Matthew 19:16-30 - A Rich Young Man

¹⁶ Just then a man came up to Jesus. "Teacher," he asked, "what good deed should I do to have eternal life?"

¹⁷ Jesus asked him, "Why ask me about what is good? There is only one who is good. If you want to get into that life, you must keep the commandments."

¹⁸ The young man asked him, "Which ones?" ¹⁹ Jesus said, ""You must not murder, you must not commit adultery, you must not steal, you must not give false testimony, honor your father and mother,' and, "you must love your neighbor as yourself.'"

²⁰ The young man told him, "I have kept all of these. What do I still lack?"

²¹ Jesus told him, "If you want to be perfect, go and sell what you own and give the money to the destitute, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come back and follow me."

²² But when the young man heard this statement he went away sad, because he had many possessions.

²³ Then Jesus told his disciples, "I tell all of you with certainty, it will be hard for a rich person to get into the kingdom from heaven. ²⁴ Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to squeeze through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to get into the kingdom of God."

²⁵ When the disciples heard this, they were completely astonished. "Who, then, can be saved?" they asked.

²⁶ Jesus looked at them intently and said, "For humans this is impossible, but for God all things are possible."

²⁷ "Look!" Peter replied. "We have left everything and followed you. So what will we get?"

²⁸ Jesus told them, "I tell all of you with certainty, when the Son of Man sits on his glorious throne in the renewed creation, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, governing the twelve tribes of Israel. ²⁹ In fact, everyone who has left his homes, brothers, sisters, father, mother, children, or fields because of my name will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life. ³⁰ But many who are first will be last, and the last will be first."

¹⁷ As Jesus was setting out again, a man ran up to him, knelt down in front of him, and asked him, "Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?"

¹⁸ "Why do you call me good?" Jesus asked him. "Nobody is good except for one God. ¹⁹ You know the commandments: "Never murder.' "Never commit adultery.' "Never steal.' "Never give false testimony.' "Never cheat.' "Honor your father and mother.'"

²⁰ The man replied to him, "Teacher, I have obeyed all of these since I was a young man."

²¹ Jesus looked at him and loved him. Then he told him, "You're missing one thing. Go and sell everything you own, give the money to the destitute, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come back and follow me." ²² Shocked at this statement, the man went away sad, because he had many possessions.

²³ Then Jesus looked around and told his disciples, "How hard it will be for those who are wealthy to enter the kingdom of God!" ²⁴ The disciples were startled by these words, but Jesus told them again, "Children, how hard it is for those who trust in their wealth to get into the kingdom of God! ²⁵ It's easier for a camel to squeeze through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to get into the kingdom of God."

²⁶ The disciples were utterly amazed and asked one another, "Then who can be saved?"

²⁷ Jesus looked at them intently and said, "For humans it's impossible, but not for God. All things are possible for God."

²⁸ Then Peter began to say to him, "See, we have left everything and followed you."

²⁹ Jesus said, "I tell all of you with certainty, there is no one who has left his home, brothers, sisters, mother, father, children, or fields because of me and the gospel ³⁰ who will not receive a hundred times as much here in this world homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children, and fields, along with persecution as well as eternal life in the age to come. ³¹ But many who are first will be last, and the last will be first."

¹⁸ Then an official asked Jesus, "Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?"

¹⁹ "Why do you call me good?" Jesus asked him. "Nobody is good except for one God. ²⁰ You know the commandments: "Never commit adultery. Never murder. Never steal. Never give false testimony. Honor your father and mother.'"

²¹ The official replied, "I have kept all of these since I was a young man."

²² When Jesus heard this, he told him, "You still need to do one thing. Sell everything you have and give the money to the destitute, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come back and follow me."

²³ But when the official heard this he became sad, because he was very rich.

²⁴ So when Jesus saw how sad he was, he said, "How hard it is for rich people to get into the kingdom of God! ²⁵ Indeed, it's easier for a camel to squeeze through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to get into the kingdom of God."

²⁶ Those who were listening to Jesus asked, "Then who can be saved?"

²⁷ Jesus replied, "The things that are impossible for people are possible for God."

²⁸ Then Peter said, "See, we have left everything we have and followed you."

²⁹ Jesus told them, "I tell all of you with certainty, there is no one who has left his home, wife, brothers, parents, or children because of the kingdom of God ³⁰ who will not receive many times as much in this world, as well as eternal life in the age to come."