Kingdom Values and Discipleship Cost - Matthew in Twelve Weeks
A Bible Study Covering Chapters 19-20 of the Gospel of Matthew - Leader Guide and Handout
In Matthew 19-20, Jesus continues His journey toward Jerusalem, delivering crucial teachings that challenge both His disciples and us today about the radical nature of God's Kingdom. Following His profound teachings on faith, humility, and forgiveness in chapter 18, Jesus now addresses fundamental life issues - marriage, wealth, status, and service - through the lens of Kingdom values. These chapters reveal how the Kingdom of Heaven often stands in stark contrast to worldly wisdom and human expectations. These chapters continue Matthew's emphasis on the radical nature of Jesus' message, punctuated with miracles that support His Messianic status.
Marriage and Discipleship (19:1-12)
Ask a study participant to read Matthew 19:1-12 aloud. Guide discussion toward understanding Jesus' high view of marriage while maintaining pastoral sensitivity to those affected by divorce.
Jesus' teaching on marriage and divorce occurs in response to a test from the Pharisees, who seek to trap Him in the ongoing rabbinic debates about divorce. Rather than simply addressing the legality of divorce, Jesus elevates the discussion to God's original design for marriage, pointing back to creation itself. This approach reveals how Kingdom ethics often transcend inadequate legal requirements, calling us to a higher standard rooted in God's perfect will.
Jesus' response affirms the permanence and sanctity of marriage while acknowledging the reality of humans’ hardness of heart that led to Moses' allowance for divorce. His teaching here aligns with His pattern in the Sermon on the Mount, where He consistently moves from external compliance to heart transformation. The exception clause that Matthew includes ("except for sexual immorality") has been understood differently across Christian traditions, but the core message remains clear: God's ideal for marriage reflects the permanent, faithful, life-giving relationship He desires with His people; sexual immorality is a clear breach of God’s design.
Children and the Kingdom (19:13-15)
Invite a study participant to read Matthew 19:13-15. Consider how this brief encounter illuminates Jesus' teachings about the Kingdom from chapter 18.
This touching scene, where Jesus welcomes children despite His disciples' objections, reinforces His earlier teaching about how childlike faith is essential for those entering the Kingdom. It serves as a bridge between His teachings on marriage and the following encounter with the rich young man, emphasizing that Kingdom citizenship depends not on status, achievement, or self-sufficiency but on humble receptiveness to God's grace.
Jesus inverts even the most basic of worldly social structures in His treatment and valuing of children. While kingdoms of man belong to the most rich and powerful people, the kingdom of heaven belongs to the least rich and powerful. The way of the world is to value individuals according to their social standing, whereas it is the way of the kingdom of heaven to value individuals by their faithfulness. The placement of this passage prior to that of the story of the rich young ruler emphasizes this point.
Wealth and the Kingdom (19:16-30)
Ask participants to read Matthew 19:16-26 and 27-30. Focus the discussion on the relationships between eternal life, obedience, and complete surrender to Christ, reflecting on how the teaching of Jesus relates back to His teaching on faith.
The rich young man's encounter with Jesus provides one of the Gospel's most striking illustrations of the cost of discipleship. Though morally upright and sincere in his quest for eternal life, he faces Jesus' penetrating challenge to surrender his wealth; this reveals that his true allegiance lies with his possessions rather than with God. Jesus uses this moment to teach about the impossibility of self-achieved salvation ("With man this is impossible") while offering hope in God's gracious power ("but with God all things are possible").
While some have interpreted this passage as a moment of harshness in Jesus’ ministry, it is clear that Jesus is very sincere in teaching both the young man and all those listening about the nature of the kingdom of heaven and of salvation. Indeed, there is nothing more important than to rightly understand these radical teachings, and that is just how Jesus treats these topics. Just as the kingdom of heaven transcends social structures, human expectations, and legal systems, so too access to it is granted only by the transcendent and miraculous work of God. The rich young man represents many people throughout the history of the world who thought that a right standing before God can be achieved through human works.
The Parable of the Workers (20:1-16)
Invite a study participant to read Matthew 20:1-16. Guide discussion toward understanding how this parable challenges our human notions of fairness and merit.
This parable powerfully illustrates the nature of God's grace in His Kingdom and how it clearly subverts human expectations of justice. The landowner's seemingly unfair generosity to the tardy workers upends conventional notions of merit and reward, further explaining Jesus’ teaching to the rich young man in the previous passage. The story serves as both encouragement to those who might feel unworthy and a warning to those who, like the first workers, might presume upon God's grace or resent His generosity to others, believing that they have earned salvation by their own works.
The critical final verse, “So the last shall be first, and the first, last,” rounds off this section of Jesus’ teaching in a fitting way; it presents a clear paradox, or seeming contradiction. While the verse has a literal meaning in the context of the parable, it also serves to summarize this section of Jesus’ teaching. Just as Jesus’ teaching of salvation subverts human expectations, so too the lowly, “last” — the children, the weak, and sinners — shall be first in the kingdom of heaven, whereas those who are most powerful and mighty in the ways of the world — rulers, the wealthy, and the most able workers — will struggle the most with accepting Jesus’ teaching.
Service and Sacrifice (20:17-34)
Ask participants to read Matthew 20:17-28 followed by 20:29-34. Note how Jesus' third passion prediction frames His teaching on greatness in the kingdom of heaven, contrasting with even His own disciple’s understanding.
As Jesus approaches Jerusalem, He again predicts His coming death and resurrection, this time providing more detail about the manner of His execution. This solemn announcement is immediately followed by James and John's mother's request for her sons’ prominence — a stark contrast that highlights how even Jesus' closest followers struggled to grasp the true nature of His Kingdom. Jesus uses this moment to teach that true greatness in His Kingdom comes through sacrificial service, pointing to His own example of giving His life as a ransom for many.
The healing of two blind men serves as a fitting conclusion to this section, demonstrating both Jesus' messianic power and His compassionate service to those in need. Their cry of "Lord, Son of David" and subsequent healing anticipates the recognition Jesus will receive upon entering Jerusalem.
Conversation Starters
How do Jesus' teachings on marriage and divorce challenge both our culture's casual attitude toward marriage and legalistic approaches to divorce?
What does Jesus’ treatment of children tell us about how we should treat children?
In what ways might wealth or status create spiritual blindness in our lives, similar to the rich young man's situation?
How does the parable of the workers challenge our sense of fairness and justice? What does it reveal about the nature of God's grace?
What strikes you about the timing of Jesus' third passion prediction? How does it illuminate His teachings about service and sacrifice?
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