Matthew 19 for Thursday Night

When Jesus had finished these words, He departed from Galilee and came into the region of Judea beyond the Jordan; and large crowds followed Him, and He healed them there. Some Pharisees came to Jesus, testing Him and asking, "Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any reason at all?" And He answered and said, "Have you not read that He who created them from the beginning MADE THEM MALE AND FEMALE, and said, 'FOR THIS REASON A MAN SHALL LEAVE HIS FATHER AND MOTHER AND BE JOINED 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 no man separate." They said to Him, "Why then did Moses command to GIVE HER A CERTIFICATE OF DIVORCE AND SEND her AWAY?" He said to them, "Because of your hardness of heart Moses permitted you to divorce your wives; but from the beginning it has not been this way. "And I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for immorality, and marries another woman commits adultery." The disciples *said to Him, "If the relationship of the man with his wife is like this, it is better not to marry." But He said to them, "Not all men can accept this statement, but only those to whom it has been given. "For there are eunuchs who were born that way from their mother's womb; and there are eunuchs who were made eunuchs by men; and there are also eunuchs who made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. He who is able to accept this, let him accept it." (Mat 19:1-12)

Wow, every loyal student can see that Jesus does not bow to our Common-Sense expectations.We said that the first 12 verses of this Chapter are about "Common-Sense-Sexuality", along with Jesus' not so common teaching.  The disciples complain and Jesus responds, but He doesn't seem to mind leaving them on the horns of a dilemma. The difficulty of Jesus' teaching makes me appreciate His pivotal word in verses 13-15.

Then some children were brought to Him so that He might lay His hands on them and pray; and the disciples rebuked them. But Jesus said, "Let the children alone, and do not hinder them from coming to Me; for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these." After laying His hands on them, He departed from there. (Mat 19:13-15)

Lord willing, we will make that transition next Thursday. And go on to Matthew 19: 16-26 to look at "Common-Sense-Security" and some teaching that may lead us to say again, "Wow, loyalty to Jesus does not bow to our Common-Sense expectations." If you have looked at the "chiastic structure" outlined in the link to your left then you won't be surprised to notice the parallelism of verses 1-12 with 16-26. Click here for more info on Chiastic structures.

Listening to Bill and Bob

Bill said:

“I hear Jesus teaching in the Gospels that the ability to understand and willingness to be loyal are interdependent. If I shrink from loyalty, I may not be conscious of lost information, but my knowledge is emptied of its only true value. Along with this loss, may come growing awareness of, and reality of, confusion toward God’s word.”

And Bob answered:

Yes, I agree with you. Willingness to be loyal to truth is interdependent to the ability to understand that truth. Sin weakens the will and darkens the mind.

Matthew 13:53-58

(read Matthew 13: 53-58)

The problem here is a lack of loyal acknowledgment to Jesus. The people of Jesus' hometown synagogue can't seem to muster that response to him and so he cannot do many miracles there. the symbolic communication that God heals, restores, and rescues a people who loyally acknowledge Him would be marred if Jesus did many miracles without regard for the people's faithlessness. (read Matthew 13: 53-58 again)

Chiasm in Matt. 17.1 - 21.17 ?

With your Bible open, try using a chiastic structure to think through the elements of Matthew ch.17 thru ch. 27 verse17. I have diagrammed parallel elements in the new link at your right. If nothing else you will benefit from reading Matthew!