Jesus asks a rich man to follow him
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Saint for Today: St. Paul
Jesus asks a rich man to follow him
Jesus and his apostles were getting ready to go on a journey. As they were preparing to leave, a man rushed up to and fell down on his knees in front of Jesus.
“Good teacher,” the man asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
Jesus looked at the man.
“You know the commandments: ‘You shall not kill; you shall not commit adultery; you shall not steal; you shall not bear false witness; you shall not defraud; honor your father and your mother,” the Lord replied.
The man said he had followed those rules since he was a little boy.
Jesus’ heart filled with love, and he told the man that there was just one more thing left to do.
“Go,” Jesus said, “sell what you have, and give to (the) poor and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.”
The man’s facial expression changed. He had a lot of possessions that he loved dearly, so he very sadly walked away from Jesus. In the end, the man decided that he loved his things better than he loved the Lord.
Jesus turned to his apostles.
“How hard it is for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!” he exclaimed.
The apostles looked surprised. The Lord noticed as he continued to speak.
“Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to pass through (the) eye of (a) needle than for one who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.”
The apostles were shocked and quietly asked each other: Who, then, could be saved?
“For human beings it is impossible, but not for God. All things are possible for God,” Jesus told them.
Then Peter spoke. He pointed out that the apostles had given up all they had so they could follow Jesus.
“Amen, I say to you, there is no one who has given up house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands for my sake and for the sake of the gospel who will not receive a hundred times more now in this present age: houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and eternal life in the age to come,” Jesus said.
READ MORE ABOUT IT
Mark 10
Q&A
1. What question did the rich man ask Jesus?
2. What did Jesus say must be given up?
Saint for Today: St. Paul
Born in the Roman city of Tarsus, a Jewish man named Saul was persecuting Christians. He took part in the stoning death of St. Stephen, the first Christian martyr. He even asked permission to arrest all Jews in Damascus who believed in Jesus and bring them to Jerusalem.
One day as he was traveling to Damascus, he was surrounded by a great light that blinded him. Saul heard a voice say, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” Saul asked who was speaking. “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,” the voice said.
Jesus told one of his followers in Damascus, Ananias, to go to Saul. Ananias made it so Saul could see again. Afterwards, Saul believed in Jesus, was baptized and began preaching that Jesus was the Son of God. He became known as Paul, and we remember his conversion on Jan. 25.
