Mark 10–12

THE QUESTION OF DIVORCE

10He^bb set out from there and went to the region of Judea^bc and across the Jordan.^bd Then crowds converged on him again, and as was his custom he taught^be them again.

²Some Pharisees^a came to test^b him, asking, “Is it lawful^c for a man to divorce^d his wife?”^e

³He replied to them, “What did Moses^f command you?”

⁴They said, “Moses permitted us to write divorce papers^g and send her away.”^h

⁵But Jesus told them, “He wrote this command for you because of the hardness of your hearts.^{i 6}But from the beginning^j of creation^k God^H made them male and female.^{Il 7}For this reason a man will leave^m his father and mother^{J 8}and the two will become one flesh.^Kn So they are no longer two, but one flesh. ⁹Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.”^o

¹⁰When they were in the house again, the disciples questioned him about this matter. ¹¹He said to them, “Whoever divorces his wife^p and marries^q another commits adultery^r against her. ¹²Also, if she divorces her husband^s and marries another, she commits adultery.”

BLESSING THE CHILDREN

¹³People^t were bringing little children^u to him in order that he might touch them, but the disciples rebuked^v them. ¹⁴When Jesus saw it, he was indignant^w and said to them, “Let the little children come to me.^x Don’t stop^y them, because the kingdom of God^z belongs to such as these. ¹⁵Truly I tell you,^aa whoever does not receive^Aab the kingdom of God like a little child^ac will never enter it.” ¹⁶After taking them in his arms, he laid his hands on^ad them and blessed^ae them.

THE RICH YOUNG RULER

¹⁷As^af he was setting out on a journey,^ag a man ran up, knelt down^ah before him, and asked him, “Good^ai teacher,^aj what must I do to inherit^ak eternal life?”^al

¹⁸“Why do you call me good?” Jesus asked him. “No one is good except God alone.^{am 19}You know the commandments: Do not murder;^an do not commit adultery;^ao do not steal;^ap do not bear false witness;^aq do not defraud;^ar honor^as your father and mother.”^Bat

²⁰He said to him, “Teacher,^au I have kept all these from my youth.”

²¹Looking at him, Jesus loved him^av and said to him, “You lack one thing: Go, sell all you have and give to the poor,^aw and you will have treasure^ax in heaven.^ay Then come,^C follow me.”^{az 22}But he was dismayed by this demand, and he went away grieving,^ba because he had many possessions.^bb

POSSESSIONS AND THE KINGDOM

²³Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How hard it is for those who have wealth^bc to enter the kingdom of God!”^bd

²⁴The disciples were astonished at his words. Again Jesus said to them, “Children,^be how hard it is^D to enter the kingdom of God! ²⁵It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich^bf person to enter the kingdom of God.”

²⁶They were even more astonished, saying to one another, “Then who can be saved?”^bg

²⁷Looking at them, Jesus said, “With man it is impossible,^bh but not with God, because all things are possible with God.”

²⁸Peter^bi began to tell him, “Look, we have left everything and followed you.”

²⁹“Truly I tell you,”^bj Jesus said, “there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father^E or children or fields for my sake and for the sake of the gospel,^{bk 30}who will not receive a hundred times^bl more, now at this time^bm—houses, brothers and sisters, mothers and children, and fields, with persecutions^bn—and eternal life^bo in the age to come.^{bp 31}But many who are first will be last, and the last first.”^bq

THE THIRD PREDICTION OF HIS DEATH

³²They^br were on the road, going up to Jerusalem,^bs and Jesus was walking ahead of them. The disciples were astonished, but those who followed him were afraid.^bt Taking the Twelve aside again, he began to tell them the things that would happen to him.^{bu 33}“See, we are going up to Jerusalem. The Son of Man^bv will be handed over to the chief priests and the scribes,^bw and they will condemn him to death. Then they will hand him over to the Gentiles,^{bx 34}and they will mock him, spit on him, flog^A him, and kill him, and he will rise^by after three days.”^bz

SUFFERING AND SERVICE

³⁵James^a and John,^b the sons of Zebedee,^c approached him and said, “Teacher,^d we want you to do whatever 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.”^e

³⁸Jesus said to them, “You don’t know what you’re asking.^f Are you able to drink the cup^g I drink or to be baptized with the baptism^h I am baptized with?”ⁱ

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.^{j 40}But to sit at my right or left is not mine to give; instead, it is for those for whom it has been prepared.”

⁴¹When the ten disciples heard this, they began to be indignant with James and John.^{k 42}Jesus called them over and said to them, “You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over^l them, and those in high positions act as tyrants over them. ⁴³But it is not so among you.^m On the contrary, whoever wants to become great among you will be your servant,^{n 44}and whoever wants to be first among you will be a slave to all.^{o 45}For even the Son of Man^p did not come to be served, but to serve,^q and to give his life^r as a ransom^s for many.”^t

A BLIND MAN HEALED

⁴⁶They^u came to Jericho.^v And as he was leaving Jericho with his disciples and a large crowd, Bartimaeus (the son of Timaeus), a blind^w beggar,^x was sitting by the road.^{y 47}When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth,^z he began to cry out, “Jesus, Son of David,^aa have mercy^ab on me!”^{ac 48}Many warned him to keep quiet, but he was crying out all the more, “Have mercy on me,^ad Son of David!”

⁴⁹Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.”

So they called the blind man and said to him, “Have courage!^ae Get up; he’s calling for you.” ⁵⁰He threw off his coat,^af jumped up, and came to Jesus.

⁵¹Then Jesus answered him, “What do you want^ag me to do for you?”

“Rabboni,”^Cah the blind man said to him, “I want to see.”

⁵²Jesus said to him, “Go, your faith has saved you.”^ai Immediately he could see and began to follow Jesus on the road.

THE TRIUMPHAL ENTRY

11When^aj they approached Jerusalem,^ak at Bethphage and Bethany^al near the Mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples ²and told them, “Go into the village ahead of you. As soon as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, on which no one has ever sat. Untie it and bring it. ³If anyone says to you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ say, ‘The Lord needs it and will send it back here right away.’ ”

⁴So they went and found a colt outside in the street, tied by a door. They untied it, ⁵and some of those standing there said to them, “What are you doing, untying the colt?” ⁶They answered them just as Jesus had said; so they let them go.

⁷They brought the colt to Jesus and threw their clothes on it, and he sat on it. ⁸Many people spread their clothes on the road,^am and others spread leafy branches cut from the fields.^{A 9}Those who went ahead and those who followed shouted:

Hosanna!

Blessed is he who comes

in the name^an of the Lord!^Bap

¹⁰Blessed is the coming kingdom^aq

of our father David!^ar

Hosanna^as in the highest heaven!

¹¹He went into Jerusalem^at and into the temple.^au After looking around at everything, since it was already late, he went out to Bethany^av with the Twelve.

THE BARREN FIG TREE IS CURSED

¹²The^aw next day when they went out from Bethany, he was hungry. ¹³Seeing in the distance a fig^ax tree with leaves, he went to find out if there was anything on it. When he came to it, he found nothing but leaves; for it was not the season for figs. ¹⁴He said to it, “May no one ever eat fruit^ay from you again!”^az And his disciples^ba heard it.

CLEANSING THE TEMPLE

¹⁵They came to Jerusalem,^bb and he went into the temple^bc and began to throw out those buying and selling. He overturned the tables of the money changers^bd and the chairs of those selling doves, ¹⁶and would not permit anyone to carry goods through the temple. ¹⁷He was teaching them: “Is it not written,^be My house^bf will be called a house of prayer^bg for all nations?^C But you have made it a den of thieves!”^Dbh

¹⁸The chief priests and the scribes^a heard it and started looking for a way to kill him. For they were afraid^b of him, because the whole crowd was astonished by his teaching.

¹⁹Whenever evening came, they would go out of the city.

THE BARREN FIG TREE IS WITHERED

²⁰Early^c in the morning, as they were passing by, they saw the fig tree withered from the roots up. ²¹Then Peter^d remembered and said to him, “Rabbi,^e look! The fig tree that you cursed^f has withered.”

²²Jesus replied to them, “Have faith in God.^{g 23}Truly I tell you,^h if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ and does not doubtⁱ in his heart, but believes^j that what he says will happen, it will be done for him.^{k 24}Therefore I tell you, everything you pray^l and ask for^m—believe that you have received^En it and it will be yours. ²⁵And whenever you stand^o praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive^p him, so that your Father^q in heaven^r will also forgive^s you your wrongdoing.”

THE AUTHORITY OF JESUS CHALLENGED

²⁷They^t came again to Jerusalem.^u As he was walking in the temple,^v the chief priests, the scribes,^w and the elders^x came ²⁸and asked him, “By what authority^y are you doing these things? Who gave you this authority to do these things?”

²⁹Jesus said to them, “I will ask you one question;^z then answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things. ³⁰Was John’s baptism^aa from heaven or of human origin? Answer me.”

³¹They discussed it among themselves: “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say, ‘Then why didn’t you believe^ab him?’ ³²But if we say, ‘Of human origin’ ”—they were afraid of the crowd, because everyone thought that John was truly a prophet.^{ac 33}So they answered Jesus, “We don’t know.”

And Jesus said to them, …