Matthew 19

Must you be as inspired as Matthew to understand the Gospel of the kingdom?
Comments
Divorce had been rare in Judea and at one time in Rome, also.
“…[T]he healthy moral traditions of early Rome were maintained by the discipline of the family, resting on the supreme authority of the father - the patria potestas - and the powerful influence of the mother, to whom the early training of the child was entrusted.”^[1]
The morals of society and the permanency of marriage were in decline in Judea. The “sanctity of marriage had ceased… Abortion, and the exposure and murder of newly-born children, were common and tolerated; unnatural vices, which even the greatest philosophers practiced, if not advocated, attained proportions which defy description.”^[2]
The same pattern is seen in Rome where, “Even amongst women there were symptoms of revolt against the older order, which showed itself in a growing freedom of manners and impatience of control, the marriage tie was relaxed…"^[3]
“Italy was living through the fever of moral disintegration and incoherence which assails all civilized societies that are rich in the manifold resources of culture and enjoyment, but tolerate few or no restraints on the feverish struggle of contending appetites.”^[4]
Those following the Doctrine of Jesus and John the Baptist saw the moral breakdown and knew the cause which was the Corban of the Pharisees which was the legal charity and covetous practices which was provided the benefits and dainties of the benefactors who exercise authority through the power of civil government^[5]which always degenerates the social bonds of a free society.
The Potestas of the natural father within the family would be dividing the people under the conscripted fathers of the state as the Patronus or Father of the earth in a time of affluence weakened the poor.
It was the general breakdown of the family^[6] caused by the Corban of the Pharisees which was making the word of God to none effect and destroying liberty.^[7]
The same covetous practices of Social Security has been eating away at the natural family and dividing the masses since FDR and certainly LBJ's Great Society.
This chapter is about the Family which is the primary institution of God and His Kingdom of God. There is no advocacy of celibacy for the people not the ministers nor certainly becoming a Eunuch but also there is no stigma attached to it. The kingdom is about choice.^[8]
Jesus goes on to point out the importance of Children protected by the community but belonging to that Family.
The Doctrines of Jesus concerning eternal life emphasizes our conformity to keeping the commandments and providing for our families including our parents.
The rich man wanted more than the eternal life and Jesus goes on talking about what he expects from those who were disciples and would be ordained the ministers of the called out of His kingdom.
Jesus had said from the beginning he was going to take the kingdom from the Pharisees for their Corban and lack of fruit and failing to attend to the weightier matters and appoint it to His Little flock, His ekklesia
His ekklesia was to be His Church who would organize the people in free assemblies of tens so that they could provide the people with a daily ministration of Faith, Hope, and Charity through Pure Religion rather than the public religion of the Benefactors who exercise authority.
Of course the governments of the world offered free bread and a system of welfare that operated by force, fear, and fealty but John the Baptist and all the Prophets warned about an appetite for those benefits that were the wages of unrighteousness.
The prophets, Jesus, the Apostles were all warning that if we were slothful in the ways of His righteousness we would return to the bondage of Egypt go under tribute^[9] and become merchandise and curse children because of those covetous practices which have always been sin from Cain to Nimrod. To go that way is the way of Babylon, the error of Balaam and the deeds of the Nicolaitan and it is the opposite way of Christ.

Teaching About the Family

[1] And it came to pass, that when Jesus had finished these sayings, he departed from Galilee, and came into the coasts of Judaea beyond Jordan;

[2] And great multitudes followed him; and he healed them there.

[3] The Pharisees also came unto him, tempting him, and saying unto him, Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife for every cause?

[4] And he answered and said unto them, Have ye not read, that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female,

[5] And said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh?

[6] Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.

Why a divorcement

[7] They say unto him, Why did Moses then command to give a writing of divorcement, and to put her away?

[8] He saith unto them, Moses because of the hardness of your hearts suffered you to put away your wives: but from the beginning it was not so.

put away

[9] And I say unto you, Whosoever shall put away his wife, except it be for fornication, and shall marry another, committeth adultery: and whoso marrieth her which is put away doth commit adultery.

Celibacy

[10] His disciples say unto him, If the case of the man be so with his wife, it is not good to marry.

[11] But he said unto them, All men cannot receive this saying, save they to whom it is given.

[12] For there are some eunuchs, which were so born from their mother's womb: and there are some eunuchs, which were made eunuchs of men: and there be eunuchs, which have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven's sake. He that is able to receive it, let him receive it.

Let the Children Come to Me

[13] Then were there brought unto him little children, that he should put his hands on them, and pray: and the disciples rebuked them.

[14] But Jesus said, Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven.

[15] And he laid his hands on them, and departed thence.

The Rich Young Man

[16] And, behold, one came and said unto him, Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life?

[17] And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments.

[18] He saith unto him, Which? Jesus said, Thou shalt do no murder, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness,

[19] Honour thy father and thy mother: and, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

[20] The young man saith unto him, All these things have I kept from my youth up: what lack I yet?

Sell that thou hast

[21] Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me.

[22] But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions.

eye of a needle

[23] Then said Jesus unto his disciples, Verily I say unto you, That a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven.

[24] And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.

[25] When his disciples heard it, they were exceedingly amazed, saying, Who then can be saved?

[26] But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.

Forsaken all

[27] Then answered Peter and said unto him, Behold, we have forsaken all, and followed thee; what shall we have therefore?

[28] And Jesus said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That ye which have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.

[29] And every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name's sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life.

[30] But many that are first shall be last; and the last shall be first.

↑ Cf. Tacitus's account of Cornelia, the mother of the Gracchi, and Aurelia, the mother of Julius Caesar, in the dialogue De oratoribus, c. 28.(1911 Encyclopædia Britannica, Volume 23/668)
↑ Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah, By Alfred Edersheim, Chapter XI.
↑ Encyclopedia Britannica ‘57 Vol. 19 p 490.
↑ Idiom. Encyclopedia Britannica ‘57 Vol. 19 p 490.
↑ “‘Civil Law,’ ‘Roman Law’ and ‘Roman Civil Law’ are convertible phrases, meaning the same system of jurisprudence.” Black’s Law dictionary, 3rd Edition, p 332.
↑ Degeneration of the family
“Even amongst women there were symptoms of revolt against the older order, which showed itself in a growing freedom of manners and impatience of control, the marriage tie was relaxed…" Encyclopedia Britannica ‘57 Vol. 19 p 490.2

The “sanctity of marriage had ceased… Abortion, and the exposure and murder of newly-born children, were common and tolerated; unnatural vices, which even the greatest philosophers practiced, if not advocated, attained proportions which defy description.” Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah, By Alfred Edersheim, Chapter XI.

"Men nowadays no longer secretly, but openly outrage the wives of others, and allow others access to their own wives. A match is thought countrified, uncivilized, in bad style, and to be protested against by all matrons, if the husband should forbid his wife to appear in public in a litter, and to be carried about exposed to the gaze of all observers. If a man has not made himself notorious by a liaison with some mistress, if he does not pay an annuity to some one else's wife, married women speak of him as a poor-spirited creature, a man given to low vice, a lover of servant girls. Soon adultery becomes the most respectable form of marriage, and widowhood and celibacy are commonly practiced. No one takes a wife unless he takes her away from some one else. Now men vie with one another in wasting what they have stolen, and in collecting together what they have wasted with the keenest avarice; they become utterly reckless, scorn poverty in others, fear personal injury more than anything else, break the peace by their riots, and by violence and terror domineer over those who are weaker than themselves. No wonder that they plunder provinces and offer the seat of judgment for sale, knocking it down after an auction to the highest bidder, since it is the law of nations that you may sell what you have bought... Our ancestors before us have lamented, and our children after us will lament, as we do, the ruin of morality, the prevalence of vice, and the gradual deterioration of mankind;" On Benefits (De Beneficiis) by Seneca. See Riots

"That the man who first ruined the Roman people twas he who first gave them treats and gratuities. But this mischief crept secretly and gradually in, and did not openly make it's appearance in Rome for a considerable time." Plutarch's Life of Coriolanus (c. 100 AD.)

“The real destroyers of the liberties of the people is he who spreads among them bounties, donations, and benefits.” Plutarch

"The people who had once bestowed commands, consulships, legions, and all else now longs eagerly for just two things, bread and circus games." Juvenal a Roman poet. See legal charity.
↑ Destroyers of liberty
"That the man who first ruined the Roman people twas he who first gave them treats and gratuities. But this mischief crept secretly and gradually in, and did not openly make it's appearance in Rome for a considerable time." Plutarch's Life of Coriolanus (c. 100 AD.) This would include Julius Caesar and eventually Augustus Caesar which is why Plutarch also reported, “The real destroyers of the liberties of the people is he who spreads among them bounties, donations, and benefits.” This was a major theme of the Bible:

There were tables of welfare which were both snares and a traps as David and Paul stated and Peter warned would make us merchandise and curse children. Proverbs 23 told us not to not eat the "dainties" offered at those tables of Rulers and Paul says in 1 Corinthians 10 we cannot eat of those tables and the table of the Lord. We are not to consent to their covetous systems of One purse or Corban which makes the word of God to none effect.

We know when the masses become accustomed to those benefits of legal charity which are the rewards of unrighteousness provided by benefactors who exercise authority and the Fathers of the earth through the covetous practices that makes men merchandise and curse children as a surety for debt.
↑ "Freedom is the Right to Choose, the Right to create for oneself the alternatives of Choice. Without the possibility of Choice, and the exercise of Choice, a man is not a man but a member, an instrument, a thing.” Archibald MacLeish
↑ Temple Tax collectors of tribute
"The Gabbai [tax collector], collected the regular dues, which consisted of property, income, and poll-tax and the Mokhes collected tax and duty upon imports and exports; sales tax; tolls, road excise tax, harbour-dues, town-dues, etc. They had invented taxes that reached into the life of almost everyone. There were taxes on axles, wheels, pack-animals, pedestrians, roads, highways; on admission to markets; on carriers, bridges, ships, and quays; on crossing rivers, on dams, on licenses, in short, on such a variety of objects, that even the research of modern scholars has not been able to identify all the names." Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah, By Alfred Edersheim, Chapter III.

"The annual Temple-tribute was allowed to be transported to Jerusalem, and the alienation of these funds by the civil magistrates treated as sacrilege. As the Jews objected to bear arms, or march, on the Sabbath, they were freed from military service. On similar grounds, they were not obliged to appear in courts of law on their holy days. Augustus even ordered that, when the public distribution of corn or of money among the citizens fell on a Sabbath, the Jews were to receive their share on the following day. In a similar spirit the Roman authorities confirmed a decree by which the founder of Antioch, Seleucus I. (Nicator),[d Ob.280 B.C.] had granted the Jews the right of citizenship in all the cities of Asia Minor and Syria which he had built, and the privilege of receiving, instead of the oil that was distributed, which their religion forbade them to use, [e Ab. Sar ii. 6] an equivalent in money. [Josephus Ant. xii. 3. 1] These rights were maintained by Vespasian and Titus even after the last Jewish war, not with standing the earnest remonstrances of these cities. No wonder, that at the death of Caesar [g 44 B.C.] the Jews of Rome gathered for many nights, waking strange feelings of awe in the city, as they chanted in mournful melodies their Psalms around the pyre on which the body of their benefactor had been burnt, and raised their pathetic dirges." Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah, By Alfred Edersheim, Chapter V .

[1] Cf. Tacitus's account of Cornelia, the mother of the Gracchi, and Aurelia, the mother of Julius Caesar, in the dialogue De oratoribus, c. 28.(1911 Encyclopædia Britannica, Volume 23/668)

[2] Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah, By Alfred Edersheim, Chapter XI.

[3] Encyclopedia Britannica ‘57 Vol. 19 p 490.

[4] Idiom. Encyclopedia Britannica ‘57 Vol. 19 p 490.

[5] “‘Civil Law,’ ‘Roman Law’ and ‘Roman Civil Law’ are convertible phrases, meaning the same system of jurisprudence.” Black’s Law dictionary, 3rd Edition, p 332.

[endfam-6] Degeneration of the family
“Even amongst women there were symptoms of revolt against the older order, which showed itself in a growing freedom of manners and impatience of control, the marriage tie was relaxed…" Encyclopedia Britannica ‘57 Vol. 19 p 490.2

The “sanctity of marriage had ceased… Abortion, and the exposure and murder of newly-born children, were common and tolerated; unnatural vices, which even the greatest philosophers practiced, if not advocated, attained proportions which defy description.” Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah, By Alfred Edersheim, Chapter XI.

"Men nowadays no longer secretly, but openly outrage the wives of others, and allow others access to their own wives. A match is thought countrified, uncivilized, in bad style, and to be protested against by all matrons, if the husband should forbid his wife to appear in public in a litter, and to be carried about exposed to the gaze of all observers. If a man has not made himself notorious by a liaison with some mistress, if he does not pay an annuity to some one else's wife, married women speak of him as a poor-spirited creature, a man given to low vice, a lover of servant girls. Soon adultery becomes the most respectable form of marriage, and widowhood and celibacy are commonly practiced. No one takes a wife unless he takes her away from some one else. Now men vie with one another in wasting what they have stolen, and in collecting together what they have wasted with the keenest avarice; they become utterly reckless, scorn poverty in others, fear personal injury more than anything else, break the peace by their riots, and by violence and terror domineer over those who are weaker than themselves. No wonder that they plunder provinces and offer the seat of judgment for sale, knocking it down after an auction to the highest bidder, since it is the law of nations that you may sell what you have bought... Our ancestors before us have lamented, and our children after us will lament, as we do, the ruin of morality, the prevalence of vice, and the gradual deterioration of mankind;" On Benefits (De Beneficiis) by Seneca. See Riots

"That the man who first ruined the Roman people twas he who first gave them treats and gratuities. But this mischief crept secretly and gradually in, and did not openly make it's appearance in Rome for a considerable time." Plutarch's Life of Coriolanus (c. 100 AD.)

“The real destroyers of the liberties of the people is he who spreads among them bounties, donations, and benefits.” Plutarch

"The people who had once bestowed commands, consulships, legions, and all else now longs eagerly for just two things, bread and circus games." Juvenal a Roman poet. See legal charity.

[desliberty-7] Destroyers of liberty
"That the man who first ruined the Roman people twas he who first gave them treats and gratuities. But this mischief crept secretly and gradually in, and did not openly make it's appearance in Rome for a considerable time." Plutarch's Life of Coriolanus (c. 100 AD.) This would include Julius Caesar and eventually Augustus Caesar which is why Plutarch also reported, “The real destroyers of the liberties of the people is he who spreads among them bounties, donations, and benefits.” This was a major theme of the Bible:

There were tables of welfare which were both snares and a traps as David and Paul stated and Peter warned would make us merchandise and curse children. Proverbs 23 told us not to not eat the "dainties" offered at those tables of Rulers and Paul says in 1 Corinthians 10 we cannot eat of those tables and the table of the Lord. We are not to consent to their covetous systems of One purse or Corban which makes the word of God to none effect.

We know when the masses become accustomed to those benefits of legal charity which are the rewards of unrighteousness provided by benefactors who exercise authority and the Fathers of the earth through the covetous practices that makes men merchandise and curse children as a surety for debt.

[archy-8] "Freedom is the Right to Choose, the Right to create for oneself the alternatives of Choice. Without the possibility of Choice, and the exercise of Choice, a man is not a man but a member, an instrument, a thing.” Archibald MacLeish

[TempleTax-9] Temple Tax collectors of tribute
"The Gabbai [tax collector], collected the regular dues, which consisted of property, income, and poll-tax and the Mokhes collected tax and duty upon imports and exports; sales tax; tolls, road excise tax, harbour-dues, town-dues, etc. They had invented taxes that reached into the life of almost everyone. There were taxes on axles, wheels, pack-animals, pedestrians, roads, highways; on admission to markets; on carriers, bridges, ships, and quays; on crossing rivers, on dams, on licenses, in short, on such a variety of objects, that even the research of modern scholars has not been able to identify all the names." Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah, By Alfred Edersheim, Chapter III.

"The annual Temple-tribute was allowed to be transported to Jerusalem, and the alienation of these funds by the civil magistrates treated as sacrilege. As the Jews objected to bear arms, or march, on the Sabbath, they were freed from military service. On similar grounds, they were not obliged to appear in courts of law on their holy days. Augustus even ordered that, when the public distribution of corn or of money among the citizens fell on a Sabbath, the Jews were to receive their share on the following day. In a similar spirit the Roman authorities confirmed a decree by which the founder of Antioch, Seleucus I. (Nicator),[d Ob.280 B.C.] had granted the Jews the right of citizenship in all the cities of Asia Minor and Syria which he had built, and the privilege of receiving, instead of the oil that was distributed, which their religion forbade them to use, [e Ab. Sar ii. 6] an equivalent in money. [Josephus Ant. xii. 3. 1] These rights were maintained by Vespasian and Titus even after the last Jewish war, not with standing the earnest remonstrances of these cities. No wonder, that at the death of Caesar [g 44 B.C.] the Jews of Rome gathered for many nights, waking strange feelings of awe in the city, as they chanted in mournful melodies their Psalms around the pyre on which the body of their benefactor had been burnt, and raised their pathetic dirges." Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah, By Alfred Edersheim, Chapter V .

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Matthew 19

Contents

Teaching About the Family

Why a divorcement

put away

Celibacy

Let the Children Come to Me

The Rich Young Man

Sell that thou hast

eye of a needle

Forsaken all

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Matthew 19

Teaching About the Family

Why a divorcement

put away

Celibacy

Let the Children Come to Me

The Rich Young Man

Sell that thou hast

eye of a needle

Forsaken all

Navigation menu

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