19:1 And it came to pass, [that] when Jesus had finished these sayings,
he departed from Galilee, and came into the coasts of Judaea beyond Jordan;
19:2 And great multitudes followed him; and he healed them there.
Jesus has ended His ministry in Galilee, and is on His way to Jerusalem, and to the cross.
19:3 The Pharisees also came unto him, tempting {testing} him, and saying unto him,
Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife for every cause?
19:4 And he answered and said unto them,
Have ye not read, that he which made [them] at the beginning made them male and female,
19:5 And said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain {ie., two} shall be one flesh? {Gen 1:27; 2:24}
19:6 Wherefore they are no more twain {two}, but one flesh.
What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.
19:7 They say unto him,
Why did Moses then command to give a writing of divorcement, and to put her away?
19:8 He saith unto them,
Moses because of the hardness of your hearts suffered {ie., allowed} you to put away your wives: but from the beginning it was not so.
19:9 And I say unto you, Whosoever shall put away his wife, except [it be] for fornication,
and shall marry another, committeth adultery:
and whoso marrieth her which is put away doth commit adultery.
he... made them male and female... they two shall be one flesh- (see refs. above)
Marriage is according to God's design.
But divorce is contrary to His design, and is one of the results of sin.
According to Jesus, remarriage following divorce for other reasons amounts to sexual infidelity.
The marriage relationship is meant to illustrate the relationship of Christ to His Church. Eph 5:22-33
Believing spouses are to forgive and submit to one another, in much the same way that every believer is to attempt to maintain a good relationship with his brother (eg., Mat 18:15-20; Eph 4:31,32; 5:1-21). The God, who joins a man and a woman, is also the Source of all of the love, wisdom and grace that is needed to maintain their marriage (cp. Gal 5:22-24). There is hope for a marriage where husband and wife determine to seek the Lord (Heb 4:14-16), submit to Him and yield to each other.
For more on this subject, see 1Cor 7:1-17, where separation (but not remarriage) is prescribed in the case of believers who are unable to make their marriage work (1Cor 7:10,11), and where divorce (and remarriage) is allowed in the case of a believer who is abandoned by an unbelieving spouse (1Cor 7:15).
19:10 His disciples say unto him,
If the case of the man be so with [his] wife, it is not good to marry.
19:11 But he said unto them,
All [men] cannot receive this saying, save [they] to whom it is given.
19:12 For there are some eunuchs, which were so born from [their] mother's womb:
and there are some eunuchs, which were made eunuchs of men:
and there be eunuchs, which have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven's sake.
He that is able to receive [it], let him receive [it].
eunuch- ie., a man who has no capability of sexual activity, due to natural or surgical causes.
Or, as in the last case mentioned, a man who has sacrificially set aside sexual activity (ie., marriage) for a higher purpose. One example is the apostle Paul (1Cor 7:7,8,32-35; 9:5,15).
he that is able to receive it...- Celibacy is not for every man.
It should not be imposed upon any man. But if the Lord so directs and enables, a man may choose this path. 1Cor 7:17
19:13 Then were there brought unto him little children,
that he should put [his] hands on them, and pray:
and the disciples rebuked them.
19:14 But Jesus said,
Suffer {ie., allow} little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me:
for of such is the kingdom of heaven.
19:15 And he laid [his] hands on them, and departed thence.
{allow} the little children...-
Children are naturally drawn to Jesus, if they hear the Bible truth about Him.
It is the adults who hinder them.
It is instructive that this incident follows the discussion regarding divorce. Many children have been turned away from Christ due to the divorce of their Christian parents.
''You say, 'I don't love my husband/wife anymore.' Well then, Do you love your children?'' [McGee]
19:16 And, behold, one came and said unto him,
Good Master {ie., good teacher}, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life?
19:17 And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good?
[there is] none good but one, [that is], God:
but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments.
19:18 He saith unto him, Which?
Jesus said, Thou shalt do no murder, Thou shalt not commit adultery,
Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness,
19:19 Honour thy father and [thy] mother: and,
Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
19:20 The young man saith unto him,
All these things have I kept from my youth up: what lack I yet?
19:21 Jesus said unto him,
If thou wilt be perfect, go [and] sell that thou hast, and give to the poor,
and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come [and] follow me.
19:22 But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful:
for he had great possessions.
The rich young ruler had several misconceptions. (cp. Mark 10:17-27; Luk 18:18-27)
Jesus confronted each of them with the truth-
good master...- he considered Jesus as merely a good man.
Jesus says that His 'goodness' cannot be separated from His 'Godness'. v.17
Either He is God, or He is not a good man. cp. Psa 25:8; Rom 2:4
What good thing shall I do...?- he thought he could earn acceptance before God.
Jesus says that to be acceptable before God, a man would need to ''keep the commandments''.
But since no one is good except God, no man can truly satisfy the demands of the Law. v.17; Rom 3:19,20; 10:1-5
The question is not ''which'' commandments must I keep? but, can I keep them all? cp. Jam 2:10
all these things have I kept... What lack I yet?- he considered himself to be righteous,
when tested by the commandments which Jesus listed.
Yet, he had a nagging sense that he still lacked merit, or did not quite meet the standard.
Note that Jesus had selected, from the Ten Commandments, five or six commands concerning external interaction with other men. cp. v.18-20; Ex 20:12-17
Further testing against commandments concerning heart attitude toward God, revealed the man's failure. v.21,22, cp. Ex 20:2,3; Mat 22:37-40
he went away sorrowing...-
Tragically, his possessions were more important to him than God, or eternal life (v.16). cp. Mat 6:33; 16:25,26
If only he had followed Jesus, he would have been led to the cross, to find righteousness apart from the works of the Law. Rom 3:21-26
19:24 And again I say unto you,
It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle,
than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.
19:25 When his disciples heard [it], they were exceedingly amazed, saying,
Who then can be saved?
19:26 But Jesus beheld [them], and said unto them,
With men this is impossible;
but with God all things are possible.
Some have suggested that Jesus was referring to a low gate in a city wall, through which a camel could not pass easily. First, its cargo must be unloaded, then it must crawl through on its knees. Thus illustrating that a man is able to enter the Kingdom if he humbles himself and sheds his 'baggage'.
But note the disciples' reaction to His words (v.25). Apparently, they thought He was speaking of the impossibility of squeezing a camel through the eye of a sewing needle! Jesus' answer confirms this:
with men this is impossible... {not merely difficult}-
It is impossible for us to become children of God on our own.
Salvation comes from God alone. Only God can regenerate a man.
Rom 10:4-13; 11:5-7; Joh 1:12,13
19:27 Then answered Peter and said unto him,
Behold, we have forsaken all, and followed thee; what shall we have therefore?
19:28 And Jesus said unto them,
Verily I say unto you, That ye which have followed me,
in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory,
ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. {cp. Isa 1:26}
19:29 And every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters,
or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name's sake,
shall receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life.
19:30 But many [that are] first shall be last; and the last [shall be] first.
...what shall we have therefore?- Note that Jesus did not rebuke Peter for this question.
Those who have paid a price to follow Him will be rewarded.
in the regeneration {GK=palingenesia, new birth, renewal, re-creation}...-
many... first shall be last, and the last... first.-
Many of those, who might have been expected to inherit eternal life and to receive rewards (because of their national or religious heritage and opportunity), will be surpassed, in the day of accounting, by hidden saints whose faith and sacrifices for Christ's sake were known only to Him. cp. Mat 8:11,12; 20:16; 25:40; Rom 9:30-33; Heb 6:10-12