²After six days Jesus took Peter, James and John with him. He led them up a high mountain. They were all alone. There in front of them his appearance was changed. ³His clothes became so white they shone. They were whiter than anyone in the world could bleach them. ⁴Elijah and Moses appeared in front of Jesus and his disciples. The two of them were talking with Jesus.

⁵Peter said to Jesus, “Rabbi, it is good for us to be here. Let us put up three shelters. One will be for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” ⁶Peter didn’t really know what to say, because they were so afraid.

⁷Then a cloud appeared and surrounded them. A voice came from the cloud. It said, “This is my Son, and I love him. Listen to him!”

⁸They looked around. Suddenly they no longer saw anyone with them except Jesus.

⁹They came down the mountain. On the way down, Jesus ordered them not to tell anyone what they had seen. He told them to wait until the Son of Man had risen from the dead. ¹⁰So they kept the matter to themselves. But they asked each other what “rising from the dead” meant.

¹¹Then they asked Jesus, “Why do the teachers of the law say that Elijah has to come first?”

¹²Jesus replied, “That’s right. Elijah does come first. He makes all things new again. So why is it written that the Son of Man must suffer much and not be accepted? ¹³I tell you, Elijah has come. They have done to him everything they wanted to do. They did it just as it is written about him.”

Jesus Heals a Boy Who Had an Evil Spirit

¹⁴When Jesus and those who were with him came to the other disciples, they saw a large crowd around them. The teachers of the law were arguing with them. ¹⁵When all the people saw Jesus, they were filled with wonder. And they ran to greet him.

¹⁶“What are you arguing with them about?” Jesus asked.

¹⁷A man in the crowd answered. “Teacher,” he said, “I brought you my son. He is controlled by a spirit. Because of this, my son can’t speak anymore. ¹⁸When the spirit takes hold of him, it throws him to the ground. He foams at the mouth. He grinds his teeth. And his body becomes stiff. I asked your disciples to drive out the spirit. But they couldn’t do it.”

¹⁹“You unbelieving people!” Jesus replied. “How long do I have to stay with you? How long do I have to put up with you? Bring the boy to me.”

²⁰So they brought him. As soon as the spirit saw Jesus, it threw the boy into a fit. He fell to the ground. He rolled around and foamed at the mouth.

²¹Jesus asked the boy’s father, “How long has he been like this?”

“Since he was a child,” he answered. ²²“The spirit has often thrown him into fire or water to kill him. But if you can do anything, take pity on us. Please help us.”

²³“ ‘If you can’?” said Jesus. “Everything is possible for the one who believes.”

²⁴Right away the boy’s father cried out, “I do believe! Help me overcome my unbelief!”

²⁵Jesus saw that a crowd was running over to see what was happening. Then he ordered the evil spirit to leave the boy. “You spirit that makes him unable to hear and speak!” he said. “I command you, come out of him. Never enter him again.”

²⁶The spirit screamed. It shook the boy wildly. Then it came out of him. The boy looked so lifeless that many people said, “He’s dead.” ²⁷But Jesus took him by the hand. He lifted the boy to his feet, and the boy stood up.

²⁸Jesus went indoors. Then his disciples asked him in private, “Why couldn’t we drive out the evil spirit?”

²⁹He replied, “This kind can come out only by prayer.”

³⁰They left that place and passed through Galilee. Jesus did not want anyone to know where they were. ³¹That was because he was teaching his disciples.

He said to them, “The Son of Man is going to be handed over to men. They will kill him. After three days he will rise from the dead.” ³²But they didn’t understand what he meant. And they were afraid to ask him about it.

Who Is the Most Important Person?

³³Jesus and his disciples came to a house in Capernaum. There he asked them, “What were you arguing about on the road?” ³⁴But they kept quiet. On the way, they had argued about which one of them was the most important person.

³⁵Jesus sat down and called for the Twelve to come to him. Then he said, “If you want to be first, you must be the very last. You must be the servant of everyone.”

³⁶Jesus took a little child and had the child stand among them. Then he took the child in his arms. He said to them, ³⁷“Anyone who welcomes one of these little children in my name welcomes me. And anyone who welcomes me doesn’t welcome only me but also the One who sent me.”

Anyone Who Is Not Against Us Is for Us

³⁸“Teacher,” said John, “we saw a man driving out demons in your name. We told him to stop, because he was not one of us.”

³⁹“Do not stop him,” Jesus said. “No one who does a miracle in my name can in the next moment say anything bad about me. ⁴⁰Anyone who is not against us is for us.

⁴¹“What I’m about to tell you is true. Suppose someone gives you a cup of water in my name because you belong to me. That one will certainly not go without a reward.

Leading People to Sin

⁴²“What if someone leads one of these little ones who believe in me to sin? If he does, it would be better for him to be thrown into the sea with a large millstone tied around his neck.

^43/44“If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It would be better for you to enter God’s kingdom with only one hand than to go into hell with two hands. In hell the fire never goes out.

^45/46“If your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It would be better for you to enter God’s kingdom with only one foot than to have two feet and be thrown into hell.

⁴⁷“If your eye causes you to sin, poke it out. It would be better for you to enter God’s kingdom with only one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into hell. ⁴⁸In hell,

“ ‘The worms do not die.

The fire is not put out.’

⁴⁹Everyone will be salted with fire.

⁵⁰“Salt is good. But suppose it loses its saltiness. How can you make it salty again? Have salt in yourselves. And be at peace with each other.”

Jesus Teaches About Divorce

10Jesus left that place and went into the area of Judea and across the Jordan River. Again crowds of people came to him. As usual, he taught them.

²Some Pharisees came to put him to the test. They asked, “Does the Law allow a man to divorce his wife?”

³“What did Moses command you?” he replied.

⁴They said, “Moses allowed a man to write a letter of divorce and send her away.”

⁵“You were stubborn. That’s why Moses wrote you this law,” Jesus replied. ⁶“But at the beginning of creation, God ‘made them male and female.’ ⁷‘That’s why a man will leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife. ⁸The two of them will become one.’ They are no longer two, but one. ⁹So a man must not separate what God has joined together.”

¹⁰When they were in the house again, the disciples asked Jesus about this.

¹¹He answered, “What if a man divorces his wife and gets married to another woman? He commits adultery against her. ¹²And what if she divorces her husband and gets married to another man? She commits adultery.”

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…

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