Audio Download

Matthew 19:1–30 The Rich Young Man

[Study Aired September 1, 2025]

Today’s study is focused on the Lord’s teaching about divorce. The study also takes a look at Jesus blessing the little children. Finally, the study involves the rich young man who came to Jesus to find out about how he could obtain eternal life.

Teaching About Divorce

Mat 19:1  And it came to pass, that when Jesus had finished these sayings, he departed from Galilee, and came into the coasts of Judaea beyond Jordan; 
Mat 19:2  And great multitudes followed him; and he healed them there. 

It was when Jesus came into the coasts of Judea that he encountered the multitudes. As shown in previous studies, the great multitudes represent our brothers and sisters in the church system of this world or Babylon. We were part of this multitude at a certain stage of our walk with Christ until He came to us with the spirit of His mouth and His brightness to drag us out. Since the sea represents the flesh of humanity, the fact that Jesus met the multitude at the coast means that the church system of this world or Babylon, is under the influence of the flesh. As we are aware, the works of the flesh include jealousy, divisions, strife, etc.

1Co 3:3  for you are still of the flesh. For while there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not of the flesh and behaving only in a human way? 
1Co 3:4  For when one says, “I follow Paul,” and another, “I follow Apollos,” are you not being merely human? (ESV)

Mat 19:3  The Pharisees also came unto him, tempting him, and saying unto him, Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife for every cause? 

The Pharisees signify the church system of this world. The Pharisees coming to Jesus, was to tempt Him with the view of exposing Him as a false prophet or messenger.  As Jesus is, so are we in this life. On most occasions, our brothers and sisters who come to us are not seeking the truth, but trying to expose us as false messengers. 

To answer the question posed by the Pharisees, we need to look at the issue of divorce from the Old Testament.

Deu 24:1  When a man hath taken a wife, and married her, and it come to pass that she find no favour in his eyes, because he hath found some uncleanness in her: then let him write her a bill of divorcement, and give it in her hand, and send her out of his house. 
Deu 24:2  And when she is departed out of his house, she may go and be another man’s wife. 
Deu 24:3  And if the latter husband hate her, and write her a bill of divorcement, and giveth it in her hand, and sendeth her out of his house; or if the latter husband die, which took her to be his wife; 
Deu 24:4  Her former husband, which sent her away, may not take her again to be his wife, after that she is defiled; for that is abomination before the LORD: and thou shalt not cause the land to sin, which the LORD thy God giveth thee for an inheritance. 

We can see from these verses that divorce was permitted in the Old Covenant when the husband finds uncleanness in her wife. According to Strong’s Dictionary, the word “uncleanness” means nudity, nakedness or shame. The uncleanness therefore has nothing to do with sexual sins since from the law of Moses, such sins shall result in death by stoning.

Deu 22:22  If a man be found lying with a woman married to an husband, then they shall both of them die, both the man that lay with the woman, and the woman: so shalt thou put away evil from Israel. 

Jesus’ response to this question of divorce posed by the Pharisees is as follows:

Mat 19:4  And he answered and said unto them, Have ye not read, that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female,
Mat 19:5  And said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh? 
Mat 19:6  Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder. 

These verses give us insight into knowing the mind of Christ regarding the institution of marriage. The two must be of one flesh. Being of one flesh means being of one body and being of one body, spiritually means having the same mind and the same judgment. This implies that in a marriage union, we are required to have one mind. This does not mean that we may not differ in opinions. We may hold different opinions about an issue but in the final analysis, we must come to a consensus. When we are of one mind, it’s almost impossible for the marriage union to be put asunder by the enemy. 

1Co 6:16  What? know ye not that he which is joined to an harlot is one body? for two, saith he, shall be one flesh. 

1Co 12:13  For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit. 

1Co 1:10  Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment. 

Joh 10:30  I and my Father are one. 

In another perspective, the man who left His father and mother in verse 5 represents our Lord Jesus Christ, who left the Father, who’s also a mother to the whole of creation, and came to the earth to find His wife, who is the church of His elect, and cleave to her. This union with Christ is characterized by us having the same mind of Christ, that is, one body. 

Mat 19:7  They say unto him, Why did Moses then command to give a writing of divorcement, and to put her away? 
Mat 19:8  He saith unto them, Moses because of the hardness of your hearts suffered you to put away your wives: but from the beginning it was not so. 
Mat 19:9  And I say unto you, Whosoever shall put away his wife, except it be for fornication, and shall marry another, committeth adultery: and whoso marrieth her which is put away doth commit adultery.

As we are aware, nakedness denotes sin, and it does not refer to any particular sin. That is why in the Book of Revelation, the church in Laodicea was reprimanded to cover her nakedness so that her shame does not appear.

Rev 3:17  Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked: 
Rev 3:18  I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see.

What this means is that when a man finds a fault (sin) with a woman, he can go for divorce, but it must be accompanied by a bill of divorcement. That was what the law of Moses required. However, most men were not compliant with the Law as they just put away (apaluo – put away) the woman without the necessary letter of divorce, and therefore the woman is technically still married to the man, and if the woman or the man marries, he or she has committed adultery. If the woman has the letter of divorce, then she is free to marry and does not commit adultery in her remarriage.

From this, we can see the error created by the translators of the Bible in Matthew 5:32 and also here in Matthew 19:9, where the Greek word “apostasion” (G645), which means divorce (with a letter of divorce), is absent. The “put away” here in verse 32 is the Greek word “apaluo” (G630) which means getting rid of a wife without the necessary documentation. Verse 32 therefore seems to suggest that even if a proper letter of divorce is issued to the woman, the remarrying of the man or woman is adultery. That is not the case here since the word “apoluo” was used. What Jesus is trying to say is that if we put away a woman without the necessary divorce letter, we commit adultery when the man or the woman remarries. However, the Lord again, raised the bar to a spiritual law (the law of the spirit of life) by saying that except fornication, all other reasons for divorce are not valid for divorce. We therefore need to understand what “fornication” means spiritually, in order to understand what the Lord is saying. 

Before we come to understand what “fornication” means spiritually, we need to understand that physical adultery or fornication does not negate the fact that they can serve as basis for divorce. However, looking at the Lord Jesus Christ, we can see how He has forgiven us several times during a time of our walk when we were serving another Jesus even though we claimed to be the bride of Christ.

2Co 11:4  For if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or if ye receive another spirit, which ye have not received, or another gospel, which ye have not accepted, ye might well bear with him. 

Spiritually, fornication represents our unfaithfulness to the Lord and to our spouse. Based on this, several sins can be classified as “fornication” spiritually. These include abusing our spouse, children, bankrupting the family, etc. Persistent physical, emotional and mental abuse all serve as grounds for fornication, and therefore, occasion for divorce.  The article which has helped in our understanding of these is in the essential reading of the www.iswasandwillbe website. It was written by Mike Vinson with the title “The Law of Moses Versus the Law of the Spirit.”    

In verse 8, the Lord is giving us a reason why we were not able to keep our union with Christ – it is because of the hardness of our hearts. The hardness of our hearts means that we did not believe His words propagated by His messengers. 

Mar 16:14  Afterward he appeared unto the eleven as they sat at meat, and upbraided them with their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they believed not them which had seen him after he was risen.

Unbelief therefore robs us of our union with Christ. That is why the Lord had to come to us with the spirit of His mouth and His brightness to judge us in this age so that our hearts will be softened to receive His words.  

Rom 2:5  But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God;

Mat 19:10  His disciples say unto him, If the case of the man be so with his wife, it is not good to marry. 

What the disciples were saying spiritually is that if our marriage union with Jesus requires us to have the mind of Christ, then from our end, it is impossible to establish this union with Christ. It is right for us to know that of ourselves we can do nothing when it comes to our relationship with Christ. However, we know that with God, all things are possible. 

Mat 19:25  When his disciples heard it, they were exceedingly amazed, saying, Who then can be saved?
Mat 19:26 But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.

Mat 19:11  But he said unto them, All men cannot receive this saying, save they to whom it is given. 
Mat 19:12  For there are some eunuchs, which were so born from their mother’s womb: and there are some eunuchs, which were made eunuchs of men: and there be eunuchs, which have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven’s sake. He that is able to receive it, let him receive it. 

In verse 11, we are told that all men cannot receive the fact that it is not good to marry. That is to say that the flesh is not given to know that on its own, it cannot enter into this marriage union with Christ, and therefore marriage is not good for the flesh. It is only the Lord’s elect who are given to know that of ourselves, we cannot enter into this marriage union with Christ. 

To understand what is said in verse 12, we need to establish what a eunuch signifies spiritually. Eunuchs from the Bible are men in some sort of service to a ruler or a king. These are either castrated or chosen to voluntarily abstain from marriage. Based on this, we can say that spiritually, eunuchs represent our lives in Babylon where we were in the king’s service but we could not be part of the marriage union with Christ. 

2Ki 20:18  And of thy sons that shall issue from thee, which thou shalt beget, shall they take away; and they shall be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.

Jer 38:7  Now when Ebedmelech the Ethiopian, one of the eunuchs which was in the king’s house, heard that they had put Jeremiah in the dungeon; the king then sitting in the gate of Benjamin;

The various categories of eunuchs mentioned in verse 12 is to let us know what the Lord is doing in this age. There are some who are born eunuchs. They represent those who are blinded by the Lord and therefore are not given to know Him in this age and therefore will not partake of this marriage union with Christ. The eunuchs which are made by men signify those who desire this marriage union with Christ. However, they are not able to enter into this marriage union because of the doctrines of men. 

Col 2:20  Wherefore if ye be dead with Christ from the rudiments of the world, why, as though living in the world, are ye subject to ordinances, 
Col 2:21  (Touch not; taste not; handle not; 
Col 2:22  Which all are to perish with the using;) after the commandments and doctrines of men? 
Col 2:23 Which things have indeed a shew of wisdom in will worship, and humility, and neglecting of the body; not in any honour to the satisfying of the flesh.

Those who have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven’s sake represent those who think that it is by their own strength that they can know the Lord or enter into this marriage union with Christ.   

1Sa 2:9  He will keep the feet of his saints, and the wicked shall be silent in darkness; for by strength shall no man prevail. 

The statement “He that is able to receive it, let Him receive it” is to let us know that it is we, His elect, who are given to understand this mystery about eunuchs which relates to Christ’s marriage to us. 

Let the Children Come to Me

Mat 19:13  Then were there brought unto him little children, that he should put his hands on them, and pray: and the disciples rebuked them. 
Mat 19:14  But Jesus said, Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven.
Mat 19:15  And he laid his hands on them, and departed thence.

The little children brought to Jesus represent the Lord’s elect. A key characteristic of children is their humility.

Mat 18:3  And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. 
Mat 18:4 Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven. 

If we are to enter the kingdom of heaven, then we must be converted and humble ourselves as little children in our walk with Christ. When we come to appreciate how the Lord has taken us out of the miry clay as the greatest sinners and has established us on the rock, which is Christ, our response is to humble ourselves before Him as He drags us to Himself.

Job 22:29  When men are cast down, then thou shalt say, There is lifting up; and he shall save the humble person.

Psa 10:17  LORD, thou hast heard the desire of the humble: thou wilt prepare their heart, thou wilt cause thine ear to hear:

In verse 13, the disciples rebuking those who brought the children to Jesus implies that the disciples were not converted and therefore were not able to identify who is the Lord’s elect. Jesus laying His hands on the children signifies empowering us, His elect to become His children.

Act 8:19  Saying, Give me also this power, that on whomsoever I lay hands, he may receive the Holy Ghost.

The Rich Young Man

Mat 19:16  And, behold, one came and said unto him, Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life? 
Mat 19:17  And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments. 
Mat 19:18  He saith unto him, Which? Jesus said, Thou shalt do no murder, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, 
Mat 19:19 Honour thy father and thy mother: and, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. 
Mat 19:20 The young man saith unto him, All these things have I kept from my youth up: what lack I yet? 

Jesus telling the rich man that He is not good when the rich young ruler called Jesus good is to let us know that as long as He was weighed down by His flesh while He was here on earth, He was not yet perfected, hence His insistence that it was only God who is good. It is in resurrection that Jesus was perfected. As He is, so are we. We shall also be perfected on the third day when the dead in Christ shall arise after we have gone through the process of spiritual maturity through the Lord’s judgment of our old man or flesh. 

Luk 13:32  And he said unto them, Go ye, and tell that fox, Behold, I cast out devils, and I do cures today and tomorrow, and the third day I shall be perfected.

1Th 4:16  For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: 
1Th 4:17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.  

This rich young ruler thought that it is the good things that we do that earn us eternal life. Because he came from a wrong basis, Jesus wanted to help him realize that it is not about what we can do, but it is about what He makes of us that counts. That is to say that our goodness is the work of Christ and not by ourselves. The process of salvation starts with us knowing our sins. Jesus therefore started from the law of Moses which makes us aware of sin. Verses 18 and 19 are all part of the ten commandments of the law of Moses that Jesus quoted.

Rom 7:7  What shall we say then? Is the law sin? God forbid. Nay, I had not known sin, but by the law: for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet. 

The man’s response to Jesus that He had kept the law from his youth implies that this rich young man was establishing his own righteousness of the law. A key problem with the righteousness of the law is that we become self-righteous, which is iniquity before the Lord. 

Eze 33:13  When I shall say to the righteous, that he shall surely live; if he trust to his own righteousness, and commit iniquity, all his righteousnesses shall not be remembered; but for his iniquity that he hath committed, he shall die for it. 

As a result, this rich young man had not submitted to the righteousness of God which comes through faith.  

Rom 10:2  For I bear them record that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge.
Rom 10:3  For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God. 
Rom 10:4 For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone that believeth. 

A key characteristic of our walk in the churches of this world was our self-righteousness which was iniquity before the Lord. Most of our brothers and sisters in the churches of this world believe in their self-righteousness which is a hindrance to Christ’s coming into their lives. In trying to expose this self-righteousness of the rich young man, the Lord asked him to go sell all that he had and give it to the poor and come and follow Him. 

Mat 19:21  Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me. 
Mat 19:22 But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions. 

What Jesus was telling this rich young man is that we must let go our perceived spiritual riches or self-righteousness, before we can enter the kingdom of Heaven. In other words, we must come to the place where we realize our spiritual poverty, before the Lord comes in to make us spiritually rich. The young man going away sorrowful was because he had great possessions, which means that this man considered himself spiritually rich, and until he comes to realize his spiritual poverty, he could not inherit the kingdom of Heaven. 

Rev 3:17  Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked: 
Rev 3:18 I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see. 

Mat 5:3  Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

The next two verses affirm the point being made that it is impossible for those who think they are spiritually rich to enter the kingdom of heaven.   

Mat 19:23  Then said Jesus unto his disciples, Verily I say unto you, That a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven.
Mat 19:24  And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God. 
Mat 19:25  When his disciples heard it, they were exceedingly amazed, saying, Who then can be saved? 
Mat 19:26 But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible. 

The rich man here in verse 23 is not referring to those who are physically rich. It is talking about those who think that they are spiritually all right as we just saw in the example of the rich young man. Jesus saying that it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God is showing us that it is impossible for those who think they are rich spiritually, to enter the kingdom of God. 

The disciples’ reaction to what Jesus said in verse 24 shows us that if the Lord does not intervene in our circumstance, we cannot be saved. Jesus’ response to the disciples shows us that salvation is the work of the Lord from the beginning to the very end. It is the Lord who makes salvation possible. 

Eph 2:8  For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 
Eph 2:9  Not of works, lest any man should boast. 
Eph 2:10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them. 

Mat 19:27  Then answered Peter and said unto him, Behold, we have forsaken all, and followed thee; what shall we have therefore?
Mat 19:28  And Jesus said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That ye which have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. 

Here in verse 27, Peter was asking the Lord the reward awaiting them for forsaking all to follow Him. In verses 28 and 29, Jesus told the disciples the reward awaiting them. As the commander in chief, Jesus wanted us to know the prize ahead of us so that we might fight the good fight. Just as Jesus was motivated by the reward set before Him, we are also stimulated by the reward ahead of us. 

Heb 12:2  Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.  

We are informed by the Lord in verse 28 that we shall sit on thrones in the fullness of time. Sitting on thrones means we shall be kings to rule the earth when the kingdoms of this world becomes the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ. 

Rev 11:15  And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever. 

In verse 28, we are also told that we shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. The twelve tribes of Israel here represent our brothers and sisters in the churches of this world, and therefore we shall be given the privilege to judge them. The sum of the Lord’s words show us that we shall judge all humanity from Adam to date. 

Rev 20:4  And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. 

Apart from being judges and given the rulership of this world, we are told in verse 29 that we shall inherit everlasting life. Having everlasting life means that we shall not be condemned with the rest of the world and that we have passed from death to life.

Joh 5:24  Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.

Mat 19:29  And every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name’s sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life. 

In verse 29, we are also told that whatever we lose here on earth, for the Lord’s sake, we shall gain it. What we are to lose for Christ’s sake has been itemized in verse 29. Let’s go through what we are to forsake and what our gains will be. 

The first item we are to forsake is houses. In the Bible, houses represent family. Therefore we are talking here about our brothers and sisters that we fellowship with when we were in the churches of this world or Babylon. Here the Lord is saying that He will give us the family of His elect as we leave our family in Babylon.

Gen 42:19  If ye be true men, let one of your brethren be bound in the house of your prison: go ye, carry corn for the famine of your houses:

Exo 6:14 These be the heads of their fathers’ houses: The sons of Reuben the firstborn of Israel; Hanoch, and Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi: these be the families of Reuben.

The next two items we are to forsake are brethren and sisters. Both brethren and sisters signify the same thing, that is, our brothers and sisters in Babylon. We are to forsake the assembly of our brothers and sisters in Babylon, and the Lord will surely reward us with the assembly of His elect. 

Job 42:11  Then came there unto him all his brethren, and all his sisters, and all they that had been of his acquaintance before, and did eat bread with him in his house: and they bemoaned him, and comforted him over all the evil that the LORD had brought upon him: every man also gave him a piece of money, and everyone an earring of gold.

Rev 18:4  And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.   

The next item is father. We must forsake our father, the devil, so that Christ becomes our father. 

Joh 8:44  Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it. 

Isa 9:6  For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. 

We are also to forsake our mother or wife. Our mother or wife here symbolizes the church system of this world or Babylon who is a harlot and we must forsake in favor of the church of the firstborn. 

Rev 17:5  And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH. 

Amo 7:17  Therefore thus saith the LORD; Thy wife shall be an harlot in the city, and thy sons and thy daughters shall fall by the sword, and thy land shall be divided by line; and thou shalt die in a polluted land: and Israel shall surely go into captivity forth of his land. 

Children are the works of our hands. We have to forsake the works of our hands when we were in the churches of this world in favor of what the Lord will do with us in the fullness of time, when we shall have more children than they who think they have a husband. 

Isa 29:23  But when he seeth his children, the work of mine hands, in the midst of him, they shall sanctify my name, and sanctify the Holy One of Jacob, and shall fear the God of Israel. 

Gal 4:27  For it is written, Rejoice, thou barren that bearest not; break forth and cry, thou that travailest not: for the desolate hath many more children than she which hath an husband. 

The last item to be forsaken is land. This refers to our body or our flesh with all of its desires. As we die daily, we are forsaking our land or flesh in favor of being clothed with immortality. 

1Co 15:52  In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. 
1Co 15:53 For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. 

Mat 19:30 But many that are first shall be last; and the last shall be first. 

Many who are first signify our brothers and sisters who think they have the prerogative to be the Lord’s sons since they think they were first to be “born again.” They forget that being born again is a process. The many also include all the Lord’s messengers in the Old Testament.  However, we, His elect, are the last to become first. This means that it is we, His elect, who are going to be in the first resurrection. Verse 30 is illustrated by the parable of the laborers in the Lord’s vineyard. That will be our next study when we take a look at Matthew chapter 20.

May the Lord help us to forsake all for His name sake. Amen!!