Jesus leaves the general area of His hometown to set out for Jerusalem to be killed, a critical part of the mission. Even still, He heals pretty much everyone on the way. If you were setting sail for your execution, I wonder if you’d not only maintain your composure but remain committed to the welfare of those over yourself. And right on time these ABSOLUTE [redacted] Pharisees approach Him to keep giving out to Him. Unreal.

They ask about divorce, specifying for “any cause”. Recall that John the Baptist got executed for having strong opinions about this subject and not too far from here. It had been a lasting social and religious subject for some time and with extremely powerful people having skin in this game, it could be a dangerous discussion to land on the wrong side of. So naturally, the Pharisees wanted Jesus to pick. Jesus deploys His go-to response, which is to step over their trap completely and instead refer to scripture. He refers to the creation of man and woman and the intent for them to become one flesh. It’s under God that the man and woman are joined; marriage is not a human invention and it’s not for humans to divide what God has united. The Pharisees push back, asking about the case of Moses allowing people to divorce (Deuteronomy). Jesus answers that Moses permitted it because the hardness of their hearts but limited how it worked to minimize the harm it did, but this was not the desire for humanity. Jesus says that a man who divorces except in cases of sexual morality has committed adultery. The moment you marry or have sex with a woman following this divorce, you’re an adulterer because God does not consider your marriage ended. The disciples suggest, as many people in this absurd modern era also do, that it would be better then to remain single than to risk a horrible marriage you can’t flee from.

Jesus discusses singleness, beginning by saying this message isn’t for everyone. Eunuchs. There’s eunuchs born as such, castrated by others, and lastly by themselves.

“By birth” includes people with a physical deformity, naturally lacking a sex drive, or have sexual desires incompatible with marriage.

“By men” is referring to how kings back in the day would castrate men so they could be trusted to not have sex with the royal women.

“By self” is for the kingdom. So this is more a deliberate effort to deny yourself and commit to Christ, not a literal castration. He is not saying you should necessarily do this, just that if you have the disposition to, definitely go for it.

Not everyone is called to be a celibate priest. If you are called to be a celibate priest, you should go be one. Or whatever the protestant vocation would be because I can’t think of one.

Children come up to see Jesus but the disciples rebuke the parents. Maybe they were in a hurry, maybe there was another reason, but in their eyes, Jesus had more important things to attend to. Jesus makes time though, and insists the children come to Him and not be hindered. Jesus had previously told them to embrace a childlike dependence on Him and I think He wanted them to see how they should approach Him.

Another guy approaches, asking how to get to heaven. Which good deed is the right one? Jesus asks why ask Him about what is good? What makes Him the authority on what is good? There’s only one who is good and that’s God, is the man calling Him God? In any case, follow the commandments. The rich man asks which ones and Jesus tells him a few of them. Reading online suggests that the guy wanted to know if He meant the 10 commandments or all the extra items the Pharisees added, thus Jesus stuck to the ones in Scripture. The young man says “Oh good, I do all that, what else?” For this man at this point in time, if he wants to be perfect, go sell all his stuff (he had loads), give the money to the poor, and tag along with Jesus. Note: this is not a command to the public. You do not need to sell all your things to walk with Jesus because He was speaking literally in this case to THIS guy. Charity is good, poverty isn’t asked of everyone. The rich kid walks off because he couldn’t do this. So maybe you weren’t all that serious about your dedication after all. God told you what you needed to do when you asked and it was too much. Jesus explains to the disciples that a rich person will have a harder time getting into heaven than the poor. This is because the rich are comfortable and confident in their own abilities, generally. Poor people know they need help, they’re willing to rely on someone. Selling the idea to someone who thinks they’re on top of the world is harder.

Lets take the smallest little detour here. If it’s so hard for someone who is rich to get to heaven–to SEE God–then how could you POSSIBLY conclude that the reason that Person A is rich and Person B is poor is because God likes Person A more? Certainly we can find ourselves impoverished due to our decisions and sin, but we should not treat poverty as a punishment from God.

The disciples ask how CAN you be saved? Jesus doesn’t say that “oh well you just need to be poor and humble. Like REALLY humble”. He said you CAN’T be saved. It is not possible for a human to “achieve” salvation. It can’t be earned. But with God, all things are possible. That is the sole hope. Peter being Peter shoots from the hip again and misses the point. See, he and the other apostles DID part from their stuff and follow Him the moment they were asked to, so did they meet the challenge? Jesus tells them that not only will they have treasure in heaven, they will sit upon thrones to judge the tribes of Israel. And everyone else who left a life or sacrificed for Him will receive 100 times their sacrifice in eternal life. Again, not through their personal merits, but because their trust in Christ. Last first/first last is talking about those who lost the most to follow Jesus will be reward more handsomely. That’s not saying that if you eagerly followed Jesus without resistance that you are sent to discount Walmart brand heaven, it’s just that the people who were ground to dust in this life but crossed the finish line loving Jesus will be acknowledged.