Matthew 19: The Kingdom Right Side Up

Jesus turns conventional wisdom upside down as he addresses marriage, wealth, and true greatness in God's kingdom. He challenges cultural norms by returning to God's original design for marriage, confronting prosperity theology, and revealing that those considered least important now may be greatest in heaven.

• Marriage is not merely a social contract but a sacred spiritual bond where "two become one"
• Divorce was permitted by Moses as a concession to hard hearts, not God's original intent
• Jesus welcomes children, declaring the kingdom belongs to those with childlike faith
• The rich young man walks away sad when Jesus challenges him to sell his possessions
• It's "easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter heaven"
• Salvation is impossible with man but possible with God
• Those who sacrifice everything for Jesus will receive a hundred times more in return
• Many who are greatest now will be least important then, and vice versa

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Chapters

• 0:00 The Kingdom Right Side Up Introduction
• 5:21 Jesus on Marriage and Divorce
• 13:07 Blessing the Children
• 14:57 The Rich Young Man's Question
• 19:11 Who Can Be Saved?
• 19:40 Eternal Rewards in God's Kingdom

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:24

Hello everybody, welcome back to the Bible Breakdown Podcast with your host, pastor Brandon, today, matthew, chapter 19,. And today's title is the Kingdom Right Side Up. The Kingdom Right Side Up. I don't know if you've ever seen this before, but I one time was watching this YouTube video and it was this guy who was in front of thousands of people and he started painting a painting and I could tell on the YouTube video that it was only like two minutes long. So I was like, okay, this guy better hurry and he's painting and it absolutely makes no sense. I mean, he's got like a line here and a color over there and all this kind of stuff and I'm feeling sorry for him. I'm like man, this guy, they've gotten him up on this stage thousands of people and he's just freaking out stage thousands of people and he's just freaking out, he's just panicking and he's just not doing it right. Of course, you know, with my, with my wonderful artistic knowledge, you know, and I'm watching him and it just is making less and less sense. And then he steps back and he looks at the painting and he looks at the crowd and he goes and he's almost like he goes, oh, and he turns the painting upside down, but actually he turns it right side up. Because when he turns it upside down now you see a beautiful picture of the face of Jesus and of course the crowd just goes wild and realize actually the whole time he was painting upside down. And so what looked like it was upside down actually, when it turned right side up, then it makes sense.

Speaker 1: 1:44

Well, today we're going to look at some of the most controversial topics in the book of Matthew. We're going to talk about discussion of divorce and marriage, about blessing others and about what is most important in the kingdom of God. I mean, one of the things I love about Jesus is he'll mess around, he talks about everything, he doesn't avoid anything, and we're going to talk about it and we're going to go all the way through this, and this is one of those that I'm not looking forward to it, but I do at the same time, because it's the truth of God's word and it's always worth it, right? So, if you have your Bibles, open up with me to Matthew, chapter 19. While you're doing that, as always, make sure to like, share and subscribe to the YouTube channel and the podcast. Make sure you leave us a five-star review on the podcast. It really does help and make sure you're going to the Bible Breakdown discussion on Facebook. There is an amazing team doing a wonderful job. The more we dig, the more we find, and you can get all of those links at thebiblebreakdowncom.

Speaker 1: 2:39

Well, if you've been with us over the past several weeks, while you're getting your Bibles ready, getting your coffee ready, getting your popcorn ready, we have been walking through this idea in Matthew that the overall goal is that Jesus is the king, and we've been talking about this idea that there were so many different things that were covered in the gospels, but they were framed with different topics. Mark was mainly written to the Gentiles talking about the suffering of the Savior, and the most used word in the book of Mark is immediately. Luke was an orderly account, like a chronological order, of what happened. John was about the message of Jesus. Matthew was primarily written to the Jewish audience about the kingship of Jesus, because they had been waiting on the promised Messiah, and so already, just in one chapter, matthew's got the receipts and he's like I can prove that Jesus is the rightful king of earth, but then he spends the rest of the book talking about how he is. So much more than that, and we've been talking through this idea of what that is, and one of the things the king does is the king brings order to his kingdom and he turns right side up things that have been turned upside down, and some of that we have seen him talk through. But one of those things is the idea of divorce and remarriage and what the kingdom of God has to say about it.

Speaker 1: 4:01

Now, here's the thing Just like now, divorce and remarriage and marriage in general is a thing it was back then as well, and the idea is what does God think about marriage? So make sure on the outset, if you're someone who has been divorced and been remarried, this scripture is not intended to pick on you. Okay, this is not that. This is trying to get back to the beginning about what does God think about marriage? The great thing about the kingdom of God is there's forgiveness. But is marriage just a social contract? Is it something that we do for the sake of tax benefits? Is it so that we can share the rent around here, you know, and this kind of stuff, or is it something spiritual that's going on? Well, we're going to talk about that. We're going to talk about how Jesus blesses others. What is most important in the kingdom of God, and we're going to come together at the very end of this and break these down one at a time. So we're going to read the chapter and then we're going to break it down. If you're ready, let's just dive into it.

Speaker 1: 4:59

Matthew, chapter 19, verse 1, says this when Jesus had finished saying these things, he left Galilee and went down to the region of Judea east of the Jordan River. Large crowds followed him there and he healed their sick. Some Pharisees came and tried to trap him with questions. Should a man be allowed to divorce his wife for just any reason? Now pause Once again. Don't forget we talked about this a few days ago.

Speaker 1: 5:26

This is not a bad thing. The fact that they're even asking questions actually give respect to Jesus. The problem is that they're not asking because they want to learn. They're asking because they want to trap him. That's why Matthew is quick to say this. He wants the reader to understand. They're not asking questions, as most people would, to learn. They're asking questions because they're trying to trap Jesus. But just the fact of asking wasn't a bad thing.

Speaker 1: 5:55

Here we go, verse four Haven't you read the scripture? Jesus replied. They record that from the beginning, god made them male and female. And then he said this explains why a man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife and the two are united into one. Since they are no longer two but one, let no one split apart what God has joined together. Then why did Moses say in the law that a man could give his wife a written notice of divorce and send her away? They asked.

Speaker 1: 6:27

Jesus said Moses permitted divorce as a concession to your hard hearts, but it was not what God had originally intended. I tell you this whoever divorces his wife and marries someone else commits adultery, unless his wife has been unfaithful. Jesus' disciples then said to him well, if that is the case, it's better not to even marry. Not everyone can accept this statement. Jesus said Only those to whom God helps. Some are born as eunuchs. Some have been made eunuchs by others. Ouch, some have chosen not to marry for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. Let anyone accept this who can One day. Some parents brought their children to Jesus so he could lay his hands on them and pray for them, but his disciples scolded the parents for bothering him. But Jesus said my paraphrase of this is stop that and leave them alone. But this is what Jesus actually said Let the children come to me, don't stop them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to those who are like these children. And he placed his hands on their heads and blessed them before he left.

Speaker 1: 7:34

Then someone came to Jesus with this question Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life? Why ask me about what is good? Jesus replied there is only one who is good. But to answer your question, if you want to receive eternal life, keep the commandments. Which ones, the man asked? Jesus replied you shall not murder, you must not commit adultery, you must not steal, you must not testify falsely, honor your father and your mother and love your neighbor as yourself. I've obeyed all these commandments. The young man replied what else Must I do? And then Jesus told him if you want to be perfect, go and sell all your possessions and give your money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.

Speaker 1: 8:20

But when the young man heard this, he went away, sad, for he had many possessions. And Jesus said to his disciples I tell you the truth, it is very hard for a rich person to enter the kingdom of heaven. I'll say it again. It is easier. I'll say it again. The disciples were astounded Then. Who in the world can be saved? They asked. Jesus looked at them intently and said Humanly speaking, it is impossible, but with God everything is possible. Peter said to him we have given up everything to follow you. What will we get Then? Jesus replied I assure you that when the world is made new and the Son of man sits upon his glorious throne, you who have been my followers will also sit on twelve thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel, and everyone who has given up houses or brothers or sisters, or sisters or father or mother or children or property for my sake will receive a hundred times in as much return and will inherit eternal life. But many who are greatest now will be least important then, and those who are least important now will be the greatest then. Wow, you want to talk about turning the world right side up from being upside down? That is exactly what Jesus just did.

Speaker 1: 9:36

Let's break this down. First of all, during the time, because of the hardness of their heart, according to what Jesus just said, that what the people would do is they would then have the ability to give a certificate of divorce. Now, according to Bible history and scholars, it was ridiculous. They could give their wife a certificate of divorce if she burned the dinner, if she didn't look right, I mean all of this kind of stuff. So what had happened was is marriage had become a social contract. And then these men in these cultures would then hold it over their wives and say if you do something I don't like, I'm gonna get rid of you.

Speaker 1: 10:19

And you know what jesus is doing. He is throwing that in the trash can. And he is saying that at the very beginning, god made them. So jesus is the king. So let's say it like this jesus is saying in the very beginning, I made male and female to be helpers and for one another, to live with one another. Therefore, when this happens, it's not just a physical thing, it's a spiritual thing, and they become one physically, emotionally and spiritually. And so therefore, he's saying you can't un-one what has been won. Like. Imagine this have you ever taken two pieces of paper and glued them together and then, after the glue has dried, try to separate them? What happens? You can separate them, but a little bit of this page will break off on that page. A little bit of that page break. In other words, you can't un-one what is won. You can't put the egg yolk back in the egg once it has been cracked. It's cracked. And so jesus is saying it's the same thing, which is why he hates divorce.

Speaker 1: 11:17

And can I say this I come from a broken home. My parents got divorced early in my life. I have walked with more people who have gotten divorced and have stayed married and can I tell you I've never heard one person say that they came out of a divorce unscathed. There was a part of it that broke them and even if it was better for them. I've known women who've come out of horrible abuse situations. I've known some men who've come out of some horrible abuse situations and even though they would say they are better off for now, having been divorced, they're still not un-won. They're connected to that person for the rest of their life.

Speaker 1: 11:53

That's why Jesus says whoever divorces his wife and marries someone else, they're actually continuing to perpetuate the cycle of sin. That's why what he's saying is he's saying take it so very seriously. Don't marry somebody just because they cook well. Marry somebody because you are now committing your life to them. I think that what he's saying is you need to pay attention and make sure that when you marry someone, you realize what you're doing. And so, once again, that's not throwing shade at anybody who's being divorced. It's saying take what you have now and realize how important it is. I love how he's.

Speaker 1: 12:31

Also later on, he's talking about this rich man, and here's the thing you need to understand he is not telling everybody to sell everything that they have and go and join up with like a monastery somewhere. That is one of the things that I think has been overdone sometimes is they think well, if I'm going to really be perfect, then I've got to sell everything I have and only then am I going to have treasure in heaven. He does this once Because the point is is this person is thinking that because they are doing really good at some things, god, that their heart is pure? But Jesus knows what is really holding this young man back, so he's not doing this as a catch-22. He's saying you really want to follow me, then come, follow me with everything you have, which?

Speaker 1: 13:16

Then notice how it says that when Jesus said it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of heaven. Do you notice how it says? It astounded the disciples which, by the way, I know there's this old thing and it's really cool this idea that there was a gate to get into Jerusalem called the eye of a needle and a camel would have to get on his hands and knees to get to it. That's actually not true Makes a really, really cool story. That's not it.

Speaker 1: 13:45

Jesus is once again using hyperbole to saying a big old, fat camel going through the eye of a needle. In other words, he's saying it is impossible to do. But do you notice that the disciples are astounded by this? You know why? Because in the time, it was thought that the more financially blessed you were, it was a sign of God's favor on your life, lord, help me. It was a sign that God had favored you If you had. The more you had, the more God loved you.

Speaker 1: 14:16

And so, therefore, when Jesus says, I say to you it is easier for something impossible to come true than for a rich person to make it into heaven, that would have rattled the disciples' worldview, absolutely rattled them, because they thought that it was the people who were closest to God that could actually get there. And so they're saying well then, wait a minute. Then If the people who are most blessed by God can't get to heaven, then who can be saved? And Jesus says humanly speaking, it's impossible. In other words, if you just look at what people are doing, then you're never gonna get there, but with God, it's impossible. In other words, if you just look at what people are doing, then you're never going to get there, but with God, it is impossible. So, in other words, what Jesus is saying is your success in the kingdom of God has very little to do with what you have as a matter of fact. In the kingdom of God, those who are great now are going to be the least then, and those who are the least now will be the greatest.

Speaker 1: 15:18

Then I want to tell you something and I know, I know, I know, I know that I'm going to make a lot of people mad right now, and it is not my intention to do this, but I just want to encourage you to do something. If you are somebody who to do something, if you are somebody who absolutely falls into this idea of the health and wealth and prosperity gospel and by that I mean that whatever you want, if you claim it enough, you can have it and that the way that God shows he loves you is by giving you everything that you want. If you believe that, keep reading the Bible with me, because that's not at all what the Bible says. Can I encourage you that if you're listening to a teacher that tells you that if you just believe something enough and you just claim it enough, god is going to show you how much he loves you by giving you everything you want. Ask for context, like what scriptures prove that, and then read the context. Do you know what the Bible says? Jesus himself, the king, says in verse 30, many who are greatest now will be least important then, and many who are least important now will be greatest then. And he even says that it is easier for something impossible to happen than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of heaven. Only through God. In other words, yes him of heaven. Only through God. In other words, yes, god. God may bless you. But that is not always a sign that he is. He is with you.

Speaker 1: 16:39

I have seen people get blessed. I knew him, I was their pastor and we had to have some uncomfortable conversations. I'm thinking of a moment right now. It was a long time ago. But I remember a guy one time who got a promotion and doubled his salary. I mean, he was already making a really good salary and it doubled his salary. And he was like, pastor, I know God is with me, I know he is for me, he wouldn't have blessed me with this and blah, blah, blah, blah, all these things and stuff. And I had to say, buddy, you and I just talked about how the fact that you travel as much as you do, you're struggling with pornography, that you have called escorts before and we're trying to walk through purity, that blessing does not mean that that God, that the fact that God blessed you is not mean that God is blessing your choices right now. That blessing is possibly a big temptation, but no, no, we are blessed because of who God says we are, not because of always what God allows and doesn't allow into our life, and that's a hard one. But on the other side, there is an amazing lesson there, because that also means that just because God doesn't always do it our way doesn't mean he doesn't love us. You know what I think?

Speaker 1: 17:51

I think when we get to heaven, we are going to be amazed at who is the most honored. I think the most honored people are going to be people that we never knew. They're going to be people that were the least on earth, but they're the greatest them. They're going to be the people were the least on earth, but they're the greatest them. They're going to be the people who served in churches and you never knew their name. They're the ones who cleaned the toilets. They're the ones who handed out worship guides. Those are the ones who would come up and clean the church during the week. Those are the ones who gave their life and went into the mission field and as they lived on the mission field, no one ever knew their name. But God did so.

Speaker 1: 18:26

Can I tell you, don't strive to be the greatest in the eyes of men. As a matter of fact, if you're going to strive for something, strive to be the least important in the eyes of men, because it is then when you begin to see the favor of God. And that doesn't mean that we purposely try to sabotage our lives. It just means we don't care. I don't care if you know my name, I just care that you know his name and I care that he knows my name. If we live our life like that, it takes the pressure off and then we can serve without caring, because I know the king knows my name and I love this quote as a pastor. This is a quote that I put in my life and you could retrofit it to fix your life and then we're going to pray there. I put in my life and you could retrofit it to fix your life and then we're going to pray.

Speaker 1: 19:07

There was a pastor I don't even remember his name who once said live for God, raise your family, preach, die, be for God. Doesn't that just speak against the world? What they say all the time? They say you know, create a monument for yourself so people remember you long after you're gone. All that kind of stuff. Not this guy. He was like I'm going to raise my family, I'm going to follow Jesus, I'm going to preach the good news of God's word, then I'm going to die and I'm going to be forgotten, but as long as you remember his name, that's what matters.

Speaker 1: 19:36

Let's pray together right now, god, thank you so much for today. Thank you, god, that your kingdom is exactly the opposite of this world, and that's a good thing, because that means that you are for us in more ways than we can imagine. That means you're doing more than we can imagine, and we're so thankful for you. We're so thankful that you teach us what to take seriously and how to do that. You teach us how to live. You challenge us to be better, to be least in the kingdom of men so we can be greatest in the kingdom of heaven. I'm so thankful, lord, that it's not about what we achieve, but it's about who we become. We celebrate you today In Jesus' name. We pray Amen. Amen, god's word says. Jesus said say it with me. Matthew 28, verse 19. He says all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations. I love you. I'll see you tomorrow for Matthew, chapter 20.