Introduction: Do you ever wish that God would
sit down with you and explain exactly what He thinks
you should and should not do? No need to be in
doubt. Now you can know! I've had those thoughts
many times. Sometimes Jesus' teachings are
confusing. On the other hand, I know myself well
enough that sometimes I like a little ambiguity.
That way I can do what I want and still hold on to
my self-deception that I'm doing God's will. This
week we look at some sayings of Jesus that, if we
understand them correctly, challenge us to a very
high level of obedience and a very high level of
trust. Let's dive into our lesson and learn more!
1.
Divorce
1.
Read
Matthew 19:3.
Why do you think this is a test for Jesus? Wouldn't
it be natural for Him to say, "Of course, you can't
divorce your wife for any reason!" (There were two
schools of thought among the Pharisees. The liberal
school of Hillel taught that a man might divorce his
wife for trivial reasons: such as burning breakfast.
The conservative school of Shammai thought you could
only divorce your wife for immodest or indecent
conduct.)
2.
Read
Matthew 19:4-6.
Did Jesus endorse either of the two prevailing views
among the Jewish leaders?
(Jesus says that the model is marriage for life.)
3.
Read
Matthew 19:7.
Did Moses, being lead by God, allow divorce? (Read
Deuteronomy 24:1-4.
This is the source of the two schools of Jewish
thought. Logically, the "indecent" conduct would be
something less than pre-marriage fornication or
adultery, because death, not divorce, was the
penalty for fornication or adultery.
Deuteronomy 22:13-22.)
4.
Read
Matthew 19:8.
Moses is not off on an adventure of his own. He
wrote under the inspiration of God. How does Jesus
explain the difference between what He (God) is
saying directly and what God said through Moses? (He
says God accommodated the sinful hearts of the
people. The Wycliffe Bible Commentary says that
Moses' regulation was "a protection of wives from
men's caprice, not an authorization for husbands to
divorce at will.")
1.
Let's stop and consider this a moment. Are the rules
against sin subject to being bent?
Will a righteous God compromise on sin?
2.
If hardness of heart is an excuse, are those
who are hardhearted today excused?
5.
Read
Matthew 19:9.
What does Jesus say about divorce apart from
"marital unfaithfulness?" ("Sexual immorality" is
the way this Greek word is often translated.)
(Jesus says it is adultery!)
1.
As we have seen, the penalty for adultery was
death. It is one of the Ten Commandments (
Exodus 20:14).
Jesus confirms casual divorce is a major moral
problem. Isn't sin, sin for all times? Why was
divorce "okay" in Moses time and not "okay" in Jesus
time?(What I see in this is grace. Jesus does not
equivocate on the standard, the ideal. But God
showed grace to His people.)
1.
I'm sure some of you are saying, "Wait a
minute! What about grace to the women who were
divorced for trivial reasons?" (In Jewish culture
only men could divorce. God shows grace to sinners.
These women were not sinners in this context. God's
ideal was that they not be divorced by their
husbands.)
6.
Read
Matthew 19:10.
How would you summarize the disciples reaction?
(They were shocked. If the rules are going to be
that strict, it is best not marry.)
1.
What does this tell you about the state of
marriage in those days?
7.
Read
Matthew 19:11-12.
What you think this means?
To which "word" is Jesus referring?
1.
Is Jesus teaching that those who cannot
accept His strict teachings on divorce are released
from them?
2.
Or, is Jesus teaching that only those who can
follow the rules should get married?(If you look at
the context, Jesus is saying the second - don't get
married if you cannot follow the rules. The
disciples just got through saying "It is better not
to marry." Jesus then goes through a list of reasons
why a person might choose or be forced to refrain
from marriage.)
3.
Is there a logical application of Jesus'
statements to the argument that homosexuals are born
that way and therefore homosexual marriage is a
natural right? (Yes, although the logic is not
perfect. Jesus says that some were born with
barriers to marriage, some were made that way by
others, and some make that decision to please God.
There are a number of reasons, some involuntary, why
some people should not marry.)
2.
Money
1.
Let's turn to another difficult subject. Read
Matthew 19:16-17.
So much for righteousness by faith!
Do you think that Jesus meant what He said?
2.
Read
Matthew 19:18-19.
What is odd about this list of commandments? (It
lists only five of the Ten Commandments and throws
in an extra "summary" commandment.)
1.
What is left out? (All of the Ten
Commandments that have to do with our obligations to
God.)
3.
Read
Matthew 19:20-22.
Do you think that this man would have gone to heaven
if he had sold all he had?
Would he then have become "perfect?"
1.
Where does Jesus find this "command" to become
perfect through yard sales? (This summarizes the
missing Ten Commandments about our obligations to
God. This young man relied on his wealth for his
safety and his reputation.
Jesus invites him to simply rely upon
God.)
2.
How about you? On who or what do you rely?
4.
Read
Matthew 19:23-25.
The disciples are having a hard day. They find out
they are supposed to be married for life and money
is a bad thing. Why were the disciples astonished
about Jesus' statements about wealth? (Read
Deuteronomy 28:1-2,
12 and
Ecclesiastes 10:19.
The disciples knew their Bible, wealth was a
blessing from God! It was the answer to everything.
Jesus was contradicting their understanding of
wealth.)
1.
If wealth is a blessing from God, why is it
difficult for a rich man to enter heaven? Should we
not expect that all who enter heaven will be rich
because that reflects the blessings of God? (I think
this is a very long discourse on salvation. We are
not saved by keeping the commandments. Obeying God
does bring blessings and wealth. But what brings
salvation is trust and reliance on God. Wealth is a
temptation, because it inspires us to trust it
instead of God. Why? As King Solomon pointed out,
"money is the answer for everything."
Just don't make it your answer!)
5.
Read
Matthew 19:27.
Peter says, "Lord, we passed that test!" "What do we
get?" What do we get for reliance on God? (Read
Matthew 19:28-29.
Jesus responds you get heaven, thrones, glory and a
100 fold increase on your investment!)
6.
Read
Matthew 19:30.
What does this mean? Does it mean that the man who
had wealth, and appeared to be first on this earth,
would now be last?
3.
Work
1.
Let's move on to the next story. Read
Matthew 20:1-2,
9-15. Is Jesus now advocating unfair wages?
2.
Read
Matthew 20:16.
What is the punch line to this story?
1.
Have we seen this point before?
(Yes. Matthew 19:30.)
1.
If so, how does it apply here? Why does mere failure
to get up early mean you get rewarded?
What about "early birds" and "worms?"
3.
Let's review these last two stories:
1.
Did the rich man think that he could get to heaven
by doing something?
(Yes.
Matthew 19:16
"What ... must I do....")
2.
Jesus showed him that he couldn't do enough.
3.
Did the disciples think that they could get
to heaven by what they did? (Yes.
Matthew 19:27:
We have done everything, what is our reward?)
4.
What does the parable of the laborers tell us about
the relationship between our work and our reward?
(There is no relationship!)
5.
What did all the workers do in common?
(Agreed to work when asked.)
6.
Does this shed light on God's historic
teaching on marriage? (God's ideal is plain:
Marriage for life, no divorce. But, a life-long
marriage does not get you into heaven.)
4.
What does get you into heaven?(Your response to
Jesus' invitation to come.
Repent and come. Heaven is Jesus' gift.)
5.
What does it take to accept this gift? (This
is the meaning to the "first shall be last"
statement. The rich ruler was used to being "better"
because of his money. The workers were used to
getting paid more because of their diligence. This
is not the operating system for the Kingdom of God.
The less you trust yourself, the more you are likely
to trust God.)
6.
Friend, will you accept the challenge of
trusting God? Will you strive for the ideal of
holiness in your life?
4.
Next week: The Puzzle of His Conduct.
