Matthew 19-21

Okay, this should be a piece of cake. We're in the Gospels, so nothing too controversial; let's go through a few parables, see a few miracles, and oh hey look I drew Jesus teaching on divorce and money.

[sad trombone]

Well, let's see how many people I can offend, shall we?

Divorce (19:1-12)

Jesus is completely clear here; indeed, he draws a parallel back to the very first wedding, although he manages to restrain himself from saying, "I ought to know, I was there for that one." The teaching here was counter to the Jewish culture of the time, evidenced by the response of the Pharisees and the disciples. It was certainly counter to the broader culture of the time. It's still countercultural today. It's counter to our culture because of what it implies: If marriage is ordained by God and should not be separated unless one of the parties completely abandons its structure ("except for sexual immorality"), it implies that the point of the marriage is the fulfillment of the covenant made before and by God, and not the fulfillment of the people involved. This will always be countercultural because, outside of grace, we will always be sinful and self-centered, and will not be able to understand how anything in the world can be intended for any goal besides our personal fulfillment. Marriage, fortunately, is bigger than all that; it gives us the clearest picture we get on earth of both the relationships in the Trinity and the relation of Christ to the church. And from what I hear it's quite enjoyable as well; it's just that the enjoyment isn't the main goal. It's like a pie*: it may be fun to throw, but it's intended to taste good, and throwing it is missing the point of the pie.

*I am a terrible writer and thus use food metaphors liberally.

Money (19:16-30)

I believe the standard interpretation of this passage is that wealth was an idol for the rich young man, and that we should not let our (ridiculous by the standards of history and the world) wealth become an idol to us. The thing, of course, is that if we do somehow manage to keep ourselves from making wealth an idol, we know that we will simply replace it with power or looks or knowledge or what level we have attained in World of Warcraft. 19:25-26 is our reassurance: only through grace can our hearts stop being idol factories (as John Calvin says) and be inclined instead toward God.

James and John's Mother (20:20-28)

For those who have never heard Trike's conclusion regarding this passage, I reproduce it here: Jesus nicknamed James and John "Sons of Thunder" … we see now how they got that way: Mama Thunder.

Jesus Curses the Fig Tree (21:18-22)

My study bible says that the fig tree is a metaphor for those who are inwardly dead and thus bear no fruit, which is a relief, as otherwise what we have here is the second person of the Trinity yelling at a tree.

You may feel free to begin throwing rocks now.