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Mat 19-1,2

(143g) Witness >> Validity of Jesus Christ >> Witnesses of Jesus >> Popularity >> Sought commendably >> Seeking Jesus to be healed – Much of Jesus’ ministry occurred between cities in rural areas, in places we would not expect. At the onset of His ministry He would go through towns preaching the gospel of the kingdom and heal people where they lived, and the people would run to their homes and neighborhoods telling their friends and relatives about Him, and they would come see Him; but once the word spread about Him, throngs of people crowded together and became disorderly, and it drew His enemies, the religious establishment, so He retreated to the countryside (Mk 1,40-45). People walked long distances to hear His word and brought many of their friends and relatives to be healed, and He attracted many people to Himself even in the country that it was the cause of Him feeding the five thousand with five loaves and two fish (Mk 6,33-46). He was leaving behind the institution of Israel’s ancient religion, represented by the priests, Scribes and Pharisees, whose power and prestige and their fame and glory were diminishing because of Jesus, and it was starting to affect their pocket books, being the root of their antagonism. Even after He healed innumerous people the Pharisees came to Him from a distance and asked Him a question in attempt to trip Him in His words so they would have a reason to accuse Him, asking Him questions about marriage, and His answer is the standard passage quoted at most weddings today. See also: Church's last days' wilderness will mirror Jesus' wilderness; Rev 17-3; 162c

Mat 19-2

(145c) Witness >> Validity of Jesus Christ >> Jesus’ works bear witness of Himself >> Healing >> Jesus healed them all

Mat 19,3-9

(3d) Responsibility >> To the Family >> Marriage >> Advocating marriage – There are ways to stay together if the marriage isn’t doing well. The man should get a hobby that gets him out of the house and away from the wife for a while, giving them both a reprieve from each other, and the woman should do the same. They should find friends and spend time with them, so when they return, they had an opportunity to miss each other and maybe even learn to appreciate each other and might remember why they married in the first place. The saying, “Absence makes the heart grow fonder,” is a true adage. If a couple didn’t marry for love, the marriage was doomed from the start, but if they did marry for love, the same person is looking at him every day; it is the same pair of eyes she fell in love with. They are to find each other again; she’s still there, and the path they walked in marriage they walked together. Hardship has the same power of attraction; it is just a matter of interpretation.

(3f) Responsibility >> To the Family >> Divorce because of your hardness of heart – We should go back to the Old Testament law at the time of Moses when these laws were written and note that if the marriage terminates without a certificate of divorce, they are breaking the Law, which was punishable by death or by excommunication from the tribes of Israel. This was a severe a recourse, especially since relationships are known to deteriorate. Divorce is essentially a clause within the Old Testament Law regarding marriage so a person can legally divorce, but a clause refers to an exception. Consequently, when divorce rates climb to two-thirds of all marriages, it is no longer a clause but a rule. Society is abusing the law of divorce, which is worse than breaking the law (Jm 4-11,12). Any society that has a divorce rate approaching seventy percent is worse than lawless; it is godless. Jesus allowed divorce only for the cause of adultery, saying that any other reason would produce a generation of adulterers. When people get divorced just because they don’t like each other anymore, God says it is not a legitimate cause. Divorce does not guarantee happiness, but when it becomes rampant in society it does guarantee unhappiness and social discontent. They want to be free to marry someone else whom they think would make them happy, but happiness cannot be found in another person other than Jesus Christ. Joy is a better personal goal in life and in marriages, since it comes from God and doesn’t depend on someone else. A person can have joy in the most adverse of circumstances, but seeking happiness from divorce is satanic deception. A nation of divorcees who hop from partner to partner between marriages, who start collecting fatherless children, whose lives have been torn apart, have received their reward? See also: What God has joined let no man separate; Mat 19,4-6; 1g

Mat 19,4-6

(1g) Responsibility >> Become all things to all men >> Blending together – It doesn’t say they become one person or one body but one flesh; that is, they share their flesh with each other, and this sharing creates a blending of their DNA, and when their genetic material mixes and becomes one, they have children, and these children build connections between the parents. This is why many couples who are thinking about divorce after they have children remain together. See also: What God has joined let no man separate; 188k

(188k) Die to self (Process of substitution) >> Separation from the old man >> Sorrow >> Grieving over your own loss >> Grieving over the loss of others – The man (not the woman) leaves His father and mother and is joined to his wife. This would indicate that the wife’s relationship with her side of the family is largely unaffected by the marriage, but the man’s relationship with his parents changes, effectively cutting the apron strings. That is, there is a greater departure of the man from His parents than the woman from hers, and this partially has to do with the relationship that a son has to his mother. If the man doesn’t successfully “leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife,” the mother can invade the marriage and ruin it; couple this with the woman’s greater need for security, having a greater need to keep in touch with her parents, and we have a complete picture of why Jesus’ teachings are relevant today. See also: What God has joined let no man separate; Mat 19-6; 135f

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Mat 19-6

(135f) Temple >> Your body is the temple of God >> Sins of the body >> Consequences of abortion >> You dishonor your own body by aborting its fruit – When it said, “What therefore God has joined together, let no man separate,” he was talking about the man and the woman, but He was also talking about the DNA of their offspring. When the man and woman come together in sexual intercourse and bond their DNA, the man fertilizes her egg and she becomes pregnant. By this God has joined their DNA, and He said, ‘Therefore, let no man separate the two strands,’ and of course this is what happens in decomposition once the fetus has been aborted. The process of molecules in the cells that were dividing and multiplying and combining to form a new human being is terminated, and the cells and molecules disassemble and return to inert material. Jesus was speaking in both terms that the man and woman should remain together, and that the woman should not abort her fetus. See also: What God has joined let no man separate; Mat 19,3-9; 3f

(3e) Divorce (Key verse)

Mat 19,10-12

(3g) Responsibility >> To the Family >> Remaining single is better than divorce – The ability to remain single is a gift from God, but how many people in the Church recognize this? Married population tend to shun singles, instead of seeking what they have to offer the Church. God sanctions and rewards celibacy because it has tremendous potential to serve the Lord in a fuller way than married people (read First Corinthians chapter 7). Single people have more time and in some ways a greater need for God than married people, for married people have each other, and since their needs are unmet, God bestows a greater grace that drives them into a deeper relationship with Him. See also: Singles; 120l

(120l) Thy kingdom come >> Manifestations of faith >> Content with your way of life >> Content with remaining single -- Contentment comes with a powerful anointing that requires lots of Bible study and prayer to maintain; and through that contentment comes many good things that contentment promises. It is a high calling from God to remain content with being single, but it is a hard road, promising "undistracted devotion to the Lord," 1Cor 7-35. To devote our time to the Lord in whatever capacity He directs us can be very productive, and as a single person it is much easier to do. Single people have more time to read the Bible and pray. These two things if done in large quantities will make anyone a spiritual giant, who can then lead people into a closer truth, and thus cast out false teaching and help pinpoint the will of God for their church. See also: Singles; Mat 19-11; 71h

Mat 19-11

(71h) Authority >> Ordained by God >> Ordained by His sovereign will >> God chooses to work in you -- If anyone thinks they have decided to remain single for the Lord, it doesn't work that way, for God elects people to assume this noble role. Some think finding the right mate is an act of God; try remaining single! Since this is a position that God must ordain, married people should respect the single person's position in the Church and do more to make a way for their ministries as an expression of their devotion to Christ. If they don't, then they are suppressing the gifts of their own church and stunting its growth. See also: Singles; 136d

(136d) Temple >> Your spirit is the temple of God >> The body of Christ >> Variation in the body -- The Church has an obligation to accept and respect single people in the Church and not look down on them as though they were inferior just because they are not married. God is about variation, while people are about conformity. God has made many species of plants, animals and insects, but people tend to be bigots when it comes to accepting people who are not just like them. If we are going to have a spirited church, we must do it God's way, and His way is having a large variation within the congregation: black and white, married and singles, gifted and ungifted. See also: Singles; Mat 19,10-12; 3g

Mat 19,13-15

(33d) Gift of God >> God is our Father >> Kingdom belongs to the children of God – Adults model what is proper that children should emulate their behavior in the world, and children model heaven for us. Children are completely dependant on their parents and don’t have a working knowledge of the world at all. Parents don’t sit their children down and explain the world to them but simply teach them how to act, and they will figure out the world soon enough, as they obey their parents, and in the meantime they will avoid pitfalls. That is just like us when we read the Bible and pray. We understand how the world works, and now we are trying to understand heaven, and Jesus said that trying to understand heaven is like a two or three-year-old trying to understand the world. They live in a fantasy of their own concoction, and the closest they get to it is in their play. They say that children at play are developing skills they will use for the rest of their lives, and that is also what we do when we read the Bible and pray. It is a form of simulating our understanding of God, like playacting. The Bible gives us a relatively accurate view of heaven, but when we get there, we will encounter many surprises. Like Paul said, “For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face” (1Cor 13-12). Trying to understand God in heaven by reading the Bible and praying is like looking through a window that desperately needs to be cleaned.

Mat 19-14

(224i) Kingdom of God >> Illustrating the kingdom >> Description of heaven >> The people of heaven >> Traits of the people who make it to heaven – Consider the disciples on the Sea of Galilee when the storm assailed them; the last thing they did was wake Jesus; and when they finally did, they accused Him of apathy, “Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?” (Mk 4-38). He rebuked the wind and the waves and brought about a calm, and the storm dissolved. He looked at them and called them faithless and wondered why they didn’t call on Him first. We like to solve problems on our own, but in heaven if there were a problem, the very first thing we would do is report it to the Lord. We wouldn’t even consider trying to solve the problem on our own, because in heaven there shouldn’t be any problems. A problem to be in heaven is a problem indeed. In this world, though, there are many problems, and the Lord expects us to go to Him first thing, because that is what we would do in heaven.

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Mat 19,16-22

(5h) Responsibility >> Discipleship tested >> God tests your loyalty >> Your commitment to follow Jesus

(22e) Sin >> Greed takes without consideration for others >> Covetousness – The rich man was close to the Kingdom of God, but not close enough. He knew he was spiritually lacking and wanted to resolve the problem, but he wanted the solution to leave his money intact. Jesus quoted him all the commandments that the man kept, but omitted the one commandment that he did not keep. He never killed anyone, nor did he commit adultery; he didn’t need to steal, and he tried to avoid lying; he was honest with Jesus about his shortcomings. He honored his father and mother and he loved his neighbor as himself. So, he was a good man by human standards. The problematic commandment was, “You shall not covet.” This commandment Jesus purposely omitted in His list, for He didn't want the man to think his solution should come from the law. If the rich man made it to heaven, he would have to go through Christ. See also: Idolatry; 192c

(34m) Gift of God >> Be generous like your Father >> Give to the poor

(87i) Thy kingdom come >> Obedience >> Those who obey believe in God >> Those who obey the word

(192c) Die to self (Process of substitution) >> Result of putting off the old man >> Gain by losing >> Life for life >> Losing your identity to gain God’s identity – The rich man’s wealth is where he drew his identity. His possessions were an idol to him, meaning that he failed to keep the first commandment, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart,” for in truth he loved his money more than God. Jesus was saying that he cannot love God and money; he must choose one or the other, proving that salvation is a marriage relationship with God. He was also saying that it would be almost impossible to transition his identity from his money to his faith so long as he remained in possession of his wealth, because it would remain a stumbling block to him. Remember the man who had to cut off his own hand to avoid sinning (Mat 18-8)? He would have repented long before bringing down the axe! The heart of man is deceitful beyond all things and is desperately wicked (Jeremiah 17-9). We like to play mind-games with ourselves and say we no longer love our money when in fact we do, and for this reason Jesus prescribed liquidating his assets, for the act of doing so would disentangle his heart from the love of money as the prerequisite of letting go of it. See also: Idolatry; 195a

(195a) Denying Christ >> Man exercises his will against God >> Idolatry >> Serving two masters >> You can only love one at a time – There are people in the world who are very wealthy and are also saved, but their numbers are few, i.e. Joseph of Arimathea (Mk 15-43). This proves that it is not money that is evil but the love of it. It is rare for rich people to enter the Kingdom of Heaven because they must pursue their wealth with all their heart, soul, mind and strength in order to obtain it, which is exactly how God wants us to pursue Him. Money was very important to the rich man; his many possessions distinguished him from the so-called lower class of society. God wants our faith in Him to be the most important thing in our lives, overshadowing everything else so that the next important thing is irrelevant. The rich man had a relationship with his money, an inanimate bonding, that crowded his faith, which is the ultimate insult to God, like a husband who discovers that his wife has been cheating on him with a man who was fat, ugly and stupid. See also: Idolatry; 202a

(202a) Denying Christ >> Man chooses his own destiny apart from God >> Running from God >> Man’s will over God >> Man is unwilling to walk in God’s grace – The story of the rich young ruler appears opposite the Roman Road. The rich man seemed required to do something in order to be saved, but that is not what is actually happening here. Jesus intentionally left out the one commandment of which the rich man was in violation, “You shall not covet.” The rich man knew he was lacking something; that is, he knew His love of money was standing between he and God, and it acted like a great crevasse. There is a giant wall of sin that stands in the way of every man from reaching God, and Jesus made a door in that wall through His own blood, so we can enter through the door of Christ into fellowship with God, but the door is small and the the rich man was carrying a large backpack and couldn't squeeze through the small opening of the door (v24). If he were going to make it through this door, he would have to unburden himself. See also: Idolatry; 250h

(250h) Priorities >> God’s prerequisites >> Sequence of priorities >> The first is a precondition for what comes after it (Cause and effect) – Obtaining God’s favor has always been an ongoing issue with mankind; even the Israelites had a problem with it; they thought they had to obey the Law in order to win God’s favor, but the fact is they already had His favor by evidence that they were God’s chosen people, His representative nation where He chose to place His name. The same goes for us; we come to God with a dedicated faith, but before we make the first move He had already accepted us based on the blood sacrifice that Jesus made of His own flesh (Rom 5-8). The rich young ruler wanted to know what he could do to achieve God’s favor, and Jesus’ answer was to sell all His possessions and give to the poor. Liquidating his possessions was not to achieve God’s acceptance but to remove the obstacle that stood between himself and God, for until then his faith was incomplete, and Paul said that we are saved by grace through faith (Eph 2-8,9). See also: Idolatry; Mat 19,16-21; 90e

Mat 19,16-21

(90e) Thy kingdom come >> Keeping the law >> Law is our tutor >> It leads us to God -- The rich man knew he was lacking something; he wanted a list of commandments he was neglecting so he could work on them in order to be complete, but Jesus gave him the list that he was already doing. Jesus neglected to tell him the commandment that he was not doing: "Do not Covet," because the rich man was powerless to keep it, since he was in bondage to the love of money. Note that violating any one of the Ten Commandments automatically violates the foremost commandment of all: "Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is One. And you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength" (Deuteronomy 6-4,5). Instead of giving him commandments, Jesus gave him an assignment: liquidate his assets and give the proceeds to the poor. His assignment was equivalent to fulfilling the requirements of the law, but Jesus de-emphasized the law to show that the rich man had issues with his heart, which the law was powerless to cure. There was another instance when Jesus said, "You are not far from the Kingdom of God." The person exonerated love above sacrifice (Mk 12,32-34), but Jesus did not say this to the rich man. See also: Idolatry; 250ka

(205ka) Salvation >> Salvation is based on God’s promises >> Faith versus works >> The faith of God versus the faith of men >> Faith versus the law >> The work of faith versus the works of the law – Isn’t this what Israel believed that if they kept the Law they would find favor with God? This diametrically opposes the teaching of Scripture! Jesus was showing the rich young ruler that there was an obstacle in the way of his faith, and that he had to remove it before he could believe in God. How was Jesus' advice different from telling him to clean up his life before he could come to God? The rich young ruler could have pledged repentance to Jesus and been save on that very day (Lk 19,1-10), for the covenant of salvation is based on promises: God's promise to us and our promise to Him. We pledge our heart to God and He saves us on the spot. At all Billy Graham’s revival meetings he played the song “Just as I am”? Why then did Jesus teach the rich man to deal with his sin before he could get saved? The Law is a list of obstacles that get in the way of faith, so we cannot realistically believe in Jesus until we remove them. Pledging allows us to enjoy God's salvation the moment we commit to believe in Jesus. We use the Law to determine if our faith is real, for the Law is still in effect for those who violate its ordinances. If we are in violation of any of the commandments, we need to repent, for breaking the Law violates our faith. If we are not born-again, we need to pledge our repentance to God, confess our sin, and God will save us, filling us with His Spirit, and God will help us deal with our sin later. See also: Idolatry; Mat 19-16; 89e / Rom 13,8-10; 90h

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Mat 19-16

(89e) Thy kingdom come >> Fear of God is the beginning of wisdom >> Wise questions – There is nothing we can do to gain God’s favor, nothing we can do to make ourselves worthy of His grace and forgiveness, for there is nothing we own that God wants or needs, except our heart. Yet, there is a popular question: “What must I do to be saved?” On the one hand the question is relevant, but on the other, it indicates that the person doesn’t understand salvation. Paul said it was a free gift, like receiving a free ticket to the theater, transportation not included, where the trip to the theater represents the Christian journey, and along the way God has things for us to do. We need to make a commitment to faith as disciples of Jesus. To some the word “disciple” sounds like fingernails scraping down a chalkboard. The Church is full of people who understand through the teachings of Paul and Luther’s reformation that salvation is a free gift, but they don't understand what they must do to receive it. We must pledge our entire lives to God, as in a marriage relationship; anything less is not faith. The reason it is a gift is that salvation comes before discipleship. If discipleship came first, salvation would be payment for our services, but salvation is first, demonstrating God’s trust in us, but if we don't fulfill our end of the covenant and repent, we have broken trust. God trusts that we will become His disciples after He deposits His Holy Spirit in us on the day we believed. From that point, the life-long process of maturity begins. We have good days and bad days; we commit sin; we confess and repent, and God freely forgives our trespasses without question or hesitation. We are heaven-bound as a result of His grace and mercy that He has placed in us. The fact that God saved us before we became His disciples proves that His grace is a gift, but this rich young ruler had it backwards like so many other people, who think they must do something to be saved. See also: Idolatry; Mat 19,16-22; 22e

(166c) Works of the devil >> Manifestations of the devil >> Wisdom of the world >> Man’s wisdom excuses his sinful nature >> Man’s wisdom wants to earn his ticket to heaven -- This verse goes with verse 20

(174d) Works of the devil >> The religion of witchcraft >> Form of godliness >> Self righteousness >> Trying to please God by your own good works -- This verse goes with verse 20

Mat 19-20

(174d) Works of the devil >> The religion of witchcraft >> Form of godliness >> Self righteousness >> Trying to please God by your own good works -- This verse goes with verse 22

Mat 19,21-26

(20l) Sin >> Disobedience >> Paying no attention to the word

Mat 19-21,22

(234i) Kingdom of God >> Pursuing the kingdom >> Invest in the kingdom >> Sold out >> Relinquishing your assets to Christ >> Dispose of every asset except Christ -- Juggling the love of money and materialism with the Kingdom of God is tricky, since the two are essentially opposites of each other. This is difficult to understand for some people who believe in earthly riches, because it has blinded their eyes to the wealth of following Christ. They are unable to understand that God is more real and more applicable in this world than money. Perhaps we don't believe because we have never seen the Church living and walking in the power of God. Some day the Church will come to this, and when it does, it will make believers of people who once doubted.

(192a) Gain By Losing -- A Paradox (Key verse)

Mat 19-22

(166c) Works of the devil >> Manifestations of the devil >> Wisdom of the world >> Man’s wisdom excuses his sinful nature >> Man’s wisdom wants to earn his ticket to heaven -- This verse goes with verse 16

(174d) Works of the devil >> The religion of witchcraft >> Form of godliness >> Self righteousness >> Trying to please God by your own good works -- This verse goes with verse 16

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Mat 19,23-26

(92g) Thy kingdom come >> The narrow way >> What kind of trail is this? >> Gate is small and few are those who find it

(249i) Priorities >> God’ s preeminence >> Wealth >> World’s perception of wealth >> The world's wealth erodes good values >> Being a slave to wealth

Mat 19-23,24

(224k) Kingdom of God >> Illustrating the kingdom >> Description of heaven >> The people of heaven >> Traits of people who don’t make it to heaven – Being rich in this life is one of the traits of those who don’t make it to heaven, but that doesn’t mean all rich people go to hell; in fact, there are many examples in the New Testament of wealthy people who believed in Jesus, Joseph of Arimathea, for example, donated his own tomb at Christ's death and helping with the burial of Jesus' body, wrapping Him in a shroud. There were many other examples in the Bible of wealthy people who believed in Jesus, but these are all cases of camels going through the eye of a needle, which refers to a place in Israel called “The Eye of a Needle”. It is a narrow passageway that a camel can barely traverse, requiring the travelers to unburden the beast before passing through this narrow pathway on a cliff face. This is a good example of Christianity of a believer who must unburden himself of his excess baggage before we can walk through the door that the blood of Christ has made in the wall of sin that is erected between God and man. All the things we think we need weigh us down and hinder our ministry that we perform on the path that God has prepared for us.

(213a) God Is All Powerful (Key verse)

(213b) Sovereignty >> God is infinite >> God is all powerful >> All things are possible with God – There is a location near Israel called the Eye of a Needle, a narrow opening on a trail that is just big enough for an unfettered camel to fit through the gap. Although it is difficult for a camel to scuttle through this small underpass, it is even harder for rich people to get saved, whose greed acts like a burdensome backpack that prohibits them from squeezing through the narrow door that Christ made in the wall of sin with His own blood. In fact, it would be easier for a camel to go through the eye of a literal needle than for a rich man to sell all his property and give the proceeds to the poor. There will be some people in heaven that were rich in this life, but they will be few. Salvation is impossible for rich or poor people without God's help.

Mat 19,27-30

(192i) Die to self (Process of substitution) >> Result of putting off the old man >> Gain by losing >> Gain God’s kingdom to lose the domain of darkness >> Gain heaven to lose the world -- We have a choice of heaven or this world, but we can't have both, because the world and God's kingdom are opposites. He said that if we leave our family, our home or our business for the gospel's sake, God will reimburse us here on earth (we don't have to wait for it) many times over, while also securing our place in heaven with pleasures forevermore. However, if we pursue the things of this world, we will receive our reward in full.

Mat 19-28

(224l) Kingdom of God >> Illustrating the kingdom >> Description of heaven >> The holy of holies >> The throne room of heaven -- The Holy of Holies is a place of judgment, and anyone allowed to enter becomes a judge of those who are outside the walls of the holy city. All have been invited to enter through the door that continually stands open; therefore, they are judged for be being outside the city (Rev 3-8,9)? 

Mat 19-30

(56b) Paradox >> Lose by gaining >> Lose your place by seeking the first place – This is a kingdom principle of heaven: those who are first in this life will be last in the life to come, and those who put themselves last in this life will be made first in heaven. The problem with many people in the Church today, they don’t care about heaven; instead, they have made Christianity to be about this life. Those in charge have figured out ways to see the Church and the gospel as an institution that was intended for this life, and let the life to come care for itself, but the Bible teaches just the opposite. We should seek God for His purpose and calling, and let this life care for itself (Mat 6-33,34). If we enjoy the first place now, we will receive the last place in heaven, if we get there at all. By the time Christ gets to us all the rewards will be given, and God will tell us that we had our reward in full. This is the best-case scenario for worldly people who make it to heaven, because most worldly people and fence-riders won’t be going there. Jesus in so many words, along with all the apostles and writers of the New Testament have taught us to sacrifice this life as a means of serving Christ and others, for receiving the first place requires a commitment, one that we should have made to the Lord. The gospel is not about other people serving us but about we serving other people.

(56i) Paradox >> Opposites >> Last is first and the first is last – The first place in heaven is a place of service. Who wants that? We need to understand that the place of servitude in the Kingdom of Heaven is a place of honor. It is a place where people are given responsibilities. The more a person serves, the more honor he receives, and so the person who does not serve is not honored. We work hard for Jesus in this life that we might receive a position in His kingdom where we are allowed to serve others all the more, for the more we serve the more honor we receive, and the closer position we enjoy with Christ, who is the servant of all.

(224j) Kingdom of God >> Illustrating the kingdom >> Description of heaven >> The people of heaven >> Those in heaven are blessed indeed