Verses 1-3
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Large crowds followed Jesus to hear Him and be healed by Him (Luke 6:18).
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But the Pharisees followed Him around just to test and question Him, and so they received nothing from Him (Luke 5:17).
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Understand that you won't learn from Christ and be benefitted by His Word if you're always doubting or testing His Word. Just trust!
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Verses 3-9
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God never intended for divorces to happen. Marriage is about two becoming one, so that separation would never happen (since you cannot separate one thing).
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Therefore, divorce is adultery, and marrying someone who is divorced is adultery.
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For believers:
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You can only divorce, and it not be sin for you, if your spouse cheated on you.
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And you can only marry someone who is divorced if the person you're marrying was cheated on.
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For more information, see teaching for 1 Corinthians 7.
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Verses 10-12
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If a person is able to accept lifelong celibacy, it is better than being married, because one is able to serve Christ without the risk of a spouse becoming a distraction (1 Corinthians 7:32-38).
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People who can accept this typically have little desire to marry. If you have little or no desire to marry, then don't get married.
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If you desire to marry, get married. Just be careful to find a godly spouse and be committed for life!
Verses 13-15
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It is important to pray for children. Do this, and don't neglect it.
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People in God's kingdom have a child's faith, so honoring children is honoring the kingdom.
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Verses 16-22
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In His words, Jesus first revealed that this young ruler referred to Him as “Good Teacher” because he thought that something in Jesus' teaching would allow him to ignore the commandments—the true standard of good from God. Jesus turned the young man's attention back to the commandments.
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Never go to any person looking for advice that will let you ignore what you already know is true in the Word. A wise counselor will point you back to the Word; and if you are wise, you will look to the Word!
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The man had probably done well to keep God's commandments to treat others well, but he failed to keep the one, most important commandment, which is to love God first and have no other gods before Him.
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For this young man, his money was his god.
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No matter how much of a good person you think you are, anything that's more important to you than God will prevent relationship with God.
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When you idolize something, sacrificing it is the only way to put God first.
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If the thought of losing money saddens you, it's an idol. Give money away to others, who will use it well, to help free you from this form of idolatry.
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Verses 23-26
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It is difficult for rich people to want to be saved because they think their money gives them everything they need (Revelation 3:17).
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But God can still save wealthy people.
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A great reminder here, that all things are possible with God. So long as it does not contradict the Word, don't count anything as impossible.
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Teach wealthy people to accept the task of giving their money away. This will prove their faith and keep them from serving money (1 Timothy 6:17-18).
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Verses 27-30
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Following Christ well and sacrificing wealth, to benefit others for the gospel, we will be honored in the kingdom of heaven.
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Understand that sacrificing something, for Christ, or giving something away to help someone else know Christ, is not a loss, but an investment into the kingdom for eternal wealth (Proverbs 19:17, Matthew 6:19-21). See it this way!
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