Leaving Galilee, Jesus now heads toward Jerusalem where He will be crucified and raised from the dead. Along the way, He is questioned about divorce by the pharisees and provides valuable teachings on the priority and permanence of marriage. Even though His words are difficult to receive, He continues by teaching that His disciples should always be like children.
Continuing from the idea of “heirs of the kingdom”, chapter 18 deals with the children of the kingdom. That is, all who would be in the “new” kingdom should be humble as children and be careful of how they treat the least in the new kingdom (church).
After Peter’s great confession of Jesus dual nature as Messiah and God, Jesus began to reveal His upcoming death and resurrection. Then because of Peter’s unwillingness to accept this, Jesus taught them on the nature of discipleship – always doing the Father’s will. But He also encouraged them that some of them would see the coming Kingdom.
After returning from the region of the Gentiles, Jesus is once again confronted by the religious leaders, asking for a messianic sign. Jesus rejected their request and warned His disciples of the false teachings of those leaders. He then continued to ask about what the people and the disciples themselves thought of Jesus.
When Jesus is confronted by the pharisees because His disciples did not wash before eating, He teaches that true defilement comes from within and not without. He leaves and enters the regions of the Gentiles and with three examples of ministry teaches His disciples how that their future ministry would incorporate blessings for the Gentiles.
After revealing the mystery kingdom AND since the rejection of Jesus as the nation’s Messiah and King, Jesus “withdraws” and begins to teach and train His disciples for their future work in the ministry. The death of John the Baptist marks this transition.
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