Teaching About Divorce

10 ^zAnd he left there and went ^ato the region of Judea and beyond the Jordan, and crowds gathered to him again. And again, as was his custom, he taught them.

2 And Pharisees came up and in order ^bto test him asked, ^c“Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?” 3 He answered them, “What did Moses command you?” 4 They said, ^d“Moses allowed a man to write a certificate of divorce and to send her away.” 5 And Jesus said to them, “Because of your ^ehardness of heart he wrote you this commandment. 6 But ^ffrom the beginning of creation, ‘God made them ^gmale and female.’ 7 ^h‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife,¹ 8 and ⁱthe two shall become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two but one flesh. 9 ^jWhat therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.”

10 And in the house the disciples asked him again about this matter. 11 And he said to them, ^k“Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her, 12 and ^lif she divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery.”

Let the Children Come to Me

13 ^mAnd they were bringing children to him that he might touch them, and the disciples ⁿrebuked them. 14 But when Jesus saw it, he was indignant and said to them, ^o“Let the children come to me; ^pdo not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God. 15 ^qTruly, I say to you, whoever does not ^rreceive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.” 16 And ^she took them in his arms and blessed them, ^tlaying his hands on them.

The Rich Young Man

17 ^uAnd as he was setting out on his journey, a man ran up and ^vknelt before him and asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to ^winherit eternal life?” 18 And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. 19 You know the commandments: ^x‘Do not murder, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and mother.’” 20 And he said to him, “Teacher, ^yall these I have kept from my youth.” 21 And Jesus, ^zlooking at him, ^aloved him, and said to him, “You lack one thing: go, ^bsell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have ^ctreasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” 22 ^dDisheartened by the saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.

23 And Jesus ^elooked around and said to his disciples, ^f“How difficult it will be for those who have wealth to enter ^gthe kingdom of God!” 24 And the disciples ^hwere amazed at his words. But Jesus said to them again, ⁱ“Children, ^jhow difficult it is² to enter ^gthe kingdom of God! 25 It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter ^gthe kingdom of God.” 26 And they were exceedingly astonished, and said to him,³ “Then who can be saved?” 27 Jesus ^klooked at them and said, ^l“With man it is impossible, but not with God. For all things are possible with God.” 28 Peter began to say to him, “See, ^mwe have left everything and followed you.” 29 Jesus said, “Truly, I say to you, ⁿthere is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands, for my sake and ^ofor the gospel, 30 who will not receive a hundredfold ^pnow in this time, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, ^qwith persecutions, and in ^rthe age to come eternal life. 31 But ^smany who are first will be last, and the last first.”

Jesus Foretells His Death a Third Time

32 ^tAnd they were on the road, going up to Jerusalem, and ^uJesus was walking ahead of them. And ^vthey were amazed, and those who followed were afraid. And taking the twelve again, he began to tell them what was to happen to him, 33 saying, “See, ^wwe are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and the scribes, and they will ^xcondemn him to death and ^ydeliver him over to the Gentiles. 34 And they will ^zmock him and ^aspit on him, and flog him and kill him. And ^bafter three days he will rise.”

The Request of James and John

35 ^cAnd James and John, ^dthe sons of Zebedee, came up to him and said to him, “Teacher, we want you to do for us ^ewhatever we ask of you.” 36 And he said to them, ^f“What do you want me to do for you?” 37 And they said to him, “Grant us ^gto sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, ^hin your glory.” 38 Jesus said to them, ⁱ“You do not know what you are asking. Are you able ^jto drink the cup that I drink, or ^kto be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?” 39 And they said to him, “We are able.” And Jesus said to them, ^l“The cup that I drink ^myou will drink, and with the baptism with which I am baptized, ⁿyou will be baptized, 40 but to sit at my right hand or at my left is not mine to grant, ^obut it is for those for whom it has been ^pprepared.” 41 And when the ten heard it, they began to be indignant at James and John. 42 ^qAnd Jesus called them to him and said to them, “You know that those who are considered rulers of the Gentiles ^rlord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. 43 But ^sit shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant,⁴ 44 and whoever would be first among you must be ^tslave⁵ of all. 45 For even the Son of Man came not to be served but ^uto serve, and ^vto give his life as a ransom for ^wmany.”

Jesus Heals Blind Bartimaeus

46 ^xAnd they came to Jericho. And ^yas he was leaving Jericho with his disciples and a great crowd, Bartimaeus, ^za blind beggar, the son of Timaeus, was sitting by the roadside. 47 And when he heard that it was ^aJesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” 48 And many ^brebuked him, telling him to be silent. But he cried out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” 49 And Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.” And they called the blind man, saying to him, ^c“Take heart. Get up; he is calling you.” 50 And throwing off his ^dcloak, he sprang up and came to Jesus. 51 And Jesus said to him, ^e“What do you want me to do for you?” And the blind man said to him, ^f“Rabbi, let me recover my sight.” 52 And Jesus said to him, “Go your way; ^gyour faith has ^hmade you well.” And immediately he recovered his sight and followed him on the way.

The Triumphal Entry

11 ⁱNow when they drew near to Jerusalem, to ^jBethphage and Bethany, at ^kthe Mount of Olives, Jesus¹ sent ^ltwo of his disciples 2 and said to them, “Go into the village in front of you, and immediately as you enter it you will find a colt tied, ^mon which no one has ever sat. Untie it and bring it. 3 If anyone says to you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ say, ‘The Lord has need of it and will send it back here immediately.’” 4 And they went away and found a colt tied at a door outside in the street, and they untied it. 5 And some of those standing there said to them, “What are you doing, untying the colt?” 6 And they told them what Jesus had said, and they let them go. 7 And they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their cloaks on it, and he sat on it. 8 And many ⁿspread their cloaks on the road, and others spread leafy branches that they had cut from the fields. 9 And those who went before and those who followed were shouting, ^o“Hosanna! ^pBlessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! 10 Blessed is ^qthe coming ^rkingdom of ^sour father ^rDavid! ^oHosanna ^tin the highest!”

11 ^uAnd he entered Jerusalem and went into the temple. And when he had looked around at everything, as it was already late, ^vhe went out to Bethany with the twelve.

Jesus Curses the Fig Tree

12 ^wOn the following day, when they came from Bethany, ^xhe was hungry. 13 ^yAnd seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf, he went to see if he could find anything on it. When he came to it, he found nothing but leaves, for ^zit was not the season for figs. 14 And he said to it, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again.” And his disciples heard it.

Jesus Cleanses the Temple

15 ^aAnd they came to Jerusalem. And he entered the temple and began to drive out those who sold and those who bought in the temple, and he overturned the tables of ^bthe money-changers and the seats of those who sold ^cpigeons. 16 And he would not allow anyone to carry anything through the temple. 17 And he was teaching them and saying to them, “Is it not written, ^d‘My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations’? But ^eyou have made it a den of robbers.” 18 And the chief priests and the scribes heard it and ^fwere seeking a way to destroy him, for they feared him, because ^gall the crowd was astonished at his teaching. 19 ^hAnd when evening came they² went out of the city.

The Lesson from the Withered Fig Tree

20 ⁱAs they passed by in the morning, they saw the fig tree withered away to its roots. 21 And Peter remembered and said to him, ^j“Rabbi, look! The fig tree that you cursed has withered.” 22 And Jesus answered them, “Have ^kfaith in God. 23 ^lTruly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ^m‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ and does not ⁿdoubt in his heart, but ^obelieves that what he says will come to pass, it will be done for him. 24 Therefore I tell you, ^pwhatever you ask in prayer, ^obelieve that you ^qhave received³ it, and it will be yours. 25 And whenever ^ryou stand praying, ^sforgive, ^tif you have anything against anyone, so that ^uyour Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.”⁴

The Authority of Jesus Challenged

27 ^vAnd they came again to Jerusalem. And as he was walking in the temple, the chief priests and the scribes and the elders came to him, 28 and they said to him, ^w“By what authority are you doing these things, or who gave you this authority to do them?” 29 Jesus said to them, “I will ask you one question; answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things. 30 Was the baptism of John ^xfrom heaven or from man? Answer me.” 31 And they discussed it with one another, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say, ^y‘Why then did you not believe him?’ 32 But shall we say, ‘From man’?”—^zthey were afraid of the people, for they all held that John really was ^aa prophet. 33 So they answered Jesus, “We do not know.” And Jesus said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.”

The Parable of the Tenants

12 ^bAnd he began to speak to them in parables. “A man planted ^ca vineyard ^dand put a fence around it and dug a pit for the winepress and built a tower, and ^eleased it to tenants and ^fwent into another country. 2 When the season came, he sent a servant¹ to the tenants to get from them some of the fruit of the vineyard. 3 ^gAnd they took him and beat him and sent him away empty-handed. 4 ^gAgain ^hhe sent to them another servant, and ⁱthey struck him on the head and ^jtreated him shamefully. 5 ^gAnd he sent another, and him they killed. And so with many others: some they beat, and some they killed. 6 He had still one other, ^ka beloved son. ^lFinally he sent him to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ 7 But those tenants said to one another, ^m‘This is the heir. Come, ⁿlet us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’ 8 And they took him and killed him and ^othrew him out of the vineyard. 9 What will the owner of the vineyard do? ^pHe will ^qcome and destroy the tenants and ^rgive the vineyard to others. 10 ^sHave you not read ^tthis Scripture:

12 And ^vthey were seeking to arrest him ^wbut feared the people, for they perceived that he had told the parable against them. So they ^xleft him and went away.

Paying Taxes to Caesar

13 ^yAnd they sent to him some of ^zthe Pharisees and some of ^zthe Herodians, to ^atrap him in his talk. 14 And they came and said to him, “Teacher, ^bwe know that you are true and do not care about anyone’s opinion. For ^cyou are not swayed by appearances,³ but truly teach ^dthe way of God. Is it lawful to pay ^etaxes to ^fCaesar, or not? Should we pay them, or should we not?” 15 But, knowing ^gtheir hypocrisy, he said to them, “Why ^hput me to the test? Bring me ⁱa denarius⁴ and let me look at it.” 16 And they brought one. And he said to them, “Whose likeness and inscription is this?” They said to him, “Caesar’s.” 17 Jesus said to them, ^j“Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” And they marveled at him.

The Sadducees Ask About the Resurrection

18 And ^kSadducees came to him, ^lwho say that there is no resurrection. And they asked him a question, saying, 19 “Teacher, Moses wrote for us that ^mif a man’s brother dies and leaves a wife, but leaves no child, the man⁵ must take the widow and raise up offspring for his brother. 20 There were seven brothers; the first took a wife, and when he died left no offspring. 21 And the second took her, and died, leaving no offspring. And the third likewise. 22 And the seven left no offspring. Last of all the woman also died. 23 In the resurrection, when they rise again, whose wife will she be? For the seven had her as wife.”

24 Jesus said to them, “Is this not the reason you are wrong, because ⁿyou know neither the Scriptures nor ^othe power of God? 25 For when they rise from the dead, they neither ^pmarry nor ^pare given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven. 26 And as for the dead being raised, ^qhave you not read in ^rthe book of Moses, in ^sthe passage about the bush, how God spoke to him, saying, ^t‘I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? 27 He is not God of the dead, but of the living. You are quite wrong.”

The Great Commandment

28 ^uAnd one of the scribes came up and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that he answered them well, asked him, “Which commandment is the most important of all?” 29 Jesus answered, “The most important is, ^v‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, ^wthe Lord is one. 30 And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ 31 ^xThe second is this: ^y‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment ^zgreater than these.” 32 And the scribe said to him, “You are right, Teacher. You have truly said that ^whe is one, and ^athere is no other besides him. 33 And to love him with all the heart and with all ^bthe understanding and with all the strength, and to love one’s neighbor as oneself, ^cis much more than all ^dwhole burnt offerings and sacrifices.” 34 And when Jesus saw that he answered wisely, he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” ^eAnd after that no one dared to ask him any more questions.

Whose Son Is the Christ?

35 ^fAnd as ^gJesus taught in the temple, he said, “How can the scribes say that ^hthe Christ is the son of David? 36 David himself, ⁱin the Holy Spirit, declared,

37 David himself calls him Lord. So ^lhow is he his son?” And the great throng ^mheard him gladly.

Beware of the Scribes

38 ⁿAnd in his teaching he said, “Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes and like greetings in the marketplaces 39 and have the best seats in the synagogues and ^othe places of honor at feasts, 40 ^pwho devour widows’ houses and ^qfor a pretense make long prayers. They will receive the greater condemnation.”

The Widow’s Offering

41 ^rAnd he sat down opposite ^sthe treasury and watched the people ^tputting money into the offering box. Many rich people put in large sums. 42 And a poor widow came and put in two ^usmall copper coins, which make a penny.⁶ 43 And he called his disciples to him and said to them, “Truly, I say to you, ^vthis poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the offering box. 44 For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her ^wpoverty has put in everything she had, all ^xshe had to live on.”

Jesus Foretells Destruction of the Temple

13 ^yAnd as he came out of the temple, one of his disciples said to him, “Look, Teacher, what wonderful stones and what wonderful buildings!” 2 And Jesus said to him, “Do you see these great buildings? ^zThere will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down.”

Signs of the End of the Age

3 And as he sat on ^athe Mount of Olives opposite the temple, ^bPeter and James and John and ^cAndrew asked him ^dprivately, 4 “Tell us, ^ewhen will these things be, and what will be the sign when all these things are about to be accomplished?” 5 And Jesus began to say to them, ^f“See that no one leads you astray. 6 ^gMany will come in my name, saying, ^h‘I am he!’ and they will lead many astray. 7 And when you hear of wars and rumors of wars, ⁱdo not be alarmed. This ^jmust take place, but the end is not yet. 8 For ^knation will rise against nation, and ^lkingdom against kingdom. There will be ^mearthquakes in various places; there will be ⁿfamines. These are but the beginning of the birth pains.

9 ^o“But ^pbe on your guard. For they will deliver you over to councils, and you will be beaten ^qin synagogues, and you will stand before ^rgovernors and ^skings for my sake, ^tto bear witness before them. 10 And the gospel must first be proclaimed ^uto all nations. 11 And when they bring you to trial and deliver you over, ^vdo not be anxious beforehand what you are to say, but say ^wwhatever is given you in that hour, ^xfor it is not you who speak, but the Holy Spirit. 12 ^yAnd brother will deliver brother over to death, and the father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death. 13 ^zAnd you will be hated by all for my name’s sake. ^aBut the one who endures to the end will be saved.

The Abomination of Desolation

14 “But when you see ^bthe abomination of desolation standing where he ought not to be (^clet the reader understand), then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. 15 ^dLet the one who is on ^ethe housetop not go down, nor enter his house, to take anything out, 16 and let the one who is in the field not turn back to take his cloak. 17 And ^falas for women who are pregnant and for those who are nursing infants in those days! 18 Pray that it may not happen in winter. 19 For in those days there will be ^gsuch ^htribulation as has not been ⁱfrom the beginning of the creation that ^jGod created until now, and never will be. 20 And if the Lord had not cut short the days, no human being would be saved. But for ^kthe sake of the elect, whom ^lhe chose, he shortened the days. 21 And ^mthen if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘Look, there he is!’ do not believe it. 22 ⁿFor false christs and false prophets will arise and ^operform signs and wonders, ^pto lead astray, if possible, ^qthe elect. 23 But ^rbe on guard; ^sI have told you all things beforehand.