A Rich Man Refuses to Follow Jesus^(A)

¹⁶ A man came to Jesus and asked, “Teacher, what good thing must I do to have eternal life?”

¹⁷ Jesus answered, “Why do you ask me about what is good? Only God is good. But if you want to have eternal life, obey the law’s commands.”

¹⁸ The man asked, “Which ones?”

Jesus answered, “‘You must not murder anyone, you must not commit adultery, you must not steal, you must not tell lies about others, ¹⁹ you must respect your father and mother,’^[a] and ‘love your neighbor^[b] the same as you love yourself.’^[c]”

²⁰ The young man said, “I have obeyed all these commands. What else do I need?”

²¹ Jesus answered, “If you want to be perfect, then go and sell all that you own. Give the money to the poor, and you will have riches in heaven. Then come and follow me!”

²² But when the young man heard Jesus tell him to give away his money, he was sad. He didn’t want to do this, because he was very rich. So he left.

²³ Then Jesus said to his followers, “The truth is, it will be very hard for a rich person to enter God’s kingdom. ²⁴ Yes, I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter God’s kingdom.”

²⁵ The followers were amazed to hear this. They asked, “Then who can be saved?”

²⁶ Jesus looked at them and said, “This is something that people cannot do. But God can do anything.”

²⁷ Peter said to him, “We left everything we had and followed you. So what will we have?”

²⁸ Jesus said to them, “When the time of the new world comes, the Son of Man will sit on his great and glorious throne. And I can promise that you who followed me will sit on twelve thrones, and you will judge the twelve tribes of Israel. ²⁹ Everyone who has left houses, brothers, sisters, father, mother, children, or farms to follow me will get much more than they left. And they will have eternal life. ³⁰ Many people who are first now will be last in the future. And many who are last now will be first in the future.

A Rich Man Refuses to Follow Jesus^(A)

¹⁸ A religious leader asked Jesus, “Good Teacher, what must I do to get eternal life?”

¹⁹ Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? Only God is good. ²⁰ And you know his commands: ‘You must not commit adultery, you must not murder anyone, you must not steal, you must not tell lies about others, you must respect your father and mother ….’^[a]”

²¹ But the leader said, “I have obeyed all these commands since I was a boy.”

²² When Jesus heard this, he said to the leader, “But there is still one thing you need to do. Sell everything you have and give the money to those who are poor. You will have riches in heaven. Then come and follow me.” ²³ But when the man heard Jesus tell him to give away his money, he was sad. He didn’t want to do this, because he was very rich.

²⁴ When Jesus saw that the man was sad, he said, “It will be very hard for rich people to enter God’s kingdom. ²⁵ It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter God’s kingdom.”

Who Can Be Saved?

²⁶ When the people heard this, they said, “Then who can be saved?”

²⁷ Jesus answered, “God can do things that are not possible for people to do.”

²⁸ Peter said, “Look, we left everything we had and followed you.”

²⁹ Jesus said, “I can promise that everyone who has left their home, wife, brothers, parents, or children for God’s kingdom ³⁰ will get much more than they left. They will get many times more in this life. And in the world that is coming they will get the reward of eternal life.”