Welcome to ADDBIBLE, an audio daily devotion from the Ezra Project. We join Alan J. Huth as he shares Bible passages and comments from over 30 years of his personal Bible reading journals.
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Today we are in Matthew chapter 19. We will listen in to Faith Comes By Hearing’s recording of the 30 verses of Matthew 19. Matthew 19
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Now when Jesus had finished these sayings, he went away from Galilee and entered the region of Judea beyond the Jordan. And large crowds followed him, and he healed them there. And Pharisees came up to him and tested him by asking, He answered,
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Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female, 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? So they are no longer two, but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate. They said to him, Why then did Moses command one to give a certificate of divorce and to send her away? 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. And I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery. The disciples said to him,
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If such is the case of a man with his wife, it is better not to marry.
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But he said to them, Not everyone can receive this saying, but only those to whom it is given. 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.
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Then children were brought to him that he might lay his hands on them and pray.
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The disciples rebuked the people, but Jesus said, Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven.
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And he laid his hands on them and went away. And behold, a man came up to him, saying, Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life?
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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. 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. Honor your father and mother, and you shall love your neighbor as yourself. The young man said to him, All these I have kept, what do I still lack? 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.
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When the young man heard this, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions. And Jesus said to his disciples,
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When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished, saying, Who then can be saved? But Jesus looked at them and said, Then Peter said in reply, 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. And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands for My namesake will receive a hundredfold and will inherit eternal life. But many who are first will be last, and the last first.
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Is it lawful to divorce one’s wife for any cause? Jesus clearly answers the question. So let’s look at my journals and see what I had to say over the various years. Back in 1992, I wrote, Divorce. The two shall become one flesh. Therefore, they are no longer two, but one flesh. So what God has joined together, let no man separate. Then why divorce? Because of your hardness of heart. God gives us an out, but once divorced, one should not marry again, or you commit adultery. It is better not to marry than to marry and divorce. Let’s see if my perspective changed any in 2007. In my journal I wrote, Divorce. Matthew 19 needs to be read everywhere again today. From the beginning, God joined man together as one flesh. Therefore, they should not be separated. That is God’s intent. Jesus also raises sexuality to only a union between husband and wife because he says that violating it is the only cause for divorce. Living by biblical principles would save a lot of our family problems today. God intended marriage to be permanent, not convenient. Then I quoted one of the last verses in this chapter, But with people this is impossible, but with God all things are possible. And let’s look at another journal entry in 2016 on this passage. Marriage and divorce. God made us male and female. We do not get to choose or change. Marriage. One flesh. God has joined two people together. Man should not undo what God joins together. There’s a lot of adultery going on, according to this passage. So let’s summarize just a few principles from this passage. First, we have the same question today, don’t we? Is it lawful to divorce one’s wife for any cause? We have a lot of divorce today for virtually any cause. Jesus says when you get married, you’re no longer two, but you become one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate. What God has joined together means that marriage is a spiritual act, not just a legal act. Then why did Moses command one to give a certificate of divorce? Good question. And Jesus answers it very directly. Because of your hardness of heart. So divorce is not God’s design, it’s man’s desire. And Jesus puts a pretty restrictive condition on divorce. He says whoever divorces his wife except for sexual immorality and marries another commits adultery. And of course, thou shalt not commit adultery. So Jesus covers the issue. Not Alan Huth, not the Ezra Project, not ADDBIBLE. Jesus. And let me go back to verse 4 once again, when he says, Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female? He makes us male and female. He creates us, male or female. Though God’s word may be very clear on these issues, our culture certainly is not. I will leave divorce and gender issues right there and move on to the other exciting part of this passage, and that’s, can rich people be saved? As we look at verse 16, the passage says, And behold, a man came up to him, saying, Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life? Look at Jesus’ answer. He says, If you would enter eternal life, keep the commandments. I believe what this says to me is if I could keep all the commandments, I wouldn’t need a Savior. If I could keep all the commandments, I would be sinless. But I haven’t succeeded at that, nor has anyone else. So Jesus goes on and says to him, if you would be perfect… Well, there’s another high standard, isn’t there? To be perfect. He tells the rich young ruler, sell what you possess, give it to the poor, and you will have treasures in heaven, and come follow me. In my journal in 1992, I wrote, rich young ruler, asked to give up riches? No. Asked to give up what was separating him from giving all to God. This will be different for each of us. What keeps us from obtaining eternal life? What keeps me from obeying what Jesus said, come, follow me? When Jesus said to the young guy, give up what separates me from you and come and follow me, he went away sorrowful because he had great possessions. That’s when Jesus says this very famous verse, 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. Is that statement an indictment against rich people? I don’t think so. It’s an indictment against things that keep us separated from Jesus. Yes, if riches keep us from Jesus, it’s more difficult to get to heaven. But there are many things that keep people away from Jesus. And I think realizing this, his disciples asked him, well then Jesus, who can be saved? But before we answer that, let’s go back and see what the rich ruler was really asking. What good deed do I need to do to have eternal life? Jesus is saying there is no good deed that is going to get you eternal life. Good is not good enough. And that’s why he says, with man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible. So if you are like the rich young ruler trying to figure out what good deed you can do to get yourself to heaven, what Jesus is saying is it’s impossible. Good is not good enough. He finishes the chapter with the true answer. And that is those who follow him will have eternal life. Don’t go away from the podcast today sorrowful. Go away joyful. Because with man, this is impossible. But with God, all things are possible. Hallelujah. Father, thank you for creating us male and female. Thank you for giving us the institution of marriage where two people can be joined together and become one flesh. Thank you, too, for those who choose not to get married and remain single so that they can serve you and the kingdom of heaven. And thank you that our economic status has nothing to do with whether we’re going to have eternal life. Thank you for the realization that with man and our good deeds, we will never gain eternal life. But thank you that you say, but with God all things are possible. You provided the way to eternal life by saying, come and follow me. Rich and poor, male or female, we can all make that choice to follow you on this earth and in the life thereafter. Thank you that you make this possible. In Jesus’ name, amen. ADDBIBLE is sponsored by the Ezra Project, connecting God’s people to God’s Word. We are financially supported by friends like you who believe we need to provide quality Bible reading resources to enhance Bible engagement in your community and across the world. We pray you will consider partnering with us to keep ADDBIBLE on the radio where you are listening and to expand our outreach to more listeners around the world. To do so, visit EzraProject.net and locate the Donate button. Or send your support to the Ezra Project, 1399 South Havana Street, Suite 201E, Aurora, Colorado, 80012. 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