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Jesus' Teaching about Divorce

^1 (C1)Setting out from there, Jesus ^(*)went to the region of Judea and beyond the Jordan; crowds ^(*)gathered to Him again, and, ^(C2)as He was accustomed, He once more began to teach them.

² And some Pharisees came up to Jesus, testing Him, and began questioning Him whether it was lawful for a man to ^(F1)divorce his wife.³ And He answered and said to them, "What did Moses command you?"⁴ They said, "^(C1)Moses permitted a man to write a ^(F1)certificate of divorce and ^(F2)send his wife away."⁵ But Jesus said to them, "^(F1)(C1)Because of your hardness of heart he wrote you this commandment.⁶ "But ^(C1)from the beginning of creation, God ^(C2)CREATED THEM MALE AND FEMALE.⁷ "^(C1)FOR THIS REASON A MAN SHALL LEAVE HIS FATHER AND MOTHER^(F1),^8 (C1)AND THE TWO SHALL BECOME ONE FLESH; so they are no longer two, but one flesh.⁹ "Therefore, what God has joined together, no person is to separate."

¹⁰ And in the house the disciples again began questioning Him about this.¹¹ And He ^(*)said to them, "^(C1)Whoever ^(F1)divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery against her;¹² and ^(C1)if she herself ^(F1)divorces her husband and marries another man, she is committing adultery."

Jesus Blesses Little Children

^13 (C1)And they were bringing children to Him so that He would touch them; but the disciples rebuked them.¹⁴ But when Jesus saw this, He was indignant and said to them, "Allow the children to come to Me; do not ^(F1)forbid them, ^(C1)for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.¹⁵ "Truly I say to you, ^(C1)whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it at all."¹⁶ And He ^(C1)took them in His arms and began blessing them, laying His hands on them.

The Rich Young Ruler

^17 (C1)As He was setting out on a journey, a man ran up to Him and ^(C2)knelt before Him, and asked Him, "Good Teacher, what shall I do so that I may ^(C3)inherit eternal life?"¹⁸ But Jesus said to him, "Why do you call Me good? No one is good except God alone.¹⁹ "You know the commandments: '^(C1)DO NOT MURDER, DO NOT COMMIT ADULTERY, DO NOT STEAL, DO NOT GIVE FALSE TESTIMONY, Do not defraud, HONOR YOUR FATHER AND MOTHER.'"²⁰ And he said to Him, "Teacher, I have kept ^(C1)all these things from my youth."²¹ Looking at him, Jesus showed love to him and said to him, "One thing you lack: go and sell all you possess and give to the poor, and you will have ^(C1)treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me."²² But he ^(F1)was deeply dismayed by ^(F2)these words, and he went away grieving; for he was one who owned much property.

²³ And Jesus, looking around, ^(*)said to His disciples, "^(C1)How hard it will be for those who are wealthy to enter the kingdom of God!"²⁴ And the disciples ^(C1)were amazed at His words. But Jesus responded again and ^(*)said to them, "Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God!²⁵ "^(C1)It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God."²⁶ And they were even more astonished, and said to Him, "^(F1)Then who can be saved?"²⁷ Looking at them, Jesus ^(*)said, "^(C1)With people it is impossible, but not with God; for all things are possible with God."

^28 (C1)Peter began to say to Him, "Behold, we have left everything and have followed You."²⁹ Jesus said, "Truly I say to you, ^(C1)there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or farms, for My sake and for the gospel's sake,^30 (F1)but that he will receive a hundred times as much now in ^(F2)the present age, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and farms, along with persecutions; and in ^(C1)the age to come, eternal life.³¹ "But ^(C1)many who are first will be last, and the last, first."

Jesus' Sufferings Foretold

^32 (C1)Now they were on the road going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was walking on ahead of them; and they ^(C2)were amazed, and those who followed were fearful. And again He took the twelve aside and began to tell them what was going to happen to Him,³³ saying, "Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and ^(C1)the Son of Man will be ^(F1)handed over to the chief priests and the scribes; and they will condemn Him to death and will ^(F2)hand Him over to the Gentiles.³⁴ "And they will mock Him and ^(C1)spit on Him, and flog Him and kill Him; and three days later He will rise from the dead."

^35 (F1)(C1)James and John, the two sons of Zebedee, ^(*)came up to ^(F2)Jesus, saying to Him, "Teacher, we want You to do for us whatever we ask of You."³⁶ And He said to them, "What do you want Me to do for you?"³⁷ They said to Him, "^(F1)Grant that we ^(C1)may sit, one on Your right and one on Your left, in Your glory."³⁸ But Jesus said to them, "You do not know what you are asking. Are you able ^(C1)to drink the cup that I drink, or ^(C2)to be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?"³⁹ They said to Him, "We are able." And Jesus said to them, "The cup that I drink ^(C1)you shall drink; and you shall be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized.⁴⁰ "But to sit on My right or on My left is not Mine to give; ^(C1)but it is for those for whom it has been prepared."

^41 (C1)Hearing this, the other ten began to feel indignant with ^(F1)James and John.⁴² Calling them to Himself, Jesus ^(*)said to them, "You know that those who are recognized as rulers of the Gentiles domineer over them; and their ^(F1)people in high position exercise authority over them.⁴³ "But it is not this way among you; ^(C1)rather, whoever wants to become ^(F1)prominent among you shall be your servant;⁴⁴ and whoever wants to be first among you shall be slave of all.⁴⁵ "For even the Son of Man ^(C1)did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His ^(F1)life as a ransom for many."

Bartimaeus Receives His Sight

^46 (C1)Then they ^(*)came to Jericho. And later, ^(C2)as He was leaving Jericho with His disciples and a large crowd, a beggar who was blind named Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, was sitting by the road.⁴⁷ And when he heard that it was Jesus the ^(C1)Nazarene, he began to cry out and say, "Jesus, ^(C2)Son of David, have mercy on me!"⁴⁸ Many were sternly telling him to be quiet, but he kept crying out all the more, "^(C1)Son of David, have mercy on me!"⁴⁹ And Jesus stopped and said, "Call him here." So they ^(*)called the man who was blind, saying to him, "^(C1)Take courage, stand up! He is calling for you."⁵⁰ And throwing off his cloak, he jumped up and came to Jesus.⁵¹ And replying to him, Jesus said, "What do you want Me to do for you?" And the man who was blind said to Him, "^(F1)(C1)Rabboni, I want to regain my sight!"⁵² And Jesus said to him, "Go; ^(C1)your faith has ^(F1)made you well." And immediately he regained his sight and began following Him on the road.