<p>19:1&nbsp;<em>And it came to pass when Jesus had finished these words-</em>&nbsp;The same phrase is used in 26:1, as if Matthew sensed how the Lord was teaching them in a very structured way, delivering content and then moving on to somewhere or something else as soon as it had been delivered.</p>
<p><em>He departed from Galilee and came into the region of Judea on the other side of the Jordan</em>- The significance is that this was the beginning of His journey to Jerusalem and death. The teaching throughout Matthew 18 is profound, He teaches the need for absolute and unconditional forgiveness and perception that our sins are the colossal 10,000 talent debt, making all sin and failure against us thereby seem minimal. And if we &lsquo;don&rsquo;t get it&rsquo;, then condemnation awaits us at the last day. And on that note, He finishes the instruction of the twelve and begins His journey to die at Jerusalem. The departure coming straight after His most challenging and profound teaching serves to highlight the importance of it, as if this is the crescendo of His message to His followers.</p>
<p>There is a clearly intended chiasmus developed in this part of Matthew, and whilst chiasmus is a typical way of simply ordering material, it also helps us with interpretation. According to the following pattern, the section about divorce [D1 in the outline below] is to be paralleled with the Lord&rsquo;s teaching about not despising little ones and not dividing the body of Christ by unforgiveness [D in the outline]. The body of Christ is Divinely joined together and to refuse to accept its members is to do despite to God&rsquo;s most holy intentions. The teaching against divorce is therefore addressing the same principles. It&rsquo;s a cruel paradox that so many have been so intolerant of divorce based upon this section that they have broken the principles concerning it which are the basis of the parallel section in 18:10-14 about unity and not despising little ones. So what is wrong with divorce is therefore what is wrong with the behaviour criticized in 18:10-14- a despising of others and refusing to view their significance in God&rsquo;s sight, because of our own self-righteousness and self-obsession; a lack of forgiveness and failing to perceive the significance of human relationships before God. Thus to divorce your partner becomes parallel with not accepting your brother / the &ldquo;little ones&rsquo;.</p>
<p>&ldquo;A. 17:24&ndash;27: Giving freely; money; sacrifice<br />
Challenge<br />
&ldquo;Parable&rdquo; (Who should pay taxes anyway?)<br />
B. 18:1&ndash;7: Little children are the essence of the kingdom of heaven<br />
C. 18:8&ndash;9: Sacrifice of the body for the sake of the kingdom<br />
D. 18:10&ndash;14: Do not despise what God values<br />
Parable (Lost sheep)<br />
E. 18:15&ndash;17: What to do when a brother sins<br />
F. 18:18&ndash;20: Agreement between heaven and earth<br />
E1. 18:21&ndash;35: What to do when a brother sins<br />
Parable (Unforgiving servant)<br />
D1. 19:1&ndash;9: Do not separate what God has joined<br />
C1. 19:10&ndash;12: Sacrifice of the body for the kingdom of heaven<br />
B1. 19:13&ndash;15: Little children are the essence of the kingdom of heaven<br />
A1. 19:16&ndash;20:16: Giving freely; money; sacrifice&rdquo;.</p>