Kingdom Surprizes (Matthew 19)

It was the case that when people heard what Jesus had to say they had a variety of responses. Some were intrigued and others were offended. Some dismissed what he said and others were drawn to follow him. The disciples had been following Jesus for a while and maybe if we had asked them to describe his teaching one word that they might have used was ‘surprising’. Or they might have said his teaching was at times unexpected. And there are at least four surprising statements, perhaps also unexpected announcements, from Jesus in this chapter.

Surprise 1 – divorce and marriage

It is inevitable that at times the demands of discipleship will have connections with ideas proposed elsewhere in society and we see an example of this in the issue of divorce. The background to this question from the Pharisees was that there were two views on divorce advocated at that time within Israel. One view, linked with a man called Hillel, made divorce very easy and the other view, linked to a man called Shammai, made divorce very difficult. Hillel’s view was the more popular during the time of Jesus and afterwards. The Pharisees wanted to know if Jesus identified with either view.

As we can see from the answer that Jesus gave, he based his view on the Scriptures. Ideally, divorce was not expected when God instituted marriage at the beginning. However, sin has its consequences and it affects marriages as well. Jesus mentions here that a divorce should be given when there has been immorality by a married person. So he is agreed with the views of Hillel. Later on, Paul also allows for divorce in the case of wilful desertion or abandonment. So Jesus answered the question of the Pharisees.

The disciples seem to have found this restriction on divorce a problem. It looks as if they had leaned towards the more tolerant group in Judaism who allowed divorce for any reason. If that tolerance was wrong, they assumed it would be better to be celibate rather than run the risk of having an unhappy marriage that one could not escape from. How did Jesus answer this objection?

Jesus’ reply acknowledged that some people are called to serve in such a way in the kingdom that it means they never get married. But those who are called to do so will be given the grace that is needed for their circumstances. That is one kingdom surprise mentioned in this chapter by Matthew.

Surprise 2 – Children and the kingdom

The disciples were having a difficult day. They had been wrong about which side Jesus would take on the divorce issue and now they found themselves on the wrong side when it came to the possibility of Jesus blessing children. Maybe the disciples thought it was pointless for parents to take their children to Jesus in order for him to pray for them. Or maybe they imagined that Jesus was too tired. Whatever the reason, they discovered that they were on the wrong side.

We can see from the incident that Jesus was delighted with the parents who had this desire. He informed his disciples that children should come to him and pointed out that children and kingdom membership was compatible. When he refers to the kingdom of heaven, he is speaking about the church and not the place where people go when they die.

There are two details that we can highlight from this. One is the importance of parents engaging in acts of consecration of their children to Jesus. Obviously we do this at baptism, but that is not the only occasion for doing this. These parents asked Jesus to bless their children and we can do the same. The other detail is the reality of the conversion of children. It is the best time by far to be converted. There is nothing dangerous about it.

Here is surprise number 2 about the kingdom of Jesus – children can be members of it. Disciples in general, and leaders in particular (the apostles here), should remember this possibility and pray that it would happen.

Surprise number 3 – the rich man

We noted earlier that the disciples were having a bad day. They had been wrong about the issue of divorce and they had been wrong about the importance of children. Now they were about to be really disturbed as they watched Jesus interact with the rich, young ruler.

This man came to Jesus with what seemed to be a right question. Yet we can see from the response of Jesus that all was not right with the young man’s desire. I wonder what we would have found wrong with his request. Perhaps we would have focussed in on his opinion that he was able to do what was necessary in order to get eternal life. Maybe we would have asked him why he thought one activity was necessary, the ‘deed’ that he should perform. Instead Jesus highlighted the young man’s use of the word ‘good’.

As we can see, Jesus wanted the man to think about the words that he used. It looks as if the young man had forgotten that God, the one who is truly good, had already specified what a person should do. Moreover, it seems that he only regarded Jesus as a human teacher because if he thought otherwise he would have answered the question Jesus asked about ‘good’.

In response to the man’s request for more precise information about which commandments he should keep, Jesus listed several of them. He omitted the first four commandments of the Decalogue, which had to do with God, and the last commandment which had to do with coveting. So we can deduce that Jesus wanted the man to think about practical expressions of holy living.

We should observe that Jesus was testing the man when he suggested that the way to enter life was by keeping God’s commandments. If the man had spiritual discernment he would have replied, ‘I am unable to keep the commandments because I am a sinner.’ But that is not what he said. Instead he believed that he had kept all the commandments that Jesus listed, and probably he had done so in an external sense.

Obviously, the man, despite his diligence in following an outward religion, had some sense of dissatisfaction because he admitted that his past performances were not enough. Jesus then put his finger on the problem when he told the man to sell his riches and give the proceeds to the poor, and then join the group of disciples following Jesus. I wonder if the disciples would have preferred if Jesus had said to the man that he should join them and take his riches with him because this would have been a great help financially.

In his offer, Jesus makes a great promise when he tells the man that he can have heavenly riches. Up to that moment, he only had earthly riches. He had a choice to make between the riches of earth and the treasures of heaven, and it did not take him long to make his choice known. He turned away from Jesus with great sadness.

What can we say about this man? At one level, he was sincere because he wanted to live right; maybe also he was spiritual in that he spoke to Jesus about it. Yet he had an unconverted heart because he was self-confident in his own abilities, he would not submit to the instructions of Jesus and he was selfish because he had no wish to help the needy. What he wanted was a private religious experience that would confirm him in his sinful ways.

Jesus informed his disciples about the difficulties some people will have about entering the kingdom. This man was a ruler, and his riches would have qualified him for that position he had in society. But they were of no benefit as far as having a place in the heavenly kingdom is concerned. It cannot be known if Jesus was referring to a literal needle or to a camel with a load on its back trying to get through the Needle Gate in Jerusalem. The point is obvious though. Riches can stop a wealthy person from entering the kingdom.

It is important to say that there is nothing inherently wrong with riches. And the fact is that for poorer people something else can be as effective in preventing them entering the kingdom. Some put sport ahead of Jesus, others put different forms of special interests. In this man’s case, his riches were his god, and whatever we make our god will keep us out of the kingdom.

The disciples were astonished at what Jesus was teaching here. It looked to them that the demands of Jesus were too high and would mean that no-one would be saved. And that is true unless God intervenes and changes a person’s heart. The man should have asked Jesus for a new heart and not for some advice as to how he could work his way into the kingdom.

I suppose that when Jesus said it was possible for God to change a person the disciples could have suggested having a prayer meeting to ask God to give the man a new heart. But they did not do so, at least at that moment. Still, surprise number three for the disciples was not to depend on what great people could do if they were converted.

Surprise number 4 – glory for the insignificant.

Peter knew that there was a difference between the positive response of the disciples to Jesus and the negative response of the rich man. The disciples, despite their many failures wanted to follow Jesus. What would be their reward for doing so? In reply, Jesus mentions a specific role for the apostles and a general role for all believers.

How should we regard this specific promise to the apostles? One suggestion is that on the Day of Judgement, the apostles will have the role of judging the nation of Israel (Paul says that the saints will judge the world, and we could deduce from here that the role of the apostles will be to judge the Israelites). Another suggestion is that this promise is not connected to the Day of Judgement, but refers to what happened after Jesus was exalted at his ascension.

Basically, we have to discover whether Jesus is speaking literally or symbolically here. So what does Jesus say? First, the role of the apostles will take place when Jesus sits on his throne – this could refer to his current reign in heaven or it could refer to the future Day of Judgement. Second, they will function in ‘the new world’ – again, that could refer to the current reign of Jesus because the new kingdom began with his rule or it could refer to the eternal state. Third, what is meant by ‘judging’ – it is a present tense, which implies an ongoing activity over a period of time; some would limit this period to when they lived on earth and others to the Day of Judgement. Fourth, who are the twelve tribes of Israel? Does this refer to every Jew or to all Jews living at a certain time, or is it a way of speaking of God’s people in general?

One way to find an answer is to check the meaning of ‘the new world’. If Jesus means by this the eternal state, we would have to conclude that judging the twelve tribes of Israel is part of that experience, and I doubt if the Bible would support that suggestion. So if the new world does not refer to what happens after Jesus returns, it must refer to what happens before he returns in the new arrangement brought into existence by his enthronement.

When did the apostles judge the twelve tribes of Israel? One could say that they did so when they set up the New Testament church. They were given the privilege of taking the gospel initially to the Jews, and inevitably their message was a form of judgement in that they pronounced pardon for some and condemnation for others, depending on their response to the message about the King delivered by his ambassadors. Perhaps one way to understand the significance of this privilege is to imagine someone promising to us a role in his government once he gets into power. We would regard that as a great honour given to us freely.

The general promise is that those who lose everything because of their faith in Jesus will discover that their needs will be more than met (a hundredfold) in this life and then in the next they will experience the fullness of eternal life.

What is surprising about all this? I think we get an answer in the proverb that Jesus uses: ‘But many who are first will be last, and the last first.’ Those who seemed to be at the bottom will end up at the top. Those who seemed insignificant in Israel (the disciples) would soon judge the people of Israel at the commencement of the kingdom and those who had lost everything would discover that they gained very much more, in this life and in the life to come.