Matthew 19

Matthew 19.....
Verse 2.....amazing that Jesus has large crowds. This still fascinates me. I can imagine the people following him just to hear him.

The religious leaders were always trying to trick Jesus. They knew the Scriptures and constantly tested Jesus to see his position on things. Here they were questioning divorce. We know today that to stay married for years is an accomplishment. People today divorce for all kinds of reasons. People in the Bible divorced for all kinds of reasons also....but Jesus is telling the leaders here that the only justified reason for divorce is because of adultery. Adultery is not only an offense against the spouse, but also an offense to God. Jesus is telling us that divorce is permissible for this reason, but not necessary. Again.,...God wants restoration to Himslf and to the married couple.

The rich young man......well this story is important. This young guy is asking Jesus what he has to do to get to heaven. Notice he's not asking how to get to know Jesus better or love him or be one of Hid followers. He's only concerned with heaven. And he asks what "good thing" he must do. See this guy had money. He was probably hoping he could give money to some poor people and be ok and get his ticket to heaven, but Jesus had other ideas. He thought he could earn his salvation through works.

The guy was a Jew so he knew the Laws of the Old Testament. He lived by them as we see in verses 18-19.

Verse 21 Jesus tells him to give away all his stuff to the poor and follow him. Now.....this guy had a lot of things and money. I'm sure he'd be willing to part with some of it, but ALL of it was too much to ask, so he hung his head and went away sad.

Jesus tells us it will be easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needled than a rich man to get to heaven. Why? It all comes down to a heart issue.....Always a heart issue. Our hearts lead us astray and we put our trust in money and all the wrong things. Jesus wants us to put our trust only in Him.

 Verses 29-30 tell us we will be rewarded for following Jesus wholeheartedly. We will be rewarded for choosing Him over anything this life has to offer. All of us have something we need to give up for Jesus. Now does that mean we can't enjoy our possessions or money or vacations? Absolutely not.......He's saying we have to get our heart right with him and the rest falls into place and one day we will be rewarded for our choice.