Concerning Divorce

19 Now when Jesus had finished saying these things, He left Galilee and went into the part of Judea that is beyond the Jordan; ² and large crowds followed Him, and He healed them there.

³ And Pharisees came to Jesus, testing Him and asking, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for just any reason?” ⁴ He replied, “Have you never read that He who created them from the beginning made them male and female, ⁵ and said, ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and shall be joined inseparably to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’?^{(A) 6} So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore, what God has joined together, let no one separate.” ⁷ The Pharisees said to Him, “Why then did Moses command us to give her a certificate of divorce and send her away?”^{(B) 8} He said to them, “Because your hearts were hard and stubborn Moses permitted you to divorce your wives; but from the beginning it has not been this way. ⁹ I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another woman commits adultery^[a].”

¹⁰ The disciples said to Jesus, “If the relationship of a man with his wife is like this, it is better not to marry.” ¹¹ But He said to them, “Not all men can accept this statement, but only those to whom [the capacity to receive] it has been given. ¹² For there are eunuchs who have been born that way from their mother’s womb [making them incapable of consummating a marriage]; and there are eunuchs who have been made eunuchs by men [for royal service]; and there are eunuchs who have ^[b]made themselves so for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. He who is able to accept this, let him accept it.”

Jesus Blesses Little Children

¹³ Then children were brought to Jesus so that He might place His hands on them [for a blessing] and pray; but the disciples reprimanded them. ¹⁴ But He said, “Leave the children alone, and do not forbid them from coming to Me; for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” ¹⁵ After placing His hands on them [for a blessing], He went on from there.

The Rich Young Ruler

¹⁶ And someone came to Him and said, “Teacher, what [essentially] good thing shall I do to obtain eternal life [that is, eternal salvation in the Messiah’s kingdom]?”^{(C) 17} Jesus answered, “Why are you asking Me about what is [essentially] good? There is only One who is [essentially] good; but if you wish to enter into eternal life, keep the commandments.”^{(D) 18} He said to Jesus, “Which commandments?” And Jesus answered, “You shall not commit murder; You shall not commit adultery; You shall not steal; You shall not give false testimony;^{(E) 19} Honor your father and mother; and love your neighbor as yourself” [that is, unselfishly seek the best or higher good for others].^{(F) 20} The young man said to Him, “I have kept all these things [from my youth]; what do I still lack?”^{(G) 21} Jesus answered him, “If you wish to be perfect [that is, have the spiritual maturity that accompanies godly character with no moral or ethical deficiencies], go and sell what you have and give [the money] to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me [becoming My disciple, believing and trusting in Me and walking the same path of life that I walk].” ²² But when the young man heard this, he left grieving and distressed, for he owned much property and had many possessions [which he treasured more than his relationship with God].

²³ Jesus said to His disciples, “I assure you and most solemnly say to you, it is difficult for a rich man [who clings to possessions and status as security] to enter the kingdom of heaven. ²⁴ Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man [who places his faith in wealth and status] to enter the kingdom of God.” ²⁵ When the disciples heard this, they were completely ^[c]astonished and bewildered, saying, “Then who can be saved [from the wrath of God]?” ²⁶ But Jesus looked at them and said, “With people [as far as it depends on them] it is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”^(H)

The Disciples’ Reward

²⁷ Then Peter answered Him, saying, “Look, we have given up everything and followed You [becoming Your disciples and accepting You as Teacher and Lord]; what then will there be for us?” ²⁸ Jesus said to them, “I assure you and most solemnly say to you, in the renewal [that is, the Messianic restoration and regeneration of all things] when the Son of Man sits on His glorious throne, you [who have followed Me, becoming My disciples] will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. ²⁹ And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother ^[d]or children or farms for My name’s sake will receive many times as much, and will inherit eternal life. ³⁰ But many who are first [in this world] will be last [in the world to come]; and the last, first.

Jesus’ Teaching about Divorce

10 Getting up, He left there (Capernaum) and went to the region of Judea and beyond the Jordan; and crowds gathered around Him again and accompanied Him, and as was His custom, He once more began to teach them.

² Pharisees came to Jesus to test Him [intending to trick Him into saying something wrong], and asked Him, “Is it lawful [according to Scripture] for a man to divorce his wife and send her away?” ³ He replied to them, “What did Moses command you?” ⁴ They said, “Moses allowed a man to write a certificate of divorce and to send her away.”^{(A) 5} But Jesus said to them, “Because of your hardness of hearts [your callousness and insensitivity toward your wives and the ^[a]provision of God] he wrote you this precept. ⁶ But from the beginning of creation God made them male and female.^{(B) 7} For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother [to establish a home with his wife],^{(C) 8} and the two shall become one flesh; so that they are no longer two, but [are united as] one flesh.^{(D) 9} Therefore, what God has united and joined together, man must not separate [by divorce].”

¹⁰ In the house the disciples began questioning Him again about this. ¹¹ And He said to them, “Whoever divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery against her; ¹² and if a woman divorces her husband and marries another man, she commits adultery.”

Jesus Blesses Little Children

¹³ People were bringing children to Him so that He would touch and bless them, but the disciples reprimanded them and discouraged them [from coming]. ¹⁴ But when Jesus saw this, He was indignant and He said to them, “Allow the children to come to Me; do not forbid them; for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. ¹⁵ I assure you and most solemnly say to you, whoever does not receive and welcome the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it at all.” ¹⁶ And He took the children [one by one] in His arms and ^[b]blessed them [with kind, encouraging words], placing His hands on them.

The Rich Young Ruler

¹⁷ As He was leaving on His journey, a man ran up and knelt before Him and asked Him, “Good Teacher [You who are essentially good and morally perfect], what shall I do to inherit eternal life [that is, eternal salvation in the Messiah’s kingdom]?”^{(E) 18} Jesus said to him, “^[c]Why do you call Me good? No one is [essentially] good [by nature] except God alone. ¹⁹ You know the commandments: ‘Do not murder, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not testify falsely, Do not defraud, Honor your father and mother.’”^{(F) 20} And he replied to Him, “Teacher, I have [carefully] kept all these [commandments] since my ^[d]youth.” ²¹ Looking at him, Jesus felt a love (high regard, compassion) for him, and He said to him, “You lack one thing: go and sell all your property and give [the money] to the poor, and you will have [abundant] treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me [becoming My disciple, believing and trusting in Me and walking the same path of life that I walk].” ²² But the man was saddened at Jesus’ words, and he left grieving, because he owned much property and had many possessions [which he treasured more than his relationship with God].

²³ Jesus looked around and said to His disciples, “How difficult it will be for those who are wealthy [and cling to possessions and status as security] to enter the kingdom of God!” ²⁴ The disciples were ^[e]amazed and bewildered by His words. But Jesus said to them again, “Children, how difficult it is [for those who place their hope and confidence in riches] to enter the kingdom of God! ²⁵ It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man [who places his faith in wealth or status] to enter the kingdom of God.” ²⁶ They were completely and utterly astonished, and said to Him, “Then who can be saved [from the wrath of God]?” ²⁷ Looking at them, Jesus said, “With people [as far as it depends on them] it is impossible, but not with God; for all things are possible with God.”

²⁸ Peter started saying to Him, “Look, we have given up everything and followed You [becoming Your disciples and accepting You as Teacher and Lord].” ²⁹ Jesus said, “I assure you and most solemnly say to you, there is no one who has given up a house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or farms, for My sake and for the gospel’s sake, ³⁰ who will not receive a hundred times as much now in the present age—houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and farms—along with persecutions; and in the age to come, eternal life. ³¹ But many who are first will be last, and the last, first.”

Jesus’ Sufferings Foretold

³² Now they were on the road going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was walking on ahead of them; and they were perplexed [at what Jesus had said], and those who were following were alarmed and afraid. And again He took the twelve [disciples] aside and began telling them what was going to happen to Him, ³³ saying, “Listen very carefully: we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed and handed over to the chief priests and the scribes; and they will condemn Him to death and hand Him over to the Gentiles (Romans). ³⁴ They will mock and ridicule Him and spit on Him, and whip (scourge) Him and kill Him, and three days later He will rise [from the dead].”

³⁵ James and John, the two sons of Zebedee, came to Him, saying, “Teacher, we want You to do for us whatever we ask of You.”^{(G) 36} And He replied to them, “What do you want Me to do for you?” ³⁷ They said to Him, “Grant that we may sit [with You], one on Your right and one on Your left, in Your glory [Your majesty and splendor in Your kingdom].” ³⁸ But Jesus said to them, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or to be baptized with the baptism [of suffering and death] with which I am baptized?” ³⁹ And they replied to Him, “We are able.” Jesus told them, “The cup that I drink you will drink, and you will be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized. ⁴⁰ But to sit on My right or left, this is not Mine to give; but it is for those for whom it has been prepared [by My Father].”

⁴¹ Hearing this, the [other] ten became indignant with James and John. ⁴² Calling them to Himself, Jesus said to them, “You know that those who are recognized as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them; and their powerful men exercise authority over them [tyrannizing them]. ⁴³ But this is not how it is among you; instead, whoever wishes to become great among you must be your servant, ⁴⁴ and whoever wishes to be first and most important among you must be slave 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 ^[f]ransom for many.”

Bartimaeus Receives His Sight

⁴⁶ Then they came to Jericho. And as He was leaving Jericho with His disciples and a large crowd, a blind beggar, Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, was sitting beside the road [as was his custom].^{(H) 47} When Bartimaeus heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout and say, “Jesus, ^[g]Son of David (Messiah), have mercy on me!” ⁴⁸ Many sternly rebuked him, telling him to keep still and be quiet; but he kept on shouting out all the more, “Son of David (Messiah), have mercy on me!” ⁴⁹ Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.” So they called the blind man, telling him, “Take courage, get up! He is calling for you.” ⁵⁰ Throwing his cloak aside, he jumped up and came to Jesus. ⁵¹ And Jesus said, “What do you want Me to do for you?” The blind man said to Him, “Rabboni (my Master), let me regain my sight.” ⁵² Jesus said to him, “Go; your faith [and confident trust in My power] has made you well.” Immediately he regained his sight and began following Jesus on the road.^(I)