³⁴ “^(A)Do not think that I came to ^[a]bring peace on the earth; I did not come to ^[b]bring peace, but a sword. ³⁵ For I came to ^(B)turn a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; ³⁶ and ^(C)a person’s enemies will be the members of his household.

³⁷ “^(D)The one who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and the one who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me.

The Narrow and Wide Gates

¹³ “^(A)Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. ¹⁴ For the gate is narrow and the way is constricted that leads to life, and there are few who find it.

³⁶ But I tell you that for every ^[a]careless word that people ^[b]speak, they will give an account of it on the ^(A)day of judgment.

Discipleship Tested

²⁵ Now ^[a]large crowds were going along with Him, and He turned and said to them, ²⁶ “^(A)If anyone comes to Me and does not ^[b]hate his own father, mother, wife, children, brothers, sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple. ²⁷ Whoever does not ^(B)carry his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple. ²⁸ For which one of you, when he wants to build a tower, does not first sit down and calculate the cost, to see if he has enough to complete it? ²⁹ Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who are watching it will begin to ridicule him, ³⁰ saying, ‘This person began to build, and was not able to finish!’ ³¹ Or what king, when he sets out to meet another king in battle, will not first sit down and ^(C)consider whether he is strong enough with ten thousand men to face the one coming against him with twenty thousand? ³² Otherwise, while the other is still far away, he sends a delegation and requests terms of peace. ³³ So then, none of you can be My disciple who ^(D)does not ^[c]give up all his own possessions.

³⁴ “Therefore, salt is good; but ^(E)if even salt has become tasteless, with what will it be ^[d]seasoned? ³⁵ It is useless either for the soil or the manure pile, so it is thrown out. ^(F)The one who has ears to hear, ^[e]let him hear.”

The Rich Young Ruler

^17 (A)As He was setting out on a journey, a man ran up to Him and ^(B)knelt before Him, and asked Him, “Good Teacher, what shall I do so that I may ^(C)inherit eternal life?” ¹⁸ But Jesus said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good except God alone. ¹⁹ You know the commandments: ‘^(D)Do not murder, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not give false testimony, Do not defraud, Honor your father and mother.’” ²⁰ And he said to Him, “Teacher, I have kept ^(E)all these things from my youth.” ²¹ Looking at him, Jesus showed love to him and said to him, “One thing you lack: go and sell all you possess and give to the poor, and you will have ^(F)treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.” ²² But he ^[a]was deeply dismayed by ^[b]these words, and he went away grieving; for he was one who owned much property.

²³ And Jesus, looking around, *said to His disciples, “^(G)How hard it will be for those who are wealthy to enter the kingdom of God!” ²⁴ And the disciples ^(H)were amazed at His words. But Jesus responded again and *said to them, “Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God! ^25 (I)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.” ²⁶ And they were even more astonished, and said to Him, “^[c]Then who can be saved?” ²⁷ Looking at them, Jesus *said, “^(J)With people it is impossible, but not with God; for all things are possible with God.”

⁶⁰ So then many of His ^(A)disciples, when they heard this, said, “^(B)This statement is very ^[a]unpleasant; who can listen to it?” ⁶¹ But Jesus, ^(C)aware that His disciples were complaining about this, said to them, “Is this ^[b](D)offensive to you? ⁶² What then if you see ^(E)the Son of Man ^(F)ascending to where He was before? ^63 (G)It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh provides no benefit; ^(H)the words that I have spoken to you are spirit, and are life. ⁶⁴ But there are ^(I)some of you who do not believe.” For Jesus ^(J)knew from the beginning who they were who did not believe, and ^(K)who it was who would ^[c]betray Him. ⁶⁵ And He was saying, “For this reason I have ^(L)told you that no one can come to Me unless ^(M)it has been granted him from the Father.”

Peter’s Confession of Faith

⁶⁶ As a result of this many of His ^(N)disciples ^(O)left, and would no longer walk with Him.