Matthew 19

Teaching About Divorce

19Now when Jesus had finished these sayings, he went away from ⁿGalilee and ^oentered ^pthe region of Judea beyond the Jordan. ²And ^qlarge crowds followed him, and he healed them there.

³And Pharisees came up to him and ^rtested him by asking, ^s“Is it lawful to divorce one’s wife for any cause?” ⁴He answered, ^t“Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female, ⁵and said, ^u‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and ^vthe two shall become one flesh’? ⁶So they are no longer two but one flesh. ^wWhat therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.” ⁷They said to him, ^x“Why then did Moses command one to give a certificate of divorce and to send her away?” ⁸He said to them, “Because of your ^yhardness of heart Moses allowed you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so. ^9zAnd I say to you: whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery.”¹

¹⁰The disciples said to him, “If such is the case of a man with his wife, it is better not to marry.” ¹¹But he said to them, ^a“Not everyone can receive this saying, but only ^bthose to ^cwhom it is given. ¹²For there are eunuchs who have been so from birth, and there are eunuchs who have been made eunuchs by men, and there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs ^dfor the sake of the kingdom of heaven. Let the one who is able to receive this receive it.”

Let the Children Come to Me

^13eThen children were brought to him that he might lay his hands on them and pray. The disciples ^frebuked the people, ¹⁴but Jesus said, ^g“Let the little children ^hcome to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven.” ¹⁵And he laid his hands on them and went away.

The Rich Young Man

¹⁶ⁱAnd behold, a man came up to him, saying, “Teacher, what good deed must I do to ^jhave ^keternal life?” ¹⁷And he said to him, “Why do you ask me about what is good? There is only one who is good. ^lIf you would enter life, keep the commandments.” ¹⁸He said to him, “Which ones?” And Jesus said, ^m“You shall not murder, You shall not commit adultery, You shall not steal, You shall not bear false witness, ¹⁹Honor your father and mother, and, ⁿYou shall love your neighbor as yourself.” ²⁰The young man said to him, ^o“All these I have kept. What do I still lack?” ²¹Jesus said to him, “If you would be ^pperfect, go, ^qsell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have ^rtreasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” ^22sWhen the young man heard this he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.

²³And Jesus said to his disciples, “Truly, I say to you, ^tonly with difficulty will a rich person enter the kingdom of heaven. ^24uAgain I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter ^vthe kingdom of God.” ²⁵When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished, saying, “Who then can be saved?” ²⁶But Jesus ^wlooked at them and said, ^x“With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” ²⁷Then Peter said in reply, “See, ^ywe have left everything and followed you. What then will we have?” ²⁸Jesus said to them, “Truly, I say to you, in the new world,^{2 z}when the Son of Man will sit on his glorious throne, you who have followed me ^awill also sit on twelve thrones, ^bjudging the twelve tribes of Israel. ^29cAnd everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands, for my name’s sake, will receive a hundredfold³ and will ^dinherit eternal life. ³⁰But ^emany who are ^ffirst will be last, and the last first.