What Jesus Did

Someone came to Jesus with this question: "Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life?"

—Matthew 19:16 NLT

Key Thought​

There's something about our human nature that makes us want to find the best bargain:
"What do I have to do to get that?"
"Come on, you can let me have it for less than that!"
"I can get the same thing for less down the street."

Grace is a gift that is given to us for free! Yet grace requires us to surrender unconditionally to Jesus as Lord. In...

 

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.
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." And he placed his hands on their heads and blessed them before he left.


—Matthew 19:13-15 NLT

Key Thought​

In a world that was dangerous to children, loving parents wanted to bring...

 

[After talking about divorce not being God's plan and that divorce can lead to adultery,] Jesus' disciples then said to him, "If this is the case, it is better not to marry!"
"Not everyone can accept this statement," Jesus said. "Only those whom God helps. Some are born as eunuchs, some have been made eunuchs by others, and some choose not to marry for the sake of the Kingdom of Heaven. Let anyone accept this who can."


—Matthew 19:10-12 NLT

Key Thought​

God's goal for all...

 

"Haven't you read the Scriptures?" Jesus replied [to the Pharisees' question about divorce]. "They record that from the beginning 'God made them male and female.' And 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."

—Matthew 19:4-6 NLT

Key Thought​

Rather than getting caught up in the religious debate, Jesus makes...

 

"Then why did Moses say in the law that a man could give his wife a written notice of divorce and send her away?" [the Pharisees] asked [after Jesus' initial response to their question about divorce].
Jesus replied, "Moses permitted divorce only as a concession to your hard hearts, but it was not what God had originally intended. And I tell you this, whoever divorces his wife* and marries someone else commits adultery — unless his wife has been unfaithful."


—Matthew 19:7-9 NLT...

 

Some Pharisees came and tried to trap [Jesus] with this question: "Should a man be allowed to divorce his wife for just any reason?"

—Matthew 19:3 NLT

Key Thought​

To trick Jesus, the religious leaders tried to get him to debate the legalistic elements of their law. What is powerful about this exchange is not just what Jesus said, but also how he said it. As we will see in the following verses (Matthew 19:4-9),

1. he refused to get caught up in their argument,
2. he moved from...

 

When Jesus had finished saying these things [about the need to be forgiving], 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.

—Matthew 19:1-2 NLT

Key Thought​

In transitional verses, we often find key elements of truth that Matthew most wants us to see. Jesus has brought to a close his Galilean ministry. He is headed for Jerusalem. The crowds are still infatuated with him. He will...

 

[Talking about being forgiving, Jesus continued,] "Then the angry king sent the man [who had been forgiven a great debt but hadn't forgiven a much smaller owed to him] to prison to be tortured until he had paid his entire debt.
"That's what my heavenly Father will do to you if you refuse to forgive your brothers and sisters from your heart."


—Matthew 18:34-35 NLT

Key Thought​

God is gracious and merciful until he finds those to whom he has freely dispensed mercy and they...

 

[Talking about being forgiving, Jesus continued,] "When some of the other servants saw [that the servant who had been forgiven a tremendous debt didn't forgive another servant who owed him much less], they were very upset. They went to the king and told him everything that had happened. Then the king called in the man he had forgiven and said, 'You evil servant! I forgave you that tremendous debt because you pleaded with me. Shouldn't you have mercy on your fellow servant, just as I had...

 

[Talking about being forgiving, Jesus continued,] "But when the man [who had been forgiven a tremendously large debt] left the king, he went to a fellow servant who owed him a few thousand dollars. He grabbed him by the throat and demanded instant payment.
"His fellow servant fell down before him and begged for a little more time. 'Be patient with me, and I will pay it,' he pleaded. But his creditor wouldn't wait. He had the man arrested and put in prison until the debt could be paid in...