Mark 8:27–10:52

Peter’s Declaration about Jesus

²⁷Jesus went on with his disciples to the villages of Caesarea Philippi, and on the way he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that I am?”^{* 28}And they answered him, “John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; and still others, one of the prophets.”^{* 29}He asked them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter answered him, “You are the Messiah.”^{l* 30}And he sternly ordered them not to tell anyone about him.^*

Jesus Foretells His Death and Resurrection

³¹Then he began to teach them that the Son of Man must undergo great suffering and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes and be killed and after three days rise again. ³²He said all this quite openly. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him.^{* 33}But turning and looking at his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind me, Satan! For you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things.”^*

³⁴He called the crowd with his disciples and said to them, “If any wish to come^m after me, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.^{* 35}For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel,ⁿ will save it.^{* 36}For what will it profit them to gain the whole world and forfeit their life? ³⁷Indeed, what can they give in return for their life? ³⁸Those who are ashamed of me and of my words^o in this adulterous and sinful generation, of them the Son of Man will also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.”^*

⁹And he said to them, “Truly I tell you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see that the kingdom of God has come with^p power.”^*

The Transfiguration

²Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter and James and John and led them up a high mountain apart, by themselves. And he was transfigured before them,^{* 3}and his clothes became dazzling bright, such as no one^q on earth could brighten them.^{* 4}And there appeared to them Elijah with Moses, who were talking with Jesus. ⁵Then Peter said to Jesus, “Rabbi, it is good for us to be here; let us set up three tents: one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.”^{* 6}He did not know what to say, for they were terrified. ⁷Then a cloud overshadowed them, and from the cloud there came a voice, “This is my Son, the Beloved;^r listen to him!”^{* 8}Suddenly when they looked around, they saw no one with them any more, but only Jesus.

The Coming of Elijah

⁹As they were coming down the mountain, he ordered them to tell no one about what they had seen, until after the Son of Man had risen from the dead. ¹⁰So they kept the matter to themselves, questioning what this rising from the dead could mean. ¹¹Then they asked him, “Why do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?” ¹²He said to them, “Elijah is indeed coming first to restore all things. How then is it written about the Son of Man, that he is to go through many sufferings and be treated with contempt? ¹³But I tell you that Elijah has come, and they did to him whatever they pleased, as it is written about him.”

The Healing of a Boy with a Spirit

¹⁴When they came to the disciples, they saw a great crowd around them and some scribes arguing with them. ¹⁵When the whole crowd saw him, they were immediately overcome with awe, and they ran forward to greet him. ¹⁶He asked them, “What are you arguing about with them?” ¹⁷Someone from the crowd answered him, “Teacher, I brought you my son; he has a spirit that makes him unable to speak, ¹⁸and whenever it seizes him, it dashes him down, and he foams and grinds his teeth and becomes rigid, and I asked your disciples to cast it out, but they could not do so.” ¹⁹He answered them, “You faithless generation, how much longer must I be with you? How much longer must I put up with you? Bring him to me.” ²⁰And they brought the boy^s to him. When the spirit saw him, immediately it convulsed the boy,^t and he fell on the ground and rolled about, foaming at the mouth. ²¹Jesus^u asked the father, “How long has this been happening to him?” And he said, “From childhood. ²²It has often cast him into the fire and into the water, to destroy him; but if you are able to do anything, help us! Have compassion on us!” ²³Jesus said to him, “If you are able! All things can be done for the one who believes.” ²⁴Immediately the father of the child cried out,^v “I believe; help my unbelief!” ²⁵When Jesus saw that a crowd came running together, he rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it, “You spirit that keeps this boy from speaking and hearing, I command you, come out of him, and never enter him again!” ²⁶After crying out and convulsing him terribly, it came out, and the boy was like a corpse, so that most of them said, “He is dead.” ²⁷But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him up, and he was able to stand. ²⁸When he had entered the house, his disciples asked him privately, “Why could we not cast it out?”^{* 29}He said to them, “This kind can come out only through prayer.”^w

Jesus Again Foretells His Death and Resurrection

³⁰They went on from there and passed through Galilee. He did not want anyone to know it, ³¹for he was teaching his disciples, saying to them, “The Son of Man is to be betrayed into human hands, and they will kill him, and three days after being killed, he will rise again.”^{* 32}But they did not understand what he was saying and were afraid to ask him.^*

Who Is the Greatest?

³³Then they came to Capernaum, and when he was in the house he asked them, “What were you arguing about on the way?” ³⁴But they were silent, for on the way they had argued with one another who was the greatest.^{* 35}He sat down, called the twelve, and said to them, “Whoever wants to be first must be last of all and servant of all.”^{* 36}Then he took a little child and put it among them, and taking it in his arms he said to them,^{* 37}“Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes not me but the one who sent me.”^*

Another Exorcist

³⁸John said to him, “Teacher, we saw someone casting out demons in your name,^x and we tried to stop him because he was not following us.”^{* 39}But Jesus said, “Do not stop him, for no one who does a deed of power in my name will be able soon afterward to speak evil of me. ⁴⁰Whoever is not against us is for us.^{* 41}For truly I tell you, whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because you bear the name of Christ will by no means lose the reward.^*

Temptations to Sin

⁴²“If any of you cause one of these little ones who believe in me^y to sin,^z it would be better for you if a great millstone were hung around your neck and you were thrown into the sea.^{* 43}If your hand causes you to sin,^a cut it off; it is better for you to enter life maimed than to have two hands and to go to hell,^b to the unquenchable fire.^{c* 45}And if your foot causes you to sin,^d cut it off; it is better for you to enter life lame than to have two feet and to be thrown into hell.^{ef* 47}And if your eye causes you to sin,^g tear it out; it is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and to be thrown into hell,^{h* 48}where their worm never dies and the fire is never quenched.^*

⁴⁹“For everyone will be salted with fire.^{i* 50}Salt is good, but if salt has lost its saltiness, how can you season it?^j Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another.”^*

Teaching about Divorce

¹⁰He left that place and went to the region of Judea and^k beyond the Jordan. And crowds again gathered around him, and, as was his custom, he again taught them.^*

²Some,^l testing him, asked, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?” ³He answered them, “What did Moses command you?” ⁴They said, “Moses allowed a man to write a certificate of dismissal and to divorce her.”^{* 5}But Jesus said to them, “Because of your hardness of heart he wrote this commandment for you. ⁶But from the beginning of creation, ‘God made them male and female.’^{* 7}‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife,^{m* 8}and the two shall become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two but one flesh.^{* 9}Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.”

¹⁰Then in the house the disciples asked him again about this matter. ¹¹He said to them, “Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her,^{* 12}and if she divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery.”

Jesus Blesses Little Children

¹³People were bringing children to him in order that he might touch them, and the disciples spoke sternly to them. ¹⁴But when Jesus saw this, he was indignant and said to them, “Let the children come to me; do not stop them, for it is to such as these that the kingdom of God belongs. ¹⁵Truly I tell you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will never enter it.”^{* 16}And he took them up in his arms, laid his hands on them, and blessed them.^*

The Rich Man

¹⁷As he was setting out on a journey, a man ran up and knelt before him and asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”^{* 18}Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone. ¹⁹You know the commandments: ‘You shall not murder. You shall not commit adultery. You shall not steal. You shall not bear false witness. You shall not defraud. Honor your father and mother.’ ”^{* 20}He said to him, “Teacher, I have kept all these since my youth.” ²¹Jesus, looking at him, loved him and said, “You lack one thing; go, sell what you own, and give the moneyⁿ to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.”^{* 22}When he heard this, he was shocked and went away grieving, for he had many possessions.

²³Then Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How hard it will be for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!”^{* 24}And the disciples were perplexed at these words. But Jesus said to them again, “Children, how hard it is^o to enter…