Mark 8:22–10:52

Jesus Gives Sight to a Blind Man

²²As they came to Bethsaida, some people brought a blind man to Jesus. They begged Jesus to touch him. ²³Jesus took the blind man’s hand and led him out of the village. He spit into the man’s eyes and placed his hands on him. Jesus asked him, “Can you see anything?” 

²⁴The man looked up and said, “I see people. They look like trees walking around.” 

²⁵Then Jesus placed his hands on the man’s eyes a second time, and the man saw clearly. His sight was normal again. He could see everything clearly even at a distance. ²⁶Jesus told him when he sent him home, “Don’t go into the village.” 

Peter Declares His Belief about Jesus—Matthew 16:13–20; Luke 9:18–21

²⁷Then Jesus and his disciples went to the villages around Caesarea Philippi. On the way he asked his disciples, “Who do people say I am?” 

²⁸They answered him, “Some say you are John the Baptizer, others Elijah, still others one of the prophets.” 

²⁹He asked them, “But who do you say I am?” 

Peter answered him, “You are the Messiah!” 

³⁰He ordered them not to tell anyone about him. 

Jesus Foretells That He Will Die and Come Back to Life—Matthew 16:21–23; Luke 9:22

³¹Then he began to teach them that the Son of Man would have to suffer a lot. He taught them that he would be rejected by the leaders, the chief priests, and the experts in Moses’ Teachings. He would be killed, but after three days he would come back to life. ³²He told them very clearly what he meant. 

Peter took him aside and objected to this. ³³Jesus turned, looked at his disciples, and objected to what Peter said. Jesus said, “Get out of my way, Satan! You aren’t thinking the way God thinks but the way humans think.” 

What It Means to Follow Jesus—Matthew 16:24–28; Luke 9:23–27

³⁴Then Jesus called the crowd to himself along with his disciples. He said to them, “Those who want to follow me must say no to the things they want, pick up their crosses, and follow me. ³⁵Those who want to save their lives will lose them. But those who lose their lives for me and for the Good News will save them. ³⁶What good does it do for people to win the whole world yet lose their lives? ³⁷Or what should a person give in exchange for life? ³⁸If people are ashamed of me and what I say in this unfaithful and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of those people when he comes with the holy angels in his Father’s glory.” 

9TH CHAPTER

¹He said to them, “I can guarantee this truth: Some people who are standing here will not die until they see the kingdom of God arrive with power.” 

Moses and Elijah Appear with Jesus—Matthew 17:1–8; Luke 9:28–36

²After six days Jesus took only Peter, James, and John and led them up a high mountain where they could be alone. 

Jesus’ appearance changed in front of them. ³His clothes became dazzling white, whiter than anyone on earth could bleach them. ⁴Then Elijah and Moses appeared to them and were talking with Jesus. 

⁵Peter said to Jesus, “Rabbi, it’s good that we’re here. Let’s put up three tents—one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” ⁶(Peter didn’t know how to respond. He and the others were terrified.) 

⁷Then a cloud overshadowed them. A voice came out of the cloud and said, “This is my Son, whom I love. Listen to him!” 

⁸Suddenly, as they looked around, they saw no one with them but Jesus. 

⁹On their way down the mountain, Jesus ordered them not to tell anyone what they had seen. They were to wait until the Son of Man had come back to life. ¹⁰They kept in mind what he said but argued among themselves what he meant by “come back to life.” ¹¹So they asked him, “Don’t the experts in Moses’ Teachings say that Elijah must come first?” 

¹²Jesus said to them, “Elijah is coming first and will put everything in order again. But in what sense was it written that the Son of Man must suffer a lot and be treated shamefully? ¹³Indeed, I can guarantee that Elijah has come. Yet, people treated him as they pleased, as Scripture says about him.” 

Jesus Cures a Demon-Possessed Boy—Matthew 17:14–20; Luke 9:37–43a

¹⁴When they came to the other disciples, they saw a large crowd around them. Some experts in Moses’ Teachings were arguing with them. ¹⁵All the people were very surprised to see Jesus and ran to welcome him. 

¹⁶Jesus asked the experts in Moses’ Teachings, “What are you arguing about with them?” 

¹⁷A man in the crowd answered, “Teacher, I brought you my son. He is possessed by a spirit that won’t let him talk. ¹⁸Whenever the spirit brings on a seizure, it throws him to the ground. Then he foams at the mouth, grinds his teeth, and becomes exhausted. I asked your disciples to force the spirit out, but they didn’t have the power to do it.” 

¹⁹Jesus said to them, “You unbelieving generation! How long must I be with you? How long must I put up with you? Bring him to me!” 

²⁰They brought the boy to him. As soon as the spirit saw Jesus, it threw the boy into convulsions. He fell on the ground, rolled around, and foamed at the mouth. 

²¹Jesus asked his father, “How long has he been like this?” 

The father replied, “He has been this way since he was a child. ²²The demon has often thrown him into fire or into water to destroy him. If it’s possible for you, put yourself in our place, and help us!” 

²³Jesus said to him, “As far as possibilities go, everything is possible for the person who believes.” 

²⁴The child’s father cried out at once, “I believe! Help my lack of faith.” 

²⁵When Jesus saw that a crowd was running to the scene, he gave an order to the evil spirit. He said, “You spirit that won’t let him talk, I command you to come out of him and never enter him again.” 

²⁶The evil spirit screamed, shook the child violently, and came out. The boy looked as if he were dead, and everyone said, “He’s dead!” 

²⁷Jesus took his hand and helped him to stand up. 

²⁸When Jesus went into a house, his disciples asked him privately, “Why couldn’t we force the spirit out of the boy?” 

²⁹He told them, “This kind of spirit can be forced out only by prayer.”^a

Jesus Again Foretells That He Will Die and Come Back to Life—Matthew 17:22–23; Luke 9:43b–45

³⁰They left that place and were passing through Galilee. Jesus did not want anyone to know where he was ³¹because he was teaching his disciples. He taught them, “The Son of Man will be betrayed and handed over to people. They will kill him, but on the third day he will come back to life.” 

³²The disciples didn’t understand what he meant and were afraid to ask him. 

Greatness in the Kingdom—Matthew 18:1–5; Luke 9:46–48

³³Then they came to Capernaum. While Jesus was at home, he asked the disciples, “What were you arguing about on the road?” ³⁴They were silent. On the road they had argued about who was the greatest. 

³⁵He sat down and called the twelve apostles. He told them, “Whoever wants to be the most important person must take the last place and be a servant to everyone else.” ³⁶Then he took a little child and had him stand among them. He put his arms around the child and said to them, ³⁷“Whoever welcomes a child like this in my name welcomes me. Whoever welcomes me welcomes not me but the one who sent me.” 

Using the Name of Jesus—Luke 9:49–50

³⁸John said to Jesus, “Teacher, we saw someone forcing demons out of a person by using the power and authority of your name. We tried to stop him because he was not one of us.” 

³⁹Jesus said, “Don’t stop him! No one who works a miracle in my name can turn around and speak evil of me. ⁴⁰Whoever isn’t against us is for us. ⁴¹I can guarantee this truth: Whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because you belong to Christ will certainly not lose his reward.” 

Causing Others to Lose Faith—Matthew 18:6–10; Luke 17:1–4

⁴²“These little ones believe in me. It would be best for the person who causes one of them to lose faith to be thrown into the sea with a large stone hung around his neck. 

⁴³“So if your hand causes you to lose your faith, cut it off! It is better for you to enter life disabled than to have two hands and go to hell, to the fire that cannot be put out.^b45If your foot causes you to lose your faith, cut it off! It is better for you to enter life lame than to have two feet and be thrown into hell. ⁴⁷If your eye causes you to lose your faith, tear it out! It is better for you to enter God’s kingdom with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into hell. ⁴⁸In hell worms that eat the body never die, and the fire is never put out. ⁴⁹Everyone will be salted with fire. ⁵⁰Salt is good. But if salt loses its taste, how will you restore its flavor? Have salt within you, and live in peace with one another.” 

10TH CHAPTER

A Discussion about Divorce—Matthew 19:1–12

¹Jesus left there and went into the territory of Judea along the other side of the Jordan River. Crowds gathered around him again, and he taught them as he usually did. 

²Some Pharisees came to test him. They asked, “Can a husband divorce his wife?” 

³Jesus answered them, “What command did Moses give you?” 

⁴They said, “Moses allowed a man to give his wife a written notice to divorce her.” 

⁵Jesus said to them, “He wrote this command for you because you’re heartless. ⁶But God made them male and female in the beginning, at creation. ⁷That’s why a man will leave his father and mother and will remain united with his wife, ⁸and the two will be one. So they are no longer two but one. ⁹Therefore, don’t let anyone separate what God has joined together.” 

¹⁰When they were in a house, the disciples asked him about this. ¹¹He answered them, “Whoever divorces his wife and marries another woman is committing adultery. ¹²If a wife divorces her husband and marries another man, she is committing adultery.” 

Jesus Blesses Children—Matthew 19:13–15; Luke 18:15–17

¹³Some people brought little children to Jesus to have him hold them. But the disciples told the people not to do that. 

¹⁴When Jesus saw this, he became irritated. He told them, “Don’t stop the children from coming to me. Children like these are part of God’s…