Matthew chapter 19

Verses 1 & 2 provide the setting for this chapter while the action begins with Verse 3.
The Pharisees were not asking for information but were hoping to trap Jesus by getting Him to oppose the teachings of Moses, their motivation was to discredit Jesus. This is actually an unconscious admission on their part of the weakness in Moses' permission of divorce because, if Jesus had agreed with Moses, they would have had no case. The proof of weakness in Moses' position is that they deliberately chose this question to 'test' Jesus with. They knew (or at least assumed) Jesus would not agree with Moses about Divorce.

Why? They knew in their hearts that Moses was wrong (or at least partially so) and, intuitively, those evil men recognized in Christ a higher purity and knowledge than existed in Moses and decided to take advantage of it if they could.
In answering, Jesus goes back to God's institution, according to which one man and one woman were to unite together, and to be one in the sight of God. He establishes, or rather re-establishes, the true character of the permanent bond of marriage. "Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate." Jesus then goes on to say that in the exception of marital unfaithfulness there can be divorce, as the marital vows and bond is already broken. Jesus then lists some reasons why marriage might not be appropriate for everyone but says, "The one who can accept this should accept it." Suggesting that none should enter marriage if they do not intend to remain married and not get a divorce. In effect, He is saying that if you think divorce is a posibility then you should not be married in the first place.

Next is a small passage about Jesus' affection for children. He says we should not "hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these." Jesus then reaches out to these children and blesses them. This is both to reinforce when He said "I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven." (Matthew 18:3-4) and to demonstrate the even children are able to be swept up into the Graceful arms of Jesus, nothing is required of us when He provides salvation. Instead of the children first becoming like the disciples in learning and conduct, the disciples must themselves become like the children innocent, meek and obedient in order to enter the Kingdom of God.


The account of a Rich Young Man is an important lesson for all the followers of Jesus. When asked by this young man "what good thing must I do to get eternal life?" Jesus replies by listing of the 10 Commandments, the ones which apply to other people. Essentially how to behave morally towards others. The young man shows great wisdom here, although he has kept all these commandments he knows there is still something he is missing "What do I still lack?" This shows that even if we were able to adhere to the Law perfectly we would still fall short of the Glory of God and still not earn salvation. Salvation cannot be earned. Jesus asks the young man to give up the one thing he holds most dear, his wealth. This is what defines the young man, we know him as "The Rich Young Man" this man would have had to sacrifice himself, to die to himself, to lose what defines his identity in order to follow Jesus. He would no longer be known as The Rich Young Man, but rather less notably by the world, as a man who follows Jesus. This is what Jesus requires of all His followers, that we might be known and identified according to our relationship with Jesus rather than our relationship with the world.

Jesus then utters the famous line "it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God." What does this mean? The eye of the needle, or needle's eye, was a small gate in some ancient cities which would allow passage after dark. This Gate was so small that, while possible, for a camel to pass thorugh it all baggage would need to be removed from the camel and it would need to lower itself to its knees and almost crawl though. The lesson would then be that eternal life is for those who are unburdened of sin and the things of this world and then approach God humbly and on their knees.


Another far less popular interpretation of this phrase ignores the existance of gates known as needle's eyes and suggests that the word camel is in fact a mistranslation of the Greek original, and should instead read rope. On the weight of this, some English versions read "cable" instead of "camel". This puts "the eye of a needle" as a literal sewing instrument with a rope trying to be thread though. This interpretation still makes the point of how difficult it is to achieve salvation, although in much less colorful terms. In fact it is impossible for a rope to be thread into a needle at all, while it is only possible for a camel to enter the eye of the needle gate with someone to unload the baggage for it. Either interpretation leads to the same lesson that for any man looking to himself, salvation is not possible; but for God, all things are possible. The way is open, but it cannot be accessed by any human means, unless God should bring them in by an "impossible" way - impossible that is, for man - meaning, through Christ's death and resurrection.