Teaching about Divorce
Jesus left that place and traveled into the region of Judea, going beyond the Jordan River. Once again, crowds of people gathered around him, and he taught them just as he always did. Some Pharisees came to him, trying to trap him with a difficult question. "Is it right for a man to divorce his wife?" they asked. Jesus turned the question back to them. "What did Moses command you to do?" They replied, "Moses allowed a man to write a certificate of divorce and send his wife away." But Jesus said to them, "Moses wrote that command for you only because your hearts were hard and stubborn. But from the very beginning of creation, God made them male and female. For this reason, a man will leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two will become one flesh. So they are no longer two separate people, but one. Therefore, what God has joined together, no person should tear apart." Later, when they were back inside the house, his disciples asked Jesus to explain this teaching further. He told them, "Anyone who divorces his wife and marries another woman is committing adultery against her. And if a woman divorces her husband and marries another man, she is committing adultery."
Jesus Blesses the Little Children
People were bringing their little children to Jesus, hoping he would touch them and bless them. But the disciples scolded the parents and tried to turn them away. When Jesus saw what his disciples were doing, he became angry with them. "Let the children come to me," he told his disciples firmly. "Don't try to stop them. The kingdom of God belongs to people like these children. I'm telling you the truth—anyone who doesn't welcome God's kingdom the way a little child does will never be able to enter it." Then Jesus gathered the children into his arms, placed his hands on each one, and blessed them.
The Rich Young Ruler
As Jesus was leaving to continue on his journey, a man came running up to him and dropped to his knees. "Good Teacher," the man asked urgently, "what do I need to do to receive eternal life?" Jesus responded, "Why are you calling me good? Only God is truly good." Then he continued, "You already know the commandments: Don't murder anyone, don't be unfaithful to your spouse, don't steal, don't lie about others, don't cheat people, and respect your father and mother." The man answered, "Teacher, I have obeyed all of these commands since I was young." Jesus looked directly at him with deep love and said, "You're missing just one thing. Go and sell everything you own. Give all that money to poor people, and you will have riches stored up in heaven. After you do that, come and follow me." When the man heard these words, his face fell and great sadness came over him. He walked away filled with sorrow because he owned many valuable things and could not bring himself to give them up.
Teaching about Riches and the Kingdom
Jesus looked around at his followers and said, "It's incredibly difficult for wealthy people to enter God's kingdom!" His disciples were shocked by these words. But Jesus spoke to them again, saying, "My dear friends, it's so hard to enter God's kingdom! It would be easier for a camel to squeeze through the eye of a sewing needle than for a rich person to enter God's kingdom." This left them even more amazed, and they asked each other, "Then who can possibly be saved?" Jesus looked directly at them and answered, "This is impossible for people to do on their own, but God can do it. God can do anything." Peter then spoke up, saying, "Look, we've given up everything we had to follow you." Jesus replied, "I'm telling you the truth—anyone who has left behind their home, brothers, sisters, mother, father, children, or land because of me and because of the good news will receive much more in return. In this life, they'll receive a hundred times as much—houses, brothers, sisters, mothers, children, and fields, though they'll also face persecution. And in the life to come, they'll have eternal life. But many who seem to be first in line will end up last, and those who seem last will be first."
Jesus Predicts His Death a Third Time
They were traveling on the road that led up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was walking out in front of the group. His disciples watched him with wonder, while the other followers trailed behind, filled with fear about what lay ahead. Once again, Jesus pulled his twelve closest disciples aside, away from the crowd, and began to tell them exactly what was going to happen to him. "Listen carefully," Jesus said to them. "We are going up to Jerusalem, and there the Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests and the religious teachers. These leaders will declare that he deserves to die, and they will turn him over to the Romans. Those foreigners will make fun of him and spit in his face. They will whip him brutally and then kill him. But three days later, he will come back to life."
The Request of James and John
James and John, the sons of Zebedee, approached Jesus with a bold request. "Teacher," they said, "we want you to do something for us—whatever we ask of you." Jesus looked at them carefully and asked, "What is it you want me to do for you?" The two brothers replied, "When you come into your glory, let one of us sit at your right side and the other at your left side." Jesus shook his head. "You don't understand what you're asking for," he told them. "Are you able to drink from the same cup of suffering that I must drink? Can you go through the same painful baptism that I must endure?" Without hesitation, they answered, "Yes, we can do it." Jesus said to them, "You will indeed drink from the cup I drink, and you will be baptized with the same baptism I face. But as for sitting at my right hand or my left—that's not mine to give. Those places will go to the people they have already been prepared for." When the other ten disciples heard what James and John had asked, they became angry with the two brothers. Jesus gathered all twelve of them together and said, "You know how it works in the world. The rulers of other nations use their power to control people, and their officials use their authority to make others obey them. But that's not how things should work among you. If any of you wants to be great, he must become a servant to the others. And if anyone wants to be first, he must become a slave to everyone else. Even the Son of Man didn't come to have people serve him. I came to serve others and to give up my life to rescue many people."
The Healing of Blind Bartimaeus
Then they arrived at Jericho. As Jesus and his followers were leaving the city with a large crowd walking alongside them, there was a blind man sitting by the roadside begging for money. His name was Bartimaeus, and he was the son of a man named Timaeus. When Bartimaeus heard that Jesus of Nazareth was passing by, he started shouting loudly, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!" Many people in the crowd scolded him and told him to be quiet, but this only made him shout even louder: "Son of David, have mercy on me!" Jesus stopped walking and said, "Bring him to me." So the people called out to the blind man, saying, "Cheer up! Stand up! He's calling for you." Bartimaeus threw off his coat, jumped to his feet, and made his way to Jesus. Jesus asked him, "What do you want me to do for you?" The blind man answered, "Teacher, I want to see again." Jesus replied, "Go on your way. Your faith has made you well." Right away, Bartimaeus could see, and he followed Jesus down the road.