Mark 10:1–31

Jesus Teaches About Divorce

10Then Jesus left that place and went into the area of Judea and across the Jordan River. Again, crowds came to him, and he taught them as he usually did.

²Some Pharisees came to Jesus and tried to trick him. They asked, “Is it right for a man to divorce his wife?”

³Jesus answered, “What did Moses command you to do?”

⁴They said, “Moses allowed a man to write out divorce papers and send her away.” ⁿ

⁵Jesus said, “Moses wrote that command for you because you were stubborn. ⁶But when God made the world, ‘he made them male and female.’ ^{n 7}‘So a man will leave his father and mother and be united with his wife, ^{n 8}and the two will become one body.’ ⁿ So there are not two, but one. ⁹God has joined the two together, so no one should separate them.”

¹⁰Later, in the house, his followers asked Jesus again about the question of divorce. ¹¹He answered, “Anyone who divorces his wife and marries another woman is guilty of adultery against her. ¹²And the woman who divorces her husband and marries another man is also guilty of adultery.”

Jesus Accepts Children

¹³Some people brought their little children to Jesus so he could touch them, but his followers told them to stop. ¹⁴When Jesus saw this, he was upset and said to them, “Let the little children come to me. Don’t stop them, because the kingdom of God belongs to people who are like these children. ¹⁵I tell you the truth, you must accept the kingdom of God as if you were a little child, or you will never enter it.” ¹⁶Then Jesus took the children in his arms, put his hands on them, and blessed them.

A Rich Young Man’s Question

¹⁷As Jesus started to leave, a man ran to him and fell on his knees before Jesus. The man asked, “Good teacher, what must I do to have life forever?”

¹⁸Jesus answered, “Why do you call me good? Only God is good. ¹⁹You know the commands: ‘You must not murder anyone. You must not be guilty of adultery. You must not steal. You must not tell lies about your neighbor. You must not cheat. Honor your father and mother.’ ” ⁿ

²⁰The man said, “Teacher, I have obeyed all these things since I was a boy.”

²¹Jesus, looking at the man, loved him and said, “There is one more thing you need to do. Go and sell everything you have, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come and follow me.”

²²He was very sad to hear Jesus say this, and he left sorrowfully, because he was rich.

²³Then Jesus looked at his followers and said, “How hard it will be for the rich to enter the kingdom of God!”

²⁴The followers were amazed at what Jesus said. But he said again, “My children, it is very hard ⁿ to enter the kingdom of God! ²⁵It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.”

²⁶The followers were even more surprised and said to each other, “Then who can be saved?”

²⁷Jesus looked at them and said, “For people this is impossible, but for God all things are possible.”

²⁸Peter said to Jesus, “Look, we have left everything and followed you.”

²⁹Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, all those who have left houses, brothers, sisters, mother, father, children, or farms for me and for the Good News ³⁰will get more than they left. Here in this world they will have a hundred times more homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children, and fields. And with those things, they will also suffer for their belief. But in this age they will have life forever. ³¹Many who are first now will be last in the future. And many who are last now will be first in the future.”