New Testament in a Year

²⁴ Jesus watched him go and then said to his disciples, “How hard it is for the rich 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 Those who heard him say this exclaimed, “If it is that hard, how can anyone be saved?”

²⁷ He replied, “God can do what men can’t!”

²⁸ And Peter said, “We have left our homes and followed you.”

²⁹ “Yes,” Jesus replied, “and everyone who has done as you have, leaving home, wife, brothers, parents, or children for the sake of the Kingdom of God, ³⁰ will be repaid many times over now, as well as receiving eternal life in the world to come.”

³¹ Gathering the Twelve around him he told them, “As you know, we are going to Jerusalem. And when we get there, all the predictions of the ancient prophets concerning me will come true. ³² I will be handed over to the Gentiles to be mocked and treated shamefully and spat upon, ³³ and lashed and killed. And the third day I will rise again.”

³⁴ But they didn’t understand a thing he said. He seemed to be talking in riddles.

³⁵ As they approached Jericho, a blind man was sitting beside the road, begging from travelers. ³⁶ When he heard the noise of a crowd going past, he asked what was happening. ³⁷ He was told that Jesus from Nazareth was going by, ³⁸ so he began shouting, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”

³⁹ The crowds ahead of Jesus tried to hush the man, but he only yelled the louder, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”

⁴⁰ When Jesus arrived at the spot, he stopped. “Bring the blind man over here,” he said. ⁴¹ Then Jesus asked the man, “What do you want?”

“Lord,” he pleaded, “I want to see!”

⁴² And Jesus said, “All right, begin seeing! Your faith has healed you.”

⁴³ And instantly the man could see and followed Jesus, praising God. And all who saw it happen praised God too.