¹⁷ But the person who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with him.

¹² Some are born as eunuchs, some have been made eunuchs by others, and some choose not to marry^[a] for the sake of the Kingdom of Heaven. Let anyone accept this who can.”

Jesus Blesses the Children

¹³ One day some parents brought their children to Jesus so he could lay his hands on them and pray for them. But the disciples scolded the parents for bothering him.

¹⁴ But Jesus said, “Let the children come to me. Don’t stop them! For the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to those who are like these children.” ¹⁵ And he placed his hands on their heads and blessed them before he left.

The Rich Man

¹⁶ Someone came to Jesus with this question: “Teacher,^[b] what good deed must I do to have eternal life?”

¹⁷ “Why ask me about what is good?” Jesus replied. “There is only One who is good. But to answer your question—if you want to receive eternal life, keep^[c] the commandments.”

¹⁸ “Which ones?” the man asked.

And Jesus replied: “‘You must not murder. You must not commit adultery. You must not steal. You must not testify falsely. ¹⁹ Honor your father and mother. Love your neighbor as yourself.’^[d]”

²⁰ “I’ve obeyed all these commandments,” the young man replied. “What else must I do?”

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

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

²³ Then Jesus said to his disciples, “I tell you the truth, it is very hard for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. ²⁴ I’ll say it again—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!”

²⁵ The disciples were astounded. “Then who in the world can be saved?” they asked.

²⁶ Jesus looked at them intently and said, “Humanly speaking, it is impossible. But with God everything is possible.”

²⁷ Then Peter said to him, “We’ve given up everything to follow you. What will we get?”

²⁸ Jesus replied, “I assure you that when the world is made new^[e] and the Son of Man^[f] sits upon his glorious throne, you who have been my followers will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. ²⁹ And everyone who has given up houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or property, for my sake, will receive a hundred times as much in return and will inherit eternal life. ³⁰ But many who are the greatest now will be least important then, and those who seem least important now will be the greatest then.^[g]

²² Through him you Gentiles are also being made part of this dwelling where God lives by his Spirit.

¹⁶ I am a special messenger from Christ Jesus to you Gentiles. I bring you the Good News so that I might present you as an acceptable offering to God, made holy by the Holy Spirit.

⁹ He also came so that the Gentiles might give glory to God for his mercies to them. That is what the psalmist meant when he wrote:

¹⁰ And in another place it is written,

¹¹ And yet again,

¹² And in another place Isaiah said,

¹⁰ But there will be glory and honor and peace from God for all who do good—for the Jew first and also for the Gentile. ¹¹ For God does not show favoritism.

⁴ Some of the Jews who listened were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, along with many God-fearing Greek men and quite a few prominent women.^[a]

The Gentiles Hear the Good News

³⁴ Then Peter replied, “I see very clearly that God shows no favoritism.