The Way - Day 251 (Matthew 19)

Pastor Tom's Journal on Today's Reading:
Matthew 19:1-15
Although the temptation for this passage of scripture is to discuss the subject of divorce, remarriage, and singleness, I am choosing to go a different direction. I am not minimizing the subject at hand, but I think Jesus may be trying to teach another lesson to His disciples. However, just to get the picture, let's begin with a little background to set up Jesus' teaching. Welcome back the Pharisees who seem to follow Jesus' every move. They come to Jesus and ask if it is okay to divorce for any reason. There were different opinions on the issue of divorce in that day - some thought divorce was permitted in any instance and others thought divorce was permissible only when sexual immortality had been committed. I believe Jesus is very clear that divorce is permissible only when sexual immorality has taken place (19:8-9). The disciples get involved and conclude that it may be better to stay single (19:10). Jesus responds by saying that singleness is up to the person...it is a personal choice. As the disciples were discussing this issue with Jesus, parents begin bringing their children to be blessed of Jesus. It was tradition for Jewish parents to seek out a rabbi to pray a blessing over their children. You would assume that the disciples would welcome these parents, but apparently they thought their conversation of "deeper matters of the faith" were more important than people. Don't get me wrong - Jesus stood up for the truth in the matter of divorce and remarriage; however, He felt people were more important than sitting around and discussing doctrine. Jesus immediately rebukes the disciples (19:13) and commands that the little children be brought to Him. There is a huge lesson to be learned here...discussing doctrine has its' place, but never at the expense of people.

Matthew 19:16-30
This is one of the best passages to help us understand what it means to inherit eternal life or rather who does inherit it. A rich man comes to Jesus and asks "Good teacher, what good thing shall I do to inherit eternal life?" Jesus responds in an awkward way by correcting the man for calling Him good. Please understand Jesus was not denying His deity, but rather emphasizing that everyone has sinned except God (19:17). Then, Jesus tells the man if he wants eternal life he will have to keep the commandments. Before you freak out (knowing that you haven't kept the commandments), let's go a little further. The man responds to Jesus by asking Him which commandments he has to kept, to which Jesus lists several of them. The arrogant young man informs Jesus that he has kept all of those commandments (19:20) and continues to ask what else he has to do. Knowing he was a rich man, Jesus tells him to sell everything he has and then he will inherit eternal life (19:21). This hits the young man hard and he goes away disappointed because he had many possessions (19:22). If you are like me, I initially thought Jesus was spreading a false message of hope. I interpreted Jesus' message as "if you've sinned or haven't given up everything to follow me, you will not inherit eternal life." The disciples reacted in the same way to Jesus' response to the rich man and asked "who then can be saved?" The disciples knew they had broken the commandments and now they were concerned about not entering into eternal life. Jesus puts their minds at ease and says "with men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible." In other words, Jesus was declaring that eternal life is only made possible through God. Jesus was not preaching a works based salvation to the rich; however, He was trying to expose the sinfulness of the man's heart. The rich young man thought he had everything together but in reality it was his failure to admit his sin which prohibited him from receiving God's grace. We must recognize our sinfulness before we can receive the gift of eternal life. Have you ever dropped your facade and admitted your sinfulness before God. If so, you are ready to also understand that God did the impossible by sending His perfect Son, Jesus Christ, to take the punishment for the sin's you have committed.

Dear God, I realize I am a sinner and without the sacrifice of Your Jesus Christ I cannot inherit eternal life. Today, I accept the grace extended to me through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ for my sins.