Study of Matthew

Matthew Chapter 19

• Matthew 19:1 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. 

Notice how the crowds followed Jesus at the beginning. They knew something was different about this man called Jesus. He seemed to be for real to them. Miraculous healing occurred everywhere Jesus went. The Power of the Holy Spirit was upon Him and His teaching was not like anything they had heard before. 

This stirred up jealousy and the fear among the Scribes and Pharisees of that day because their high standing with the people was in serious jeopardy. Instead of accepting Jesus for themselves in order to more properly teach the people and bring the people to God, they felt threatened. They were more afraid of losing their high position of religious authority then in bringing people to the truth. 

Do religious leaders today fear losing their authority and power? Would they tell the truth even if it meant losing tithes and offerings? Something to think about. 

When we get back to telling the truth and having a burden for lost souls, we will see more people genuinely saved than trying to use gimmicks and crowd manipulation tricks to get the numbers.

Crowds followed Jesus. He didn't have an expensive sound system, He didn't have praise teams or power point, yet He got results by the spirit of God alone. I'm not against all the above mentioned things but I'm saying that if we were in a poor country that didn't have all those things the power of the Holy Spirit is still present to bring souls to Christ. All we need is the Holy Spirit's convicting power when we preach the simple gospel of Jesus that Peter preached and that Jesus preached. They didn't have modern methods but they had the power. 

Peter: 

• Acts 2:38 Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. 
• 39 For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call. 

Jesus: 

• Matthew 4:17 From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. 

The jealousy of the Pharisees continued to follow Jesus up until the time they stirred up the crowds against Him and caused Him to be crucified. 

• Matthew 19:3 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? 

Preaching against divorce and remarriage is unpopular even today. We seldom hear the strong teaching on this that Jesus teaches. The motive of the Pharisees is not because they wanted to hear the truth but because they were trying to bring a cause of accusation against Him.

• Matthew 19:4 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. 

God hates divorce. It is not His will for His people to divorce. I heard someone say a few years ago that he was thinking of divorcing his wife but was waiting until he could get a word from God about it. Well brothers and sisters in the Lord, we have the word written here.....the very words of Jesus Himself.

• Matthew 19:7 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. 

Notice the cause of divorce: Hardness of the heart. When we make a vow of marriage, we are not only making that vow to one another but we are making that vow to the Lord. We are making a 
commitment. For rich or for poor, in sickness and in health, in both good times and bad. Not just when we are getting along but when we are not arguing. Until death do us part. The vow is before God and to God, not just to our spouses. When we split a family, we are sinning against God. We are bringing confusion to the children and they will grow up to do the same thing. 

• Matthew 19:9 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. 

To marry a divorced person is to commit adultery. To divorce and marry someone else is adultery. It is sin that must be genuinely repented of. It can be forgiven. If though a person divorces someone with the thought that God will forgive him (her) and then marries another, when he or she asks forgiveness, it is not genuine. It is not real repentance. Real repentance would cause us not to divorce in the first place.

Once we come to Christ, divorce should never be in our vocabulary. It is out of the question unless our spouse gets in an adulterous relationship with someone and does not repent. Many times this has happened and they repent, change and are reconciled to the original spouse but if they continue on in adultery, divorce may be the only option in that case. These things is not my word or even my opinion. It is the words of Jesus Himself. 

Paul also writes that when an unbelieving spouse wants out of a marriage and the believing spouse opposes it but can do nothing to stop it, then the believer is not under bondage in that case. Whether or not they can remarry is not clear but it is clear that God hates to see families break up in this manner. We made vow and to break it is to sin against God.  Some decisions have to be between a person and God but on the surface searching the word of God, we see that divorce isn't the plan of God.

In today's world we have abuse, alcoholism, drugs, child abuse and many things that we know God would not have us be in bondage to those things and a spouse has to flee. Whether divorce and remarriage is permitted, one has to really pray and seek God for this but I don't believe they have to stay in an abusive relationship and just keep getting beat up. We must always pray for the offending spouse to get help. Some things only God has the answer to but we can in any case be forgiven if we sin against God. The best thing to do before making decisions is the pray fervently for the will of God to be done. Speaking for myself and no one else, I probably would leave to where I was safe and just not remarry unless my spouse divorced and remarried.

There was never any grounds for two believing spirit filled believers to get a divorce. If they do, one is not walking in the spirit that was given to him (her). 

This is what has happens as a result of the modern church letting down their standards of holiness. In order to reach out to those who have suffered divorces and gotten into trouble, we have forgotten to warn against those same things to keep others from making the same mistakes. Now people can divorce and remarry thinking they have the blessing of God if they just say the words, "I repent."   

That is not repentance. Repentance means to stop the sinning business. We turn around and follow Christ instead of continuing in sin. Our mind has to change. It is scary to walk into an unlawful relationship thinking ahead of time that we are saved by grace so we can go ahead and God will forgive us. Dangerous thing to do. We will be judged by that type of thinking. If we have the attitude that we want to please God in all things and wait on Him for answers, things will work out much better:

Paul said: 

• Romans 6:1 What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? 
• 2 God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein? 
• 3 Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? 
• 4 Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. 
• 5 For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection: 
• 6 Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. 
• 7 For he that is dead is freed from sin. 
• 8 Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him: 
• 9 Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him. 
• 10 For in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God. 
• 11 Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. 
• 12 Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof. 
• 13 Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God. 

When we are baptized in water we are saying to the world that we are dead to sin. We are making a commitment to start living in fellowship with our Lord and not in sin. Jesus came to save people out of sin, not forgive them to remain in sin.  

• Matthew 19:10 His disciples say unto him, If the case of the man be so with his wife, it is not good to marry. 

Jesus never teaches that one should not marry. The doctrine of forbidding priests and pastors marriage is a false doctrine. Marriage is holy and sanctioned by God. There are some people though who choose not to marry and give themselves completely to the service of the Lord. 

• Matthew 19:11 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. 

Some have an ability or desire to live without having a relationship with another person, some have physical operations and are made that way by men. Men who had to watch over harems for instance in eastern nations had to become eunuchs. Some choose that lifestyle in order to serve God but it is to be willingly and not required by the hierarchy of any church. To forbid marriage is a false teaching. If we forbid that which is natural, people will do that which is unnatural. Again and again, fervently seeking God in earnest expectation is the way we need to make decisions. However, if we mess up, seek God for forgiveness, seek holiness and our complete restoration in the things of the spirit.

• Matthew 19:13 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. 

The kingdom of heaven and the way of salvation is for all who will believe in Christ. Men, women, or children from all nations, color, tribes and status. Slave or free, black or white, rich or poor, weak or strong. 

• Matthew 19:15 And he laid his hands on them, and departed thence. 
• 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. 

Keeping the commandments are important or God would not have made them. Jesus said that if we love Him, keep His commandments and God will give us His Holy Spirit. To break the law of God brings eternal separation in hell for those that break the law. That means almost everyone. Jesus came to remove the curse of the law for all who accept His sacrifice and allow their sins to be cleansed. Since there are none except perhaps a small child under the age of accountability that have not broken the commandments at one time or another, we all need the salvation brought to us by Jesus Christ and His death that was the payment for sin. To believe in Christ is to receive Him and obey His word. "Repent (turn away from sin) the kingdom of Heaven is at hand". 

To call Jesus good is to acknowledge that He is God because there is none good but God. That is why Jesus was qualified to pay the price for our sins because He had never sinned in any point but kept the law in all points fulfilling or filling up the requirements of the law fully. When we believe in Him by repenting and being baptized, we receive the Holy Spirit which seals us until the day Jesus returns for His believers. 

• Matthew 19:18 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. 

If the man truly kept all the commandments he would love his neighbor enough to give to those in need. By not giving to the poor, it showed that he didn't keep the commandments from his youth up as he said he did. Anyone who seeks to be justified by the law would also come short in one point or another.  

• Matthew 19:23 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. 

Some in modern times have changed those verses to mean that the eye of the needle is a gate in Jerusalem called the Needle's eye and that to get a camel through it, they had to remove all the burdens from it's back then it could get through. Sounds like a good story to justify being rich but I really don't think it has any truth in it.

I take these verses literally. I did research and could find no gate in Jerusalem either past or present which is called the needle's eye. That story about removing the burdens of a camel so he could get through a small gate may be an invention by someone to justify keeping his good lifestyle and it would also support the modern prosperity doctrine. Jesus said needle so I believe He meant needle, not some gate. Men love to change God's word to suit their own pet theories and we need to be careful. Those that trust in riches usually will not trust in God. 

• Matthew 19:25 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. 

With God though even the rich can be saved but they would have to lay aside all they have to serve Christ even giving up their riches if required. It would depend on whether or not the riches was hindering his walk with the Lord or His faith in the Lord.  

• Matthew 19:27 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. 

Sometimes following the Lord may cause separation from family and friends. If friends and family forsake us because of who we believe in, then we must be willing to accept that. If we love them more than the Lord, we are not worthy of Him. 

We must lay our treasures up in heaven, not here on earth. The modern prosperity doctrine is totally false and must be avoided. The promise of riches in the Old Testament is for latter day times when sin is destroyed and Christ rules and reigns. It mostly is directed toward the latter day restoration of the nation of Israel rather than individuals. It is not for this life. Some may be rich but most will not be until the day Christ returns. True riches are spiritual riches and the things that pertain to God. 

Old Testament promises to Israel as a nation are sometimes confused with the church and taken out of context to mean that God wants believers to be rich. Jesus said not to seek riches in this life. It is 
covetousness. While we are to provide for our families lest we be considered infidels, we must major on the gospel and eternal life rather than on seeking wealth in this life. 

This false materialistic gospel is ruining the modern church. Whatever gospel is for the rich USA must also work for third world believers who may be suffering the loss of jobs and wealth for the sake of the gospel. It is true nations which fear the Lord have more material prosperity because of their lifestyle, but as individuals there will be rich and poor living together until the Lord comes back, perhaps to test us and see if we will help one another.   

• Matthew 19:30 But many that are first shall be last; and the last shall be first. 

The gospel was given to the Jews first and the Gentiles last. The Gentiles received it first when the Jews rejected it. In the latter days the opposite will occur. The Jews will receive the gospel and the 
Gentiles will start to reject it. Many Jews have already come to Christ. It is a definite sign that the time of the Gentiles may be coming to a close and the Lord will be returning. 

The time is coming when many of us may have to choose this day who we will serve. Like Moses of old who chose to identify with his own people rather than choose the riches of Egypt. 

• Hebrew 11:24 By faith Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter; 
• 25 Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season; 
• 26 Esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt: for he had respect unto the recompence of the reward. 

The rich man in this story made the wrong choice and lost his soul. Moses made the right choice and was chosen of God to lead Israel out of Egypt. 

The disciples made the right choice and brought the gospel to the whole world. They will rule and reign with Christ at His return. What will our choice be? DC

Matthew Chapter 20