Matthew 19:27-29

In the gospel of Matthew, Jesus says: "Anyone who leaves everything for my sake will receive much more and will inherit eternal life."

The gospel reports that Jesus told his disciples, "it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God." (Mt. 19:24, Mk. 10:25, Lk. 18:25) The first three gospels all put this strange teaching on the lips of Jesus, and very likely this saying was remembered as part of the oral tradition of the early churches. If the statement first was recorded in the gospel of Mark, the other two gospels kept it unchanged in their editions of the good news. The gospel of Matthew even kept the phrase "kingdom of God" rather than using the phrase, "kingdom of heaven," that it otherwise uses.

The saying follows the story of a rich man who asks Jesus what to do to achieve eternal life. The man says he has kept the Ten Commandments (of the Jewish law), but Jesus tells him to sell his possessions and give the money to the poor. When the disciples ask with astonishment who can be saved, Jesus tells them anyone who leaves everything behind for his sake will be rewarded. The story promises all those who serve the church that they will find their reward in life eternal with God, if not in this life. It also urges those who are rich to give their wealth to the church, so it can help the poor.

Grace and peace...Bob