Read: Matthew 19
DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT: Chapter 19 of Matthew's Gospel takes place during Jesus' final trip to Jerusalem. Jesus had left the region of Galilee and traveled to the region of Judea to the west of the Jordan River. Large crowds were following Him, but Matthew's emphasis seems to be on His disciples and their reactions to His teachings. Verse 25 is the best example of this: "When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished..." In this chapter, they had many opportunities to be astonished.
The disciples were astonished at an encounter between Jesus and some Pharisees. The Pharisees ask Jesus about His understanding of marriage and divorce. Divorce was the subject of great debate among the Jews at that time; in fact, it was his comments about the divorce of Herod Antipas that led to John the Baptist's execution. No doubt Jesus would have been asked His opinion on the topic at some point, but Matthew notes that the Pharisees asked Jesus about it "to test him." The Pharisees wanted to focus on the law as given by Moses, but Jesus takes the discussion all the way back to creation itself. While a lengthy examination could be made of this text, a commonly-agreed-upon summary would be as follows: "Marriage is not to be entered into unadvisedly, but reverently, discreetly, and in the fear of God" (in the words of a widely-used marriage liturgy). Jesus makes it clear that marriage and celibacy are both gifts of God's grace that should never begin or end in convenience, and divorce has consequences which must be recognized and addressed. The disciples reacted to this by saying, "If this is the situation between a husband and wife, it is better not to marry" (verse 19.10). It's something of a sad commentary on their views of marriage.
The disciples were also astonished that Jesus took the time to bless little children that were brought to Him. After all, the blessing of children was something that local village elder could be according to Jewish custom, and, in any case, children as individuals were generally devalued by the culture of the day. Jesus challenged His disciples' thoughts on this subject directly: "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these" (verse 19.14).
The disciples were further astonished when Jesus said, "It is hard for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of heaven. 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" (verses 19.23-24). When the gates of a city were closed at night for protection, the only way in or out in case of an emergency was through a very small door in the larger gate called "the needle's eye." Only large enough for one person at a time to use, it was extremely difficult to get any animals through it...and impossible to do so if they were carrying any baggage. It is indeed hard for a wealthy person to enter the kingdom, given all of the baggage of riches they possess. But, if baggage is willing to be dropped, Jesus declares that "with God all things are possible" (verse 19.26). He goes on to note that "anyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life. But many who are first will be last, and many who are last will be first" (verses 19.29-30).
Jesus' teaching on the Kingdom of God turns the typical cultural values of society upside-down...astonishing indeed!
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