Verse Discussion

Matthew 19:26

Whenever you start doubting God's faithfulness, remember this verse!

Marriage and Divorce

In Matthew 19:3-12, Jesus talks about marriage and divorce for the second time in this Gospel. The first time was back in Matthew 5:32. You’ll also find similar discussions in Luke 16:18, Mark 10:11-12, and 1 Corinthians 7:10-11.

As we talked about this, a few key points stood out. Marriage under God is meant to last forever—only death should break it. Marriage isn’t just some legal contract you can get out of with a lawyer. It’s a covenant, a sacred promise before God. That means when things get tough, God calls us to work through it, not give up. Jesus never said life would be easy, but He did promise that He has already overcome the world (John 16:33). One of our group members shared what he tells his wife during arguments: “No matter what, we made a vow before God. We have to figure this out.” There’s no quitting, no backing out. The “until death do us part” part? Yeah, God takes that seriously—and we should too.

We also got into a discussion about civil marriage versus Godly marriage. Some people wondered: If marriage is a God-ordained covenant, why do we need civil marriage? Where did it come from? Is there anything wrong with it? It was an interesting debate!

The Rich Man

When we looked at Matthew 19:16-30, two big things stood out.

First, we saw that loving money too much is a form of idolatry—and God hates idolatry (Exodus 20:3-4). Greed is never satisfied; it always wants more.

Second, we tried to understand who the rich man was. We know he had a lot of stuff (verse 22), but more importantly, his question in verse 16 reveals his heart. He wasn’t asking how to get closer to Jesus—he wanted to know the bare minimum he had to do to get eternal life. His love for his possessions had corrupted his heart so much that he couldn’t accept Jesus’ call to give it all up and follow Him. The Bible tells us that salvation is a gift from God, not something we earn by our works (Ephesians 2:8-10). The rich man struggled with this—he couldn’t let go of what he had to receive something greater.

So how do we get saved? Verse 26 gives us the answer: "With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible."

Other Discussions

Children and Fathers

This started with Matthew 19:13-15, but we ended up talking more about teaching our kids rather than the original passage itself. As fathers, we shared our worries—what if we don’t teach our kids well enough? What if they struggle later in life? What if we’ve already messed them up?

We reflected on a scene from The Chosen where young Mary Magdalene’s father teaches her Scripture. Even years later, when she was struggling and possessed by a demon, she still remembered and held onto those words. That’s what we want for our kids—to fill them with God’s wisdom so that even if they struggle, they never lose sight of the truth. Because falling with Christ is always better than falling without Him.

"The train museum is open!"

This turned into a fun metaphor for how God leads us as a good Father. One of us shared how his kids love going to the train museum. It became a picture of how God invites us forward, despite our baggage. Even when we mess up, He’s still saying, “Yes, the train museum is open! Come, let’s go. I’ll teach you the way of My Kingdom.” Just like Jesus says, "Follow me."

May we, our children, and our spouses be humble enough to follow Jesus, no matter how hard the road gets. And may our children grow up striving for holiness in their own lives.