Read the Gospels in 40 Days

What Jesus Taught about Marriage and Divorce ^(A)

19 When Jesus had finished talking, He went from the country of Galilee. He came to the part of the country of Judea which is on the other side of the Jordan River. ² Many people followed Him and He healed them there.

³ The proud religious law-keepers came to Jesus. They tried to trap Him by saying, “Does the Law say a man can divorce his wife for any reason?” ⁴ He said to them, “Have you not read that He Who made them in the first place made them man and woman? ⁵ It says, ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and his mother and will live with his wife. The two will become one.’ ⁶ So they are no longer two but one. Let no man divide what God has put together.”

⁷ The proud religious law-keepers said to Jesus, “Then why did the Law of Moses allow a man to divorce his wife if he put it down in writing and gave it to her?” ⁸ Jesus said to them, “Because of your hard hearts Moses allowed you to divorce your wives. It was not like that from the beginning. ⁹ And I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for sex sins, and marries another, is guilty of sex sins in marriage. Whoever marries her that is divorced is guilty of sex sins in marriage.”

¹⁰ His followers said to Him, “If that is the way of a man with his wife, it is better not to be married.” ¹¹ But Jesus said to them, “Not all men are able to do this, but only those to whom it has been given. ¹² For there are some men who from birth will never be able to have children. There are some men who have been made so by men. There are some men who have had themselves made that way because of the holy nation of heaven. The one who is able to do this, let him do it.”

Jesus Gives Thanks for Little Children ^(B)

¹³ Then little children were brought to Him that He might put His hands on them and pray for them. The followers spoke sharp words to them. ¹⁴ But Jesus said, “Let the little children come to Me. Do not stop them. The holy nation of heaven is made up of ones like these.” ¹⁵ He put His hands on them and went away.

Jesus Teaches about Keeping the Law ^(C)

¹⁶ A man came to Jesus and asked, “Good Teacher, what good work must I do to have life that lasts forever?” ¹⁷ Jesus said to him, “Why are you asking Me about what is good? There is only One Who is good. If you want to have life that lasts forever, you must obey the Laws.” ¹⁸ The man said to Him, “What kind of laws?” Jesus said, “You must not kill another person. You must not be guilty of sex sins. You must not steal. You must not lie. ¹⁹ Show respect to your father and your mother. And love your neighbor as you love yourself.” ²⁰ The young man said to Jesus, “I have obeyed all these Laws. What more should I do?” ²¹ Jesus said to him, “If you want to be perfect, go and sell everything you have and give the money to poor people. Then you will have riches in heaven. Come and follow Me.” ²² When the young man heard these words, he went away sad for he had many riches.

The Danger of Riches

²³ Jesus said to His followers, “For sure, I tell you, it will be hard for a rich man to get into the holy nation 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 to get into the holy nation of heaven.” ²⁵ When His followers heard this, they could not understand it. They said, “Then who can be saved from the punishment of sin?” ²⁶ Jesus looked at them and said, “This cannot be done by men. But with God all things can be done.”

²⁷ Then Peter said to Him, “We have given up everything and have followed You. Then what will we have?” ²⁸ Jesus said to them, “For sure, I tell you, when all the earth will be new and the Son of Man will sit on His throne in His shining-greatness, you who have followed Me will also sit on twelve thrones, and judge the twelve family groups of the Jewish nation. ²⁹ Everyone who has given up houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands because of Me, will get a hundred times more. And you will get life that lasts forever. ³⁰ Many who are first will be last. Many who are last will be first.

The Picture-Story of the Workmen in the Grape-Field

20 “For the holy nation of heaven is like the owner of a grape-field. He went out early in the morning to hire workmen to work in his grape-field. ² He promised to give them a day’s pay and then sent them to his grape-field. ³ Later in the morning he went to the center of the town where people gather. He saw men standing there doing nothing. ⁴ He said to them, ‘You go to my grape-field and work also. Whatever is right, I will pay you.’ And they went. ⁵ Again he went out about noon and at three o’clock and did the same thing. ⁶ About five o’clock he went out and still found others doing nothing. He asked them, ‘Why do you stand here all day and do nothing?’ ⁷ They said to him, ‘Because no one has hired us.’ He said, ‘Go to my grape-field and work. Whatever is right, I will pay you.’

⁸ “When evening came, the owner of the grape-field said to the boss of the workmen, ‘Call the workmen. Give them their pay. Start with the last ones hired and go on to the first ones hired.’ ⁹ The workmen who had been hired at five o’clock came up. Each one of them got a day’s pay for his work. ¹⁰ When the workmen who had been hired the first thing in the morning came, they thought they would get more. But each one got a day’s pay. ¹¹ After they received it, they talked against the owner. ¹² They said, ‘The last workmen hired have only worked one hour. You have given to them the same as to us. We have worked hard through the heat of the day.’ ¹³ But he said to one of them, ‘Friend, I am doing you no wrong. Did you not agree with me when I promised to pay you a day’s pay? ¹⁴ Take your pay and go. I want to give the last ones hired the same as I have given you. ¹⁵ Do I not have the right to do what I want to do with my own money? Does your eye make you want more because I am good?’ ¹⁶ So those who are last will be first and the first will be last.”

Jesus Tells of His Death the Third Time ^(D)

¹⁷ As Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, He talked also to the twelve followers by the side of the road. He said, ¹⁸  “Listen! We are going up to Jerusalem. The Son of Man will be handed over to the religious leaders and to the teachers of the Law. They will say that He must be put to death. ¹⁹ They will hand Him over to the people who do not know God. They will make fun of Him and will beat Him. They will nail Him to a cross. Three days later He will be raised to life.”

The Mother of James and John Asks Jesus Something Hard ^(E)

²⁰ The mother of Zebedee’s children (James and John) came to Jesus with her sons. She got down on her knees before Jesus to ask something of Him. ²¹ He said to her, “What do you want?” She said, “Say that my two sons may sit, one at Your right side and one at Your left side, when You are King.” ²² Jesus said to her, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to take the suffering that I am about to take? (*Are you able to be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?)” They said, “Yes, we are able.” ²³ He said to them, “You will suffer as I will suffer. But the places at My right side and at My left side are not Mine to give. Whoever My Father says will have those places.”

²⁴ The other ten followers heard this. They were angry with the two brothers. ²⁵ Jesus called them to Him and said, “You know how the kings of the nations show their power to the people. Important leaders use their power over the people. ²⁶ It must not be that way with you. But whoever wants to be great among you, let him care for you. ²⁷ Whoever wants to be first among you, let him be your servant. ²⁸ For the Son of Man came not to be cared for. He came to care for others. He came to give His life so that many could be bought by His blood and made free from the punishment of sin.”

The Healing of the Blind Men ^(F)

²⁹ As they went away from the city of Jericho, many people followed Him. ³⁰ Two blind men were sitting by the side of the road. They called out when they heard that Jesus was going by. They said, “Lord, take pity on us, Son of David!” ³¹ Many people spoke sharp words to them. They told the blind men not to call out. But they called all the more, “Lord! Take pity on us, Son of David!” ³² Jesus stopped and called them. He asked, “What do you want Me to do for you?” ³³ The blind men said to Jesus, “Lord, we want our eyes opened!” ³⁴ Jesus had loving-pity on them and put His hands on their eyes. At once they could see, and they followed Jesus.