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Matthew 19 — The chapter where checking every box still isn't enough
7 min read
nocap.bible editorialwas on the move. He wrapped up His teaching in and crossed over into , on the far side of the . This wasn't a random road trip — He was heading toward , and everything was building toward something massive. But even on the road, massive crowds followed Him, and He kept healing people along the way.
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What happened next was a rapid- series of encounters that exposed what people really value — marriage, status, kids, money — and Jesus flipped every single one of them.
The showed up again, and they weren't there to learn. They came to test Him. They asked a question that was hotly debated among at the time:
"Is it lawful to divorce your wife for any reason?"
(Quick context: There were two major rabbinic schools — one said you could divorce for basically anything, the other said only for serious offenses. The Pharisees wanted to force to pick a side so they could use it against Him.)
Jesus didn't take the bait. He went straight to the source:
Jesus said: "Haven't you read that the one who created them from the beginning made them male and female? And He said, 'A man will leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.' They're not two anymore — they're one. What God has joined together, no one should tear apart."
They pushed back:
"Then why did Moses command giving a certificate of divorce?"
Jesus said: "Moses allowed divorce because of the hardness of your hearts. But that was never God's design from the beginning. And I'm telling you — whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries someone else, commits adultery."
Jesus wasn't trying to anyone who's been through divorce. He was confronting a culture that had turned commitment into a disposable convenience. God's original design for marriage carries weight — and Jesus wanted them to feel it. 💔
The heard all that and had a very honest reaction:
"If that's the deal with marriage... maybe it's better to just not get married."
didn't shut them down. He acknowledged that this is a hard teaching:
Jesus said: "Not everyone can accept this — only those it's been given to. Some people are born unable to marry. Some have been made that way by others. And some choose to stay single for the sake of the Kingdom of Heaven. If you can receive it, receive it."
Jesus wasn't saying marriage is bad or singleness is better. He was saying both are valid paths, and some people are specifically called to singleness so they can be fully devoted to God's mission. That's not a consolation prize — it's a calling. 🙏
People started bringing their children to so He could lay hands on them and pray for them. The ? They tried to block it. They were basically playing bouncer — "He's too busy for this. Move along."
Jesus was not having it:
Jesus said: "Let the little children come to me. Don't stop them. The Kingdom of Heaven belongs to people like these."
Then He laid His hands on the kids and them before moving on.
The Disciples thought they were protecting Jesus' time. But Jesus made it clear: the doesn't belong to the important, the impressive, or the influential. It belongs to those who come with nothing to offer except trust. Kids got that instinctively. The adults were the ones who kept overcomplicating it. ✨
Then a young man came up to — and this wasn't just any guy. He was wealthy, he was religious, and he had a question that seemed genuine:
"Teacher, what good thing do I need to do to get Eternal Life?"
Jesus said: "Why are you asking me about what's good? There's only one who is good. But if you want to enter life, keep the commandments."
"Which ones?"
Jesus said: "Don't murder. Don't commit adultery. Don't steal. Don't lie. Honor your father and mother. Love your neighbor as yourself."
The young man's response was lowkey impressive:
"I've kept all of these. What am I still missing?"
That question — "what do I still lack?" — showed he knew something was off. He'd checked every box but still felt the gap. Jesus looked at him and gave him the one answer he didn't want to hear:
Jesus said: "If you want to be complete, go sell everything you own, give it to the poor, and you'll have treasure in Heaven. Then come follow me."
The young man heard it. And he walked away sad — because he had a lot of stuff.
He came looking for a side quest. Jesus told him it was the . The thing he couldn't let go of was the thing standing between him and God. Not because money is inherently — but because it had become his real security, and he couldn't give it up for the real thing. 💔
After the rich young man walked away, turned to His and dropped one of the most famous lines in the Bible:
Jesus said: "I'm telling you the truth — it is very hard for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. In fact, it's easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of God."
The Disciples were shook. In their culture, wealth was seen as a sign of God's blessing. If the rich can't make it, then who even has a chance?
"Who then can be saved?"
Jesus looked at them — and this is where the whole chapter turns:
Jesus said: "With people, this is impossible. But with God, all things are possible."
That's right there. Nobody earns their way in — not the rich, not the religious, not the rule-followers. isn't a human achievement. It's a God thing. The rich young man tried to earn it and walked away empty. The only way in is to let go and let God do what only He can do. 💯
— always the one to say what everyone else was thinking — spoke up:
"We've left everything to follow you. So... what do we get?"
Honestly? Fair question. They watched a rich man walk away from , and they'd done the exact opposite — gave up their jobs, their homes, their families. Peter wanted to know it was worth it.
Jesus didn't rebuke him. He made a :
Jesus said: "In the new world, when the Son of Man sits on His glorious throne, you who have followed me will sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. And everyone who has left houses, brothers, sisters, father, mother, children, or land for my sake will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit Eternal Life."
Then He added the kicker:
Jesus said: "But many who are first will be last, and the last will be first."
The flips everything. The rich young man who had it all ended up with nothing. The who gave up everything were promised more than they could imagine. That's not a bad trade — that's the best deal in history. 👑