Matthew 19:22    Jesus just let’s him go. He tells this young man exactly what he needs, let’s him make up his own mind. He loves him, we know that. But he doesn’t run him down to try to persuade him. He doesn’t try to rephrase his message to make it more palatable. He just watches…

Matthew 19:21    It is very important to notice exactly what Jesus is saying here. He tells this man that he is giving him the path to perfection. That is quite a claim! But, of course, Jesus can back it up. Indeed, if he couldn’t, he would be no Savior at all. Make no mistake, Jesus…

Matthew 19:20    This young man meant here exactly what all of the Jews meant when they said that they observed the commandments. Jesus had told him he needed to ‘keep’ the commandments. Though, in the English, the man claims to have kept them; he said a different word than Jesus did. In other words, in…

Matthew 19:19   Jesus ends his list of commands with one that did not come from the regular ‘ten commandments’ list. This command can be found in Leviticus chapter 19 and verse 18. Jesus ends with it because it is quite possibly the hardest command for us to obey consistently. Few people would deny that they try…

Matthew 19:18   Why would Jesus give this man the idea that keeping such commandments would bring him to eternal life? Well, this is quite simple. Jesus knew that this man had not kept these commandments. He knew the man’s thoughts. To think a mean thought, or to be lustful, or to covet, or to tell the…

Matthew 19:17   Jesus never wasted people’s time. He always got to the heart of the matter. He never tried to paint it prettier than it is. He knew this man was self-righteous. So, he met him there. He established once and for all the Source of all good. And he called him to the highest standard…

Matthew 19:16   Obviously, this man had bought into one of the oldest lies of the devil. If you are good enough, God will accept you. It is one of his favorites. It is so close to the truth, and yet so far away from it. God does have a standard for us to meet. But, we…

Matthew 19:15   Jesus blessed the children. Some might try to quantify what was happening here. They might say this laying of hands upon children should be specifically practiced today. I don’t thin that is at all necessary. All who will be this day ministering to children are doing the same thing Jesus did on that…

   I have the idea that I might actually use my verse by verse study on Matthew to put together a commentary. I don’t plan on trying to publish it or anything. But I would like to have it all put together in one document.Obviously, I realize that I am not yet finished with Matthew.…

Matthew 19:14   Jesus can teach us so much and yet say so little! The children had just as much a claim to the time and attention of Christ as did anyone else. The statement of Christ here means at least three things. First, physical age and spiritual condition are not linked. One may be very…