Mark 10
New Catholic Bible
Chapter 10
Marriage and Divorce.[a] 1 After departing from there, Jesus came into the region of Judea beyond the Jordan.[b] Again the crowds gathered around him, and, as was his custom, he began to teach them.
2 Some Pharisees came forward and in order to test him asked, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?” 3 He replied, “What did Moses command you?” 4 They said, “Moses allowed a man to write a certificate of divorce and dismiss her.” 5 But Jesus said to them, “It was because of the hardness of your hearts that he wrote this commandment for you. 6 But from the very beginning of creation, ‘God made them male and female.’ 7 ‘That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, 8 and the two become one flesh.’ And so they are no longer two but one flesh. 9 Therefore, what God has joined together, let no one separate.”
10 When they were again in the house, the disciples once more questioned Jesus about this. 11 He said to them, “If a man divorces his wife and marries another, he commits adultery against her. 12 In the same way, if a wife divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery.”
13 Jesus Receives Little Children.[c] People were bringing little children to him so that he might touch them, and the disciples sternly rebuked them. 14 But when Jesus became aware of this, he was indignant and said to them, “Let the little children come to me; do not hinder them. For it is to such as these that the kingdom of God belongs. 15 Amen, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.” 16 And he took them up into his arms, laid his hands on them, and blessed them.
17 The Rich Young Man.[d] As Jesus was starting out on a journey, a man came running up to him, knelt down, and asked him, “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” 18 Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone. 19 You know the commandments: ‘Do not kill. Do not commit adultery. Do not steal. Do not bear false witness. Do not defraud. Honor your father and your mother.’ ”
20 The man said to him, “Teacher, I have observed all these since I was a child.” 21 Looking at him, Jesus was moved with love and said, “You need to do one further thing. Go and sell what you own, and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” 22 When he heard these words, the man’s face fell and he went away grieving, for he possessed great wealth.
23 Then Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How difficult it will be for those who are rich to enter the kingdom of God!” 24 The disciples were astounded on hearing his words, but Jesus insisted: “Children, how difficult it is to enter the kingdom of God! 25 It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.” 26 The disciples were even more greatly astonished, and they said to one another, “Then who can be saved?” 27 Jesus looked at them and said, “For men it is impossible, but not for God. For God all things are possible.”
28 Reward for Following Jesus.[e] Peter said to him, “We have given up everything to follow you.” 29 Jesus answered, “Amen, I say to you, there is no one who has given up house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands for my sake and for the sake of the gospel 30 who will not receive in this age a hundred times more houses, brothers and sisters, mothers and children, and lands—as well as persecutions—and in the age to come, eternal life. 31 But many who are first will be last, and the last will be first.”
32 Jesus Predicts His Passion a Third Time.[f] As they were on the road going up to Jerusalem, Jesus walked ahead of them. The disciples were amazed, and those who followed were apprehensive. Once again, he took the Twelve aside and began to tell them what would happen to him. 33 “Behold, we are now going up to Jerusalem,” he said, “and the Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests and the scribes, and they will condemn him to death. Then they will hand him over to the Gentiles, 34 who will mock him, and spit upon him, and scourge him, and put him to death. And after three days he will rise again.”
35 The Son of Man Has Come To Serve.[g] Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came forward and said to him, “Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we request.” 36 He asked them, “What is it that you want me to do for you?” 37 They said to him, “Allow us to sit, one at your right hand and the other at your left, in your glory.” 38 Jesus said to them, “You do not know what you are asking. Can you drink the cup that I drink,[h] or be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?” 39 They said to him, “We can.”
Then Jesus said to them, “The cup that I drink you shall indeed drink, and with the baptism with which I am baptized you shall be baptized. 40 But to sit at my right hand or at my left is not in my power to grant. Those places belong to those for whom they have been prepared.”
41 When the other ten heard this, they began to be indignant at James and John. 42 Therefore, Jesus called them over and said, “You know that those considered to be rulers among the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones make their authority over them felt. 43 But this must not be so with you. Instead, whoever wishes to become great among you must be your servant, 44 and whoever wishes to be first among you must be the servant of all. 45 For even the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
46 Jesus Heals a Blind Man.[i] Then they came to Jericho. And as Jesus, his disciples, and a huge crowd were leaving Jericho, a blind man, Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus,[j] was sitting by the roadside asking for alms. 47 When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout, “Jesus, Son of David, have pity on me!” 48 Many rebuked him and told him to be silent, but he only shouted all the louder, “Son of David, have pity on me!”
49 Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.” So they called the blind man, saying to him, “Take heart! Stand up! He is calling you!” 50 Casting aside his cloak, he jumped up and went to Jesus. 51 Then Jesus said to him, “What do you want me to do for you?” The blind man said to him, “Rabbi,[k] let me receive my sight.” 52 Jesus said to him, “Go on your way! Your faith has made you well.” Immediately, he received his sight and followed him along the road.
Footnotes
- Mark 10:1 Divorce was practiced by permission of the Mosaic Law (Deut 24:1). But a permission supposes a weakness; it does not represent the law that gives life. From the beginning, God willed the unity of the couple in marriage (see Gen 1:27 and 2:24). Jesus recalls this requirement and shows, too, that the Scriptures ought to be interpreted in light of the fundamental perspectives of God’s plan and not on the basis of the changeable desires and needs of human beings.
- Mark 10:1 Region of Judea beyond the Jordan: Judea was the southern part of Palestine, which had formerly been the southern kingdom. Jesus went south from Capernaum over the mountains of Samaria into Judea and then east across the Jordan to Perea, the territory of Herod Antipas.
- Mark 10:13 This episode is common to the Synoptics, but Mark alone recounts the human traits of the divine Master, such as his indignation at the disciples’ hindering action and his affectionate attitude in embracing the children.
- Mark 10:17 See note on Mt 19:16-26.
- Mark 10:28 See note on Mt 19:27-30.
- Mark 10:32 See note on Mt 20:17-19. Gentiles, who will . . . put him to death: the predictions of the Passion in Mark’s Gospel do not mention the word “crucified.” However, crucifixion is implied by the fact that he was to be handed over to the Gentiles to be killed, since this was the customary Roman means of executing non-Romans.
- Mark 10:35 What was Christ’s own understanding of his life, of the kingdom, of what it meant to be a disciple? An answer is given in this decisive passage (see vv. 42-45). So important are these verses that Luke points up their essential context by placing them in the account of the Supper (Lk 22:24-27) and John in the explanation of the washing of the feet (Jn 13:12-17). The kingdom of God has nothing to do with ambitions for political or social power; true greatness is found not in prestige or rule but only in service.
- Mark 10:38 Drink the cup that I drink: a Hebraism for sharing someone’s fate. In the Old Testament, the “cup of wine” was a metaphor for God’s wrath against sin and rebellion (Ps 75:9; Isa 51:17-23; Jer 25:15-28; 49:12; 51:7).
Thus, the cup Jesus had to drink refers to the punishment of sins that he bore in place of all human beings (see Mk 10:45; 14:36). Baptism: an image of Jesus’ suffering and death. - Mark 10:46 This healing is the last miracle of Jesus in Mark’s Gospel.
- Mark 10:46 Son of Timaeus is the meaning of Bartimaeus in Aramaic.
- Mark 10:51 Rabbi: means “master” (see Jn 20:16; Mt 23:7).
Mark 10
World English Bible
10 He arose from there and came into the borders of Judea and beyond the Jordan. Multitudes came together to him again. As he usually did, he was again teaching them.
2 Pharisees came to him testing him, and asked him, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?”
3 He answered, “What did Moses command you?”
4 They said, “Moses allowed a certificate of divorce to be written, and to divorce her.”
5 But Jesus said to them, “For your hardness of heart, he wrote you this commandment. 6 But from the beginning of the creation, God made them male and female.(A) 7 For this cause a man will leave his father and mother, and will join to his wife, 8 and the two will become one flesh,(B) so that they are no longer two, but one flesh. 9 What therefore God has joined together, let no man separate.”
10 In the house, his disciples asked him again about the same matter. 11 He said to them, “Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her. 12 If a woman herself divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery.”
13 They were bringing to him little children, that he should touch them, but the disciples rebuked those who were bringing them. 14 But when Jesus saw it, he was moved with indignation and said to them, “Allow the little children to come to me! Don’t forbid them, for God’s Kingdom belongs to such as these. 15 Most certainly I tell you, whoever will not receive God’s Kingdom like a little child, he will in no way enter into it.” 16 He took them in his arms and blessed them, laying his hands on them.
17 As he was going out into the way, one ran to him, knelt before him, and asked him, “Good Teacher, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?”
18 Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except one—God. 19 You know the commandments: ‘Do not murder,’ ‘Do not commit adultery,’ ‘Do not steal,’ ‘Do not give false testimony,’ ‘Do not defraud,’ ‘Honor your father and mother.’”(C)
20 He said to him, “Teacher, I have observed all these things from my youth.”
21 Jesus looking at him loved him, and said to him, “One thing you lack. Go, sell whatever you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me, taking up the cross.”
22 But his face fell at that saying, and he went away sorrowful, for he was one who had great possessions.
23 Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How difficult it is for those who have riches to enter into God’s Kingdom!”
24 The disciples were amazed at his words. But Jesus answered again, “Children, how hard it is for those who trust in riches to enter into God’s Kingdom! 25 It is easier for a camel to go through a needle’s eye than for a rich man to enter into God’s Kingdom.”
26 They were exceedingly astonished, saying to him, “Then who can be saved?”
27 Jesus, looking at them, said, “With men it is impossible, but not with God, for all things are possible with God.”
28 Peter began to tell him, “Behold, we have left all and have followed you.”
29 Jesus said, “Most certainly I tell you, there is no one who has left house, or brothers, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or land, for my sake, and for the sake of the Good News, 30 but he will receive one hundred times more now in this time: houses, brothers, sisters, mothers, children, and land, with persecutions; and in the age to come eternal life. 31 But many who are first will be last, and the last first.”
32 They were on the way, going up to Jerusalem; and Jesus was going in front of them, and they were amazed; and those who followed were afraid. He again took the twelve, and began to tell them the things that were going to happen to him. 33 “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem. The Son of Man will be delivered to the chief priests and the scribes. They will condemn him to death, and will deliver him to the Gentiles. 34 They will mock him, spit on him, scourge him, and kill him. On the third day he will rise again.”
35 James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came near to him, saying, “Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we will ask.”
36 He said to them, “What do you want me to do for you?”
37 They said to him, “Grant to us that we may sit, one at your right hand and one at your left hand, in your glory.”
38 But Jesus said to them, “You don’t know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, and to be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?”
39 They said to him, “We are able.”
Jesus said to them, “You shall indeed drink the cup that I drink, and you shall be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with; 40 but to sit at my right hand and at my left hand is not mine to give, but for whom it has been prepared.”
41 When the ten heard it, they began to be indignant toward James and John.
42 Jesus summoned them and said to them, “You know that they who are recognized as rulers over the nations lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. 43 But it shall not be so among you, but whoever wants to become great among you shall be your servant. 44 Whoever of you wants to become first among you shall be bondservant of all. 45 For the Son of Man also came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
46 They came to Jericho. As he went out from Jericho with his disciples and a great multitude, the son of Timaeus, Bartimaeus, a blind beggar, was sitting by the road. 47 When he heard that it was Jesus the Nazarene, he began to cry out and say, “Jesus, you son of David, have mercy on me!” 48 Many rebuked him, that he should be quiet, but he cried out much more, “You son of David, have mercy on me!”
49 Jesus stood still and said, “Call him.”
They called the blind man, saying to him, “Cheer up! Get up. He is calling you!”
50 He, casting away his cloak, sprang up, and came to Jesus.
51 Jesus asked him, “What do you want me to do for you?”
The blind man said to him, “Rabboni,[a] that I may see again.”
52 Jesus said to him, “Go your way. Your faith has made you well.” Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus on the way.
Footnotes
- 10:51 Rabboni is a transliteration of the Hebrew word for “great teacher.”
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