Although the temptation for this passage of scripture is to discuss the subject of divorce, remarriage, and singleness, I am choosing to go a different direction. I am not minimizing the subject at hand, but I think Jesus may be trying to teach another lesson to His disciples. However, just to get the picture, let’s begin with a little background to set up Jesus’ teaching. Welcome back the Pharisees who seem to follow Jesus’ every move. They come to Jesus and ask if it is okay to divorce for any reason. There were different opinions on the issue of divorce in that day – some thought divorce was permitted in any instance and others thought divorce was permissible only when sexual immortality had been committed. I believe Jesus is very clear that divorce is permissible only when sexual immorality has taken place (19:8-9). The disciples get involved and conclude that it may be better to stay single (19:10). Jesus responds by saying that singleness is up to the person…it is a personal choice. As the disciples were discussing this issue with Jesus, parents begin bringing their children to be blessed of Jesus. It was tradition for Jewish parents to seek out a rabbi to pray a blessing over their children. You would assume that the disciples would welcome these parents, but apparently they thought their conversation of “deeper matters of the faith” were more important than people. Don’t get me wrong – Jesus stood up for the truth in the matter of divorce and remarriage; however, He felt people were more important than sitting around and discussing doctrine. Jesus immediately rebukes the disciples (19:13) and commands that the little children be brought to Him. There is a huge lesson to be learned here…discussing doctrine has its’ place, but never at the expense of people.
Dear God, open my eyes to see the needs of people.
