# Matthew 19 📖: Marriage, Children, and Riches [[📚 Explore the Bible Books]] [[-Matthew Overview]] | [[Matthew 18]] | [[Matthew 20]] > [!info] Table of Contents > [[#📜 Scripture Text (NET)]] > [[#🤔 Interesting Facts / Historical and Cultural Insights]] > [[#🧠 Chapter Summary]] > [[#✝️ Christ in This Chapter]] > [[#🔎 Key Observations / 🛟 Life Application]] > [[#💬 Discussion Questions]] > [[#✍️ Key Verses to Remember]] > [[#🔗 Related Passages]] > [[#🙏 Devotional Reflection]] > [[#📂 Internal Notes]] ## 📜 Scripture Text (NET) (The NET Bible: New English Translation. Biblical Studies Press, 2005) ### Questions About Divorce **Principle**: Take Covenant Promises Seriously [[Divorce Resources]] [[#Verse 01]] Now when Jesus finished these sayings, he left Galilee and went to the region of Judea beyond the Jordan River.  [[#Verse 02]] Large crowds followed him, and he healed them there. [[#Verse 03]] Then some Pharisees came to him in order to test him. They asked, “Is it lawful to divorce a wife for any cause?”  [[#Verse 04]] He answered, “Have you not read that from the beginning the Creator **_made_** **_them male and female_**,  [[#Verse 05]] and said, ‘**_For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and will be united with his wife, and the two will become one flesh_**’?  [[#Verse 06]] So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.”  [[#Verse 07]] They said to him, “Why then did Moses command us _to give **a certificate of dismissal** and to divorce_ her?” [[#Verse 08]] Jesus said to them, “Moses permitted you to divorce your wives because of your hard hearts, but from the beginning it was not this way.  [[#Verse 09]] Now I say to you that whoever divorces his wife, except for immorality, and marries another commits adultery.”  [[#Verse 10]] The disciples said to him, “If this is the case of a husband with a wife, it is better not to marry!”  [[#Verse 11]] He said to them, “Not everyone can accept this statement, except those to whom it has been given.  [[#Verse 12]] For there are some eunuchs who were that way from birth, and some who were made eunuchs by others, and some who became eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. The one who is able to accept this should accept it.” ### Jesus and Little Children **Principle**: The Kingdom is For All. Childlike heart and “serpent” wisdom. [[#Verse 13]] Then little children were brought to him for him to lay his hands on them and pray. But the disciples scolded those who brought them.  [[#Verse 14]] But Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me and do not try to stop them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.”  [[#Verse 15]] And he placed his hands on them and went on his way. ### The Rich Young Man **Principle**: God Requires ALL or Nothing. This is not a Hobby. It is a way of life. [[M0011- Rich Young Ruler]] [[#Verse 16]] Now someone came up to him and said, “Teacher, what good thing must I do to gain eternal life?”  [[#Verse 17]] He said to him, “Why do you ask me about what is good? There is only one who is good. But if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments.”  [[#Verse 18]] “Which ones?” he asked. Jesus replied, “**_Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony,_**  [[#Verse 19]] **_honor_** **_your father and mother,_** and **_love your neighbor as yourself_**.”  [[#Verse 20]] The young man said to him, “I have wholeheartedly obeyed all these laws. What do I still lack?”  [[#Verse 21]] Jesus said to him, “If you wish to be perfect, go sell your possessions and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”  [[#Verse 22]] But when the young man heard this he went away sorrowful, for he was very rich. [[#Verse 23]] Then Jesus said to his disciples, “I tell you the truth, it will be hard for a rich person to enter the kingdom of heaven!  [[#Verse 24]] Again I say, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter into the kingdom of God.”  [[#Verse 25]] The disciples were greatly astonished when they heard this and said, “Then who can be saved?”  [[#Verse 26]] Jesus looked at them and replied, “This is impossible for mere humans, but for God all things are possible.”  [[#Verse 27]] Then Peter said to him, “Look, we have left everything to follow you! What then will there be for us?”  [[#Verse 28]] Jesus said to them, “I tell you the truth: In the age when all things are renewed, when the Son of Man sits on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.  [[#Verse 29]] And whoever has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life.  [[#Verse 30]] But many who are first will be last, and the last first. # ==📖 Verse-by-Verse Commentary== ##### Verse 01 ##### Verse 02 ##### Verse 03 ##### Verse 04 ##### Verse 05 ##### Verse 06 ##### Verse 07 ##### Verse 08 ##### Verse 09 ##### Verse 10 ##### Verse 11 ##### Verse 12 ##### Verse 13 ##### Verse 14 ##### Verse 15 ##### Verse 16 ##### Verse 17 ##### Verse 18 ##### Verse 19 ##### Verse 20 ##### Verse 21 ##### Verse 22 ##### Verse 23 ##### Verse 24 ##### Verse 25 ##### Verse 26 ##### Verse 27 ##### Verse 28 ##### Verse 29 ##### Verse 30 ## 🤔 Interesting Facts / Historical and Cultural Insights 1. Rabbis in Jesus' day debated Deuteronomy 24:1. The school of Shammai allowed divorce mainly for sexual immorality, while the school of Hillel allowed it for almost any reason. 2. The Pharisees asked if divorce was lawful "for any cause" (19:3), echoing the view of Hillel's school. 3. Jesus answers by quoting both Genesis 1:27 and Genesis 2:24, joining the two creation accounts. 4. Moses permitted divorce because of hard hearts (19:8), but he did not command it. 5. A eunuch (19:12) was a man unable to father children. Jesus speaks of some who choose singleness for the sake of the kingdom. 6. Jesus lists commandments from the second half of the Ten Commandments (19:18-19), the ones about loving our neighbor. 7. Only Matthew tells us the rich man was young (19:20), and Luke calls him a ruler (Luke 18:18). 8. The camel was the largest animal in the region and the eye of a needle the smallest opening, a deliberate exaggeration (19:24). 9. Some later claimed the "eye of the needle" was a small gate in Jerusalem, but there is no ancient evidence for such a gate. 10. Jesus promises the Twelve will sit on twelve thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel at the renewal of all things (19:28). ## 🧠 Chapter Summary > [!note] 🌱 Still growing. This section is on its way. ## ✝️ Christ in This Chapter Christ is the authority who restores God's design for marriage from the beginning (19:4-6) and the Savior who makes the impossible possible (19:26). Salvation is not earned by goodness but received as a gift through Him (Ephesians 2:8-9). ## 🔎 Key Observations / 🛟 Life Application > [!note] 🌱 Still growing. This section is on its way. ## 💬 Discussion Questions 1. Jesus points back to creation to answer a question about divorce (19:4-6). Why does God's original design matter so much? 2. The disciples tried to keep children away, but Jesus welcomed them (19:13-15). Who might we unintentionally keep from coming to Jesus? 3. The rich young man went away sad because he had many possessions (19:22). What possession or comfort competes with your devotion to Jesus? ## ✍️ Key Verses to Remember - 📖 verses 5-6: The two become one flesh, and what God has joined together no one should separate. - 📖 verse 14: Let the little children come to Jesus, for the kingdom belongs to such as these. - 📖 verse 26: With people salvation is impossible, but with God all things are possible. - 📖 verse 30: Many who are first will be last, and the last will be first. ## 🔗 Related Passages - 🔗 [[Genesis 01#Verse 27.|Genesis 1:27]] - God created them male and female. - 🔗 [[Genesis 02#Verse 24.|Genesis 2:24]] and [[Ephesians 05#Verse 31.|Ephesians 5:31]] - The two become one flesh. - 🔗 [[Deuteronomy 24#Verse 01.|Deuteronomy 24:1-4]] - The Mosaic provision for divorce. - 🔗 [[Malachi 02#Verse 16.|Malachi 2:16]] and [[1 Corinthians 07#Verse 10.|1 Corinthians 7:10-11]] - God's heart against divorce. - 🔗 [[1 Corinthians 07#Verse 07.|1 Corinthians 7:7-8, 32-35]] - Singleness as a gift for undivided devotion. - 🔗 [[Exodus 20#Verse 12.|Exodus 20:12-16]] and [[Leviticus 19#Verse 18.|Leviticus 19:18]] - The commandments and love of neighbor. - 🔗 [[Luke 12#Verse 33.|Luke 12:33]] - Sell your possessions and give to the poor. - 🔗 [[1 Timothy 06#Verse 09.|1 Timothy 6:9-10]] - The danger of desiring riches. - 🔗 [[Daniel 07#Verse 09.|Daniel 7:9-14]] and [[Luke 22#Verse 28.|Luke 22:28-30]] - Thrones of judgment in the kingdom. - 🔗 [[Mark 10#Verse 29.|Mark 10:29-30]] - A hundredfold now and eternal life to come. ## 🙏 Devotional Reflection 📝 SOAP: [[Matthew 19 - SOAP|God’s Plan Does Not Change]] ## 📂 Internal Notes