19When Jesus finished saying these things, he left Galilee. He went into the area of Judea on the other side of the Jordan River. ²Large crowds followed him. He healed them there.

³Some Pharisees came to put him to the test. They asked, “Does the Law allow a man to divorce his wife for any reason at all?”

⁴Jesus replied, “Haven’t you read that in the beginning the Creator ‘made them male and female’? ⁵He said, ‘That’s why a man will leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife. The two will become one.’ ⁶They are no longer two, but one. So a man must not separate what God has joined together.”

⁷They asked, “Then why did Moses command that a man can give his wife a letter of divorce and send her away?”

⁸Jesus replied, “Moses let you divorce your wives because you were stubborn. But it was not this way from the beginning. ⁹Here is what I tell you. Anyone who divorces his wife and gets married to another woman commits adultery. A man may divorce his wife only if she has not been faithful to him.”

¹⁰The disciples said to him, “If that’s the way it is between a husband and wife, it is better not to get married.”

¹¹Jesus replied, “Not everyone can accept the idea of staying single. Only those who have been helped to live without getting married can accept it. ¹²Some men are not able to have children because they were born that way. Some have been made that way by other people. Others have made themselves that way in order to serve the kingdom of heaven. The one who can accept living that way should do it.”

Little Children Are Brought to Jesus

¹³Some people brought little children to Jesus. They wanted him to place his hands on the children and pray for them. But the disciples told the people to stop.

¹⁴Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me. Don’t keep them away. The kingdom of heaven belongs to people like them.” ¹⁵Jesus placed his hands on them. Then he went on from there.

Jesus and the Rich Young Man

¹⁶A man came up to Jesus. He asked, “Teacher, what good thing must I do to receive eternal life?”

¹⁷“Why do you ask me about what is good?” Jesus replied. “There is only One who is good. If you want to enter the kingdom, obey the commandments.”

¹⁸“Which ones?” the man asked.

Jesus said, “ ‘Do not commit murder. Do not commit adultery. Do not steal. Do not give false witness. ¹⁹Honor your father and mother.’ And ‘love your neighbor as you love yourself.’ ”

²⁰“I have obeyed all those commandments,” the young man said. “What else do I need to do?”

²¹Jesus answered, “If you want to be perfect, 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.”

²²When the young man heard this, he went away sad. He was very rich.

²³Then Jesus said to his disciples, “What I’m about to tell you is true. It is hard for rich people to enter the kingdom of heaven. ²⁴Again I tell you, it is hard for a camel to go through the eye of a needle. But it is even harder for the rich to enter God’s kingdom.”

²⁵When the disciples heard this, they were really amazed. They asked, “Then who can be saved?”

²⁶Jesus looked at them and said, “With man, that is impossible. But with God, all things are possible.”

²⁷Peter answered him, “We have left everything to follow you! What reward will be given to us?”

²⁸“What I’m about to tell you is true,” Jesus said to them. “When all things are made new, the Son of Man will sit on his glorious throne. Then you who have followed me will also sit on 12 thrones. You will judge the 12 tribes of Israel. ²⁹Everyone who has left houses or families or fields because of me will receive 100 times as much. They will also receive eternal life. ³⁰But many who are first will be last. And many who are last will be first.

The Story of the Workers in the Vineyard

20“The kingdom of heaven is like a man who owned land. He went out early in the morning to hire people to work in his vineyard. ²He agreed to give them the usual pay for a day’s work. Then he sent them into his vineyard.

³“About nine o’clock in the morning he went out again. He saw others standing in the market place doing nothing. ⁴He told them, ‘You also go and work in my vineyard. I’ll pay you what is right.’ ⁵So they went.

“He went out again about noon and at three o’clock and did the same thing. ⁶About five o’clock he went out and found still others standing around. He asked them, ‘Why have you been standing here all day long doing nothing?’

⁷“ ‘Because no one has hired us,’ they answered.

“He said to them, ‘You also go and work in my vineyard.’

⁸“When evening came, the owner of the vineyard spoke to the person who was in charge of the workers. He said, ‘Call the workers and give them their pay. Begin with the last ones I hired. Then go on to the first ones.’

⁹“The workers who were hired about five o’clock came. Each received the usual day’s pay. ¹⁰So when those who were hired first came, they expected to receive more. But each of them also received the usual day’s pay.

¹¹“When they received it, they began to complain about the owner. ¹²‘These people who were hired last worked only one hour,’ they said. ‘You have paid them the same as us. We have done most of the work and have been in the hot sun all day.’

¹³“The owner answered one of them. ‘Friend,’ he said, ‘I’m being fair to you. Didn’t you agree to work for the usual day’s pay? ¹⁴Take your money and go. I want to give the ones I hired last the same pay I gave you. ¹⁵Don’t I have the right to do what I want with my own money? Do you feel cheated because I gave so freely to the others?’

¹⁶“So those who are last will be first. And those who are first will be last.”

Jesus Again Tells About His Coming Death

¹⁷Jesus was going up to Jerusalem. On the way, he took the 12 disciples to one side to talk to them.

¹⁸“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. ¹⁹Then they will turn him over to people who are not Jews. The people will make fun of him and whip him. They will nail him to a cross. On the third day, he will rise from the dead!”

A Mother Asks a Favor of Jesus

²⁰The mother of Zebedee’s sons came to Jesus. Her sons came with her. Getting on her knees, she asked a favor of him.

²¹“What do you want?” Jesus asked.

She said, “Promise me that one of my two sons may sit at your right hand in your kingdom. Promise that the other one may sit at your left hand.”

²²“You don’t know what you’re asking for,” Jesus said to them. “Can you drink the cup of suffering I am going to drink?”

“We can,” they answered.

²³Jesus said to them, “You will certainly drink from my cup. But it is not for me to say who will sit at my right or left hand. These places belong to those my Father has prepared them for.”

²⁴The other ten disciples heard about this. They became angry at the two brothers.

²⁵Jesus called them together. He said, “You know about the rulers of the nations. They hold power over their people. Their high officials order them around. ²⁶Don’t be like that. Instead, anyone who wants to be important among you must be your servant. ²⁷And anyone who wants to be first must be your slave.

²⁸“Be like the Son of Man. He 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.”

Two Blind Men Receive Their Sight

²⁹Jesus and his disciples were leaving Jericho. A large crowd followed him. ³⁰Two blind men were sitting by the side of the road. They heard that Jesus was going by. So they shouted, “Lord! Son of David! Have mercy on us!”

³¹The crowd commanded them to stop. They told them to be quiet. But the two men shouted even louder, “Lord! Son of David! Have mercy on us!”

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

³³“Lord,” they answered, “we want to be able to see.”

³⁴Jesus felt deep concern for them. He touched their eyes. Right away they could see. And they followed him.

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