Matthew 19

Hard Teachings

"If this is the case of a husband with a wife, it is better not to marry!"
"[If this is how hard it is for the rich to enter the Kingdom of God,] then who can be saved?"

There are "hard teachings" in this chapter...

• So hard that it made Jesus' disciples question whether they'd heard him right.
• So hard that books have been written dealing with these issues -- some, more in an effort to "explain away" the words of Jesus than to explain them.

I've been in classes, and read books covering "The Hard Sayings of Jesus" and was at first inclined to approach this devotional in that way -- let's pull out the historical context and try to understand what He REALLY meant. Because surely He didn't mean it the way it sounds...

But... let's not do that.

Not that I'm suggesting that all who seek to explain these verses do so with poor motives or inappropriate results -- far from it! Nor am I suggesting that seeking the context is inappropriate, or may not give us very meaningful insights. I'm just saying, let's not go there first.

Instead, let's sit with it for a while.

What if He meant it... just like it sounds?

• What if He really meant that believers shouldn't divorce? (I'm fighting the temptation again to elaborate, to explain... but I want the "answers" here to be found by each of us in our dealing with the Holy Spirit, not summarized by my words).
• What if it really is impossibly difficult for the wealthy to enter His kingdom? What does that say about us and our position among the wealthiest humans to ever live on this globe?

What would we do with it if that really is what He meant? Give up? Drift away?

Or trust Him, humbly submit, and try to live as best we can within even his hard teachings?

An Issue to Settle First

I'm reminded of another occasion where Jesus was making some hard-to-stomach statements with this resulting exchange:

John 6
66 After this many of his disciples quit following him and did not accompany him any longer. 67 So Jesus said to the twelve, "You don't want to go away too, do you?"

68 Simon Peter answered him, "Lord, to whom would we go? You have the words of eternal life. 69 We have come to believe and to know that you are the Holy One of God!"

Here is the issue to be settled first: Once you understand Jesus' teachings, what will you do with them if you find them hard to take? Will you dispute them, ignore them, reject Him... or follow Him humbly, knowing that He has the words of eternal life and there is no one else to whom we can turn.

Then -- having recognized our tendency to want to dismiss teachings we find too hard and, by that recognition being fortified against it -- then, spend some time trying to be sure we understand what Jesus was saying.

The Clear Teachings

People have disagreed greatly over some of the implications of Jesus words, both with regard to divorce and the salvation of the wealthy. But putting those aside, the core of what Jesus is teaching is abundantly clear.

I hope you'll spend some time examining this chapter and coming to your own conclusions about it -- but here are some of my observations as a start:

• For a follower of Jesus, divorce is almost never the right solution.
• To throw away a marriage that is not already fundamentally broken is an adulterous act.
• Disciples of Jesus should have a loose grasp on our possessions.
• It is incredibly difficult for the wealthy to give up reliance on their possessions, their wealth, and themselves and rely on Jesus.
• Nevertheless, because nothing is impossible for God, even the wealthy can be saved.
• Our future inheritance is more than an ample reward for anything we give up for the sake of Christ.

My Prayer Today:

Father,

Help us to be unreservedly committed to your ways -- even when we find them difficult, extreme, or in conflict with the prevailing values of our culture.

Thank you for the strength and the grace you give so that even we who are rich may find our way to Your Kingdom.

Help us to steward well the things you've entrusted to us -- using them as You would.

And thank you for the promise of what You've prepared for us in eternity. Help us to never care so much about what we have here that we place at risk our place there.

Amen

  SCOTT PURCELL | Elder

Scott committed his life to Christ as a child under the teaching of his parents and church. He graduated from Ozark Christian College in 1989 with bachelors degree in Biblical Literature and served 8 years as Minister of two churches in Missouri and then 3 years as a Church Planter in San Marcos. Since then, he has worked as a technical trainer at Dell and Rackspace. In 2008 Scott and Nan joined HCBC-NW and then Hutto Bible in 2011. Scott serves in Small Group leadership, as secretary to the Elder board, and as the elder over IT and Discipleship. Scott and Nan have been married since 1985 and have three children (Mindy Schultea (married), Kate, and Matthew) and two grandchildren.