Matthew 19:1–20:34

Concerning Divorce

1 aWhen Jesus had finished these words, He departed from Galilee and bcame into the region of Judea beyond the Jordan;

2 and 1large crowds followed Him, and aHe healed them there.

3 Some Pharisees came to 1Jesus, testing Him and asking, “aIs it lawful for a man to 2divorce his wife for any reason at all?”

4 And He answered and said, “Have you not read athat He who created them from the beginning made them male and female,

5 and said, ‘aFor this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and bthe two shall become one flesh’?

6 “So they are no longer two, but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let no man separate.”

7 They * said to Him, “aWhy then did Moses command to give her a certificate of divorce and send her away?”

8 He * said to them, “Because of your hardness of heart Moses permitted you to 1divorce your wives; but from the beginning it has not been this way.

9 “And I say to you, awhoever 1divorces his wife, except for 2immorality, and marries another woman 3commits adultery4.”

10 The disciples * said to Him, “If the relationship of the man with his wife is like this, it is better not to marry.”

11 But He said to them, “aNot all men can accept this statement, but bonly those to whom it has been given.

12 “For there are eunuchs who were born that way from their mother’s womb; and there are eunuchs who were made eunuchs by men; and there are also eunuchs who made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. He who is able to accept this, let him accept it.”

Jesus Blesses Little Children

13 aThen some children were brought to Him so that He might lay His hands on them and pray; and the disciples rebuked them.

14 But Jesus said, “1aLet the children alone, and do not hinder them from coming to Me; for bthe kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.”

15 After laying His hands on them, He departed from there.

The Rich Young Ruler

16 aAnd someone came to Him and said, “Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may obtain beternal life?”

17 And He said to him, “Why are you asking Me about what is good? There is only One who is good; but aif you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments.”

18 Then he * said to Him, “Which ones?” And Jesus said, “aYou shall not commit murder; You shall not commit adultery; You shall not steal; You shall not bear false witness;

19 aHonor your father and mother; and bYou shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

20 The young man * said to Him, “All these things I have kept; what am I still lacking?”

21 Jesus said to him, “If you wish to be 1complete, go and asell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have btreasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.”

22 But when the young man heard this statement, he went away grieving; for he was one who owned much property.

23 And Jesus said to His disciples, “Truly I say to you, ait is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven.

24 “Again I say to you, ait is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”

25 When the disciples heard this, they were very astonished and said, “Then who can be saved?”

26 And looking at them Jesus said to them, “aWith people this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

The Disciples’ Reward

27 Then Peter said to Him, “Behold, we have left everything and followed You; what then will there be for us?”

28 And Jesus said to them, “Truly I say to you, that you who have followed Me, in the regeneration when athe Son of Man will sit on 1His glorious throne, byou also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.

29 “And aeveryone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother 1or children or farms for My name’s sake, will receive 2many times as much, and will inherit eternal life.

30 “aBut many who are first will be last; and the last, first.

Chapter 20

Laborers in the Vineyard

1 “For athe kingdom of heaven is like 1a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his bvineyard.

2 “When he had agreed with the laborers for a 1denarius for the day, he sent them into his vineyard.

3 “And he went out about the 1third hour and saw others standing idle in the market place;

4 and to those he said, ‘You also go into the vineyard, and whatever is right I will give you.’ And so they went.

5 “Again he went out about the 1sixth and the ninth hour, and did 2the same thing.

6 “And about the 1eleventh hour he went out and found others standing around; and he * said to them, ‘Why have you been standing here idle all day long?’

7 “They * said to him, ‘Because no one hired us.’ He * said to them, ‘You go into the vineyard too.’

8 “When aevening came, the 1owner of the vineyard * said to his bforeman, ‘Call the laborers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last group to the first.’

9 “When those hired about the eleventh hour came, each one received a 1denarius.

10 “When those hired first came, they thought that they would receive more; 1but each of them also received a denarius.

11 “When they received it, they grumbled at the landowner,

12 saying, ‘These last men have worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden and the ascorching heat of the day.’

13 “But he answered and said to one of them, ‘aFriend, I am doing you no wrong; did you not agree with me for a denarius?

14 ‘Take what is yours and go, but I wish to give to this last man the same as to you.

15 ‘Is it not lawful for me to do what I wish with what is my own? Or is your aeye 1envious because I am 2generous?’

16 “So athe last shall be first, and the first last.”

Death, Resurrection Foretold

17 aAs Jesus was about to go up to Jerusalem, He took the twelve disciples aside by themselves, and on the way He said to them,

18 “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem; and the Son of Man awill be 1delivered to the chief priests and scribes, and they will condemn Him to death,

19 and awill hand Him over to the Gentiles to mock and scourge and crucify Him, and on bthe third day He will be raised up.”

Preferment Asked

20 aThen the mother of bthe sons of Zebedee came to 1Jesus with her sons, cbowing down and making a request of Him.

21 And He said to her, “What do you wish?” She * said to Him, “Command that in Your kingdom these two sons of mine amay sit one on Your right and one on Your left.”

22 But Jesus answered, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able ato drink the cup that I am about to drink?” They * said to Him, “We are able.”

23 He * said to them, “aMy cup you shall drink; but to sit on My right and on My left, this is not Mine to give, bbut it is for those for whom it has been cprepared by My Father.”

24 And hearing this, the ten became indignant with the two brothers.

25 aBut Jesus called them to Himself and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great men exercise authority over them.

26 “It is not this way among you, abut whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant,

27 and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave;

28 just as athe Son of Man bdid not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His 1life a ransom for many.”

Sight for the Blind

29 aAs they were leaving Jericho, a large crowd followed Him.

30 And two blind men sitting by the road, hearing that Jesus was passing by, cried out, “Lord, ahave mercy on us, bSon of David!”

31 The crowd sternly told them to be quiet, but they cried out all the more, “Lord, aSon of David, have mercy on us!”

32 And Jesus stopped and called them, and said, “What do you want Me to do for you?”

33 They * said to Him, “Lord, we want our eyes to be opened.”

34 Moved with compassion, Jesus touched their eyes; and immediately they regained their sight and followed Him.