Read the Gospels in 40 Days

On divorce. The rich man questions Christ. Of the sons of Zebedee. Bartimaeus the blind man.

10 And he arose from there and went into the borders of Judea, through the region that is beyond the Jordan. And the people resorted to him afresh, and as his custom was, he taught them again. ² And the Pharisees came and asked him a question, whether it was lawful for a man to put away his wife, in order to prove him. ³ And he answered and said to them, What did Moses tell you to do? ⁴ And they said, Moses permitted us to write a testimonial of divorce and to put her away.

⁵ And Jesus answered and said to them, For the hardness of your hearts he wrote this precept for you. ⁶ But at the first creation, God made them man and woman. ⁷ And for the sake of this, a man must leave his father and mother and abide by his wife, ⁸ and the two shall be one flesh. So then they are now not two, but are one flesh. ⁹ Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate.

¹⁰ And in the house, his disciples asked him again about that matter. ¹¹ And he said to them, Whoever puts away his wife and marries another, breaks wedlock to her. ¹² And if a woman forsakes her husband and is married to another, she commits adultery.

¹³ And they brought children to him, for him to touch them. And his disciples rebuked the people who brought them. ¹⁴ When Jesus saw that, he was displeased, and said to them, Suffer the children to come to me, and forbid them not. For of such is the kingdom of God. ¹⁵ Truly I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child, he shall not enter therein. ¹⁶ And he took them up in his arms, and put his hands upon them, and blessed them.

¹⁷ And when he had gone out to the road, a man came running, and kneeled to him and asked him, Good Teacher, what should I do so that I may inherit eternal life? ¹⁸ Jesus said to him, Why do you call me good? There is none good but one, who is God. ¹⁹ You know the commandments: do not break matrimony, do not kill, do not steal, bear no false witness, defraud no man, honour your father and mother. ²⁰ He answered and said to him, Teacher, all these I have observed from my youth.

²¹ Jesus regarded him with favour and said to him, One thing is lacking to you. Go and sell all that you have, and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. And come and follow me, and take up the cross.

²² But the man was downcast with that saying, and went away grieved, for he had great possessions.

²³ And Jesus looked round about and said to his disciples, What a hard thing it is for those who have riches to enter into the kingdom of God. ²⁴ And his disciples were astonished at his words. But Jesus spoke again and said to them, Children, how hard is it for those who trust in riches to enter into the kingdom of God? ²⁵ It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.

²⁶ And they were astonished out of measure, saying between themselves, Who then can be saved? ²⁷ Jesus looked upon them and said, With men it is impossible, but not with God. For with God, all things are possible.

²⁸ And Peter began to say to him, Lo, we have left everything and have followed you. ²⁹ Jesus answered and said, Truly I say to you, there is no one who gives up house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my sake and the gospel’s, ³⁰ who will not receive a hundredfold now in this life: houses and brethren and sisters and mothers and children and lands – with persecutions – and in the world to come, eternal life. ³¹ But many that are first will be last, and the last, first.

³² And they were on the road going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus went before them. And they were amazed, and as they followed, were afraid. And Jesus took the twelve again, and began to tell them the things that would happen to him: ³³ Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of man will be delivered to the high priests and to the scribes. And they will condemn him to death, and will deliver him to the Gentiles. ³⁴ And they will mock him, and scourge him, and spit upon him, and kill him. And the third day he will rise again.

³⁵ And then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to him, saying, Teacher, we would like you to do for us whatever we ask. ³⁶ He said to them, What would you like me to do for you? ³⁷ They said to him, Grant to us that we may sit one on your right hand, and the other on your left hand, in your glory. ³⁸ But Jesus said to them, You know not what you ask. Can you drink of the cup that I must drink of, and be baptized in the baptism that I must be baptized in? ³⁹ And they said to him, That we can. Jesus said to them, You will drink of the cup that I will drink of, and be baptized with the baptism that I will be baptized in. ⁴⁰ But to sit on my right hand and on my left hand is not mine to give, but is for them for whom it is prepared.

⁴¹ And when the ten heard this, they began to be much displeased with James and John. ⁴² But Jesus called them to him and said to them, You know that those who are seen to bear rule among the Gentiles reign as lords over them. And those who are great among them exercise authority over them. ⁴³ It shall not be this way among you, but whoever would be great among you shall minister to you, ⁴⁴ and whoever would be chief shall be servant to all. ⁴⁵ For even the Son of man came not to be served, but to serve, and to give his life for the redemption of many.

⁴⁶ And they came to Jericho. And as he was going out of Jericho with his disciples and a great number of people, Bartimaeus the son of Timeus, who was blind, sat by the side of the high road, begging. ⁴⁷ And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to call out and to say, Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me! ⁴⁸ And many people admonished him to hold his peace. But he cried the more a great deal, Son of David, have mercy on me!

⁴⁹ And Jesus stood still and directed that he be called. And they called the blind man, saying to him, Be of good comfort. Rise, he has called you.

⁵⁰ And he threw away his cloak, and rose and came to Jesus. ⁵¹ And Jesus spoke and said to him, What do you want me to do for you? The blind man said to him, Teacher, that I could see! ⁵² Jesus said to him, Go your way; your faith has saved you.

And immediately the man received his sight, and followed Jesus in the road.

Christ rides into Jerusalem. The fig tree dries up. The buyers and sellers are cast out of the temple. The Pharisees question Christ.

11 And when they came near Jerusalem, to Bethphage and Bethany beside the Mount of Olives, he sent forth two of his disciples ² and said to them, Go your ways into the town that is in front of you. And as soon as you have entered into it, you will find a colt tied, on which no man ever sat. Untie him and bring him here. ³ And if anyone asks you why you are doing this, say that the Lord has need of him, and straightaway he will send him here.

⁴ And they went their way and found a colt tied by the door outside, in a place where two roads met, and they untied him. ⁵ And some of the people standing there said to them, What are you doing, untying the colt? ⁶ And they answered just as Jesus had instructed, and the people let them go. ⁷ And they brought the colt to Jesus, and cast their garments on it, and he sat upon it. ⁸ And many spread their garments in the way. Others cut down branches of the trees and strew them in the way. ⁹ And those who went before, and those who followed, cried out, saying, Hosanna! Blessed is he that comes in the name of the Lord! ¹⁰ Blessed is the kingdom that comes in the name of him who is Lord of our father David: Hosanna in the highest!

¹¹ And the Lord entered into Jerusalem and into the temple. And when he had looked round about upon everything, and now that evening time was come, he went out to Bethany with the twelve.

¹² And on the morrow, when they had left Bethany, he hungered. ¹³ And afar off he spotted a fig tree in leaf, and went to see whether he might find anything on it. But when he came to it, he found nothing but leaves, for the time of figs was not yet. ¹⁴ And Jesus spoke and said to it, Never may man eat fruit from you hereafter while the world stands. And his disciples heard it.

¹⁵ And they came to Jerusalem. And Jesus went into the temple, and began to cast out the sellers and buyers in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the money changers, and the stools of those who sold doves, ¹⁶ and would not suffer anyone to carry a vessel through the temple. ¹⁷ And he taught, saying to them, Is it not written: My house shall be called the house of prayer for all nations? But you have made it a den of thieves! ¹⁸ And the scribes and high priests heard this, and sought how to destroy him. For they feared him, because all the people marvelled at his doctrine.

¹⁹ And when evening came, he went out of the city. ²⁰ And in the morning, as they passed by, they saw the fig tree dried up from the roots. ²¹ And Peter remembered and said to him, Rabbi, look! The fig tree that you cursed has withered away.

²² And Jesus answered and said to them, Have confidence in God. ²³ Truly I say to you that whoever says to this mountain, Take yourself away and cast yourself into the sea, and who does not waver in his heart, but believes that those things which he says will come to pass – whatever he says will be done for him. ²⁴ Therefore I say to you, whatever you ask when you pray, believe that you will have it, and it will be done for you. ²⁵ And when you stand and pray, forgive, if you have anything against any person, so that your Father who is in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses.

²⁷ And they came again to Jerusalem. And as he walked in the temple, there came to him the high priests and the scribes and the elders, ²⁸ and they said to him, By what authority do you do these things? And who gave you this authority, to do these things? ²⁹ Jesus answered and said to them, I will also ask of you a certain thing. Answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things. ³⁰ The baptism of John: was it from heaven, or of men? Answer me.

³¹ They thought in themselves, saying, If we say from heaven, he will say, Why then did you not believe him? ³² But if we say of men, then we fear the people. (For everyone counted John to be a very prophet.) ³³ And they answered and said to Jesus, We don’t know. And Jesus answered and said to them, Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.

The vineyard is let out. Give to Caesar that which belongs to Caesar. Of the Sadducees and of the doctor of law. Hypocrites must be eschewed. The offering of the poor widow.

12 And he began to speak to them in similitudes: A certain man planted a vineyard, and compassed it about with a hedge, and made a winepress, and built a tower in it. And he let it out on hire to husbandmen, and went into a far country. ² And when the time came, he sent a servant to the tenants, in order to receive from the tenants some of the fruit of the vineyard. ³ And they caught him and beat him, and sent him back empty-handed. ⁴ And moreover he sent to them another servant, and at him they cast stones, and wounded him in the head, and sent him back utterly reviled. ⁵ And again he sent another, and him they killed; and many others, beating some and killing some.

⁶ He had yet one son, whom he loved tenderly. Him also he sent to them at the last, saying, They will respect my son. ⁷ But the tenants said amongst themselves, This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours. ⁸ And they took him and killed him, and cast him out of the vineyard.

⁹ What then will the lord of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy the tenants, and let out the vineyard to others. ¹⁰ Have you not read this scripture: The stone which the builders refused is made the chief stone in the corner; ¹¹ this was done by the Lord, and is marvellous in our eyes?

¹² And they went about to apprehend him, but they feared the people. For they perceived that he had spoken that similitude against them. And they left him and went their way.

¹³ And they sent to him certain of the Pharisees, along with Herod’s servants, to take him in his words. ¹⁴ And as soon as they arrived, they said to him, Teacher, we know that you are true, and mind no man, for you do not consider the degree of men, but teach the way of God truly. Is it lawful to remit tribute to Caesar, or not? ¹⁵ Ought we to give, or ought we not to give?

He understood their simulation and said to them, Why do you bait me? Bring me a denarius so that I may see it. ¹⁶ And they brought one. And he said to them, Whose image and superscription is this? And they said to him, Caesar’s. ¹⁷ And Jesus answered and said to them, Then give to Caesar that which belongs to Caesar, and to God that which belongs to God. And they marvelled at him.

¹⁸ Then the Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to him. And they asked him, saying, ¹⁹ Teacher, Moses wrote to us that if any man’s brother dies and leaves his wife behind him, and leaves no children, that then his brother should take his wife and raise up seed for his brother. ²⁰ There were seven brethren. The first took a wife, and when he died left no seed behind him. ²¹ And the second took her, and died also not leaving any seed. And the third likewise. ²² And all seven had her, but left no seed behind them. Last of all, the wife died also. ²³ In the resurrection then, when they rise again, whose wife will she be? For seven of them had her as wife.

²⁴ Jesus answered and said to them, Are you not therefore deceived, and do not understand the scriptures, nor the power of God? ²⁵ For when they rise again from death, people neither marry nor are married, but are as the angels who are in heaven. ²⁶ And concerning the dead, that they will rise again, have you not read in the book of Moses how in the bush God spoke to him, saying, I am the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob? ²⁷ He is not the God of the dead, but the God of the living. You are therefore greatly deceived.

²⁸ And there came one of the scribes who had heard them disputing together. He perceived that Jesus had answered them well, and asked him, Which is the first of all the commandments?

²⁹ Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is: Hear, O Israel, the Lord God is one Lord. ³⁰ And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength. This is the first commandment. ³¹ And the second is like it: You shall love your neighbour as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these.

³² And the scribe said to him, Well said, Teacher. You have spoken the truth: that there is one God, and that there is none but he. ³³ And to love him with all the heart, and with all the mind, and with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love one’s neighbour as oneself, is a greater thing than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.

³⁴ And when Jesus saw that he answered wisely, he said to him, You are not far from the kingdom of God.

And after that, no one dared ask him any question.

³⁵ And Jesus spoke and said, teaching in the temple, How is it the scribes say that Christ is the son of David? ³⁶ For David himself, inspired with the Holy Spirit, said, The Lord said to my Lord, sit on my right hand until I make your enemies your footstool. ³⁷ So David himself calls him Lord. By what means then is he David’s son?

And the crowds of people heard him gladly. ³⁸ And he said to them as he taught them, Beware of the scribes, who love to go about in long clothing, and love salutations in the market places, ³⁹ and the chief seats in the synagogues, and to sit in the uppermost places at feasts; ⁴⁰ and who devour widows’ houses, and that under a colour of long praying. These shall receive greater damnation.

⁴¹ Jesus sat across from the treasury and observed how the people put money into the treasury. And many who were rich cast in much. ⁴² And there came a certain poor widow, and she threw in two small coins worth a pittance. ⁴³ And he called his disciples to him and said to them, Truly I say to you that this poor widow has cast in more than all the others who have cast into the treasury. ⁴⁴ For they all gave from their surplus, but she, in her poverty, did cast in all that she had, even all her living.