Matthew 19:1-12 - Marriage and Divorce

19:1-3

Jesus then left for Judea. Large crowds continued to follow Him.The Pharisees continued to seek to trap Jesus. In the meantime Jesus had healed many people.The Pharisees asked if it was lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any reason.The background to this was Deut 24:1-4, where Moses said a man had to give a divorced wife a certificate.

19:4-8

Jesus points them back to the beginning in Genesis.God intended marriage to be lifelong. Now look at how different the interpretation of this verse by Jesus is, compared to that of the Pharisees. Jesus tells us that God gave this because “our hearts are hard”. He also says Moses “permitted” divorce. The Pharisees saw it as a command. So the ideal if 19:4-6 stands and is the guiding principle, the one we are to seek to live by. But because we are sinners sometimes divorce will happen, sometimes may even be necessary. So the Law was given to ameliorate the consequences, to give the wife some protection. The Pharisees saw it as a way of life! They saw divorce as part of the normal course of events. The sinful heart will twist every good law to evil purpose. We see this with secular laws, especially in the area of finance. 

19:9

Jesus now tells us that “anyone who divorces his wife, except for adultery, and marries another woman commits adultery.” If we read this as a rule about divorce and remarriage we are missing the point. The liberal group on divorce, the “burn the toast” sect were doing this: If they fancied another woman, then they would give their current wife a certificate of divorce for some reason or other, then marry the other woman, claiming all the while to be following the Law of Moses and so they were a good Jew. Absolute nonsense, you are an adulterer, says Jesus. The human heart is deceitful above all things and will twist anything round to turn good into evil.

19:10-12

The disciples were, evidently, infected by the spirit of the age, seeming to think that the lifelong commitment of marriage was not such a good idea after all. How can two people possibly be happy together forever? We need to beware of being infected by the spirit of the age. “This teaching is not meant for everyone”. Jesus does not mean that marriage as a lifelong relationship is only applicable to some marriages. What He means is that not everyone will get married. He mentions some who were born eunuchs and some who were made eunuchs. Now this includes physical eunuchs, but I believe we can give it a wider application. There some for whom marriage may well be impossible for reasons from birth, disabilities of some sort or other (of course, not all disabilities make marriage impossible, far from it). For others the circumstances of life will just mean it never happens, sometimes for definite reasons, sometimes for no discernible reason, it just never happened. Then there will be those who renounce marriage for the sake of the kingdom.

I have written two longer discussions of the practical implications on Jesus’ teaching on divorce:

Mark 10:10-12 - Adultery and divorce - Part 1

Mark 10:10-12 - Adultery and Divorce - Part 2

Matthew 18:15-35 - Forgive others

18:15-20

Jesus is totally realistic and knows that sin will take place in the church, so here he gives instruction on how it is to be dealt with. The aim is not to condemn people but to restore them, but this depends on the sinner having a penitent attitude. So the sinner is to be given a chance to repent. First the person is to go to the sinner and point out their sin. This is to be done privately, the aim is  not to humiliate the brother. If he repents then he has been won over. If that fails, then go with one or two others, given  further chance. If that fails the matter is to be brought before the whole church. If the sinful brother still refuses to listen, only then is he to be treated as a pagan or tax collector.

We naturally feel wary of judging people, but Jesus assures them that if a proper procedure is followed with a proper heart attitude, then God is with them.

18:21-35

The section finishes with another parable, one reminding them that we are all forgiven sinners, and that should colour our attitude at all times. Forgiveness was considered something of a shocking thing, but that is only when we forget that we are all forgiven sinners. Note that the debt of hundred silver coins (or denarii) was not an insignificant amount, only in relation to the man’s own forgiven debt. We are forgiven sinners so we should be a forgiving people.

Matthew 18:1-14 - A new heart

18:1-5

The disciples still have much to learn, and the next lesson is about to happen. The disciples asked Jesus “Who, then, is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” Why did they ask this at this point, was it because Jesus has seemed to denigrate the religious leaders, the ones who they might have assumed were the top notch in the kingdom.

Jesus tells them that they need a radically different approach. They needed to welcome people who were considered to be of no importance, and could offer no immediate benefit. So He uses the example of a little child. The disciples needed to change.

18:6-9

As well as welcoming the undervalued, they needed to be careful not to cause them to stumble. The Pharisees were very strict, and Jesus has seriously criticised them. However that did not mean that sin was not serious, and needed to be dealt with seriously. Sin is serious.

18:10-14

Sometimes the weak would wander, in such a case we are not just to write them off, but to make an effort  to restore them. So he gives the parable of the lost sheep. God wants to save the lost.

MATT 17:22-27 - Fishing for money

17:22,23

Jesus reminds them yet again that He is going to suffer, be killed and then rise again. Since He has shown them His glory He is emphasising the cross all the more. Note that although He has mentioned His death and resurrection, it is His death that seems to be what His disciples are focused on. The concept of resurrection meant nothing to them, but death did, so they were filled with grief.

17:24-27

The mundane realities of life continue to hit them. Now they are asked for the temple tax. Peter tells Jesus what happened. Jesus replies that it is ridiculous for the children of the king to be asked for taxes. Even so, Jesus pays the tax, using miraculous means, with the money being supplied by a fish. So they are aware of the true situation and status, but also not causing unnecessary offence. 

Matthew 17:14-21 - Moving mountains

17:14-20

The disciples are quickly brought back down to earth. When they get back down to the crowd a man approaches Jesus pleading with him to have mercy on his son. The boy was having seizures, but the disciples had been unable to heal him.Jesus is frustrated with them, it seems that He is frustrated with the crowd as much as the disciples, calling them an “unbelieving and perverse generation. The implication is that Jesus expects us to see more miracles than we do. Jesus rebuked the demon and the boy was healed at once.

The disciples ask Jesus why they could not drive it out. Jesus tells them it is because of their lack of faith. He then says if they have faith as small as a mustard seed they can move mountains. It is not that we need enormous amounts of faith, just a little.

Some manuscripts are similar to Mark 9:29, adding that prayer, or prayer and fasting is needed.

Matthew 17:9-13 - Elijah

17:9

Jesus tells them not to tell anyone about what they had seen until He had been raised from the dead. Jesus only gave this vision to them after He had told them about his death and resurrection. We can only understand the glory of Christ after we understand the cross.

17:10-13

The disciples asked Jesus why the religious teachers said Elijah must come first. This was based on Malachi 4:5. This also explains why they were concerned about John the Baptist.  Jesus says they are right, but Elijah has already come, i.e. John the Baptist, but they did not recognise him. John suffered, Jesus would also suffer.

Matthew 17:1-8 Transfirgured

17:1-3

In John’s gospel chapter 17 we get Jesus’ prayer for himself, his disciples and for us. Here we have another personal insight into Jesus. He has just told His disciples about his suffering that is to come, now he gives more insight, this time into His glory, The suffering and the glory go together. He takes Peter, James and John up a high mountain, there Jesus was transfigured before them. His face shone and his clothes became white as light. Next, Moses and Elijah appeared with him. So there are two key elements here, one is His glory, the other is that Jesus is the fulfillment of all the Old Testament stuff.

17:4-8

True to form, Peter blurts something out, offering to put up three shelters. He wanted to preserve the moment. God the Father then tells them what the most important thing is, namely to listen to Jesus. Jesus is the fulfilment of Deut 18:15. The disciples fell down at the presence of God. Jesus tells them to not be afraid and to get up. They did and Jesus was the only one present.