Read the Gospels in 40 Days
Marriage and Divorce
10 Jesus got up and went to the region of Judea beyond the Jordan. Crowds gathered around him again and, as he usually did, he taught them. 2 Some Pharisees came to test him and asked, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?”
3 He replied, “What did Moses command you?”
4 They said, “Moses permitted a man to write a certificate of divorce and send her away.”[a]
5 But Jesus told them, “He wrote this command for you because of your hard hearts. 6 But from the beginning of creation, God made them male and female.[b] 7 For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, 8 and the two will become one flesh.[c] So they are no longer two but one flesh. 9 Therefore, what God has joined together, let no one separate.”
10 In the house his disciples asked him about this again. 11 He said to them, “Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her. 12 If she divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery.”
Jesus Loves Little Children
13 Some people began bringing little children to Jesus so that he would touch them. But the disciples rebuked them. 14 When Jesus saw this, he was indignant. He said, “Let the little children come to me! Do not hinder them, because the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. 15 Amen I tell you: Whoever will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.” 16 And he took the little children in his arms, laid his hands on them, and blessed them.
The Rich Young Ruler
17 As Jesus was setting out on a journey, one man ran up to him and knelt in front of him. He asked, “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 except one—God. 19 You know the commandments. ‘You shall not murder. You shall not commit adultery. You shall not steal. You shall not give false testimony. You shall not defraud. Honor your father and mother.’”[d]
20 The man replied, “Teacher, I have kept all these since I was a child.”
21 Jesus looked 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. Then come, follow me.”
22 When he heard this, he looked sad and went away grieving, because he had great wealth. 23 Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How hard it will be for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God!”
24 The disciples were amazed at his words. But Jesus told them again, “Children, how hard it is for those who trust in their 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 to enter the kingdom of God.”
26 They were even more astonished and said to one another, “Who then can be saved?”
27 Jesus looked at them and said, “For people, it is impossible, but not for God, because all things are possible for God.”
28 Peter began to say to him, “See, we have left everything and followed you.”
29 Jesus said, “Amen I tell you: There is no one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields, for my sake and for the sake of the gospel, 30 who now at this time will fail to receive one hundred times as much: houses, brothers, sisters, mothers, children, and fields (along with persecutions)—and in the coming age: eternal life. 31 But many who are first will be last, and the last will be first.”
Again Jesus Predicts His Death and Resurrection
32 They were on the road, going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was leading them. The disciples were amazed, and the others who followed were afraid. He took the Twelve aside again and began to tell them what was going to happen to him. 33 “Look, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and the experts in the law. They will condemn him to death and will hand him over to the Gentiles. 34 They will mock him, spit on him, flog him, and kill him. On the third day[e] he will rise again.”
35 James and John, the sons of Zebedee, approached him and said, “Teacher, we wish that you would do for us whatever we ask.”
36 He said to them, “What do you want me to do for you?”
37 They said to him, “Promise that we may sit, one at your right and one at your left, in your glory.”
38 But Jesus said to them, “You do not know what you are asking. Can you drink the cup that I am going to drink or be baptized with the baptism that I am going to be baptized with?”
39 “We can,” they replied.
Jesus told them, “You will drink the cup that I am going to drink and be baptized with the baptism that I am going to be baptized with. 40 But to sit at my right or at my left is not for me to give; rather, these places belong to those for whom they have been prepared.”
41 When the ten heard this, they were angry with James and John.
42 Jesus called them together and said, “You know that those who are considered rulers over the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. 43 But that is not the way it is to be among you. Instead, whoever wants to be great among you will be your servant, 44 and whoever wants to be first among you will be a 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 ransom for many.”
Jesus Heals Blind Bartimaeus
46 They came to Jericho. As Jesus and his disciples and a large crowd were leaving Jericho, a blind man, Bartimaeus the son of Timaeus, was sitting by the road begging. 47 When he heard that it was Jesus the Nazarene, he began to shout, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” 48 Many told him to be quiet, but he kept shouting all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”
49 Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.”
They called the blind man, saying, “Cheer up! Get up. He is calling you!”
50 He tossed aside his outer garment, jumped up, and went to Jesus.
51 “What do you want me to do for you?” Jesus asked him.
The blind man replied, “Rabboni,[f] I want to see again.”
52 Jesus told him, “Go. Your faith has made you well.” Immediately he received his sight and began following Jesus on the road.
Jesus’ Triumphal Entry Into Jerusalem
11 As they approached Jerusalem, at Bethphage and Bethany, on the Mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples 2 and told them, “Go into the village ahead of you. As soon as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, on which no one has ever sat. Untie it and bring it here. 3 If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ say, ‘The Lord needs it, and he will send it back here without delay.’”
4 They left and found a colt on the street, tied at a door; and they untied it. 5 Some who were standing there asked them, “What are you doing, untying that colt?” 6 The disciples answered them just as Jesus had instructed them, and the men let them go.
7 They brought the colt to Jesus, threw their garments on it, and Jesus sat on it. 8 Many people spread their garments on the road. Others spread branches that they had cut from the fields. 9 Those who went in front and those who followed were crying out,
Hosanna![g]
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord![h]
10 Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David!
Hosanna in the highest!
11 Jesus went into the temple courts in Jerusalem and looked around at everything. Since it was already late, he went out to Bethany with the Twelve.
Jesus Curses a Fig Tree
12 The next day, after they had set out from Bethany, Jesus was hungry. 13 When he saw a fig tree in leaf in the distance, he went to see if he might find anything on it. When he came to it, he found nothing but leaves, since it was not the season for figs. 14 Jesus said to it, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again!” And his disciples were listening.
Jesus Cleanses His Father’s House
15 They came to Jerusalem. Jesus went into the temple area and began to drive out those who were selling and buying in the temple courts. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the chairs of those who were selling doves. 16 He would not allow anyone to carry any merchandise through the temple courts. 17 He began to teach them: “Is it not written: ‘My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations’?[i] But you have made it ‘a den of robbers’!”[j]
18 The chief priests and the experts in the law heard this and were looking for a way to kill him. Indeed they were afraid of him, because the whole crowd was amazed at his teaching.
19 When evening came, Jesus and his disciples would leave the city.
The Withered Fig Tree
20 As they passed by in the morning, they saw the fig tree withered down to the roots. 21 Peter remembered and said, “Rabbi, look! The fig tree that you cursed has withered.”
22 Jesus replied, “Have faith in God. 23 Amen I tell you: Whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him. 24 Therefore I tell you, everything that you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. 25 Whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins. 26 But if you do not forgive, your Father in heaven will not forgive your sins.”[k]
Jesus’ Authority Is Questioned
27 They went into Jerusalem again. As he was walking in the temple courts, the chief priests, the experts in the law, and the elders came to him. 28 They asked him, “By what authority are you doing these things? Or who gave you this authority to do these things?”
29 Jesus replied, “I will ask you one question. Answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I am doing these things. 30 The baptism of John—was it from heaven or from men? Answer me.”
31 They discussed this with one another, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say, ‘Then why did you not believe him?’ 32 But if we say, ‘From men’. . . .” (They feared the crowd, because everybody held that John really was a prophet.) 33 So they answered Jesus, “We don’t know.”
Jesus said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.”
The Parable of the Wicked Tenants
12 Jesus began to speak to them in parables. “A man planted a vineyard, put a fence around it, dug a pit for the winepress, and built a watchtower. Then he rented it out to some tenant farmers and went on a journey. 2 When it was time, he sent a servant to the tenants to receive his share of the vineyard’s produce. 3 They took him, beat him, and sent him away empty-handed. 4 Again, he sent another servant to them. But they hit him on the head and treated him shamefully. 5 Then he sent another servant, but they killed that one. He also sent many others; some they beat, and others they killed. 6 He still had one left, a dearly loved son. Finally, he sent him to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ 7 But those tenant farmers said to one another, ‘This is the heir. Come on, let’s kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’ 8 They seized him, killed him, and threw him out of the vineyard. 9 So what will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and kill those tenant farmers and give the vineyard to others. 10 Have you not read this Scripture:
The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.
11 The Lord has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes?”[l]
12 They were looking for a way to arrest him, because they knew that he had spoken the parable against them. But they feared the crowd, so they left him and went away.
Paying Taxes to Caesar
13 The Jewish leaders sent some Pharisees and some Herodians to Jesus to try to trap him in what he said. 14 They came and said to him, “Teacher, we know that you are honest and do not play favorites, since you are not partial to anyone,[m] but you teach the way of God on the basis of the truth. Is it lawful to pay a tax to Caesar or not? 15 Should we pay it or not?”
Since Jesus knew their hypocrisy, he said to them, “Why do you keep testing me? Bring me a denarius so that I can look at it.”
16 So they brought one.
He said to them, “Whose image and inscription is this?”
“Caesar’s,” they answered him.
17 Then Jesus told them, “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.”
And they were amazed at him.
The God of the Living
18 Next some Sadducees (who say that there will be no resurrection) came to him. They asked him a question: 19 “Teacher, Moses wrote for us: ‘If a man’s brother dies and leaves behind a wife but no child, then his brother should take his wife and raise up children for his brother.’[n]
20 “Now there were seven brothers. The first one took a wife and died without leaving children. 21 The second one married her and died, leaving no children. The third one did the same. 22 The seven left no children. Last of all, the woman also died. 23 So when they rise in the resurrection, whose wife will she be, since all seven had her as a wife?”
24 Jesus said to them, “Isn’t this the reason you are mistaken: that you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God? 25 In fact, when people rise from the dead, they do not marry, and they are not given in marriage, but they are like angels in heaven. 26 But about the dead—that they are raised—have you not read in the book of Moses, in the passage about the burning bush, how God told him, ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’?[o] 27 He is not the God of the dead, but of the living. You are badly mistaken.”
Love God and Your Neighbor
28 One of the experts in the law approached after he heard their discussion. When he saw that Jesus had answered them well, he asked Jesus, “Which commandment is the greatest of all?”
29 Jesus answered, “The most important is: ‘Hear, O Israel, the Lord, our God, the Lord is one. 30 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’[p] 31 The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’[q] There is no other commandment greater than these.”
32 The expert in the law said to him, “Well said, teacher. You have spoken correctly on the basis of the truth that he is one, and there is no other besides him.[r] 33 To love him with all your heart, with all your understanding, and with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself, is more important than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.”[s]
34 When Jesus saw that he had answered wisely, he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” After that, no one dared to ask him any more questions.
David’s Son and David’s Lord
35 While Jesus was teaching in the temple courts, he responded by saying, “How is it that the experts in the law say that the Christ is the Son of David? 36 David himself said by the Holy Spirit:
The Lord said to my Lord, ‘Sit at my right hand,
until I make your enemies a footstool under your feet.’[t]
37 “David himself calls him Lord, so how can he be his son?” The large crowd listened to him with delight.
Do Not Do What They Do
38 He also said to them in his teaching, “Beware of the experts in the law who like to walk around in long robes and receive greetings in the marketplaces. 39 They love the best seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at banquets. 40 They devour widows’ houses and offer long prayers to look good. These men will receive greater condemnation.”
The Poor Widow’s Offering
41 Jesus sat down opposite the offering box and was watching how the crowd put money into it. Many rich people put in large amounts. 42 One poor widow came and put in two small bronze coins,[u] worth less than a penny.[v] 43 He called his disciples together and said to them, “Amen I tell you: This poor widow put more into the offering box than all the others. 44 For they all gave out of their surplus, but she, out of her poverty, put in everything—all that she had to live on.”
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.