 Now when Jesus had finished these sayings, he went away from Galilee and entered the region of Judea beyond the Jordan. 2 And large crowds followed him, and he healed them there.
3 And Pharisees came up to him and tested him by asking, “Is it lawful to divorce one's wife for any cause?” 4 He answered, “Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female, 5 and said, ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? 6 So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.” 7 They said to him, “Why then did Moses command one to give a certificate of divorce and to send her away?” 8 He said to them, “Because of your hardness of heart Moses allowed you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so. 9 And I say to you: whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery.” 10 The disciples said to him, “If such is the case of a man with his wife, it is better not to marry.” 11 But he said to them, “Not everyone can receive this saying, but only those to whom it is given. 12 For there are eunuchs who have been so from birth, and there are eunuchs who have been made eunuchs by men, and there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. Let the one who is able to receive this receive it.” Let the Children Come to Me13 Then children were brought to him that he might lay his hands on them and pray. The disciples rebuked the people,14 but Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven.”15 And he laid his hands on them and went away. The Rich Young Man16 And behold, a man came up to him, saying, “Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life?” 17 And he said to him, “Why do you ask me about what is good? There is only one who is good. If you would enter life, keep the commandments.” 18 He said to him, “Which ones?” And Jesus said, “You shall not murder, You shall not commit adultery, You shall not steal, You shall not bear false witness, 19 Honor your father and mother, and, You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” 20 The young man said to him, “All these I have kept. What do I still lack?” 21 Jesus said to him, “If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.”22 When the young man heard this he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions. 23 And Jesus said to his disciples, “Truly, I say to you, only with difficulty will a rich person enter the kingdom of heaven.24 Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.” 25 When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished, saying, “Who then can be saved?” 26 But Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” 27 Then Peter said in reply, “See, we have left everything and followed you. What then will we have?” 28 Jesus said to them, “Truly, I say to you, in the new world, when the Son of Man will sit on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. 29 And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands, for my name's sake, will receive a hundredfold and will inherit eternal life. 30 But many who are first will be last, and the last first. Meditation As humans we want to do something to secure our standing before God, locking in eternal life through our performance. Jesus makes clear the standard for righteousness is too high for humanity to achieve! And His teaching helps us see God’s grace is all we need. Large crowds followed Jesus (1-2) as His lessons on kingdom life continued. The first comes through a Pharisee test, using the situation of divorce to discern how little a man needed to do to be considered righteous. Jesus raises the bar of expectation, moving the standard beyond Mosaic law to God’s created design (1-12). Righteousness will embrace God’s Divine design. Next comes a rich, young man searching for the ceiling of God’s standard, asking about the maximum he can do to be considered righteous and inherit eternal life. Jesus goes deeper than performance to diagnose the heart. It turned out, the man loved money more than God (16-30). Righteousness is evidenced by a transformed heart that loves Jesus more than anything else, even family and homeland. Jesus’ disciples were shocked and asked, “Who then can be saved!?!” Jesus replied, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” (25-26) No human can be fully faithful to God’s Garden design and no person can honor God as first in their heart in every moment of every day. The great exchange could only be made at the cross where Jesus became sin to give believers His righteousness. Only through the work of Jesus can people secure standing with God and celebrate eternal life. Richly Dwelling -What stands out to you about the questions of the pharisees and the rich young man? -Where do you identify, trying to gauge your righteous performance before the Lord, earn His favor and blessing? -Christ alone takes our sin, makes us righteous, gives us a new heart, and empowers us to embrace God’s Garden design. What specific ways can you respond to God’s grace through celebrating God’s design and prioritizing loving Jesus more than anything else? Be specific. Key Verse 25 When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished, saying, “Who then can be saved?” 26 But Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” Comments are closed.
|