Jesus told her, “First I should feed the children—my own family, the Jews. It isn’t right to take food from the children and throw it to the dogs.”

She replied, “That’s true, Lord, but even the dogs under the table are allowed to eat the scraps from the children’s plates.”

Jesus Blesses the Children

One day some parents brought their children to Jesus so he could touch and bless them. But the disciples scolded the parents for bothering him.

When Jesus saw what was happening, he was angry with his disciples. He said to them, “Let the children come to me. Don’t stop them! For the Kingdom of God belongs to those who are like these children.

Then he took the children in his arms and placed his hands on their heads and blessed them.

This amazed them. But Jesus said again, “Dear children, it is very hard to enter the Kingdom of God.

“Yes,” Jesus replied, “and I assure you that everyone who has given up house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or property, for my sake and for the Good News,

will receive now in return a hundred times as many houses, brothers, sisters, mothers, children, and property—along with persecution. And in the world to come that person will have eternal life.

“Teacher, Moses gave us a law that if a man dies, leaving a wife without children, his brother should marry the widow and have a child who will carry on the brother’s name.

Well, suppose there were seven brothers. The oldest one married and then died without children.

So the second brother married the widow, but he also died without children. Then the third brother married her.

This continued with all seven of them, and still there were no children. Last of all, the woman also died.

“A brother will betray his brother to death, a father will betray his own child, and children will rebel against their parents and cause them to be killed.