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In chapter 17, Jesus and His disciples were gathering in Galilee when Jesus told them, "The Son of Man is about to be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill him, and he will be raised on the third day.”  After a brief final stop in Capernaum, they now head southward, inevitably toward Jerusalem. 

Matthew calls attention both to the crowds and to the Pharisees, who again test Him: “Is it lawful to divorce one’s wife for any cause?”  Matthew doesn’t reveal in this passage whether the Pharisees are testing Jesus to trap Him or whether they are seeking wisdom.  It’s tempting to read this in the negative, but it’s not necessary to observe Jesus’ deftness both at handling the Pharisees and their question.  As He did with the devil in chapter 4, and with the Pharisees and scribes in chapter 15, Jesus quotes Scripture: “Have you not read…” He asks “…A man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh?  What God has joined together, let not man separate.”    

Their response “Why then did Moses command one to give a certificate of divorce and to send her away?" can either be cynical or curious.  Odds are it’s the former, because they twist Deuteronomy 24 into an unrecognizable shape.  Moses makes no such command; he simply acknowledges the reality of divorce, and the Law provides protections for women who are tossed about by fickle husbands.  Jesus pushes beyond their legal question to the heart of the matter: “Because of your hardness of heart Moses allowed you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so.”

This acute interaction sets up the rest of today’s reading, which emphasizes the upended nature of the Kingdom of God.  It is where “The last will be first, and the first, last,” a place that the rich can only enter “with great difficulty,” and where God can do what He chooses “with what belongs [to Him].” 

Now keen readers will pick up on the track of Jesus’ journey today.  In today’s first verse, Jesus and His disciples entered the region of Judea beyond the Jordan.  This was a typical route for Jews heading to Jerusalem who wished to avoid Samaria, which sat between Galilee and Judea.  Then in chapter 20 Jesus reenters Judea by crossing the Jordan near Jericho.  This ancient city is where the final leg of Jesus’ journey begins, and it’s where the last leg of Israel’s journey began, fourteen centuries ago. 

Our verse for this week is Psalm 19:4: Their voice goes out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world.

Matthew 19 and 20.  Now let’s read it!

Throughout the Old Testament we’ve listened intently for the word of the LORD: what does God think about what’s going on?   This is important because the LORD is the primary character of this Bible; He is the subject.  At times He’s spoken directly; at others, He’s communicated through prophets; at still others He delivers signs that confirm His power and expectations.  In today’s first episode, we get all three. 

Jesus leads Peter, James and John up a high mountain.  On that mountain, Jesus’ face shone like the sun, and His clothes became white as light…Moses and Elijah appeared, talking with Him.  There was a bright cloud, and for the second time in this Gospel, there was a voice: “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.” 

The signs, the prophets, the voice of God…all at once focused on Jesus.  Any questions about whether Jesus’ truly fulfills the Law and the Prophets, for Matthew, are settled.  The disciples’ terror is matched by Jesus’ reassuring echo of the LORD’s words to Joshua: “Rise, and have no fear.” 

The remainder of the chapter moves quickly.  Descending the mountain, Jesus finds His disciples’ miniscule faith unable to displace a demon.  This episode is sandwiched between two reminders of Jesus’ impending suffering.  And it concludes with Jesus agreeing to pay the Temple tax – but not because He has to. 

Chapter 18 is driven by two questions: “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?”… and, “Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him?”  Notice that the bridge between these two discussions is teaching about how a disciple should handle it “If your brother sins against you…”  While we often hear this passage as isolated instruction for confronting sin, it’s important to see that it’s within a context: between humbling oneself like a child, and forgiving your brother from your heart. 

Our verse for this week is Psalm 19:4: Their voice goes out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world.

Matthew 17 and 18.  Now let’s read it!

Each of these chapters opens with religious leaders coming to test Jesus, and since they’re becoming more prominent in Matthew’s Gospel, it might be helpful to review what these groups were about. 

The Sadducees were centered in Jerusalem and were predominantly upper-class.  They accepted only the Torah – the five books of Moses – as authoritative, and pretty much governed life and worship in Jerusalem.  Pharisees, on the other hand, were found throughout Judea and Galilee and trusted the authority of the prophets, historical writings, and oral tradition, in addition to Moses.  Sadducees were generally unpopular, while Pharisees were held in high esteem.  The Sadducees were compliant with Roman occupation and accepting of the influence of Greek thought; the Pharisees wanted no parts of either.  

The scribes were not a formal group at all, but as the official copyists of scripture and recorders of legal proceedings, they were acknowledged as experts in the law.  They were often found among the priesthood and many of them may have been Levitical.  At a time when most people were illiterate, the Scribes were well-regarded and wielded considerable influence.   

These groups found common ground in the problem of Jesus.  He was challenging their monopoly on interpretation and teaching, and His hold over the crowds incited jealousy.  Today Jesus calls the Pharisees “blind guides” who “break the commandment of God for the sake of [their] tradition.”  He later warns the disciples to “Watch and beware of the leaven…the teaching… of the Pharisees and the Sadducees.”

For all this and more, Jesus has compassion on the crowds.  Today He heals their sick and feeds them, in and around Galilee.  He gives His disciples a lesson on the faith that leads to perception.  And in the middle of chapter 16, He calls them to commit: “…Who do you say that I am?”  Peter answers, and is given a promise. 

And from that moment Matthew noticed a change.  “From that time Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised.”  Furthermore, His suffering will be shared, for “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me….” 

Our verse for this week is Psalm 19:4: Their voice goes out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world.

Matthew 15 and 16.  Now let’s read it!