Wednesday, September 9

¹Then Jesus left that place and went to the region of Judea and beyond the Jordan River. Again crowds gathered to him, and again, as was his custom, he taught them. ²Then some Pharisees came, and to test him they asked, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?” ³He answered them, “What did Moses command you?” ⁴They said, “Moses permitted a man to write a certificate of dismissal and to divorce her.” ⁵But Jesus said to them, “He wrote this commandment for you because of your hard hearts. ⁶But from the beginning of creation he made them male and female. ⁷For this reason a man will leave his father and mother, ⁸and the two will become one flesh. So they are no longer two, but one flesh. ⁹Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.”

¹⁰In the house once again, the disciples asked him about this. ¹¹So he told them, “Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her. ¹²And if she divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery.”

¹³Now people were bringing little children to him for him to touch, but the disciples scolded those who brought them. ¹⁴But when Jesus saw this, he was indignant and said to them, “Let the little children come to me and do not try to stop them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. ¹⁵I tell you the truth, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child will never enter it.” ¹⁶After he took the children in his arms, he placed his hands on them and blessed them.

¹⁷Now as Jesus was starting out on his way, someone ran up to him, fell on his knees, and said, “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” ¹⁸Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. ¹⁹You know the commandments: ‘Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony, do not defraud, honor your father and mother.’” ²⁰The man said to him, “Teacher, I have wholeheartedly obeyed all these laws since my youth.” ²¹As Jesus looked at him, he felt love for him and said, “You lack one thing. Go, sell whatever you have and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” ²²But at this statement, the man looked sad and went away sorrowful, for he was very rich.

²³Then Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God!” ²⁴The disciples were astonished at these words. But again Jesus said to them, “Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God! ²⁵It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.” ²⁶They were even more astonished and said to one another, “Then who can be saved?” ²⁷Jesus looked at them and replied, “This is impossible for mere humans, but not for God; all things are possible for God.”

²⁸Peter began to speak to him, “Look, we have left everything to follow you!” ²⁹Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, there is no one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for my sake and for the sake of the gospel ³⁰who will not receive in this age a hundred times as much—homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children, fields, all with persecutions—and in the age to come, eternal life. ³¹But many who are first will be last, and the last first.”