But Jesus said to him, "A man once gave a great dinner and invited many
guests. At dinner-time he sent out his servant to say to those who had
been invited, 'Come, for everything is now ready.' But all of them began
to make excuses. The first said, 'I have bought a field and must go and
look at it. I must ask you to excuse me.' Another said, 'I have bought
five yoke of oxen and am on my way to try them. I must ask you to excuse
me.' Another said, 'I have just married and so I cannot come.'
"The servant returned and reported these answers to his master. Then the
master of the house was angry and said to his servant, 'Go out at once
into the streets and alleys of the city, and bring in the poor, the
crippled, the blind, and the lame.' When the servant reported, 'Sir,
your order has been carried out, yet there is still room,' the master
said to him, 'Go out into the highways and the country lanes and compel
people to come, so that my house may be filled; for I tell you, that not
one of those who were first invited shall taste of my dinner.'"
Once when Jesus was walking along the road, a man ran up and knelt
before him and asked, "Good Master, what must I do that I may be sure of
eternal life?" Jesus said to him, "Why do you call me good? No one is
good except one only: God. You know the commandments: 'Do not commit
adultery. Do not murder. Do not steal. Do not bear false witness. Do not
be dishonest. Honor your father and mother.'" He said to him, "Master, I
have kept all these commands from my youth." Looking upon him, Jesus
loved him and said, "One thing you lack; go, sell all that you have and
give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come with
me." But when the man heard this, he looked sad, and he went away in
sorrow, for he had great wealth. Then Jesus looked around and said to
his disciples, "How hard it is for those who have wealth to enter the
Kingdom of God!" They were surprised at his words, but again he said,
"Children, how hard it is for those who trust in wealth to enter the
Kingdom of God. It is easier for a camel to go through a needle's eye
than for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of God." And they were so
astonished that they said, "Then who can be saved?" Jesus looked at
them and said, "With men it is impossible, but not with God, for with
God everything is possible."
THE TWO GREAT COMMANDMENTS
Once a lawyer asked Jesus, "What is the most important of all the
commandments?" Jesus answered, "The most important is: 'The Lord our God
is one Lord; and you shall love the Lord your God with your whole heart,
with your whole soul, with your whole mind and with your whole
strength.'
"The second is this: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' There
is no other commandment greater than these."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account