Matthew 19:13-30: Why What You Consider a Strength May Be Your Biggest Spiritual Blindspot

Sunday message · The Book of Matthew series

Phillip Santillan  ·  Matthew 19:13-30

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Message Summary

In the last message of the church’s current season in the Gospel of Matthew, Pastor Phillip Santillan preaches Matthew 19:13–30. He begins with Malcolm Gladwell’s book Talking to Strangers, which argues that smart, well-meaning people misread strangers not from ignorance but from overconfidence, assuming others communicate the way they do. The lens through which we see the world feels like an asset, Phil says, but it is often a blind spot. That matters for a church that wants to help strangers become friends and friends become family. Overconfidence can leave a church building crowds that look, talk and vote like it instead of making disciples who look like Jesus. In this passage the disciples misread two very different people.

First, people bring children for Jesus to bless, and the disciples rebuke them. Phil explains that bringing children to rabbis and elders for a blessing was customary, so the disciples were overriding a cultural norm, not enforcing one. Matthew honestly records their mistake, which Phil sees as one reason to trust the Gospels. Jesus says the kingdom belongs to such as these. “Posture, not age, is the point,” Phil says. Becoming like a child means accepting a place of dependence at the bottom of the social scale.

Next, a young man asks what good he must do to have eternal life, treating it as something bought with morality. He claims to have kept every commandment, yet asks what he still lacks. Jesus tells him to sell his belongings, give to the poor and follow him, and the word translated perfect means undivided loyalty, not moral flawlessness. The man leaves grieving, for he has many possessions. Phil sets aside the popular idea that the eye of the needle was a gate; the disciples’ astonishment shows they heard something impossible. But with God all things are possible, and the greatest obstacle to following Jesus is often what we think makes us strong.

Phil answers the objection that Christians who do not sell everything are hypocrites. The command was not universal: Zacchaeus gave away half his wealth, Joseph of Arimathea remained a rich disciple, and Mary, Martha and Lazarus hosted Jesus. Yet the objection proves the passage’s point, because no one fully complies. The real question is what our own version is: money, intelligence, the image of a stable family, a political identity, or a reputation for moral high ground. “What’s the one thing you quietly hope Jesus won’t bring up?” he asks. The object of that relief exposes a divided heart.

When Peter reminds Jesus that they have left everything, Jesus does not rebuke him but promises a hundredfold return and eternal life. No one who lets go of anything for his name will ultimately lose. The disciples were wrong in opposite directions, and what they considered a strength was their blind spot. Phil closes by saying the gospel is good news not for people who have their act together but for those who stop pretending, and he asks what is keeping each listener from trusting Jesus more.