Jesus replied,
“‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart,
all your soul,
and all your mind.’
This is the first and greatest commandment.
A second is equally important:
‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”
Matthew 22:37-39
Then Jesus asked them,
“Didn’t you ever read this in the Scriptures?
‘The stone that the builders rejected
has now become the cornerstone.
This is the LORD’s doing,
and it is wonderful to see.’”
“I also tell you this:
If two of you agree here on earth
concerning anything you ask,
my Father in heaven will do it for you.
For where two or three gather together
as my followers,
I am there among them.”
“I tell you the truth,
unless you turn from your sins
and become like little children,
you will never get into the Kingdom of Heaven.
So anyone who becomes as humble as this little child
is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven.
Beware that you don’t look down
on any of these little ones.
For I tell you that in heaven
their angels are always in the presence
of my heavenly Father.”
Afterward the disciples asked Jesus privately,
“Why couldn’t we cast out that demon?”
“You don’t have enough faith,”
Jesus told them.
“I tell you the truth,
if you had faith even as small as a mustard seed,
you could say to this mountain,
‘Move from here to there,’
and it would move.
Nothing would be impossible.”
Matthew 17:19-20
Then Jesus said to his disciples,
“If any of you wants to be my follower,
you must give up your own way,
take up your cross, and follow me.
If you try to hang on to your life,
you will lose it.
But if you give up your life for my sake,
you will save it.
And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world
but lose your own soul?
Is anything worth more than your soul?”
Matthew 16:24-26
Then he asked them,
“But who do you say I am?”
Simon Peter answered,
“You are the Messiah,
the Son of the living God.”
But Jesus spoke to them at once.
“Don’t be afraid,”
he said.
“Take courage.
I am here!”
Again,
the Kingdom of Heaven is like a merchant
on the lookout for choice pearls.
When he discovered a pearl of great value,
he sold everything he owned
and bought it!
“The Kingdom of Heaven is like a treasure
that a man discovered hidden in a field.
In his excitement,
he hid it again and sold everything he owned
to get enough money to buy the field.”
