Read the Gospels in 40 Days

Jesus Teaches About Divorce

10 Then Jesus left that place. He went into the area of Judea and across the Jordan River. Again, crowds came to him. And Jesus taught them as he always did.

² Some Pharisees came to Jesus and tried to trick him. They asked, “Is it right for a man to divorce his wife?”

³ Jesus answered, “What did Moses command you to do?”

⁴ They said, “Moses allowed a man to write out divorce papers and send her away.”^[a]

⁵ Jesus said, “Moses wrote that command for you because you refused to accept God’s teaching. ⁶ But when God made the world, ‘he made them male and female.’^{[b] 7} ‘So a man will leave his father and mother and be united with his wife.^{[c] 8} And the two people will become one body.’^[d] So the people are not two, but one. ⁹ God has joined the two people together. So no one should separate them.”

¹⁰ Later, the followers and Jesus were in the house. They asked Jesus again about the question of divorce. ¹¹ He answered, “Anyone who divorces his wife and marries another woman is guilty of adultery against her. ¹² And the woman who divorces her husband and marries another man is also guilty of adultery.”

Jesus Accepts Children

¹³ Some people brought their small children to Jesus so he could touch them. But his followers told the people to stop bringing their children to him. ¹⁴ When Jesus saw this, he was displeased. He said to them, “Let the little children come to me. Don’t stop them. The kingdom of God belongs to people who are like these little children. ¹⁵ I tell you the truth. You must accept the kingdom of God as a little child accepts things, or you will never enter it.” ¹⁶ Then Jesus took the children in his arms. He put his hands on them and blessed them.

A Rich Young Man’s Question

¹⁷ Jesus started to leave, but a man ran to him and fell on his knees before Jesus. The man asked, “Good teacher, what must I do to get the life that never ends?”

¹⁸ Jesus answered, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. ¹⁹ You know the commands: ‘You must not murder anyone. You must not be guilty of adultery. You must not steal. You must not tell lies about your neighbor in court. You must not cheat. Honor your father and mother.’”^[e]

²⁰ The man said, “Teacher, I have obeyed all these commands since I was a boy.”

²¹ Jesus looked straight at the man and loved him. Jesus said, “There is still one more thing you need to do. Go and sell everything you have, and give the money to the poor. You will have a reward in heaven. Then come and follow me.”

²² He was very sad to hear Jesus say this, and he left. The man was sad because he was very rich.

²³ Then Jesus looked at his followers and said, “How hard it will be for those who are rich to enter the kingdom of God!”

²⁴ The followers were amazed at what Jesus said. But he said again, “My children, it is very hard^[f] to enter the kingdom of God! ²⁵ And it will be very hard for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God. It would be easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle!”

²⁶ The followers were even more amazed and said to each other, “Then who can be saved?”

²⁷ Jesus looked straight at them and said, “For people this is impossible. But for God all things are possible.”

²⁸ Peter said to Jesus, “We left everything to follow you!”

²⁹ Jesus said, “I tell you the truth. Everyone who has left his home, brothers, sisters, mother, father, children, or fields for me and for the Good News ³⁰ will get a hundred times more than he left. Here in this world he will have more homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children, and fields. And with those things, he will also suffer for his belief. But in the age that is coming he will have life forever. ³¹ Many who are first now will be last in the future. And those who are last now will be first in the future.”

Jesus Talks About His Own Death

³² Jesus and the people with him were on the road to Jerusalem. Jesus was leading the way. The followers were amazed, but those who followed behind them were afraid. Jesus took the 12 apostles aside and talked with them alone. He told them what would happen in Jerusalem. ³³ He said, “We are going to Jerusalem. The Son of Man will be given to the leading priests and teachers of the law. They will say that he must die. They will give him to the non-Jewish people, ³⁴ who will laugh at him and spit on him. They will beat him with whips and kill him. But on the third day after his death, he will rise to life again.”

Two Followers Ask Jesus a Favor

³⁵ Then James and John, sons of Zebedee, came to Jesus. They said, “Teacher, we want to ask you to do something for us.”

³⁶ Jesus asked, “What do you want me to do for you?”

³⁷ They answered, “You will have glory in your kingdom. Let one of us sit at your right, and let one of us sit at your left.”

³⁸ Jesus said, “You don’t understand what you are asking. Can you drink the cup that I must drink? And can you be baptized with the same kind of baptism that I must have?”^[g]

³⁹ They answered, “Yes, we can!”

Jesus said to them, “You will drink the same cup that I will drink. And you will be baptized with the same baptism that I must have. ⁴⁰ But I cannot choose who will sit at my right or my left. These places are for those for whom they are prepared.”

⁴¹ The ten followers heard this. They began to be angry with James and John.

⁴² Jesus called all the followers together. He said, “The non-Jewish people have men they call rulers. You know that those rulers love to show their power over the people. And their important leaders love to use all their authority. ⁴³ But it should not be that way among you. If one of you wants to become great, then he must serve you like a servant. ⁴⁴ If one of you wants to become the most important, then he must serve all of you like a slave. ⁴⁵ In the same way, the Son of Man did not come to be served. He came to serve. The Son of Man came to give his life to save many people.”

Jesus Heals a Blind Man

⁴⁶ Then they came to the town of Jericho. As Jesus was leaving there with his followers and a large crowd, a blind beggar named Bartimaeus (son of Timaeus) was sitting by the road. ⁴⁷ He heard that Jesus from Nazareth was walking by. The blind man cried out, “Jesus, Son of David, please help me!”

⁴⁸ Many people scolded the blind man and told him to be quiet. But he shouted more and more, “Son of David, please help me!”

⁴⁹ Jesus stopped and said, “Tell the man to come here.”

So they called the blind man. They said, “Cheer up! Get to your feet. Jesus is calling you.” ⁵⁰ The blind man stood up quickly. He left his coat there and went to Jesus.

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

The blind man answered, “Teacher, I want to see again.”

⁵² Jesus said, “Go. You are healed because you believed.” At once the man was able to see again, and he followed Jesus on the road.

Jesus Enters Jerusalem as a King

11 Jesus and his followers were coming closer to Jerusalem. They came to the towns of Bethphage and Bethany near the Mount of Olives. There Jesus sent two of his followers. ² He said to them, “Go to the town you see there. When you enter it, you will find a colt tied which no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here to me. ³ If anyone asks you why you are doing this, tell him, ‘The Master needs the colt. He will send it back soon.’”

⁴ The followers went into the town. They found a colt tied in the street near the door of a house, and they untied it. ⁵ Some people were standing there and asked, “What are you doing? Why are you untying that colt?” ⁶ The followers answered the way Jesus told them to answer. And the people let them take the colt.

⁷ The followers brought the colt to Jesus. They put their coats on the colt, and Jesus sat on it. ⁸ Many people spread their coats on the road. Others cut branches in the fields and spread the branches on the road. ⁹ Some of the people were walking ahead of Jesus. Others were following him. All of them were shouting,

¹¹ Jesus entered Jerusalem and went into the Temple. When he had looked at everything, and since it was already late, he went out to Bethany with the 12 apostles.

¹² The next day as Jesus was leaving Bethany, he was hungry. ¹³ He saw a fig tree in leaf. So he went to the tree to see if it had any figs on it. But he found no figs, only leaves. It was not the right season for figs to grow. ¹⁴ So Jesus said to the tree, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again.” Jesus’ followers heard him say this.

Jesus Goes to the Temple

¹⁵ Jesus returned to Jerusalem and went into the Temple. He began to throw out those who were buying and selling things there. He overturned the tables that belonged to the men who were exchanging different kinds of money. And he turned over the benches of the men who were selling doves. ¹⁶ Jesus refused to allow anyone to carry goods through the Temple courts. ¹⁷ Then Jesus taught the people. He said, “It is written in the Scriptures, ‘My Temple will be a house where people from all nations will pray.’^[i] But you are changing God’s house into a ‘hideout for robbers.’”^[j]

¹⁸ The leading priests and the teachers of the law heard all this. They began trying to find a way to kill Jesus. They were afraid of him because all the people were amazed at his teaching. ¹⁹ That night, Jesus and his followers^[k] left the city.

The Power of Faith

²⁰ The next morning, Jesus was passing by with his followers. They saw the fig tree, and it was dry and dead, even to the roots. ²¹ Peter remembered the tree and said to Jesus, “Teacher, look! Yesterday, you cursed the fig tree. Now it is dry and dead!”

²² Jesus answered, “Have faith in God. ²³ I tell you the truth. You can say to this mountain, ‘Go, mountain, fall into the sea.’ And if you have no doubts in your mind and believe that the thing you say will happen, then God will do it for you. ²⁴ So I tell you to ask for things in prayer. And if you believe that you have received those things, then they will be yours. ²⁵ When you are praying, and you remember that you are angry with another person about something, then forgive him. If you do this, then your Father in heaven will also forgive your sins.” ²⁶ [But if you don’t forgive other people, then your Father in heaven will not forgive your sins.]^[l]

Leaders Doubt Jesus’ Authority

²⁷ Jesus and his followers went again to Jerusalem. Jesus was walking in the Temple. The leading priests, the teachers of the law, and the Jewish elders came to him. ²⁸ They said to him, “Tell us! What authority do you have to do these things? Who gave you this authority?”

²⁹ Jesus answered, “I will ask you one question. You answer it. Then I will tell you whose authority I use to do these things. ³⁰ Tell me: When John baptized people, was that from God or from man? Answer me!”

³¹ They argued about Jesus’ question. They said to each other, “If we answer, ‘John’s baptism was from God,’ then Jesus will say, ‘Then why didn’t you believe John?’ ³² But if we say, ‘From man,’ then the people will be against us.” (These leaders were afraid of the people. All the people believed that John was a prophet.)

³³ So the leaders answered Jesus, “We don’t know.”

Jesus said, “Then I will not tell you what authority I use to do these things.”

God Sends His Son

12 Jesus used stories to teach the people. He said, “A man planted a vineyard. He put a wall around it and dug a hole for a winepress. Then he built a tower. He leased the vineyard to some farmers and left for a trip. ² Later, it was time for the grapes to be picked. So the man sent a servant to the farmers to get his share of the grapes. ³ But the farmers grabbed the servant and beat him. They sent him away with nothing. ⁴ Then the man sent another servant. They hit him on the head and showed no respect for him. ⁵ So the man sent another servant. They killed this servant. The man sent many other servants. The farmers beat some of them and killed others.

⁶ “The man had one person left to send, his son whom he loved. He sent him last of all, saying, ‘The farmers will respect my son.’

⁷ “But they said to each other, ‘This is the owner’s son. This vineyard will be his. If we kill him, then it will be ours.’ ⁸ So they took the son, killed him, and threw him out of the vineyard.

⁹ “So what will the man who owns the vineyard do? He will go to the vineyard and kill those farmers. Then he will give the vineyard to other farmers. ¹⁰ Surely you have read this Scripture:

¹² The Jewish leaders knew that the story was about them. So they wanted to find a way to arrest Jesus, but they were afraid of the people. So the leaders left him and went away.

The Leaders Try to Trap Jesus

¹³ Later, the Jewish leaders sent some Pharisees and some men from the group called Herodians^[m] to Jesus. They wanted to catch Jesus saying something wrong. ¹⁴ They came to him and said, “Teacher, we know that you are an honest man. You are not afraid of what other people think about you. All men are the same to you. And you teach the truth about God’s way. Tell us: Is it right to pay taxes to Caesar? Should we pay them, or not?”

¹⁵ But Jesus knew what these men were really trying to do. He said, “Why are you trying to trap me? Bring me a silver coin. Let me see it.” ¹⁶ They gave Jesus a coin, and he asked, “Whose picture is on the coin? And whose name is written on it?”

They answered, “Caesar’s.”

¹⁷ Then Jesus said to them, “Give to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s. And give to God the things that are God’s.” The men were amazed at what Jesus said.

Sadducees Try to Trick Jesus

¹⁸ Then some Sadducees came to Jesus. (Sadducees believe that no person will rise from death.) The Sadducees asked Jesus a question. ¹⁹ They said, “Teacher, Moses wrote that a man’s brother might die. He leaves a wife but no children. Then that man must marry the widow and have children for the dead brother. ²⁰ There were seven brothers. The first brother married but died. He had no children. ²¹ So the second brother married the widow. But he also died and had no children. The same thing happened with the third brother. ²² All seven brothers married her and died. None of the brothers had any children. The woman was last to die. ²³ But all seven brothers had married her. So at the time people rise from death, whose wife will the woman be?”

²⁴ Jesus answered, “Why did you make this mistake? Is it because you don’t know what the Scriptures say? Or is it because you don’t know about the power of God? ²⁵ When people rise from death, there will be no marriage. People will not be married to each other but will be like angels in heaven. ²⁶ Surely you have read what God said about people rising from death. In the book in which Moses wrote about the burning bush,^[n] it says that God told Moses this: ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’^{[o] 27} God is the God of living people, not dead people. You Sadducees are wrong!”

The Most Important Command

²⁸ One of the teachers of the law came to Jesus. He heard Jesus arguing with the Sadducees and the Pharisees. He saw that Jesus gave good answers to their questions. So he asked Jesus, “Which of the commands is most important?”

²⁹ Jesus answered, “The most important command is this: ‘Listen, people of Israel! The Lord our God, he is the only Lord. ³⁰ Love the Lord your God. Love him with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength.’^{[p] 31} The second most important command is this: ‘Love your neighbor as you love yourself.’^[q] These two commands are the most important commands.”

³² The man answered, “That was a good answer, Teacher. You were right when you said these things. God is the only Lord, and there is no other God besides him. ³³ One must love God with all his heart, all his mind, and all his strength. And one must love his neighbor as he loves himself. These commands are more important than all the animals and sacrifices we offer to God.”

³⁴ Jesus saw that the man answered him wisely. So Jesus said to him, “You are close to the kingdom of God.” And after that, no one was brave enough to ask Jesus any more questions.

³⁵ Jesus was teaching in the Temple. He asked, “Why do the teachers of the law say that the Christ is the son of David? ³⁶ David himself, speaking by the Holy Spirit, said:

³⁷ David himself calls the Christ ‘Lord.’ So how can the Christ be David’s son?” The large crowd listened to Jesus with pleasure.

³⁸ Jesus continued teaching. He said, “Beware of the teachers of the law. They like to walk around wearing clothes that look important. And they love for people to show respect to them in the marketplaces. ³⁹ They love to have the most important seats in the synagogues. And they love to have the most important seats at the feasts. ⁴⁰ They cheat widows and steal their homes. Then they try to make themselves look good by saying long prayers. God will punish these people terribly.”

True Giving

⁴¹ Jesus sat near the Temple money box where people put their gifts. He watched the people put in their money. Many rich people gave large sums of money. ⁴² Then a poor widow came and gave two very small copper coins. These coins were not worth even a penny.

⁴³ Jesus called his followers to him. He said, “I tell you the truth. This poor widow gave only two small coins. But she really gave more than all those rich people. ⁴⁴ The rich have plenty; they gave only what they did not need. This woman is very poor. But she gave all she had. And she needed that money to help her live.”