HelpFinder Bible - Flipbook - Page 1251
M ATTHEW 20
page 881
Jesus Blesses the Children
13 One day some parents brought their children
to Jesus so he could lay his hands on them and
pray for them. But the disciples scolded the parents for bothering him.
14 But Jesus said, “Let the children come to
me. Don’t stop them! For the Kingdom of Heaven
belongs to those who are like these children.”
15 And he placed his hands on their heads and
blessed them before he left.
The Rich Man
16 Someone came to Jesus with this question:
“Teacher,* what good deed must I do to have
eternal life?”
17 “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.”
18 “Which ones?” the man asked.
And Jesus replied: “‘You must not murder.
You must not commit adultery. You must not
steal. You must not testify falsely. 19 Honor
your father and mother. Love your neighbor as
yourself.’*”
20 “I’ve obeyed all these commandments,” the
young man replied. “What else must I do?”
21 Jesus told him, “If you want to be perfect,
go and sell all your possessions and give the
money to the poor, and you will have treasure
in heaven. Then come, follow me.”
22 But when the young man heard this, he
went away sad, for he had many possessions.
23 Then Jesus said to his disciples, “I tell
you the truth, it is very hard for a rich person
to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. 24 I’ll say it
again—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 The disciples were astounded. “Then who
in the world can be saved?” they asked.
26 Jesus looked at them intently and said,
“Humanly speaking, it is impossible. But with
God everything is possible.”
27 Then Peter said to him, “We’ve given up
everything to follow you. What will we get?”
28 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. 29 And everyone who has given up houses or brothers or
sisters or father or mother or children or property, for my sake, will receive a hundred times
as much in return and will inherit eternal life.
30 But many who are the greatest now will be
19:16 Some manuscripts read Good Teacher. 19:17 Some
manuscripts read continue to keep. 19:18-19 Exod 20:12-16;
Deut 5:16-20; Lev 19:18. 19:28a Or in the regeneration.
19:28b “Son of Man” is a title Jesus used for himself.
19:30 Greek But many who are first will be last; and the last,
first. 20:2 Greek a denarius, the payment for a full day’s
labor; similarly in 20:9, 10, 13.
least important then, and those who seem least
important now will be the greatest then.*
Parable of the Vineyard Workers
“For the Kingdom of Heaven is like the
landowner who went out early one
morning to hire workers for his vineyard. 2 He
agreed to pay the normal daily wage* and sent
them out to work.
3 “At nine o’clock in the morning he was passing through the marketplace and saw some
people standing around doing nothing. 4 So he
hired them, telling them he would pay them
whatever was right at the end of the day. 5 So
20
• Marriage
M ATTHE W 19:3-9
In this situation, the Pharisees were trying to trick Jesus into choosing sides in
a current theological controversy. One
group supported divorce for almost any
reason; the other believed divorce should
be allowed only in cases of marital infidelity. (This conflict hinged on how each
group interpreted Deuteronomy 24:1-4.)
But in his answer, Jesus focused on
marriage, not divorce. He pointed out that
God created the relationship of marriage
and that he wants those who marry to
be faithful to one another and to remain
married. Unfortunately, fallen human
nature has made the existence of divorce
inevitable.
If you are newly married, decide now
that divorce will not be an option for you
when conflict arises. If you are already
considering divorce, try to stop focusing
on the reasons to get out and concentrate
on how you might stay together. (There
are exceptions, of course—for example, if
you are in an abusive relationship.) Seek
counseling and take the road toward
reconciliation; it is not an easy road, but
in the long run it is easier than carrying
the same problems into a second or third
marriage. Seek and offer forgiveness
for the sake of healing and new growth
together.
If you are already divorced, recognize
that no act is beyond the scope of God’s
forgiveness. If your actions contributed
to the divorce, you need to seek God’s
forgiveness and be reconciled to him.
If you are a victim of divorce, don’t let
feelings of guilt or shame keep you from
serving God. Realize that he loves you
every bit as much as he always has and
that he desires what is best for you.