In 1 Corinthians 10, Paul starts by “reminding” the people from Israel’s history the great detriment of sexual immorality. I put “reminding” in quotes, because the Corinthian believers were mainly from a pagan background. Paul was incorporating Jewish history into their collective memories and pointing out that as in the past when God’s people had turned to sexual immorality and it ended badly, so would it in the present day. He concluded this discussion with a reminder God always provides a way out for us when we are tempted. Next, Paul moved on to comment on the importance of not indulging in idolatry. He related his comments to the importance of maintaining the purity of the Lord’s Supper, and to being certain we don’t combine it with elements of idolatrous or demonic worship. Finally, Paul reminded us that our freedoms in Jesus ought never be used to cause another believer to stumble. Paul reminded us consistently to think of the response of our brothers and sisters to our actions. Not that we ought to base our actions on what they think, but our actions ought not lead them away from Jesus.
As 1 Corinthians 11 begins, Paul offers a conclusion to his words in chapter 10: Follow my example as I follow the example of Christ. What a powerful truth. When we watch other Jesus followers, it is crucial for us to examine whether they are, indeed, following Jesus’ example. If they are, then we are to follow them. If they are not, then we must not follow their example. As the chapter continues, Paul speaks about propriety in worship. While his comments might seem strange to us, because he tells women they need to have their heads covered in worship, and when they pray and prophesy in worship. He tells men not to cover their heads. He then relates all that to the order of creation, and the roles of men and women. While the details are for the culture of that time, the principle remains: When we lead in worship, we are to be prepared to honor God in what we do and how we do it. The chapter closes with Paul’s correction of the Corinthian’s behavior in participating in the Lord’s Supper. Their practices had been shameful. Because the Lord’s Supper was combined with their eating a meal together, and this took place in meetings in their homes after work, some were arriving early and eating all the food and drinking all the wine, leaving the latecomers without anything. Paul reminded the Corinthian believers their practices were dishonoring God, and when we dishonor God by eating the bread and drinking the cup in an unworthy manner, the result can be illness and even death.
As we return to Matthew 19, the religious leaders come to Jesus and ask Him about divorce. Jesus makes it clear divorce was not part of God’s original plan but was permitted because of human hardness of heart. He went on to say, the only legitimate reason for divorce is adultery. He also added, “What the Lord has joined let no one separate. Next, Jesus had to admonish the disciples for trying to keep parents from bringing children to Him to bless them. Finally, a rich young man comes to Jesus seeking His answer for how one obtains eternal life. Jesus tells the man to obey the Law of Moses. The man tells Jesus he has done that since his youth. Jesus then tells the man he lacked only one thing–he needed to go and sell everything he owned, give it to the poor, and he would have riches in heaven. Then he could come and follow Jesus. The man wouldn’t do it. He went away sad, because he was extremely wealthy. As the chapter closes Jesus uses this experience to remind the disciples the Kingdom of heaven works on different economics than the world. When we give up worldly goods, we multiple our blessings in the Kingdom of heaven. Only when we put God first does that happen, so the best place for us to be is in the will of God, because when we are, He promises to care for our ultimate needs.