Jesus’ Teaching about Divorce

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

And some Pharisees came up to Jesus, testing Him, and began questioning Him whether it was lawful for a man to [a]divorce his wife. And He answered and said to them, “What did Moses command you?” They said, “(C)Moses permitted a man to write a [b]certificate of divorce and [c]send his wife away.” But Jesus said to them, [d](D)Because of your hardness of heart he wrote you this commandment. But (E)from the beginning of creation, God (F)created them male and female. (G)For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother[e], (H)and the two shall become one flesh; so they are no longer two, but one flesh. 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, (I)Whoever [f]divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery against her; 12 and (J)if she herself [g]divorces her husband and marries another man, she is committing adultery.”

Jesus Blesses Little Children

13 (K)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 [h]forbid them, (L)for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. 15 Truly I say to you, (M)whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it at all.” 16 And He (N)took them in His arms and began blessing them, laying His hands on them.

The Rich Young Ruler

17 (O)As He was setting out on a journey, a man ran up to Him and (P)knelt before Him, and asked Him, “Good Teacher, what shall I do so that I may (Q)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: ‘(R)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 (S)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 (T)treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.” 22 But he [i]was deeply dismayed by [j]these words, and he went away grieving; for he was one who owned much property.

23 And Jesus, looking around, *said to His disciples, (U)How hard it will be for those who are wealthy to enter the kingdom of God!” 24 And the disciples (V)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 (W)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, “[k]Then who can be saved?” 27 Looking at them, Jesus *said, (X)With people it is impossible, but not with God; for all things are possible with God.”

28 (Y)Peter began to say to Him, “Behold, we have left everything and have followed You.” 29 Jesus said, “Truly I say to you, (Z)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 [l]but that he will receive a hundred times as much now in [m]the present age, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and farms, along with persecutions; and in (AA)the age to come, eternal life. 31 But (AB)many who are first will be last, and the last, first.”

Jesus’ Sufferings Foretold

32 (AC)Now they were on the road going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was walking on ahead of them; and they (AD)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 (AE)the Son of Man will be [n]handed over to the chief priests and the scribes; and they will condemn Him to death and will [o]hand Him over to the Gentiles. 34 And they will mock Him and (AF)spit on Him, and flog Him and kill Him; and three days later He will rise from the dead.”

35 [p](AG)James and John, the two sons of Zebedee, *came up to [q]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, “[r]Grant that we (AH)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 (AI)to drink the cup that I drink, or (AJ)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 (AK)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; (AL)but it is for those for whom it has been prepared.”

41 (AM)Hearing this, the other ten began to feel indignant with [s]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 [t]people in high position exercise authority over them. 43 But it is not this way among you; (AN)rather, whoever wants to become [u]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 (AO)did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His [v]life as a ransom for many.”

Bartimaeus Receives His Sight

46 (AP)Then they *came to Jericho. And later, (AQ)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 (AR)Nazarene, he began to cry out and say, “Jesus, (AS)Son of David, have mercy on me!” 48 Many were sternly telling him to be quiet, but he kept crying out all the more, “(AT)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, “(AU)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, “[w](AV)Rabboni, I want to regain my sight!” 52 And Jesus said to him, “Go; (AW)your faith has [x]made you well.” And immediately he regained his sight and began following Him on the road.

Footnotes

  1. Mark 10:2 Lit send away, the Heb term for divorce
  2. Mark 10:4 Permitting her to remarry
  3. Mark 10:4 Or divorce her
  4. Mark 10:5 Or With reference to
  5. Mark 10:7 Many late mss add and shall cling to his wife
  6. Mark 10:11 Or sends away
  7. Mark 10:12 Or sends away
  8. Mark 10:14 Or prevent
  9. Mark 10:22 Or became gloomy at; or was shocked by
  10. Mark 10:22 Lit the word
  11. Mark 10:26 Lit And
  12. Mark 10:30 Lit if he does not
  13. Mark 10:30 Lit this time
  14. Mark 10:33 Or betrayed
  15. Mark 10:33 Or betray
  16. Mark 10:35 Or Jacob
  17. Mark 10:35 Lit Him
  18. Mark 10:37 Lit Give to us
  19. Mark 10:41 Or Jacob
  20. Mark 10:42 Lit great ones
  21. Mark 10:43 Lit great
  22. Mark 10:45 Or soul
  23. Mark 10:51 I.e., My Master
  24. Mark 10:52 Lit saved you

Discussion about Divorce and Marriage

10 Then Jesus left Capernaum and went down to the region of Judea and into the area east of the Jordan River. Once again crowds gathered around him, and as usual he was teaching them.

Some Pharisees came and tried to trap him with this question: “Should a man be allowed to divorce his wife?”

Jesus answered them with a question: “What did Moses say in the law about divorce?”

“Well, he permitted it,” they replied. “He said a man can give his wife a written notice of divorce and send her away.”[a]

But Jesus responded, “He wrote this commandment only as a concession to your hard hearts. But ‘God made them male and female’[b] from the beginning of creation. ‘This explains why a man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife,[c] and the two are united into one.’[d] Since they are no longer two but one, let no one split apart what God has joined together.”

10 Later, when he was alone with his disciples in the house, they brought up the subject again. 11 He told them, “Whoever divorces his wife and marries someone else commits adultery against her. 12 And if a woman divorces her husband and marries someone else, she commits adultery.”

Jesus Blesses the Children

13 One day some parents brought their children to Jesus so he could touch and bless them. But the disciples scolded the parents for bothering him.

14 When Jesus saw what was happening, he was angry with his disciples. He said to them, “Let the children come to me. Don’t stop them! For the Kingdom of God belongs to those who are like these children. 15 I tell you the truth, anyone who doesn’t receive the Kingdom of God like a child will never enter it.” 16 Then he took the children in his arms and placed his hands on their heads and blessed them.

The Rich Man

17 As Jesus was starting out on his way to Jerusalem, a man came running up to him, knelt down, and asked, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”

18 “Why do you call me good?” Jesus asked. “Only God is truly good. 19 But to answer your question, you know the commandments: ‘You must not murder. You must not commit adultery. You must not steal. You must not testify falsely. You must not cheat anyone. Honor your father and mother.’[e]

20 “Teacher,” the man replied, “I’ve obeyed all these commandments since I was young.”

21 Looking at the man, Jesus felt genuine love for him. “There is still one thing you haven’t done,” he told him. “Go and sell all your possessions and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”

22 At this the man’s face fell, and he went away sad, for he had many possessions.

23 Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the Kingdom of God!” 24 This amazed them. But Jesus said again, “Dear children, it is very hard[f] to enter the Kingdom of God. 25 In fact, 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 The disciples were astounded. “Then who in the world can be saved?” they asked.

27 Jesus looked at them intently and said, “Humanly speaking, it is impossible. But not with God. Everything is possible with God.”

28 Then Peter began to speak up. “We’ve given up everything to follow you,” he said.

29 “Yes,” Jesus replied, “and I assure you that everyone who has given up house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or property, for my sake and for the Good News, 30 will receive now in return a hundred times as many houses, brothers, sisters, mothers, children, and property—along with persecution. And in the world to come that person will have eternal life. 31 But many who are the greatest now will be least important then, and those who seem least important now will be the greatest then.[g]

Jesus Again Predicts His Death

32 They were now on the way up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was walking ahead of them. The disciples were filled with awe, and the people following behind were overwhelmed with fear. Taking the twelve disciples aside, Jesus once more began to describe everything that was about to happen to him. 33 “Listen,” he said, “we’re going up to Jerusalem, where the Son of Man[h] will be betrayed to the leading priests and the teachers of religious law. They will sentence him to die and hand him over to the Romans.[i] 34 They will mock him, spit on him, flog him with a whip, and kill him, but after three days he will rise again.”

Jesus Teaches about Serving Others

35 Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came over and spoke to him. “Teacher,” they said, “we want you to do us a favor.”

36 “What is your request?” he asked.

37 They replied, “When you sit on your glorious throne, we want to sit in places of honor next to you, one on your right and the other on your left.”

38 But Jesus said to them, “You don’t know what you are asking! Are you able to drink from the bitter cup of suffering I am about to drink? Are you able to be baptized with the baptism of suffering I must be baptized with?”

39 “Oh yes,” they replied, “we are able!”

Then Jesus told them, “You will indeed drink from my bitter cup and be baptized with my baptism of suffering. 40 But I have no right to say who will sit on my right or my left. God has prepared those places for the ones he has chosen.”

41 When the ten other disciples heard what James and John had asked, they were indignant. 42 So Jesus called them together and said, “You know that the rulers in this world lord it over their people, and officials flaunt their authority over those under them. 43 But among you it will be different. Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be your servant, 44 and whoever wants to be first among you must be the slave of everyone else. 45 For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

Jesus Heals Blind Bartimaeus

46 Then they reached Jericho, and as Jesus and his disciples left town, a large crowd followed him. A blind beggar named Bartimaeus (son of Timaeus) was sitting beside the road. 47 When Bartimaeus heard that Jesus of Nazareth was nearby, he began to shout, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”

48 “Be quiet!” many of the people yelled at him.

But he only shouted louder, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”

49 When Jesus heard him, he stopped and said, “Tell him to come here.”

So they called the blind man. “Cheer up,” they said. “Come on, he’s calling you!” 50 Bartimaeus threw aside his coat, jumped up, and came to Jesus.

51 “What do you want me to do for you?” Jesus asked.

“My Rabbi,[j]” the blind man said, “I want to see!”

52 And Jesus said to him, “Go, for your faith has healed you.” Instantly the man could see, and he followed Jesus down the road.[k]

Footnotes

  1. 10:4 See Deut 24:1.
  2. 10:6 Gen 1:27; 5:2.
  3. 10:7 Some manuscripts do not include and is joined to his wife.
  4. 10:7-8 Gen 2:24.
  5. 10:19 Exod 20:12-16; Deut 5:16-20.
  6. 10:24 Some manuscripts read very hard for those who trust in riches.
  7. 10:31 Greek But many who are first will be last; and the last, first.
  8. 10:33a “Son of Man” is a title Jesus used for himself.
  9. 10:33b Greek the Gentiles.
  10. 10:51 Greek uses the Hebrew term Rabboni.
  11. 10:52 Or on the way.