult for people who have become accustomed to using
money, or wealth, or prestige to get what they want, to abandon all these things
and come to God empty and without influence. This is why very few rich people
are Christians. They find it almost impossible to replace visible means of
support for faith in an unseen Saviour. But with true repentance, God can give
them a change of heart.)
Peter was wondering if there was a reward coming for people who entered
the kingdom the right way. He was thinking rather selfishly though, and saying,
in effect, "What's in it for me?"
"I know you have left everything and decided to be my
disciples" said Jesus, "And I appreciate this greatly. You will be
rewarded for what you have done.
"One day, when I have come to earth and raised the dead, and set up
the kingdom administration, you disciples will be given top jobs. You will share
my glory, and you will help with the world-government, through the people of
Israel.
"But this reward applies to everyone who follows me. Every Christian
in general will receive a tremendous reward! They may regret some of the
sacrifices they have made, but in the end it will be worth it.
"For example, some of my followers will have to choose between
family and me, or married life and me, or friendships and me, or possessions and
me . . . and by choosing me they will lose many things which they hold dear, but
they will gain much more than they lose.
"The Christian who leaves home and travels will find thousands of
Christian homes open to him, and the Christian who breaks friendships because of
me will find thousands of Christians ready to befriend him. Whatever they give
up, God will richly compensate them!"
"But watch out for the wrong motives. If you are following me for
selfish reasons, in order to gain some reward, you will miss out on it. You may
think you are getting the most, but you will end up with the least."