¹When Jesus finished speaking, he left Galilee and traveled along the other side of the Jordan River to the territory of Judea. ²Large crowds followed him, and he healed them there.

³Some Pharisees came to test him. They asked, “Can a man divorce his wife for any reason?”

⁴Jesus answered, “Haven’t you read that the Creator made them male and female in the beginning ⁵and that he said, ‘That’s why a man will leave his father and mother and will remain united with his wife, and the two will be one’? ⁶So they are no longer two but one. Therefore, don’t let anyone separate what God has joined together.”

⁷The Pharisees asked him, “Why, then, did Moses order a man to give his wife a written notice to divorce her?”

⁸Jesus answered them, “Moses allowed you to divorce your wives because you’re heartless. It was never this way in the beginning. ⁹I can guarantee that whoever divorces his wife for any reason other than her unfaithfulness is committing adultery if he marries another woman.”

¹⁰The disciples said to him, “If that is the only reason a man can use to divorce his wife, it’s better not to get married.”

¹¹He answered them, “Not everyone can do what you suggest. Only those who have that gift can. ¹²For example, some men are celibate because they were born that way. Others are celibate because they were castrated. Still others have decided to be celibate because of the kingdom of heaven. If anyone can do what you’ve suggested, then he should do it.”

Jesus Blesses Children—Mark 10:13–16; Luke 18:15–17

¹³Then some people brought little children to Jesus to have him bless them and pray for them. But the disciples told the people not to do that.

¹⁴Jesus said, “Don’t stop children from coming to me! Children like these are part of God’s kingdom.” ¹⁵After Jesus blessed them, he went away from there.

Eternal Life in the Kingdom—Mark 10:17–31; Luke 18:18–30

¹⁶Then a man came to Jesus and said, “Teacher, what good deed should I do to gain eternal life?”

¹⁷Jesus said to him, “Why do you ask me about what is good? There is only one who is good. If you want to enter into life, obey the commandments.”

¹⁸“Which commandments?” the man asked.

Jesus said, “Never murder. Never commit adultery. Never steal. Never give false testimony. ¹⁹Honor your father and mother. Love your neighbor as you love yourself.”

²⁰The young man replied, “I have obeyed all these commandments. What else do I need to do?”

²¹Jesus said to him, “If you want to be perfect, sell what you own. Give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then follow me!”

²²When the young man heard this, he went away sad because he owned a lot of property.

²³Jesus said to his disciples, “I can guarantee this truth: It will be hard for a rich person to enter the kingdom of heaven. ²⁴I can guarantee again that it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter God’s kingdom.”

²⁵He amazed his disciples more than ever when they heard this. “Then who can be saved?” they asked.

²⁶Jesus looked at them and said, “It is impossible for people ⸤to save themselves⸥, but everything is possible for God.”

²⁷Then Peter replied to him, “Look, we’ve given up everything to follow you. What will we get out of it?”

²⁸Jesus said to them, “I can guarantee this truth: When the Son of Man sits on his glorious throne in the world to come, you, my followers, will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. ²⁹And everyone who gave up homes, brothers or sisters, father, mother, children, or fields because of my name will receive a hundred times more and will inherit eternal life. ³⁰However, many who are first will be last, and many who are last will be first.

20TH CHAPTER

A Story about Vineyard Workers

¹“The kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out at daybreak to hire workers for his vineyard. ²After agreeing to pay the workers the usual day’s wages, he sent them to work in his vineyard. ³About 9 a.m. he saw others standing in the marketplace without work. ⁴He said to them, ‘Work in my vineyard, and I’ll give you whatever is right.’ So they went.

⁵“He went out again about noon and 3 p.m. and did the same thing. ⁶About 5 p.m. he went out and found some others standing around. He said to them, ‘Why are you standing here all day long without work?’

⁷“ ‘No one has hired us,’ they answered him.

“He said to them, ‘Work in my vineyard.’

⁸“When evening came, the owner of the vineyard told the supervisor, ‘Call the workers, and give them their wages. Start with the last, and end with the first.’

⁹“Those who started working about 5 p.m. came, and each received a day’s wages. ¹⁰When those who had been hired first came, they expected to receive more. But each of them received a day’s wages. ¹¹Although they took it, they began to protest to the owner. ¹²They said, ‘These last workers have worked only one hour. Yet, you’ve treated us all the same, even though we worked hard all day under a blazing sun.’

¹³“The owner said to one of them, ‘Friend, I’m not treating you unfairly. Didn’t you agree with me on a day’s wages? ¹⁴Take your money and go! I want to give this last worker as much as I gave you. ¹⁵Can’t I do what I want with my own money? Or do you resent my generosity towards others?’

¹⁶“In this way the last will be first, and the first will be last.”

For the Third Time Jesus Foretells That He Will Die and Come Back to Life—Mark 10:32–34; Luke 18:31–34

¹⁷When Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem, he took the twelve apostles aside and said to them privately, ¹⁸“We’re going to Jerusalem. There the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and the experts in Moses’ Teachings. They will condemn him to death ¹⁹and hand him over to foreigners. They will make fun of him, whip him, and crucify him. But on the third day he will be brought back to life.”

A Mother Makes a Request—Mark 10:35–45

²⁰Then the mother of Zebedee’s sons came to Jesus with her two sons. She bowed down in front of him to ask him for a favor.

²¹“What do you want?” he asked her.

She said to him, “Promise that one of my sons will sit at your right and the other at your left in your kingdom.”

²²Jesus replied, “You don’t realize what you’re asking. Can you drink the cup that I’m going to drink?”

“We can,” they told him.

²³Jesus said to them, “You will drink my cup. But I don’t have the authority to grant you a seat at my right or left. My Father has already prepared these positions for certain people.”

²⁴When the other ten apostles heard about this, they were irritated with the two brothers. ²⁵Jesus called the apostles and said, “You know that the rulers of nations have absolute power over people and their officials have absolute authority over people. ²⁶But that’s not the way it’s going to be among you. Whoever wants to become great among you will be your servant. ²⁷Whoever wants to be most important among you will be your slave. ²⁸It’s the same way with the Son of Man. He didn’t come so that others could serve him. He came to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many people.”

Jesus Gives Two Blind Men Their Sight—Mark 10:46–52; Luke 18:35–43

²⁹As they were leaving Jericho, a large crowd followed Jesus. ³⁰Two blind men were sitting by the road. When they heard that Jesus was passing by, they shouted, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!”

³¹The crowd told them to be quiet. But they shouted even louder, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!”

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

³³They told him, “Lord, we want you to give us our eyesight back.”

³⁴Jesus felt sorry for them, so he touched their eyes. Their sight was restored at once, and they followed him.

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