Matthew 19

Contemporary English Version

Teaching about Divorce

(Mark 10.1-12)

19 When Jesus finished teaching, he left Galilee and went to the part of Judea east of the Jordan River. ²Large crowds followed him, and he healed their sick.

³Some Pharisees wanted to test Jesus. They came up to him and asked, “Is it right for a man to divorce his wife for just any reason?”

⁴^(A) Jesus answered, “Don't you know in the beginning the Creator made a man and a woman? ⁵^(B) That's why a man leaves his father and mother and gets married. He becomes like one person with his wife. ⁶Then they are no longer two people, but one. And no one should separate a couple God has joined together.”

⁷^(C) The Pharisees asked Jesus, “Why did Moses say a man could write out divorce papers and send his wife away?”

⁸Jesus replied, “You are so heartless! That's why Moses allowed you to divorce your wife. But from the beginning God did not intend it to be that way. ⁹^(D) I say if your wife has not committed some terrible sexual sin,^[a] you must not divorce her to marry someone else. If you do, you are unfaithful.”

¹⁰The disciples said, “If that's how it is between a man and a woman, it's better not to get married.”

¹¹Jesus told them, “Only those people who have been given the gift of staying single can accept this teaching. ¹²Some people are unable to marry because of birth defects or because of what someone has done to their bodies. Others stay single in order to serve God better. Anyone who can accept this teaching should do so.”

Jesus Blesses Little Children

(Mark 10.13-16; Luke 18.15-17)

¹³Some people brought their children to Jesus, so he could place his hands on them and pray for them. His disciples told the people to stop bothering him. ¹⁴But Jesus said, “Let the children come to me, and don't try to stop them! People who are like these children belong to God's kingdom.”^[b] ¹⁵After Jesus had placed his hands on the children, he left.

A Rich Young Man

(Mark 10.17-31; Luke 18.18-30)

¹⁶A man came to Jesus and asked, “Teacher, what good thing must I do to have eternal life?”

¹⁷Jesus said to him, “Why do you ask me about what is good? Only God is good. If you want to have eternal life, you must obey his commandments.”

¹⁸^(E) “Which ones?” the man asked.

Jesus answered, “Do not murder. Be faithful in marriage. Do not steal. Do not tell lies about others. ¹⁹^(F) Respect your father and mother. And love others as much as you love yourself.” ²⁰The young man said, “I have obeyed all of these. What else must I do?”

²¹Jesus replied, “If you want to be perfect, go sell everything you own! Give the money to the poor, and you will have riches in heaven. Then come and be my follower.” ²²When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he was very rich.

²³Jesus said to his disciples, “I tell you, it's terribly hard for rich people to get into the kingdom of heaven! ²⁴In fact, it's easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to get into God's kingdom.”

²⁵When the disciples heard this, they were greatly surprised and asked, “How can anyone ever be saved?”

²⁶Jesus looked straight at them and said, “There are some things people cannot do, but God can do anything.”

²⁷Peter replied, “Remember, we have left everything to be your followers! What will we get?”

²⁸^(G) Jesus answered:

Yes, all of you have become my followers. And so in the future world, when the Son of Man sits on his glorious throne, I promise you will sit on twelve thrones to judge the twelve tribes of Israel. ²⁹All who have given up home or brothers and sisters or father and mother or children or land for me will be given 100 times as much. They will also have eternal life. ³⁰^(H) But many who are now first will be last, and many who are last will be first.

Footnotes

19.9 some terrible sexual sin: See the note at 5.32.
19.14 People who are like these children belong to God's kingdom: Or “God's kingdom belongs to people who are like these children.”

Mark 10

Contemporary English Version

Teaching about Divorce

(Matthew 19.1-12; Luke 16.18)

10 After Jesus left, he went to Judea and then on to the other side of the Jordan River. Once again large crowds came to him, and as usual, he taught them.

²Some Pharisees wanted to test Jesus. So they came up to him and asked if it was right for a man to divorce his wife. ³Jesus asked them, “What does the Law of Moses say about this?”

⁴^(A) They answered, “Moses allows a man to write out divorce papers and send his wife away.”

⁵Jesus replied, “Moses gave you this law because you are so heartless. ⁶^(B) But in the beginning God made a man and a woman. ⁷^(C) That's why a man leaves his father and mother and gets married. ⁸He becomes like one person with his wife. Then they are no longer two people, but one. ⁹And no one should separate a couple that God has joined together.”

¹⁰When Jesus and his disciples were back in the house, they asked him about what he had said. ¹¹^(D) He told them, “A man who divorces his wife and marries someone else is unfaithful to his wife. ¹²A woman who divorces her husband^[a] and marries again is also unfaithful.”

Jesus Blesses Little Children

(Matthew 19.13-15; Luke 18.15-17)

¹³Some people brought their children to Jesus so he could bless them by placing his hands on them. But his disciples told the people to stop bothering him.

¹⁴When Jesus saw this, he became angry and said, “Let the children come to me! Don't try to stop them. People who are like these little children belong to the kingdom of God.^[b] ¹⁵^(E) I promise you that you cannot get into God's kingdom, unless you accept it the way a child does.” ¹⁶Then Jesus took the children in his arms and blessed them by placing his hands on them.

A Rich Man

(Matthew 19.16-30; Luke 18.18-30)

¹⁷As Jesus was walking down a road, a man ran up to him. He knelt down, and asked, “Good teacher, what can I do to have eternal life?”

¹⁸Jesus replied, “Why do you call me good? Only God is good. ¹⁹^(F) You know the commandments. ‘Do not murder. Be faithful in marriage. Do not steal. Do not tell lies about others. Do not cheat. Respect your father and mother.’ ”

²⁰The man answered, “Teacher, I have obeyed all these commandments since I was a young man.”

²¹Jesus looked closely at the man. He liked him and said, “There's one thing you still need to do. Go sell everything you own. Give the money to the poor, and you will have riches in heaven. Then come with me.”

²²When the man heard Jesus say this, he went away gloomy and sad because he was very rich.

²³Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “It's hard for rich people to get into God's kingdom!” ²⁴The disciples were shocked to hear this. So Jesus told them again, “It's terribly hard^[c] to get into God's kingdom! ²⁵In fact, it's easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to get into God's kingdom.”

²⁶Jesus' disciples were even more amazed. They asked each other, “How can anyone ever be saved?”

²⁷Jesus looked at them and said, “There are some things that people cannot do, but God can do anything.”

²⁸Peter replied, “Remember, we left everything to be your followers!”

²⁹Jesus told him:

You can be sure that anyone who gives up home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or land for me and for the good news ³⁰will be rewarded. In this world they will be given 100 times as many houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and pieces of land, though they will also be mistreated. And in the world to come, they will have eternal life. ³¹^(G) But many who are now first will be last, and many who are now last will be first.

Jesus Again Tells about His Death

(Matthew 20.17-19; Luke 18.31-34)

³²The disciples were confused as Jesus led them toward Jerusalem, and his other followers were afraid. Once again, Jesus took the twelve disciples aside and told them what was going to happen to him. He said:

³³We are now on our way to Jerusalem where the Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests and the teachers of the Law of Moses. They will sentence him to death and hand him over to foreigners,^[d] ³⁴who will make fun of him and spit on him. They will beat him and kill him. But three days later he will rise to life.

The Request of James and John

(Matthew 20.20-28)

³⁵James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came up to Jesus and asked, “Teacher, will you do us a favor?”

³⁶Jesus asked them what they wanted, ³⁷and they answered, “When you come into your glory, please let one of us sit at your right side and the other at your left.”^[e]

³⁸^(H) Jesus told them, “You don't really know what you're asking! Are you able to drink from the cup^[f] that I must soon drink from or be baptized as I must be baptized?”^[g]

³⁹“Yes, we are!” James and John answered.

Then Jesus replied, “You certainly will drink from the cup from which I must drink. And you will be baptized just as I must! ⁴⁰But it isn't for me to say who will sit at my right side and at my left. This is for God to decide.”

⁴¹When the ten other disciples heard this, they were angry with James and John. ⁴²^(I) But Jesus called the disciples together and said:

You know that those foreigners who call themselves kings like to order their people around. And their great leaders have full power over the people they rule. ⁴³^(J) But don't act like them. If you want to be great, you must be the servant of all the others. ⁴⁴And if you want to be first, you must be everyone's slave. ⁴⁵^(K) The Son of Man did not come to be a slave master, but a slave who will give his life to rescue^[h] many people.

Jesus Heals Blind Bartimaeus

(Matthew 20.29-34; Luke 18.35-43)

⁴⁶Jesus and his disciples went to Jericho. And as they were leaving, they were followed by a large crowd. A blind beggar by the name of Bartimaeus son of Timaeus was sitting beside the road. ⁴⁷When he heard that it was Jesus from Nazareth, he shouted, “Jesus, Son of David,^[i] have pity on me!” ⁴⁸Many people told the man to stop, but he shouted even louder, “Son of David, have pity on me!”

⁴⁹Jesus stopped and said, “Call him over!”

They called out to the blind man and said, “Don't be afraid! Come on! He is calling for you.” ⁵⁰The man threw off his coat as he jumped up and ran to Jesus.

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

The blind man answered, “Master,^[j] I want to see!”

⁵²Jesus told him, “You may go. Your eyes are healed because of your faith.”

At once the man could see, and he went down the road with Jesus.

Footnotes

10.12 A woman who divorces her husband: Roman law let a woman divorce her husband, but Jewish law did not let a woman do this.
10.14 People who are like these little children belong to the kingdom of God: Or “The kingdom of God belongs to people who are like these little children.”
10.24 hard: Some manuscripts add “for people who trust in their wealth.” Others add “for the rich.”
10.33 foreigners: The Romans who ruled Judea at this time.
10.37 right side … left: The most powerful people in a kingdom sat at the right and left side of the king.
10.38 drink from the cup: In the Scriptures a “cup” is sometimes used as a symbol of suffering. To “drink from the cup” would be to suffer.
10.38 as I must be baptized: Baptism is used with the same meaning that “cup” has in this verse.
10.45 rescue: The Greek word often, though not always, means the payment of a price to free a slave or a prisoner.
10.47 Son of David: The Jewish people expected the Messiah to be from the family of King David, and for this reason the Messiah was often called the “Son of David.”
10.51 Master: A Hebrew word that may also mean “Teacher.”