Jesus gives some practical life lessons as Matthew describes how Jesus from this point turns towards Judea and ultimately Jerusalem to complete His earthly ministry.
Matthew 19: Teaching About Divorce
1 Now when Jesus had finished these sayings, he went away from Galilee and entered the region of Judea beyond the Jordan.
2 And large crowds followed him, and he healed them there.
3 And Pharisees came up to him and tested him by asking, "Is it lawful to divorce one's wife for any cause?"
4 He answered, "Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female,
5 and said, 'Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh'?
6 So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate."
7 They said to him, "Why then did Moses command one to give a certificate of divorce and to send her away?"
8 He said to them, "Because of your hardness of heart Moses allowed 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 sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery."
10 The disciples said to him, "If such is the case of a man with his wife, it is better not to marry."
11 But he said to them, "Not everyone can receive this saying, but only those to whom it is given.
12 For there are eunuchs who have been so from birth, and there are eunuchs who have been made eunuchs by men, and there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. Let the one who is able to receive this receive it."
Let the Children Come to Me
13 Then children were brought to him that he might lay his hands on them and pray. The disciples rebuked the people,
14 but Jesus said, "Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven."
15 And he laid his hands on them and went away.
The Rich Young Man
16 And behold, a man came up to him, saying, "Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life?"
17 And he said to him, "Why do you ask me about what is good? There is only one who is good. If you would enter life, keep the commandments."
18 He said to him, "Which ones?" And Jesus said, "You shall not murder, You shall not commit adultery, You shall not steal, You shall not bear false witness,
19 Honour your father and mother, and, You shall love your neighbour as yourself."
20 The young man said to him, "All these I have kept. What do I still lack?"
21 Jesus said to him, "If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me."
22 When the young man heard this he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.
23 And Jesus said to his disciples, "Truly, I say to you, only with difficulty will a rich person 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 a rich person to enter the kingdom of God."
25 When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished, saying, "Who then can be saved?"
26 But Jesus looked at them and said, "With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible."
27 Then Peter said in reply, "See, we have left everything and followed you. What then will we have?"
28 Jesus said to them, "Truly, I say to you, in the new world, when the Son of Man will sit 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 children or lands, for my name's sake, will receive a hundredfold and will inherit eternal life.
30 But many who are first will be last, and the last first.
Matthew 20: Labourers in the Vineyard
1 "For the kingdom of heaven is like a master of a house who went out early in the morning to hire labourers for his vineyard.
2 After agreeing with the labourers for a denarius a day, he sent them into his vineyard.
3 And going out about the third hour he saw others standing idle in the marketplace,
4 and to them he said, 'You go into the vineyard too, and whatever is right I will give you.'
5 So they went. Going out again about the sixth hour and the ninth hour, he did the same.
6 And about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing. And he said to them, 'Why do you stand here idle all day?'
7 They said to him, 'Because no one has hired us.' He said to them, 'You go into the vineyard too.'
8 And when evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, 'Call the labourers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last, up to the first.'
9 And when those hired about the eleventh hour came, each of them received a denarius.
10 Now when those hired first came, they thought they would receive more, but each of them also received a denarius.
11 And on receiving it they grumbled at the master of the house,
12 saying, 'These last worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the day and the scorching heat.'
13 But he replied to one of them, 'Friend, I am doing you no wrong. Did you not agree with me for a denarius?
14 Take what belongs to you and go. I choose to give to this last worker as I give to you.
15 Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or do you begrudge my generosity?'
16 So the last will be first, and the first last."
Jesus Foretells His Death a Third Time
17 And as Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, he took the twelve disciples aside, and on the way he said to them,
18 "See, we are going up to Jerusalem. And the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and scribes, and they will condemn him to death
19 and deliver him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified, and he will be raised on the third day."
A Mother's Request
20 Then the mother of the sons of Zebedee came up to him with her sons, and kneeling before him she asked him for something.
21 And he said to her, "What do you want?" She said to him, "Say that these two sons of mine are to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your kingdom."
22 Jesus answered, "You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I am to drink?" They said to him, "We are able."
23 He said to them, "You will drink my cup, but to sit at my right hand and at my left is not mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared by my Father."
24 And when the ten heard it, they were indignant at the two brothers.
25 But Jesus called them to him and said, "You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them.
26 It shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant,
27 and whoever would be first among you must be your slave,
28 even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."
Jesus Heals Two Blind Men
29 And as they went out of Jericho, a great crowd followed him.
30 And behold, there were two blind men sitting by the roadside, and when they heard that Jesus was passing by, they cried out, "Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David!"
31 The crowd rebuked them, telling them to be silent, but they cried out all the more, "Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David!"
32 And stopping, Jesus called them and said, "What do you want me to do for you?"
33 They said to him, "Lord, let our eyes be opened."
34 And Jesus in pity touched their eyes, and immediately they recovered their sight and followed him.
Things to think about…
Does Jesus speak into the ‘gay-marriage’ issue? Certainly, in Mt 19:4-6, He says that marriage should be between a male and a female and as such we shouldn’t let man separate what God has joined together. I think this makes it fairly clear. But in this passage we see such an ingrained culture for divorce that when Jesus teaches that divorce is not an option, except for sexual immorality, the disciples say it is better not to marry, Mt 19:1-12. We have the same culture in our day. Many are not concerned with the law of God or the covenant of marriage. What do you make of Christ’s words? Have you resolved that marriage is for life? Encourage other Christians to keep their marriages strong in Christ.
Jesus had just told the disciples possibly only days before about the kingdom of heaven belonging to children by putting a child in the midst of them and explaining who the greatest in the kingdom of heaven, as we saw in Mt 18:1, 2. Here the disciples rebuke the children that were being brought to Jesus and receiving prayer, Mt 19:13-15. Jesus needed to continually remind His disciples of realigning their hearts with His heart and not be drawn back into personal desires or the bad theology of the day. What a privilege it was for the children who were blessed by Jesus laying His hands on them that day. One wonders what became of them. Surely, they were marked out by the Master to serve Him to the end.
In Mt 19:16-30 Jesus speaks about the cost of obtaining the kingdom of heaven. Like the young man we all think that it is works based and we have to do a ‘good thing’ to enter in. The only good thing required was done at the cross. However the fruit of this salvation is that we have no idols – including our possessions. We in the west are far wealthier than the rich young ruler. Money is not the problem, but the love of it. Jesus says the disciples will sit on twelve thrones. I don’t think Judas will be there so who will it be, will it be Matthias – who was chosen just before Pentecost. Some say Paul deserves a spot, even though in his own words he was one born out of season, 1Cor 15:8.
What does Jesus mean in Mt 19:28 “"Truly, I say to you, in the new world, when the Son of Man will sit on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.” What “new world” is He referring to?. Is He referring to the Millennial kingdom or the eternal kingdom when there will be a new heavens and a new earth? I believe He is speaking about the Millennial kingdom here as there is still judgement/administration happening for the 12 tribes of Israel. These tribes will be part of the disciples’ administration of Israel during this 1000 year reign. Jesus describes His throne as “glorious”. While this is not the eternal state. Jesus already has His glorified body and when His throne is set up from Jerusalem it will indeed be glorious. The 12 tribes will not need to be judged or administrated into eternity as all believers whether Jew or Gentile will be glorified and hence sin and judgement are no longer part of the this eternal state.
Who deserves more heavenly wages? In the parable of the labourers in the vineyard the master hires servants at 6am, 9am, 12pm, 3pm and 5pm for a 6pm shut down, Mt 20:1-16. The guys hired at 6am thought they deserved more. But they received the same as the guys hired at 5pm who had only worked for an hour. Heaven will be heaven for all regardless of whether we were called when we were young or old. There will be no griping there. If we were saved young – hallelujah! We were saved from a life of worldly sin and pain. Better to be in God’s vineyard sowing with Christ for most of our lives than wasting our time sowing with sin and Satan.
Jesus tells His disciples a third time that He will be crucified, Mt 20:17-20. As such the mother of James and John comes and asks for prominence for her sons in the kingdom of heaven. Jesus has just told them “the last shall be first”, Mt 19:30. This request by their mother Salome comes after Jesus had set a child in the midst of them and told them how to be great in the kingdom of heaven. This mother and 2 sons seem to have missed the memo. Do you want to be the greatest – be the best servant, go and serve others. You will know when you have achieved this; people notice and you will be recognised by both God and man.
Jesus heals the blind men of Jericho, Mt 20:29-34. The greater miracle was done in their hearts – they followed Him, vs 34. Once you see the power of Christ and see Him for who He truly is, the desire should be to follow.
Vision Point for cell groups
CBC’s Vision :- To be a growing biblical church community, significantly influencing our city and beyond, through intentional outreach, fulfilling our mission.
Sermon title was “talk about demons” - from Matt 12:22-45
1. What has been your experience with respect to demons, either oppression or possession? How did that impact you and your eventual turning to Christ?
2. Jesus speaks about what true goodness is and the difference between a good and bad tree. Do you recall what Jay said about it on Sunday? What is your understanding of what it is to be good?
3. True unity is found in Christ. Discuss what Jesus means by gathering and scattering. How is this related to what Jesus said about Blaspheming the Holy Spirit, vss 32-35. How do we know if someone has indeed blasphemed the Holy Spirit and is therefore not forgiven of this sin?
4. What did Jesus mean by saying to the Pharisees that they would not receive a sign, except the sign of Jonah, vss 38-40. Why was the request to seek after a sign ironic and evil at the same time.
5. Discuss your understanding of the house being swept clean and the waterless places Jesus spoke about and the final state being 7 times worse, vss 43-45.
6. Satan prowls around like a roaring lion. But we have a bigger and stronger lion in Christ. He fills us with the Holy Spirit. How do we deal with demonic attacks in Christ?
Prayer Points
1. Pray for testimonies that people will be doing every second week. Please consider when you would like to do yours when the pastor asks you to share yours.
2. Pray for other building projects – café roof, the repair of the house roof.
3. Growth, conversions, joy in the Word and Spirit to remain and increase.
Praise Points.
1. Christine Dennings testimony .Heart felt and great encouragement.
2. Ministries started back
3. Worship team and technical team. Thankyou Suzy, Zac, iMan and Dan G, Melinda, Dan H. You made Sundays praise enjoyable.
4. More visitors and spirit of joy on Sunday.
Announcements
1. Combined service. 5pm Sun 24th Oct, Riverlife Baptist Church.
2. PlayPatch starts back this week.
3. Kids@church back. Please check your rosters
4. Recharge Youth – back on Friday 6:30pm at church all high schoolers.
5. Church bank details bsb:- 704 913 and Acc number:- 4000 4388 1
