9. God has joined them together, so no one should separate them.”
10. Later, when the followers and Jesus were in the house, they asked him again about the question of divorce.
11. He said, “Whoever divorces his wife and marries another woman has sinned against his wife. He is guilty of adultery.
12. And the woman who divorces her husband and marries another man is also guilty of adultery.”
13. People brought their small children to Jesus so that he could lay his hands on them to bless them. But the followers told the people to stop bringing their children to him.
14. Jesus saw what happened. He did not like his followers telling the children not to come. So he said to them, “Let the little children come to me. Don’t stop them, because God’s kingdom belongs to people who are like these little children.
15. The truth is, you must accept God’s kingdom like a little child accepts things, or you will never enter it.”
16. Then Jesus held the children in his arms. He laid his hands on them and blessed them.
17. Jesus started to leave, but a man ran to him and bowed down on his knees before him. The man asked, “Good Teacher, what must I do to get the life that never ends?”
18. Jesus answered, “Why do you call me good? Only God is good.
19. And you know his commands: ‘You must not murder anyone, you must not commit adultery, you must not steal, you must not lie, you must not cheat, you must respect your father and mother ….’”
20. The man said, “Teacher, I have obeyed all these commands since I was a boy.”
21. Jesus looked at the man in a way that showed how much he cared for him. He said, “There is still one thing you need to do. Go and sell everything you have. Give the money to those who are poor, and you will have riches in heaven. Then come and follow me.”
22. The man was upset when Jesus told him to give away his money. He didn’t want to do this, because he was very rich. So he went away sad.