1Then Jesus[a] left that place and went into the territory of Judea on the other side[b] of the Jordan. Crowds gathered around him as usual, and he began to teach them again as was his custom. 2Some Pharisees came to test him. They asked, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?”
3He answered them, “What did Moses command you?”
4They said, “Moses allowed a man to write a certificate of divorce and to divorce her.”[c]
5But Jesus said to them, “It was because of your hardness of heart that he wrote this command for you. 6But from the beginning of creation, ‘God[d] made them male and female.’[e] 7‘That is why a man will leave his father and mother and be united with his wife, 8and the two will become one flesh.’[f] So they are no longer two, but one flesh. 9Therefore, what God has joined together, man must never separate.”
10Back
in the house, the disciples asked him about this again. 11So
he said to them, “Whoever divorces his wife and marries
another woman commits adultery against her. 12And if a woman[g] divorces her husband
and marries another man, she commits adultery.”
13Some people[h] were bringing little children to Jesus[i] to have him touch them. But the disciples
rebuked those who brought[j] them. 14When Jesus saw this, he became
furious and told them, “Let the little children come to
me, and stop keeping them away, because the kingdom of God belongs to people
like these. 15I tell you with certainty, whoever
doesn't receive the kingdom of God as a little child will never enter it.” 16Then after he had hugged the children,[k] he tenderly blessed them as he laid his hands
on them.
17As Jesus[l] was setting out again,[m] a man ran up to him, knelt down in front of him, and asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
18Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? Nobody is good except for one—God. 19You know the commandments: ‘Never murder.’[n] ‘Never commit adultery.’[o] ‘Never steal.’[p] ‘Never give false testimony.’[q] ‘Never cheat.’ ‘Honor your father and mother.’”[r]
20The man[s] replied to him, “Teacher, I have obeyed all of these since I was a young man.”
21Jesus looked at him and loved him. Then he told him, “You're missing one thing. Go and sell everything you own, give the money[t] to the destitute, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come back and follow me.” 22Shocked at this statement, the man[u] went away sad because he had many possessions.
23Then Jesus looked around and said
to his disciples, “How hard it will be for those who are
wealthy to enter the kingdom of God!” 24The disciples were startled by
these words, but Jesus said to them again, “Children,
how hard it is for those who trust in their wealth[v] to get into the
kingdom of God! 25It is
easier for a camel to squeeze through the eye of a needle than for a rich
person to get into the kingdom of God.”
26The disciples[w] were utterly amazed and asked one another,[x] “Then who can be saved?”
27Jesus looked at them intently and said, “For humans it is impossible, but not for God. All things are possible for God.”
28Then Peter began to say to him, “See, we have left everything and followed you.”
29Jesus said, “I tell you with certainty, there is no one who has left his
home, brothers, sisters, mother, father, children, or fields because of me and
the gospel 30who will
not receive a hundred times as much here in this world—homes, brothers,
sisters, mothers, children, and fields, along with persecution—as well as
eternal life in the age to come. 31But many
who are first will be last, and the last will be first.”
32Now Jesus and his disciples[y] had been on the road going up to Jerusalem, with Jesus walking ahead of them. They were astonished, and the others who followed were afraid.
Once again, Jesus[z] took the twelve disciples[aa] aside and began to tell them what was going to
happen to him. 33“See, we are going up to
Jerusalem. The Son of Man will be handed over to the high priests and the
scribes, and they will condemn him to death. Then they will hand him over to
the gentiles, 34and
they will make fun of him, spit on him, whip him, and
kill him. But after three days he will be raised.”
35James and John, the sons of Zebedee, went to Jesus[bb] and said to him, “Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask you.”
36He asked them, “What do you want me to do for you?”
37They said to him, “Let us sit in your glory, one on your right and one on your left.”
38But Jesus told them, “You don't realize what you're asking. Can you drink from the
cup that I'm going to drink from or be baptized with the baptism with which I'm
going to be baptized?”
39They told him, “We can.”
Jesus said to them, “You will drink from the cup that I'm going to drink and be baptized with the baptism with which I'm going to be baptized. 40But it's not up to me to grant you a seat at my right or my left. Those positions have already been prepared for others.”
41When the ten other disciples[cc] heard this, they began to be furious with James and John. 42Jesus called his disciples[dd] and said to them, “You know that those who are recognized as rulers among the gentiles lord it over them, and their superiors act like tyrants over them. 43That's not the way it should be among you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, 44and whoever wants to be first among you must be a slave to everyone, 45because even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many people.”
46Then they came to Jericho. As Jesus,[ee] his disciples, and a large crowd were leaving Jericho, a blind beggar named Bartimaeus (the son of Timaeus) was sitting by the road. 47When he heard that Jesus of Nazareth was there, he began to shout, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” 48Many people sternly told him to be quiet, but he started shouting even louder, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”
49So Jesus stopped and said, “Call him!”
So they called the blind man and told him, “Have courage! Get up. He's calling you.” 50He threw off his coat, jumped up, and went to Jesus.
51Then Jesus asked him, “What do you want me to do for you?”
The blind man said to him, “Rabbouni,[ff] I want to see again.”
52Jesus told him, “Go. Your faith has made you well.” At once the man[gg] could see again, and he began to follow Jesus[hh] down the road.
[a] 10:1 Lit. he
[b] 10:1 I.e. the east side
[c] 10:4
Deut 24:1, 3
[d] 10:6 Other mss. read He
[e] 10:6
Gen 1:27; 5:2
[f] 10:8 Gen 2:24
[g] 10:12 Lit. she
[h] 10:13 Lit. They
[i] 10:13 Lit. him
[j] 10:13 The Gk. lacks those who brought
[k] 10:16 Lit. hugged
them
[l] 10:17 Lit. he
[m] 10:17 Lit. out on a journey
[n] 10:19 Exod 20:13; Deut 5:17
[o] 10:19 Exod 20:14; Deut 5:18
[p] 10:19 Exod 20:15; Deut 5:19
[q] 10:19 Exod 20:16; Deut 5:20
[r] 10:19 Exod 20:12; Deut 5:16
[s] 10:20 Lit. He
[t] 10:21 The Gk. lacks the money
[u] 10:22 Lit. he
[v] 10:24 Other mss. lack for those who trust in their wealth
[w] 10:26 Lit. They
[x] 10:26 Other mss. read to him
[y] 10:32 Lit. They
[z] 10:32 Lit. he
[aa] 10:32 The Gk. lacks disciples
[bb] 10:35 Lit. him
[cc] 10:41 The Gk. lacks other disciples
[dd] 10:42 Lit. called them
[ee] 10:46 Lit. he
[ff] 10:51 Rabbouni is Heb. for My Master and/or Teacher
[gg] 10:52 Lit. he
[hh] 10:52 Lit. him