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Gospels · Matthew

Matthew 19 — With Men This Is Impossible; But With God All Things Are Possible

Summary

Pharisees test on divorce; Jesus returns to Genesis — what therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder. He blesses little children. The rich young man — what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life? Keep the commandments — which? He has kept them all from youth. Sell what thou hast. He goes away grieved. Hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom. The disciples astonished — who then can be saved? With God, all things are possible. Peter — we have forsaken all. Many that are first shall be last.

Key verse

“But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.”

— Matthew 19:26

Outline
  1. v.1-12 Divorce — back to creation
  2. v.13-15 Suffer the little children
  3. v.16-26 The rich young ruler
  4. v.27-30 Reward for those who forsake
Verse-by-verse
6 Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.

Marriage is rooted in creation, not in culture. Christ takes the Pharisees past Moses to Genesis. The standard is older than the concession.

What... God hath joined together. The bond is divine. To dissolve it is not a private right but an act against God's work.

14 But Jesus said, Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven.

A rebuke of disciples who tried to manage Christ's schedule. The little ones interrupted nothing; they belonged.

Of such is the kingdom. The kingdom is given to the small, the dependent, the bringing-of-nothing. Children are the model of citizenship.

Cross-references Mark 10:14 · Matthew 18:3 · 1 Peter 2:2 · Luke 18:16
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.

The probe of love. Christ named the one chain the man could not break. Wealth had become his god; the diagnosis was specific, not universal.

Come and follow me. The substitute treasure offered. He would not be left poor; he would be invited into the company of the One worth more than anything he sold.

26 But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.

With men... impossible. Salvation is not engineered by human effort. The young man's case showed it — even keeping the law from youth could not pull him through the needle's eye.

With God all things are possible. The corrective. What man cannot do, God does. Salvation is His act first to last; the doctrine of grace protects the verse from optimism.

Cross-references Luke 18:27 · Genesis 18:14 · Jeremiah 32:17 · Ephesians 2:8-9
Key doctrines
Marriage Founded in Creation
Matthew 19:6 · Genesis 2:24 · Ephesians 5:31-32
Children Welcomed in the Kingdom
Matthew 19:14 · Matthew 18:3 · Luke 18:16
The Cost of Following Christ
Matthew 19:21 · Luke 14:33 · Philippians 3:7-8
Salvation Impossible to Man, Possible to God
Matthew 19:26 · Luke 18:27 · Ephesians 2:8-9
Application

The rich young ruler's test is yours in a different form. What is the one thing Christ would name if He probed your love? Money for one, reputation for another, a relationship, a future. Bring it to verse 21 and lay it down. The treasure offered in exchange does not depreciate.

Christ in this chapter

Christ in Matthew 19 takes the highest standards of marriage, accepts the children no one had time for, asks the rich young man for the one thing he would not give, and tells His disciples that the impossibility of salvation is overcome by God Himself. He is the One who joins, blesses, probes, and saves. Every category in the chapter rests on Him.

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