Verses 1-2 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.
Although there are no specific details regarding the healings that occurred in Judea, the point to understand is that there was a great multitude and the sick in that multitude were healed. They did not have to do anything special, just follow Jesus. Perhaps if the believers in the church world today really and truly followed Jesus and did not allow the things of this world to get in the way of their relationship with the LORD, mass healings like the ones in Jesus’ day would be occurring everywhere. Just a thought.
Verses 3-6 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.
Perhaps you, the Christian reader, may have noticed that when a spiritual blessing happens and joy and happiness is in abundance, something usually occurs to ruin that time of rejoicing. This writer’s mother, who was very wise and a spiritual giant, always said, “You go to church on Sunday and meet with the LORD and then the Devil is waiting when you get home.” Jesus had returned from Galilee on His way to Jerusalem with a multitude of people following Him willingly only to run into the hypocritical Jewish religious leaders whose only purpose for going to Him was to try and find fault: something that they could use to murder Him and get Him out of their way. After all, He was ruining their religious control over the people.
Application: When attending a Bible study a number of years ago, this writer encountered a man who claimed to be a Christian believer and who could sing the hymns and preach a very good sermon. He was very social and had a lot of good ideas and a good understanding of Scripture. Yet he had been married and divorced five times. The churches he had attended had never confronted him about this aspect of his life. In time, he left the Bible study, married for the sixth time, and is now divorced again. This writer shared the Bible verses pertaining to marriage and divorce with him before he got involved with another woman. He admitted that he understood that he was committing adultery. Yet he did not alter his behavior. Only God knows if this man was/is truly saved with the future destiny of Heaven. He is no longer attending a church or meeting with believers. “Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?” Romans 6:16
Verses 7-8 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.
When a man hath taken a wife, and married her, and it come to pass that she find no favour in his eyes, because he hath found some uncleanness in her: then let him write her a bill of divorcement, and give it in her hand, and send her out of his house. 2 And when she is departed out of his house, she may go and be another man’s wife. 3 And if the latter husband hate her, and write her a bill of divorcement, and giveth it in her hand, and sendeth her out of his house; or if the latter husband die, which took her to be his wife; 4 Her former husband, which sent her away, may not take her again to be his wife, after that she is defiled; for that is abomination before the LORD: and thou shalt not cause the land to sin, which the LORD thy God giveth thee for an inheritance. Deuteronomy 24:1-4
The above verses in Deuteronomy were those that the Pharisees were referring to. The Pharisees were required to have the first five books of the Bible memorized or well understood. Notice that this commandment by Moses allowed for a husband to at anytime accuse his wife of anything and therefore dispose of her at will. Women had very little rights or privileges under the old covenant law. But Jesus changed all that with the new covenant. It also allowed for remarriage after divorce. Because divorce was allowed by Moses, today believers in the Church tend to consider divorce to be sanctioned by God and therefore acceptable. Jesus clarifies this wrong belief in the next verse. Believers today are under a new covenant and not under the law, and the tenants of that new covenant are basically love God with everything you have and love others the same way. Being obedient to God and loving a spouse regardless of any differences or difficulties in the marriage is what God expects of Christian believers.
Verse 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.
Application: Divorcing a spouse for any reason other than sexual sin is not allowed by God in the Church. And should a divorced person remarry, God sees that person as an adulterer. It is sin. So can two married believers divorce? It appears that the answer is “yes” as long as the divorce is because of sexual sin and as long as they do not marry or enter into a sexual relationship with anyone else. Of course, the question needs to be asked, “Is a believer really a Christian or follower of Jesus Christ if they get involved with sex outside of marriage?” But once divorced, both spouses will be adulterers in God’s view if they do not remain single and celibate. Once a spouse is dead, the remaining spouse is free to remarry as long as the person they are marrying is also a widow or a virgin.
What about spousal abuse? God does not expect a spouse that is being abused to stay in that marriage relationship and become physically or emotionally injured or even killed. But leaving the home or marriage to provide protection is not the same as getting a divorce. It would seem by the verses in this chapter of Matthew that the abused person has no grounds for divorce unless the abuser enters into sexual sin. You decide.
This writer attended a very large church where one of the deacons beat both his wife and his son. It was a well kept secret from the congregation. This writer became involved with the son when teaching horsemanship to him with the permission of his mother. As a result, information became available. The pastor and church counselors became involved but the abuser was not asked to leave the church. Church discipline did not occur. So do not think that all the people sitting in a church congregation are above these sins. They just need to be dealt with as discussed in the previous chapter.
Verses 10-12 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.
The saying Jesus was referring to was the part about not marrying. A eunuch in the context above is an emasculated man or one who voluntarily abstains from marriage.
Verses 13-15 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.
Often this writer wonders if Jesus’ disciples ever listened and learned from the things Jesus told them. Of course, the same can be said of today’s Christian believers when they get distracted or day dream in church and then after church cannot report what the sermon was about! In chapter 18 Jesus demonstrated how important children were to him and stated that a person needed to be humble like a child in order to enter into the Kingdom of Heaven.
Verses 16-17 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.
The Greek word translated as “Master” is “didaskalos” and it appears 58 times, 40 of those times in direct reference to Jesus. 10 times it refers to a teacher and 1 time it refers to a doctor. Jesus asks the question above and the answer to that question is that He was/is God, very God. Only God is good. Mankind suffers from sin. Mankind is not good except when seen by the LORD through the covering blood of Jesus. Jesus was tempted to sin just like any other person, but He did not sin. So only Jesus kept the commandments and the law and was a good Master. Jesus is God, is a Teacher, and is the Healer.
Verses 18-19 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.
Why didn’t Jesus respond with all ten commandments? (See Exodus chapter 20)
Verse 20 The young man saith unto him, All these things have I kept from my youth up: what lack I yet?
Could it be that the young man had indeed kept these six commandments and was not exaggerating when he stated in verse 20 that he had kept them?
Verses 21-22 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.
But did this young man have an idol which he served – money and possessions? Did he make them his god? Did he take God’s name in vain or forget the sabbath by doing business on that day? This is all speculation of course, but he was unable to follow Jesus and have eternal life as his possessions controlled him. He was willing to do good things to earn eternal life, but he was not willing to give his all to Jesus.
Verses 23-26 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.
There is debate as to what Jesus meant in His reference to the eye of a needle. A needle does indeed have a hole at the top for thread to be attached to it and it is usually very small. So Jesus could have just been using this analogy to demonstrate the extreme difficulty that people who have riches encounter in turning their life over to Jesus and relying on Him instead of wealth. Or, it could be that the walled cities during this time had large gates for animals and wagons to pass through and a very small gate that was just big enough for a person to go through. A camel could be unloaded of all its saddlery and goods and it could crawl through this gate on its knees, but it was a huge task to unload and get the animal through and not very practical if the larger gates were open for traffic. The small gate was called a needle. So the analogy could be that just as a camel has to crawl on its knees to get through the gate and has to be free of all encumbrances, so a person must humble themselves (get on their knees) and free themselves of all worldly encumbrances to follow Jesus and enter into life eternal. Just a thought.
Verses 27-30 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. (Matthew 19)
The Apostle Peter, being the outspoken one in the group, asked the question they probably all wanted to have an answer to. “What’s in it for me?” And the promise Jesus gave them was/is beautiful. They will rule and reign with Jesus, they will be restored an hundredfold all that they sacrificed for Jesus’ name, and they will have eternal life. This applies to all Christian believers who do not waver or quit while traveling through this earthly life. Be faithful and be encouraged.
The Greek word translated as “regeneration” is “paliggenesia” and it means to reproduce, renew, renovate, and is used to denote the restoration of something back to its pristine state. This regeneration is when Jesus is on the throne and all that is now on this Earth and in the Heavens will be restored to what it was like before sin entered and ruined everything. Those people who believe that animals do not go to Heaven will be surprised to find that in the new Heavens and new Earth, Fido and Kitty have been restored along with all the rest of Jesus’ creation. Don’t believe this? Do the research and see what you find in the Scripture.