Matthew 19:16–29

A Rich Young Man’s Question

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

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

¹⁸The man asked, “Which commands?”

Jesus answered, “ ‘You must not murder anyone; you must not be guilty of adultery; you must not steal; you must not tell lies about your neighbor; ¹⁹honor your father and mother; ⁿ and love your neighbor as you love yourself.’ ” ⁿ

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

²¹Jesus answered, “If you want to be perfect, then go and sell your possessions and give the money to the poor. If you do this, you will have treasure in heaven. Then come and follow me.”

²²But when the young man heard this, he left sorrowfully, because he was rich.

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

²⁵When Jesus’ followers heard this, they were very surprised and asked, “Then who can be saved?”

²⁶Jesus looked at them and said, “For people this is impossible, but for God all things are possible.”

²⁷Peter said to Jesus, “Look, we have left everything and followed you. So what will we have?”

²⁸Jesus said to them, “I tell you the truth, when the age to come has arrived, the Son of Man will sit on his great throne. All of you who followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. ²⁹And all those who have left houses, brothers, sisters, father, mother, ⁿ children, or farms to follow me will get much more than they left, and they will have life forever.