Matthew 19:1–22:46

Divorce

19:1–9pp—Mk 10:1–12

19 When Jesus had finished saying these things,s he left Galilee and went into the region of Judea to the other side of the Jordan. 2 Large crowds followed him, and he healed themt there.

3 Some Pharisees came to him to test him. They asked, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wifeu for any and every reason?”

4 “Haven’t you read,” he replied, “that at the beginning the Creator ‘made them male and female,’a v 5 and said, ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh’b?w 6 So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.”

7 “Why then,” they asked, “did Moses command that a man give his wife a certificate of divorce and send her away?”x

8 Jesus replied, “Moses permitted you to divorce your wives because your hearts were hard. But it was not this way from the beginning. 9 I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another woman commits adultery.”y

10 The disciples said to him, “If this is the situation between a husband and wife, it is better not to marry.”

11 Jesus replied, “Not everyone can accept this word, but only those to whom it has been given.z 12 For there are eunuchs who were born that way, and there are eunuchs who have been made eunuchs by others—and there are those who choose to live like eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. The one who can accept this should accept it.”

The Little Children and Jesus

19:13–15pp—Mk 10:13–16; Lk 18:15–17

13 Then people brought little children to Jesus for him to place his hands on thema and pray for them. But the disciples rebuked them.

14 Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongsb to such as these.”c 15 When he had placed his hands on them, he went on from there.

The Rich and the Kingdom of God

19:16–29pp—Mk 10:17–30; Lk 18:18–30

16 Just then a man came up to Jesus and asked, “Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal lifed?”e

17 “Why do you ask me about what is good?” Jesus replied. “There is only One who is good. If you want to enter life, keep the commandments.”f

18 “Which ones?” he inquired.

Jesus replied, “ ‘You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery,g you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, 19 honor your father and mother,’c h and ‘love your neighbor as yourself.’d”i

20 “All these I have kept,” the young man said. “What do I still lack?”

21 Jesus answered, “If you want to be perfect,j go, sell your possessions and give to the poor,k and you will have treasure in heaven.l Then come, follow me.”

22 When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth.

23 Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Truly I tell you, it is hard for someone who is richm to enter the kingdom of heaven. 24 Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.”

25 When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished and asked, “Who then can be saved?”

26 Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”n

27 Peter answered him, “We have left everything to follow you!o What then will there be for us?”

28 Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, at the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man sits on his glorious throne,p you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.q 29 And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wifee or children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life.r 30 But many who are first will be last, and many who are last will be first.s

The Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard

20 “For the kingdom of heaven is liket a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard.u 2 He agreed to pay them a denariusa for the day and sent them into his vineyard.

3 “About nine in the morning he went out and saw others standing in the marketplace doing nothing. 4 He told them, ‘You also go and work in my vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right.’ 5 So they went.

“He went out again about noon and about three in the afternoon and did the same thing. 6 About five in the afternoon he went out and found still others standing around. He asked them, ‘Why have you been standing here all day long doing nothing?’

7 “ ‘Because no one has hired us,’ they answered.

“He said to them, ‘You also go and work in my vineyard.’

8 “When evening came,v the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, ‘Call the workers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last ones hired and going on to the first.’

9 “The workers who were hired about five in the afternoon came and each received a denarius. 10 So when those came who were hired first, they expected to receive more. But each one of them also received a denarius. 11 When they received it, they began to grumblew against the landowner. 12 ‘These who were hired last worked only one hour,’ they said, ‘and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the work and the heatx of the day.’

13 “But he answered one of them, ‘I am not being unfair to you, friend.y Didn’t you agree to work for a denarius? 14 Take your pay and go. I want to give the one who was hired last the same as I gave you. 15 Don’t I have the right to do what I want with my own money? Or are you envious because I am generous?’z

16 “So the last will be first, and the first will be last.”a

Jesus Predicts His Death a Third Time

20:17–19pp—Mk 10:32–34; Lk 18:31–33

17 Now Jesus was going up to Jerusalem. On the way, he took the Twelve aside and said to them, 18 “We are going up to Jerusalem,b and the Son of Manc will be delivered over to the chief priests and the teachers of the law.d They will condemn him to death 19 and will hand him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and floggede and crucified.f On the third dayg he will be raised to life!”h

A Mother’s Request

20:20–28pp—Mk 10:35–45

20 Then the mother of Zebedee’s sonsi came to Jesus with her sons and, kneeling down,j asked a favor of him.

21 “What is it you want?” he asked.

She said, “Grant that one of these two sons of mine may sit at your right and the other at your left in your kingdom.”k

22 “You don’t know what you are asking,” Jesus said to them. “Can you drink the cupl I am going to drink?”

“We can,” they answered.

23 Jesus said to them, “You will indeed drink from my cup,m but to sit at my right or left is not for me to grant. These places belong to those for whom they have been prepared by my Father.”

24 When the ten heard about this, they were indignantn with the two brothers. 25 Jesus called them together and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. 26 Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant,o 27 and whoever wants to be first must be your slave—28 just as the Son of Manp did not come to be served, but to serve,q and to give his life as a ransomr for many.”

Two Blind Men Receive Sight

20:29–34pp—Mk 10:46–52; Lk 18:35–43

29 As Jesus and his disciples were leaving Jericho, a large crowd followed him. 30 Two blind men were sitting by the roadside, and when they heard that Jesus was going by, they shouted, “Lord, Son of David,s have mercy on us!”

31 The crowd rebuked them and told them to be quiet, but they shouted all the louder, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!”

32 Jesus stopped and called them. “What do you want me to do for you?” he asked.

33 “Lord,” they answered, “we want our sight.”

34 Jesus had compassion on them and touched their eyes. Immediately they received their sight and followed him.

Jesus Comes to Jerusalem as King

21:1–9pp—Mk 11:1–10; Lk 19:29–38
21:4–9pp—Jn 12:12–15

21 As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage on the Mount of Olives,t Jesus sent two disciples, 2 saying to them, “Go to the village ahead of you, and at once you will find a donkey tied there, with her colt by her. Untie them and bring them to me. 3 If anyone says anything to you, say that the Lord needs them, and he will send them right away.”

4 This took place to fulfillu what was spoken through the prophet:

5 “Say to Daughter Zion,

‘See, your king comes to you,

gentle and riding on a donkey,

and on a colt, the foal of a donkey.’ ”a v

6 The disciples went and did as Jesus had instructed them. 7 They brought the donkey and the colt and placed their cloaks on them for Jesus to sit on. 8 A very large crowd spread their cloaksw on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. 9 The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted,

“Hosannab to the Son of David!”x

“Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”c y

“Hosannad in the highest heaven!”z

10 When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred and asked, “Who is this?”

11 The crowds answered, “This is Jesus, the propheta from Nazareth in Galilee.”

Jesus at the Temple

21:12–16pp—Mk 11:15–18; Lk 19:45–47

12 Jesus entered the temple courts and drove out all who were buyingb and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changersc and the benches of those selling doves.d 13 “It is written,” he said to them, “ ‘My house will be called a house of prayer,’e e but you are making it ‘a den of robbers.’f”f

14 The blind and the lame came to him at the temple, and he healed them.g 15 But when the chief priests and the teachers of the law saw the wonderful things he did and the children shouting in the temple courts, “Hosanna to the Son of David,”h they were indignant.i

16 “Do you hear what these children are saying?” they asked him.

“Yes,” replied Jesus, “have you never read,

“ ‘From the lips of children and infants

you, Lord, have called forth your praise’g?”j

17 And he left them and went out of the city …