Mark 10:13–12:12

Little Children Are Brought to Jesus

¹³People were bringing little children to Jesus. They wanted him to touch them. But the disciples told the people to stop.

¹⁴When Jesus saw this, he was angry. He said to his disciples, “Let the little children come to me. Don’t keep them away. God’s kingdom belongs to people like them. ¹⁵What I’m about to tell you is true. Anyone who will not receive God’s kingdom like a little child will never enter it.”

¹⁶Then he took the children in his arms. He put his hands on them and blessed them.

Jesus and the Rich Young Man

¹⁷As Jesus started on his way, a man ran up to him. He fell on his knees before Jesus. “Good teacher,” he said, “what must I do to receive eternal life?”

¹⁸“Why do you call me good?” Jesus answered. “No one is good except God. ¹⁹You know what the commandments say. ‘Do not commit murder. Do not commit adultery. Do not steal. Do not give false witness. Do not cheat. Honor your father and mother.’ ”

²⁰“Teacher,” he said, “I have obeyed all those commandments since I was a boy.”

²¹Jesus looked at him and loved him. “You are missing one thing,” he said. “Go and sell everything you have. Give the money to those who are poor. You will have treasure in heaven. Then come and follow me.”

²²The man’s face fell. He went away sad, because he was very rich.

²³Jesus looked around. He said to his disciples, “How hard it is for rich people to enter God’s kingdom!”

²⁴The disciples were amazed at his words. But Jesus said again, “Children, how hard it is to enter God’s kingdom! ²⁵Is it hard for a camel to go through the eye of a needle? It is even harder for the rich to enter God’s kingdom!”

²⁶The disciples were even more amazed. They said to each other, “Then who can be saved?”

²⁷Jesus looked at them and said, “With man, that is impossible. But not with God. All things are possible with God.”

²⁸Peter said to him, “We have left everything to follow you!”

²⁹“What I’m about to tell you is true,” Jesus replied. “Has anyone left home or family or fields for me and the good news? ³⁰They will receive 100 times as much in this world. They will have homes and families and fields. But they will also be treated badly by others. In the world to come they will live forever. ³¹But many who are first will be last. And the last will be first.”

Jesus Again Tells About His Coming Death

³²They were on their way up to Jerusalem. Jesus was leading the way. The disciples were amazed. Those who followed were afraid.

Again Jesus took the Twelve to one side. He told them what was going to happen to him. ³³“We are going up to Jerusalem,” he said. “The Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests and the teachers of the law. They will sentence him to death. Then they will hand him over to people who are not Jews. ³⁴The people will make fun of him and spit on him. They will whip him and kill him. Three days later he will rise from the dead!”

James and John Ask a Favor of Jesus

³⁵James and John came to Jesus. They were the sons of Zebedee. “Teacher,” they said, “we would like to ask a favor of you.”

³⁶“What do you want me to do for you?” he asked.

³⁷They replied, “Let one of us sit at your right hand in your glorious kingdom. Let the other one sit at your left hand.”

³⁸“You don’t know what you’re asking for,” Jesus said. “Can you drink the cup of suffering I drink? Or can you go through the baptism of suffering I must go through?”

³⁹“We can,” they answered.

Jesus said to them, “You will drink the cup I drink. And you will go through the baptism I go through. ⁴⁰But it is not for me to say who will sit at my right or left hand. These places belong to those they are prepared for.”

⁴¹The other ten disciples heard about it. They became angry at James and John.

⁴²Jesus called them together. He said, “You know about those who are rulers of the nations. They hold power over their people. Their high officials order them around. ⁴³Don’t be like that. Instead, anyone who wants to be important among you must be your servant. ⁴⁴And anyone who wants to be first must be the slave of everyone. ⁴⁵Even the Son of Man did not come to be served. Instead, he came to serve others. He came to give his life as the price for setting many people free.”

Blind Bartimaeus Receives His Sight

⁴⁶Jesus and his disciples came to Jericho. They were leaving the city. A large crowd was with them.

A blind man was sitting by the side of the road begging. His name was Bartimaeus. Bartimaeus means Son of Timaeus. ⁴⁷He heard that Jesus of Nazareth was passing by. So he began to shout, “Jesus! Son of David! Have mercy on me!”

⁴⁸Many people commanded him to stop. They told him to be quiet. But he shouted even louder, “Son of David! Have mercy on me!”

⁴⁹Jesus stopped and said, “Call for him.”

So they called out to the blind man, “Cheer up! Get up on your feet! Jesus is calling for you.”

⁵⁰He threw his coat to one side. Then he jumped to his feet and came to Jesus.

⁵¹“What do you want me to do for you?” Jesus asked him.

The blind man said, “Rabbi, I want to be able to see.”

⁵²“Go,” said Jesus. “Your faith has healed you.”

Right away he could see. And he followed Jesus along the road.

Jesus Enters Jerusalem

11As they all approached Jerusalem, they came to Bethphage and Bethany at the Mount of Olives. Jesus sent out two of his disciples. ²He said to them, “Go to the village ahead of you. Just as you enter it, you will find a donkey’s colt tied there. No one has ever ridden it. Untie it and bring it here. ³Someone may ask you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ If so, say, ‘The Lord needs it. But he will send it back here soon.’ ”

⁴So they left. They found a colt out in the street. It was tied at a doorway. They untied it. ⁵Some people standing there asked, “What are you doing? Why are you untying that colt?” ⁶They answered as Jesus had told them to. So the people let them go.

⁷They brought the colt to Jesus. They threw their coats over it. Then he sat on it.

⁸Many people spread their coats on the road. Others spread branches they had cut in the fields. ⁹Those in front and those in back shouted,

“Hosanna!”

“Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!”

¹⁰“Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David!”

“Hosanna in the highest heaven!”

¹¹Jesus entered Jerusalem and went to the temple. He looked around at everything. But it was already late. So he went out to Bethany with the Twelve.

Jesus Clears the Temple

¹²The next day as Jesus and his disciples were leaving Bethany, they were hungry. ¹³Not too far away, he saw a fig tree. It was covered with leaves. He went to find out if it had any fruit. When he reached it, he found nothing but leaves. It was not the season for figs.

¹⁴Then Jesus said to the tree, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again!” And his disciples heard him say it.

¹⁵When Jesus reached Jerusalem, he entered the temple area. He began chasing out those who were buying and selling there. He turned over the tables of the people who were exchanging money. He also turned over the benches of those who were selling doves. ¹⁶He would not allow anyone to carry items for sale through the temple courtyards.

¹⁷Then he taught them. He told them, “It is written that the Lord said,

“ ‘My house will be called

a house where people from all nations can pray.’

But you have made it a ‘den for robbers.’ ”

¹⁸The chief priests and the teachers of the law heard about this. They began looking for a way to kill Jesus. They were afraid of him, because the whole crowd was amazed at his teaching.

¹⁹When evening came, Jesus and his disciples left the city.

The Dried-up Fig Tree

²⁰In the morning as Jesus and his disciples walked along, they saw the fig tree. It was dried up all the way down to the roots.

²¹Peter remembered. He said to Jesus, “Rabbi, look! The fig tree you put a curse on has dried up!”

²²“Have faith in God,” Jesus said. ²³“What I’m about to tell you is true. Suppose one of you says to this mountain, ‘Go and throw yourself into the sea.’ You must not doubt in your heart. You must believe that what you say will happen. Then it will be done for you.

²⁴“So I tell you, when you pray for something, believe that you have already received it. Then it will be yours. ^25/26And when you stand praying, forgive anyone you have anything against. Then your Father in heaven will forgive your sins.”

The Authority of Jesus Is Questioned

²⁷Jesus and his disciples arrived again in Jerusalem. He was walking in the temple courtyards. Then the chief priests came to him. The teachers of the law and the elders came too.

²⁸“By what authority are you doing these things?” they asked. “Who gave you authority to do this?”

²⁹Jesus replied, “I will ask you one question. Answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I am doing these things. ³⁰Was John’s baptism from heaven? Or did it come from men? Tell me!”

³¹They talked to each other about it. They said, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will ask, ‘Then why didn’t you believe him?’ ³²But what if we say, ‘From men’?” They were afraid of the people. Everyone believed that John really was a prophet.

³³So they answered Jesus, “We don’t know.”

Jesus said, “Then I won’t tell you by what authority I am doing these things either.”

The Story of the Renters

12Jesus began to speak to the people by using stories. He said, “A man planted a vineyard. He put a wall around it. He dug a pit for a winepress. He also built a lookout tower. He rented the vineyard out to some farmers. Then he went away on a journey.

²“At harvest time he sent a servant to the renters. He told the servant to collect from them some of the fruit of the vineyard. ³But they grabbed the servant and beat him up. Then they sent him away with nothing. ⁴So the man sent another servant to the renters. They hit this one on the head and treated him badly. ⁵The man sent still another servant. The renters killed him. The man sent many others. The renters beat up some of them. They killed the others.

⁶“The man had one person left to send. It was his son, and he loved him. He sent him last…