Contributor’s Corner
By Heather Mattingly
The WORD: Gospel of Matthew, Chapters 19-20:
Be prepared to chew on extra-large helpings of God’s Word today! In these rich chapters 19 & 20 of Matthew’s gospel, our Lord addresses marriage, how to attain perfection in God’s sight, how to achieve greatness in God’s sight, and how to receive miracles from Him. I encourage you to read these chapters slowly; take time to savor each word, and let the Holy Spirit speak to you Himself. He wants to guide you through your day today. Oh, please, Holy Spirit, empower us to get ourselves out of Your way and let Jesus shine through. For, “who may ascend the mountain of the Lord? Who may stand in His holy place? The one who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not trust in an idol or swear by a false god.” (Psalm 24:3-4)
Similar to last week, there will be some nuggets within today’s reading for you to find. Enjoy!
Matthew 19:
Marriage & Divorce
When Jesus had finished saying these things, He left Galilee and went into the region of Judea to the other side of the Jordan. 2 Large crowds followed Him, and He healed them there.
3 Some Pharisees came to Him to test Him. They asked, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any and every reason?”
4 “Haven’t you read,” He replied, “that at the beginning the Creator ‘made them male and female,’ 5 and said, ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh’? 6 So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.”
7 “Why then,” they asked, “did Moses command that a man give his wife a certificate of divorce and send her away?”
8 Jesus replied, “Moses permitted you to divorce your wives because your hearts were hard. But it was not this way from the beginning. 9 I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another woman commits adultery.”
10 The disciples said to Him, “If this is the situation between a husband and wife, it is better not to marry.”
11 Jesus replied, “Not everyone can accept this word, but only those to whom it has been given. 12 For there are eunuchs who were born that way, and there are eunuchs who have been made eunuchs by others—and there are those who choose to live like eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. The one who can accept this should accept it.”
*********Ah, here it is. One of the central, and famous (or infamous!) “marital status” portions of our Lord’s words while He walked this earth. What is Jesus saying here? To be single is more blessed? To be married is more blessed? Let’s back-up for a moment and take an eagle-eye view of this scene: First of all, can you imagine the disciples’ faces when they reacted to Jesus’ rebuttal to the Pharisees? (verse 10) “If this is the situation between a husband and wife, it is better not to marry.” Translation: the disciples were saying, “wow. If this is how it’s really supposed to be between a husband and a wife, then it really is better not to be married. And, look, Jesus, we aren’t married, so aren’t You proud of us? Aren’t we the best?” Now, we know Jesus’s disciples; they are like little kids – just like us, “look at me, Jesus! Aren’t I great? Aren’t I doing a good job? Do You see me? Look at me, look at me, look at me!”
And how does our Lord respond? He says, ever so gently, yet firmly (again, try and picture His face, and His tone of voice with His disciples here…..I picture His tone as one of almost exasperation), “Not everyone can accept this word, but only those to whom it has been given…..” Translation: not everyone can accept what I have given them. Are you married today? Are you single today? Then that is His portion for you today. This might all change tomorrow, but your marital state today is His given portion for you today. And, more often than not, it takes the power of the Holy Spirit to accept what He has given, and/or to accept what He hasn’t given.
Our Lord chose not to physically marry while He walked this earth. Did you ever think about that? He lived in a culture where arranged marriages were the normal state of affairs, and most men were married by their late teens to a girl arranged by both families. Did you ever think about how Jesus managed not to marry in that culture? Especially as the oldest son in the family? Besides, wouldn’t it have been much easier if He had married? Because then He could have modeled “the perfect marriage” for us, and then we really would have had a great example to follow!
Marriage was originally His idea; He created it and blessed it (Gen. 2:18-25). So, why did He not physically marry while He walked this earth? The answer, dearly beloved reader, is that He did model the “perfect marriage” when He walked this earth: He modeled that, as beautiful and as wonderful as physical marriage is, it cannot fully satisfy you; only He can (Matt 22:30; John 4:14). And He chose not to physically marry on this earth because He was waiting for His True Dream Bride – His Church – you, dearly beloved. Just as God custom-made Eve from the rib from Adam’s side, so God the Father custom-made Jesus’ Bride, His Church – you – from the blood and water that spilled from Jesus’ side on the Cross. Just as Eve was custom-made for Adam; so you are custom-made for Jesus.
Your earthly spouse will never be able to fully satisfy you; your spouse cannot physically be with you at all times, cannot understand all of your motives, cannot know you better than you know yourself, and cannot love you perfectly. Not only can Jesus, by the power of the Holy Spirit, do all these things, but He desperately wants to, because He is desperately in love with you, and proved it by dying for you. He will stop at nothing until you are completely His. He is “…a consuming fire.” (Heb. 12:29).************
Jesus & Little Children
13 Then people brought little children to Jesus for him to place his hands on them and pray for them. But the disciples rebuked them.
14 Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” 15 When he had placed his hands on them, he went on from there.
The Rich and the Kingdom of God
16 Just then a man came up to Jesus and asked, “Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?”
17 “Why do you ask me about what is good?” Jesus replied. “There is only One who is good. If you want to enter life, keep the commandments.”
18 “Which ones?” he inquired.
Jesus replied, “‘You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, 19 honor your father and mother,’[c] and ‘love your neighbor as yourself.’[d]”
20 “All these I have kept,” the young man said. “What do I still lack?”
21 Jesus answered, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”
22 When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth.
23 Then Jesus said to His disciples, “Truly I tell you, it is hard for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of heaven. 24 Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.”
25 When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished and asked, “Who then can be saved?”
26 Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”
27 Peter answered him, “We have left everything to follow you! What then will there be for us?”
28 Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, at the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man sits on his glorious throne, you who have followed Me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. 29 And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or fields for My sake will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life. 30 But many who are first will be last, and many who are last will be first.”
************Don’t you find it interesting that this rich young ruler asked about what one good thing he had to do to earn eternal life? What made him think he was lacking only one thing?
Yet, isn’t that what we often do? “Oh, if I could just overcome this one thing, then my walk with Jesus would be perfect! If I just get her ______, then I would be set!” This story of the rich, young ruler is a beautiful picture of how God works with us: we all hold back various pieces of our heart from God. Sometimes knowingly, sometimes unknowingly. It is the natural result of a world that has taught us to protect our heart by hiding it and not giving it away to anyone. But God will be satisfied with nothing less than our heart’s full surrender to Him. And He will wait as long as it takes. And, terrifyingly, we discover that when we do obey and give Him “that last 1%” that we were holding back from Him, He sheds His light on the next 1% that we haven’t yet surrendered to Him. And the cycle repeats itself, over and over again, until our heart is fully surrendered to Him. (Which will take our whole life.)
Riches and money are quite an interesting topic. Jesus Himself said, “…you cannot serve both God and money” (Matt 6:24). Money in and of itself is not evil, but the love of it can be. Jesus spoke about money a lot when He walked this earth (11 of His 39 parables were about finances). And how you handle your money is an indicator of how you handle your life. Pastor Chris says, “if you want to see where a person’s heart is, look at their bank account statement.”
Pastor Timothy Keller, a Pastor in New York City, said that his wife brought up a good point when he was teaching on sins: she said he would probably have very few people come to him thinking they had an issue with greed. And she was right: he said that he had an overflow of folks attend to learn about managing anger, and managing lust, but very few showed up to learn about how to manage greed. How scary……How do we know we are greedy? (which is a sin?) Or how do we know that we see money as security instead of God? Only the Holy Spirit can show us the true state of our heart towards money. And Jesus’ picture in verse 24 of getting a camel through the eye of a needle is not a reference to a “gate called the eye of a needle” in a Middle Eastern desert. No, He meant this analogy as a real illustration of how hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of heaven. If you go on any mission trip to any area of the world, I assure you that you will never read these words of His the same way again, and you will truly understand what He means by “the deceitfulness of riches.” (Matt 13:22). Our prayer for today at the end of this reading will include asking the Holy Spirit to reveal our true heart towards riches and how we can honor God with His money that He has loaned to us….and a simple start is tithing.**************
Matthew 20:
The Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard
1 “For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard. 2 He agreed to pay them a denarius[f] for the day and sent them into his vineyard.
3 “About nine in the morning he went out and saw others standing in the marketplace doing nothing. 4 He told them, ‘You also go and work in my vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right.’ 5 So they went.
“He went out again about noon and about three in the afternoon and did the same thing. 6 About five in the afternoon he went out and found still others standing around. He asked them, ‘Why have you been standing here all day long doing nothing?’ 7 “‘Because no one has hired us,’ they answered. He said to them, ‘You also go and work in my vineyard.’
8 “When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, ‘Call the workers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last ones hired and going on to the first.’ 9 “The workers who were hired about five in the afternoon came and each received a denarius. 10 So when those came who were hired first, they expected to receive more. But each one of them also received a denarius. 11 When they received it, they began to grumble against the landowner. 12 ‘These who were hired last worked only one hour,’ they said, ‘and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the work and the heat of the day.’ 13 “But he answered one of them, ‘I am not being unfair to you, friend. Didn’t you agree to work for a denarius? 14 Take your pay and go. I want to give the one who was hired last the same as I gave you. 15 Don’t I have the right to do what I want with my own money? Or are you envious because I am generous?’ 16 “So the last will be first, and the first will be last.”
***************Oh, Jesus’ disciples…..it’s easy to look down on them, but looking at them is like looking in a mirror, isn’t it? They are so us. Do you remember what Peter said to Jesus back in Matt 19:27? “Peter answered him, “We have left everything to follow you! What then will there be for us?” Peter was saying what we all say to the Lord, “I’ve done this for You, Jesus. Aren’t I wonderful? So, what do I get because I did this for you? What are You gonna gimme? I’ve done this, so You owe me that. Huh? Huh? Huh? Where’s my prize?”
This is a tricky business, because Jesus does call us to work as unto a reward, and He tells us many times in His Word that He “…shall reward every man according to his works.” (Matt 16:27, Isa. 40:10, Rom. 2:6, 1 Cor 3:14, Rev 22:20, and more….). However, if your motive is purely for a reward and for being the center of attention (just like the world operates…..but, be encouraged, we are ALL like this!), and your motive is not for Jesus Himself, this is right where He comes in by the power of His Holy Spirit to conduct deep surgery in your heart. In and of ourselves, we are sinful humans, who don’t know how to love God purely for Himself without trying to get something out of Him.
Jesus’ picture here of laborers who worked an hour receiving the same pay as laborers who worked the entire day seems unfair because it is unfair – by the world’s standards. Who would submit to a master who rewards like this? Unless you are one of the laborers who worked for one hour, this master seems unfair and cruel. How can you willingly and passionately submit to a master like this, knowing that you could very well feel (and be) under-appreciated or taken advantage of?
Hmmm……How did Jesus feel on that cross? He was a laborer who worked the entire day; and where did it get him?
The answer is: Jesus had a relationship with this master, who is His Father. Jesus knew His Father Who was asking Him to do His Will.
We are to follow His example and do the same. And we cannot submit to Him without knowing Him, without having a relationship with Him.
Submitting to a master like the one in this story, dying daily with no guarantee of “greatness” as we know it (or even an understanding of it) takes a power that is not of this world. It also takes a trust and a love that is not of this world. All of which are available in and by God’s Holy Spirit Himself, which He has given to us to empower us to not just know His Will, but to do His will. Praise God! By the power of His Holy Spirit, He can work through us to do all things unto Him and thus say to Him, “Lord, Thy will be done…..’I have done all those things which You have commanded. I am Your unprofitable servant. I have done what was my duty to do.’” (Luke 17:10).****************
Jesus Predicts His Death a Third Time
17 Now Jesus was going up to Jerusalem. On the way, he took the Twelve aside and said to them, 18 “We are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and the teachers of the law. They will condemn him to death 19 and will hand him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified. On the third day he will be raised to life!”
Greatness is in Serving
20 Then the mother of Zebedee’s sons came to Jesus with her sons and, kneeling down, asked a favor of him.
21 “What is it you want?” he asked.
She said, “Grant that one of these two sons of mine may sit at your right and the other at your left in your kingdom.”
22 “You don’t know what you are asking,” Jesus said to them. “Can you drink the cup I am going to drink?”
“We can,” they answered.
23 Jesus said to them, “You will indeed drink from my cup, but to sit at my right or left is not for me to grant. These places belong to those for whom they have been prepared by my Father.”
24 When the ten heard about this, they were indignant with the two brothers. 25 Jesus called them together and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. 26 Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, 27 and whoever wants to be first must be your slave— 28 just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
Two Blind Men Receive Sight
29 As Jesus and his disciples were leaving Jericho, a large crowd followed him. 30 Two blind men were sitting by the roadside, and when they heard that Jesus was going by, they shouted, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!”
31 The crowd rebuked them and told them to be quiet, but they shouted all the louder, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!”
32 Jesus stopped and called them. “What do you want me to do for you?” he asked.
33 “Lord,” they answered, “we want our sight.” 34 Jesus had compassion on them and touched their eyes. Immediately they received their sight and followed Him.
Prayer:
“Lord, thank You for my portion today. It is Your gift to me; Holy Spirit, empower me to want what I have – to want what You have given to me. By faith, I pray the words Your servant David prayed, “You are the portion of my inheritance and my cup; You maintain my lot. The lines have fallen to me in pleasant places. Yes, I have a good inheritance.” (Psalm 16:5-6). Holy Spirit, empower me to DO my Father’s will today, just like my Lord Jesus did. Even if I feel forgotten, I trust that You always see me, and You see and appreciate every little thing I do for you. You say in Your word that You “will enlighten my darkness.” (Psalm 18:28). Please expose to me everything in my heart that is not of You – especially any idols of money as my security. You are my True Security. Please make me your good and faithful servant, especially when what You are doing seems unfair to me. I choose Your Will and Your word, and not my feelings nor my natural intellect today. Holy Spirit, please “transform me by the renewing of my mind.” (Romans 12:2). Let Your Will, not my will, be done and let Your kingdom come in my life for You today. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.”
MATTHEW 19
Marriage and Divorce
Now it came to pass, when Jesus had finished these sayings, that He departed from Galilee and came to the region of Judea beyond the Jordan. 2 And great multitudes followed Him, and He healed them there.
3 The Pharisees also came to Him, testing Him, and saying to Him, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for just any reason?”
4 And He answered and said to them, “Have you not read that He who [a]made them at the beginning ‘made them male and female,’ 5 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’? 6 So then, they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate.”
7 They said to Him, “Why then did Moses command to give a certificate of divorce, and to put her away?”
8 He said to them, “Moses, because of the hardness of your hearts, permitted you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so. 9 And I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for [b]sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery; and whoever marries her who is divorced commits adultery.”
10 His disciples said to Him, “If such is the case of the man with his wife, it is better not to marry.”
Jesus Teaches on Celibacy
11 But He said to them, “All cannot accept this saying, but only those to whom it has been given: 12 For there are [c]eunuchs who were born thus from their mother’s womb, and there are eunuchs who were made eunuchs by men, and there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven’s sake. He who is able to accept it, let him accept it.”
Jesus Blesses Little Children
13 Then little children were brought to Him that He might put His hands on them and pray, but the disciples rebuked them. 14 But Jesus said, “Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of heaven.” 15 And He laid His hands on them and departed from there.
Jesus Counsels the Rich Young Ruler
16 Now behold, one came and said to Him, “Good[d] Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life?”
17 So He said to him, [e]“Why do you call Me good? [f]No one is good but One, that is, God. But if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments.”
18 He said to Him, “Which ones?”
Jesus said, “‘You shall not murder,’ ‘You shall not commit adultery,’ ‘You shall not steal,’ ‘You shall not bear false witness,’ 19 ‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ ”
20 The young man said to Him, “All these things I have kept [g]from my youth. What do I still lack?”
21 Jesus said to him, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.”
22 But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.
With God All Things Are Possible
23 Then Jesus said to His disciples, “Assuredly, I say to you that it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. 24 And again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”
25 When His disciples heard it, they were greatly astonished, saying, “Who then can be saved?”
26 But Jesus looked at them and said to them, “With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”
27 Then Peter answered and said to Him, “See, we have left all and followed You. Therefore what shall we have?”
28 So Jesus said to them, “Assuredly I say to you, that in the regeneration, when the Son of Man sits on the throne of His glory, you who have followed Me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. 29 And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother [h]or wife or children or [i]lands, for My name’s sake, shall receive a hundredfold, and inherit eternal life. 30 But many who are first will be last, and the last first.
MATTHEW 20
The Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard
“For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. 2 Now when he had agreed with the laborers for a denarius a day, he sent them into his vineyard. 3 And he went out about the third hour and saw others standing idle in the marketplace, 4 and said to them, ‘You also go into the vineyard, and whatever is right I will give you.’ So they went. 5 Again he went out about the sixth and the ninth hour, and did likewise.6 And about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing [a]idle, and said to them, ‘Why have you been standing here idle all day?’ 7 They said to him, ‘Because no one hired us.’ He said to them, ‘You also go into the vineyard, [b]and whatever is right you will receive.’
8 “So when evening had come, the owner of the vineyard said to his steward, ‘Call the laborers and give them their wages, beginning with the last to the first.’ 9 And when those came who were hired about the eleventh hour, they each received a denarius. 10 But when the first came, they supposed that they would receive more; and they likewise received each a denarius. 11 And when they had received it, they[c]complained against the landowner, 12 saying, ‘These last men have worked only one hour, and you made them equal to us who have borne the burden and the heat of the day.’ 13 But he answered one of them and said, ‘Friend, I am doing you no wrong. Did you not agree with me for a denarius? 14 Take what is yours and go your way. I wish to give to this last man the same as to you. 15 Is it not lawful for me to do what I wish with my own things? Or is your eye evil because I am good?’16 So the last will be first, and the first last. For[d] many are called, but few chosen.”
Jesus a Third Time Predicts His Death and Resurrection
17 Now Jesus, going up to Jerusalem, took the twelve disciples aside on the road and said to them, 18 “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and to the scribes; and they will condemn Him to death, 19 and deliver Him to the Gentiles to mock and to scourge and to crucify. And the third day He will rise again.”
Greatness Is Serving
20 Then the mother of Zebedee’s sons came to Him with her sons, kneeling down and asking something from Him.
21 And He said to her, “What do you wish?”
She said to Him, “Grant that these two sons of mine may sit, one on Your right hand and the other on the left, in Your kingdom.”
22 But Jesus answered and said, “You do not know what you ask. Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink, [e]and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?”
They said to Him, “We are able.”
23 So He said to them, “You will indeed drink My cup, [f]and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with; but to sit on My right hand and on My left is not Mine to give, but it is for those for whom it is prepared by My Father.”
24 And when the ten heard it, they were greatly displeased with the two brothers. 25 But Jesus called them to Himself and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those who are great exercise authority over them.26 Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant. 27 And whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your slave— 28 just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”
Two Blind Men Receive Their Sight
29 Now as they went out of Jericho, a great multitude followed Him. 30 And behold, two blind men sitting by the road, when they heard that Jesus was passing by, cried out, saying, “Have mercy on us, O Lord, Son of David!”
31 Then the multitude warned them that they should be quiet; but they cried out all the more, saying, “Have mercy on us, O Lord, Son of David!”
32 So Jesus stood still and called them, and said, “What do you want Me to do for you?”
33 They said to Him, “Lord, that our eyes may be opened.” 34 So Jesus had compassion and touched their eyes. And immediately their eyes received sight, and they followed Him.
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