Chapter 10

10:1He set out from there and went to the region of Judea and across the Jordan. Then crowds converged on Him again and, as He usually did, He began teaching them once more. 2Some Pharisees approached Him to test Him. They asked, "Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?"
3He replied to them, "What did Moses command you?"
4They said, "Moses permitted us to write divorce papers and send her away."
5But Jesus told them, "He wrote this command for you because of the hardness of your hearts. 6But from the beginning of creation God made them male and female.
7For this reason a man will leave
his father and mother
[and be joined to his wife],
8and the two will become one flesh.
So they are no longer two, but one flesh. 9Therefore what God has joined together, man must not separate."
10Now in the house the disciples questioned Him again about this matter. 11And He said to them, "Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her. 12Also, if she divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery."
13Some people were bringing little children to Him so He might touch them, but His disciples rebuked them. 14When Jesus saw it, He was indignant and said to them, "Let the little children come to Me. Don't stop them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. 15I assure you: Whoever does not welcome the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it." 16After taking them in His arms, He laid His hands on them and blessed them.
17As He was setting out on a journey, a man ran up, knelt down before Him, and asked Him, "Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?"
18"Why do you call Me good?" Jesus asked him. "No one is good but One-God. 19You know the commandments:
Do not murder;
do not commit adultery;
do not steal;
do not bear false witness;
do not defraud;
honor your father and mother."
20He said to Him, "Teacher, I have kept all these from my youth."
21Then, looking at him, Jesus loved him and said to him, "You lack one thing: Go, sell all you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow Me." 22But he was stunned at this demand, and he went away grieving, because he had many possessions.
23Jesus looked around and said to His disciples, "How hard it is for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!" 24But the disciples were astonished at His words. Again Jesus said to them, "Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God! 25It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God."
26So they were even more astonished, saying to one another, "Then who can be saved?"
27Looking at them, Jesus said, "With men it is impossible, but not with God, because all things are possible with God."
28Peter began to tell Him, "Look, we have left everything and followed You."
29"I assure you," Jesus said, "there is no one who has left house, brothers or sisters, mother or father, children, or fields because of Me and the gospel, 30who will not receive 100 times more, now at this time-houses, brothers and sisters, mothers and children, and fields, with persecutions-and eternal life in the age to come. 31But many who are first will be last, and the last first."
32They were on the road, going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was walking ahead of them. They were astonished, but those who followed Him were afraid. Taking the Twelve aside again, He began to tell them the things that would happen to Him.
33"Listen! We are going up to Jerusalem. The Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests and the scribes, and they will condemn Him to death. Then they will hand Him over to the Gentiles, 34and they will mock Him, spit on Him, flog Him, and kill Him, and He will rise after three days."
35Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, approached Him and said, "Teacher, we want You to do something for us if we ask You."
36"What do you want Me to do for you?" He asked them.
37They answered Him, "Allow us to sit at Your right and at Your left in Your glory."
38But Jesus said to them, "You don't know what you're asking. Are you able to drink the cup I drink or to be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with?"
39"We are able," they told Him.
Jesus said to them, "You will drink the cup I drink, and you will be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with. 40But to sit at My right or left is not Mine to give; instead, it is for those it has been prepared for." 41When the other 10 disciples heard this, they began to be indignant with James and John.
42Jesus called them over and said to them, "You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles dominate them, and their men of high positions exercise power over them. 43But it must not be like that among you. On the contrary, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, 44and whoever wants to be first among you must be a slave to all. 45For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life-a ransom for many."
46They came to Jericho. And as He was leaving Jericho with His disciples and a large crowd, Bartimaeus (the son of Timaeus), a blind beggar, was sitting by the road. 47When he heard that it was Jesus the Nazarene, he began to cry out, "Son of David, Jesus, have mercy on me!" 48Many people told him to keep quiet, but he was crying out all the more, "Have mercy on me, Son of David!"
49Jesus stopped and said, "Call him."
So they called the blind man and said to him, "Have courage! Get up; He's calling for you." 50He threw off his coat, jumped up, and came to Jesus.
51Then Jesus answered him, "What do you want Me to do for you?"
"Rabbouni," the blind man told Him, "I want to see!"
52"Go your way," Jesus told him. "Your faith has healed you." Immediately he could see and began to follow Him on the road.