Matthew 19–20

Instruction About Divorce

Mark 10:1–16; Luke 18:15–17

19Now it came to pass, ^awhen Jesus had finished these sayings, that He departed from Galilee and came to the region of Judea beyond the Jordan. ^2bAnd great multitudes followed Him, and He healed them there.

³The Pharisees also came to Him, testing Him, and saying to Him, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for just any reason?”

⁴And He answered and said to them, “Have you not read that He who ¹made them at the beginning ^c‘made them male and female,’ ⁵and said, ^d‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and ^ethe two shall become one flesh’? ⁶So then, they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate.”

⁷They said to Him, ^f“Why then did Moses command to give a certificate of divorce, and to put her away?”

⁸He said to them, “Moses, because of the ^ghardness of your hearts, permitted you to divorce your ^hwives, but from the beginning it was not so. ⁹ⁱAnd I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for ²sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery; and whoever marries her who is divorced commits adultery.”

¹⁰His disciples said to Him, ^j“If such is the case of the man with his wife, it is better not to marry.”

¹¹But He said to them, ^k“All cannot accept this saying, but only those to whom it has been given: ¹²For there are ³eunuchs who were born thus from their mother’s womb, and ^lthere are eunuchs who were made eunuchs by men, and there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven’s sake. He who is able to accept it, let him accept it.”

^13mThen little children were brought to Him that He might put His hands on them and pray, but the disciples rebuked them. ¹⁴But Jesus said, “Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for ⁿof such is the kingdom of heaven.” ¹⁵And He laid His hands on them and departed from there.

Rich Young Ruler

Mark 10:17–27; Luke 18:18–27

^16oNow behold, one came and said to Him, ^p“Good ⁴Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life?”

¹⁷So He said to him, ⁵“Why do you call Me good? ⁶No one is ^qgood but One, that is, God. But if you want to enter into life, ^rkeep the commandments.”

¹⁸He said to Him, “Which ones?”

Jesus said, ^s“ ‘You shall not murder,’ ‘You shall not commit adultery,’ ‘You shall not steal,’ ‘You shall not bear false witness,’ ^19t‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and, ^u‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ ”

²⁰The young man said to Him, “All these things I have ^vkept ⁷from my youth. What do I still lack?”

²¹Jesus said to him, “If you want to be perfect, ^wgo, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.”

²²But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.

²³Then Jesus said to His disciples, “Assuredly, I say to you that ^xit is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. ²⁴And again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”

²⁵When His disciples heard it, they were greatly astonished, saying, “Who then can be saved?”

²⁶But Jesus looked at them and said to them, “With men this is impossible, but ^ywith God all things are possible.”

The Apostles’ Reward

Mark 10:28–30; Luke 18:28–30

²⁷Then Peter answered and said to Him, “See, ^zwe have left all and followed You. Therefore what shall we have?”

²⁸So Jesus said to them, “Assuredly I say to you, that in the regeneration, when the Son of Man sits on the throne of His glory, ^ayou who have followed Me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. ^29bAnd everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother ⁸or wife or children or ⁹lands, for My name’s sake, shall receive a hundredfold, and inherit eternal life. ^30cBut many who are first will be last, and the last first.

Parable of the Laborers

Mark 10:31

20“For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. ²Now when he had agreed with the laborers for a denarius a day, he sent them into his vineyard. ³And he went out about the third hour and saw others standing idle in the marketplace, ⁴and said to them, ‘You also go into the vineyard, and whatever is right I will give you.’ So they went. ⁵Again he went out about the sixth and the ninth hour, and did likewise. ⁶And about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing ¹idle, and said to them, ‘Why have you been standing here idle all day?’ ⁷They said to him, ‘Because no one hired us.’ He said to them, ‘You also go into the vineyard, ²and whatever is right you will receive.’

⁸“So when evening had come, the owner of the vineyard said to his steward, ‘Call the laborers and give them their wages, beginning with the last to the first.’ ⁹And when those came who were hired about the eleventh hour, they each received a denarius. ¹⁰But when the first came, they supposed that they would receive more; and they likewise received each a denarius. ¹¹And when they had received it, they ³complained against the landowner, ¹²saying, ‘These last men have worked only one hour, and you made them equal to us who have borne the burden and the heat of the day.’ ¹³But he answered one of them and said, ‘Friend, I am doing you no wrong. Did you not agree with me for a denarius? ¹⁴Take what is yours and go your way. I wish to give to this last man the same as to you. ^15aIs it not lawful for me to do what I wish with my own things? Or ^bis your eye evil because I am good?’ ^16cSo the last will be first, and the first last. ^dFor ⁴many are called, but few chosen.”

Instruction About Jesus’ Death

Mark 10:32–34; Luke 18:31–34

^17eNow Jesus, going up to Jerusalem, took the twelve disciples aside on the road and said to them, ^18f“Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and to the scribes; and they will condemn Him to death, ^19gand deliver Him to the Gentiles to ^hmock and to ⁱscourge and to ^jcrucify. And the third day He will ^krise again.”

Instruction About Ambition

Mark 10:35–45

^20lThen the mother of ^mZebedee’s sons came to Him with her sons, kneeling down and asking something from Him.

²¹And He said to her, “What do you wish?”

She said to Him, “Grant that these two sons of mine ⁿmay sit, one on Your right hand and the other on the left, in Your kingdom.”

²²But Jesus answered and said, “You do not know what you ask. Are you able to drink ^othe cup that I am about to drink, ⁵and be baptized with ^pthe baptism that I am baptized with?”

They said to Him, “We are able.”

²³So He said to them, ^q“You will indeed drink My cup, ⁶and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with; but to sit on My right hand and on My left is not Mine to give, but it is for those for whom it is prepared by My Father.”

^24rAnd when the ten heard it, they were greatly displeased with the two brothers. ²⁵But Jesus called them to Himself and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those who are great exercise authority over them. ²⁶Yet ^sit shall not be so among you; but ^twhoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant. ^27uAnd whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your slave—^28vjust as the ^wSon of Man did not come to be served, ^xbut to serve, and ^yto give His life a ransom ^zfor many.”

The Blind Men Recognize the King

Mark 10:46–52; Luke 18:35–43

^29aNow as they went out of Jericho, a great multitude followed Him. ³⁰And behold, ^btwo blind men sitting by the road, when they heard that Jesus was passing by, cried out, saying, “Have mercy on us, O Lord, ^cSon of David!”

³¹Then the multitude ^dwarned them that they should be quiet; but they cried out all the more, saying, “Have mercy on us, O Lord, Son of David!”

³²So Jesus stood still and called them, and said, “What do you want Me to do for you?”

³³They said to Him, “Lord, that our eyes may be opened.” ³⁴So Jesus had ^ecompassion and touched their eyes. And immediately their eyes received sight, and they followed Him.