Marriage and Divorce^(A)

19 Now it came to pass, ^(B)when Jesus had finished these sayings, that He departed from Galilee and came to the region of Judea beyond the Jordan. ^2 (C)And great multitudes followed Him, and He healed them there.

³ The Pharisees also came to Him, testing Him, and saying to Him, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for just any reason?”

⁴ And He answered and said to them, “Have you not read that He who ^[a]made them at the beginning ^(D)‘made them male and female,’ ⁵ and said, ^(E)‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and ^(F)the two shall become one flesh’? ⁶ So then, they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate.”

⁷ They said to Him, ^(G)“Why then did Moses command to give a certificate of divorce, and to put her away?”

⁸ He said to them, “Moses, because of the ^(H)hardness of your hearts, permitted you to divorce your ^(I)wives, but from the beginning it was not so. ^9 (J)And I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for ^[b]sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery; and whoever marries her who is divorced commits adultery.”

¹⁰ His disciples said to Him, ^(K)“If such is the case of the man with his wife, it is better not to marry.”

Jesus Teaches on Celibacy

¹¹ But He said to them, ^(L)“All cannot accept this saying, but only those to whom it has been given: ¹² For there are ^[c]eunuchs who were born thus from their mother’s womb, and ^(M)there are eunuchs who were made eunuchs by men, and there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven’s sake. He who is able to accept it, let him accept it.”

Jesus Blesses Little Children^(N)

^13 (O)Then little children were brought to Him that He might put His hands on them and pray, but the disciples rebuked them. ¹⁴ But Jesus said, “Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for ^(P)of such is the kingdom of heaven.” ¹⁵ And He laid His hands on them and departed from there.

Jesus Counsels the Rich Young Ruler^(Q)

^16 (R)Now behold, one came and said to Him, ^(S)“Good^[d] Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life?”

¹⁷ So He said to him, ^[e]“Why do you call Me good? ^[f]No one is ^(T)good but One, that is, God. But if you want to enter into life, ^(U)keep the commandments.”

¹⁸ He said to Him, “Which ones?”

Jesus said, ^(V)“‘You shall not murder,’ ‘You shall not commit adultery,’ ‘You shall not steal,’ ‘You shall not bear false witness,’ ^19 (W)‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and, ^(X)‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ ”

²⁰ The young man said to Him, “All these things I have ^(Y)kept ^[g]from my youth. What do I still lack?”

²¹ Jesus said to him, “If you want to be perfect, ^(Z)go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.”

²² But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.

With God All Things Are Possible^(AA)

²³ Then Jesus said to His disciples, “Assuredly, I say to you that ^(AB)it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. ²⁴ And again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”

²⁵ When His disciples heard it, they were greatly astonished, saying, “Who then can be saved?”

²⁴ when the people therefore saw that Jesus was not there, nor His disciples, they also got into boats and came to Capernaum, ^(A)seeking Jesus. ²⁵ And when they found Him on the other side of the sea, they said to Him, “Rabbi, when did You come here?”

²⁶ Jesus answered them and said, “Most assuredly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw the signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled. ^27 (B)Do not labor for the food which perishes, but ^(C)for the food which endures to everlasting life, which the Son of Man will give you, ^(D)because God the Father has set His seal on Him.”

²⁸ Then they said to Him, “What shall we do, that we may work the works of God?”

²⁹ Jesus answered and said to them, ^(E)“This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent.”

³⁰ Therefore they said to Him, ^(F)“What sign will You perform then, that we may see it and believe You? What work will You do? ^31 (G)Our fathers ate the manna in the desert; as it is written, ^(H)‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’ ”

³² Then Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, Moses did not give you the bread from heaven, but ^(I)My Father gives you the true bread from heaven. ³³ For the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”

^34 (J)Then they said to Him, “Lord, give us this bread always.”

³⁵ And Jesus said to them, ^(K)“I am the bread of life. ^(L)He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never ^(M)thirst. ^36 (N)But I said to you that you have seen Me and yet ^(O)do not believe. ^37 (P)All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and ^(Q)the one who comes to Me I will ^[a]by no means cast out. ³⁸ For I have come down from heaven, ^(R)not to do My own will, ^(S)but the will of Him who sent Me. ³⁹ This is the will of the Father who sent Me, ^(T)that of all He has given Me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last day. ⁴⁰ And this is the will of Him who sent Me, ^(U)that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day.”

Rejected by His Own

⁴¹ The Jews then ^[b]complained about Him, because He said, “I am the bread which came down from heaven.” ⁴² And they said, ^(V)“Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How is it then that He says, ‘I have come down from heaven’?”

⁴³ Jesus therefore answered and said to them, ^[c]“Do not murmur among yourselves. ^44 (W)No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me ^(X)draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day. ⁴⁵ It is written in the prophets, ^(Y)‘And they shall all be taught by God.’ ^(Z)Therefore everyone who ^[d]has heard and learned from the Father comes to Me. ^46 (AA)Not that anyone has seen the Father, ^(AB)except He who is from God; He has seen the Father. ⁴⁷ Most assuredly, I say to you, ^(AC)he who believes ^[e]in Me has everlasting life. ^48 (AD)I am the bread of life. ^49 (AE)Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and are dead. ^50 (AF)This is the bread which comes down from heaven, that one may eat of it and not die. ⁵¹ I am the living bread ^(AG)which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and ^(AH)the bread that I shall give is My flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world.”

⁵² The Jews therefore ^(AI)quarreled among themselves, saying, “How can this Man give us His flesh to eat?”

⁵³ Then Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless ^(AJ)you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you. ^54 (AK)Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. ⁵⁵ For My flesh is ^[f]food indeed, and My blood is ^[g]drink indeed. ⁵⁶ He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood ^(AL)abides in Me, and I in him. ⁵⁷ As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he who feeds on Me will live because of Me. ^58 (AM)This is the bread which came down from heaven—not ^(AN)as your fathers ate the manna, and are dead. He who eats this bread will live forever.”

⁵⁹ These things He said in the synagogue as He taught in Capernaum.

Many Disciples Turn Away

^60 (AO)Therefore many of His disciples, when they heard this, said, “This is a ^[h]hard saying; who can understand it?”

⁶¹ When Jesus knew in Himself that His disciples ^[i]complained about this, He said to them, “Does this ^[j]offend you? ^62 (AP)What then if you should see the Son of Man ascend where He was before? ^63 (AQ)It is the Spirit who gives life; the ^(AR)flesh profits nothing. The ^(AS)words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life. ⁶⁴ But ^(AT)there are some of you who do not believe.” For ^(AU)Jesus knew from the beginning who they were who did not believe, and who would betray Him. ⁶⁵ And He said, “Therefore ^(AV)I have said to you that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted to him by My Father.”

^66 (AW)From that time many of His disciples went ^[k]back and walked with Him no more.