As
he was setting out on a journey, a man ran up and knelt before him,
and asked him, "Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?"
Jesus said to him, "Why do you call me good? No one is good but God
alone. You know the commandments: 'You shall not murder; You shall not
commit adultery; You shall not steal; You shall not bear false
witness; You shall not defraud; Honour your father and mother.'" He
said to him, "Teacher, I have kept all these since my youth." Jesus,
looking at him, loved him and said, "You lack one thing; go, sell what
you own, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in
heaven; then come, follow me." When he heard this, he was shocked and
went away grieving, for he had many possessions.
Then Jesus looked around and said to his
disciples, "How hard it will be for those who have wealth to enter the
kingdom of God!" And the disciples were perplexed at these words. But
Jesus said to them again, "Children, how hard it is to enter the
kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a
needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God." They
were greatly astounded and said to one another, "Then who can be
saved?" Jesus looked at them and said, "For mortals it is impossible,
but not for God; for God all things are possible."
Peter began to say to him, "Look, we
have left everything and followed you." Jesus said, "Truly I tell you,
there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or
father or children or fields, for my sake and for the sake of the good
news, who will not receive a hundredfold now in this age - houses,
brothers and sisters, mothers and children, and fields with
persecutions - and in the age to come eternal life. But many who are
first will be last, and the last will be first."
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