Mark 10
10
Jesus Teaches About Divorce
1Jesus left that place and went into the area of Judea on the other side of the Jordan River. Crowds of people came to him once again, and he taught them as he always did.
2Some Pharisees came to test Jesus. 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 his wife away.”
5“Moses wrote you that law because you were so hard-hearted,” Jesus responded. 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, 8and the two of them will become one.’ They are no longer two, but one. 9So no one should separate what God has joined together.”
10When they were in the house again, the disciples asked Jesus about this. 11He answered, “If a man divorces his wife and gets married to another woman, he is committing adultery against her. 12And if a woman divorces her husband and gets married to another man, she is committing adultery.”
Jesus Blesses Little Children
13People were bringing little children to Jesus because they wanted him to place his hands on them and bless them. But the disciples told them not to. 14When Jesus saw this, he was furious. He told his disciples, “Let the little children come to me, and don’t keep them away, because the kingdom of God belongs to people like them. 15Truly I tell you, anyone who doesn’t receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.” 16Then he took the children in his arms, placed his hands on them, and blessed them.
Rich People and the Kingdom of God
17As Jesus started on his way, a man ran up to him and got down on his knees in front of him. “Good teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to receive eternal life?”
18“Why do you call me good?” Jesus replied. “No one is good except God. 19You know what the commandments say. ‘Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, don’t be a false witness, don’t cheat, honor your father and mother.’ ”
20“Teacher,” he said eagerly, “I’ve obeyed all those commandments since I was a boy.”
21Jesus looked at him and loved him. “You’re missing one thing,” he said. “Go, sell everything you have and give the money to the poor, and you’ll have treasure in heaven. Then come and follow me.”
22When the man heard that, he looked gloomy, and he went away sad, because he was very rich.
23Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How hard it is for rich people to enter the kingdom of God!”
24The disciples were amazed at what he said. But Jesus said again, “Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God! 25It’s easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who’s rich to enter the kingdom of God!”
26The disciples were even more amazed, and they said to each other, “Then who can be saved?”
27Jesus looked at them and said, “With people, it’s impossible, but not with God. All things are possible with God.”
28Then Peter spoke up. “We’ve left everything to follow you!” he said.
29“Truly I tell you,” Jesus responded, “anyone who has left home or family or fields for me and the good news 30will receive 100 times as much in this world. They will have other homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children, and fields—and they’ll also be systematically oppressed by others. But in the world to come they’ll live forever. 31But many who are first will be last, and many who are last will be first.”
Jesus Speaks a Third Time About His Coming Death
32They were on their way up to Jerusalem, with Jesus leading the way. The disciples were amazed, and the crowd that was following along was afraid. Jesus took his 12 disciples to one side and told them again what was going to happen to him. 33“We’re going up to Jerusalem,” he said, “where the Son of Man is going to be handed over to the chief priests and the teachers of the law. They will sentence him to death and hand him over to the Gentiles, 34who will humiliate him and spit on him, whip him and kill him. But three days later, he will rise from the dead!”
James and John Ask Jesus for a Favor
35James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to Jesus and said, “Teacher, we’d like to ask you for a favor.”
36“What do you want me to do for you?” he replied.
37They answered, “In your glorious kingdom, let one of us sit at your right hand and the other at your left hand.”
38“You don’t know what you’re asking for,” Jesus responded. “Can you drink the cup I’m going to drink? Can you go through the baptism I have to go through?”
39“We can,” they answered.
Jesus told them, “You will drink the cup that I drink, and you will go through the baptism that I go through. 40But it’s not for me to say who will sit at my right or left hand. These places belong to the ones they’ve been prepared for.”
41When the other ten disciples heard about this, they got angry with James and John. But 42Jesus called them all together and said, “You know that the leaders of the Gentiles like to use their power over others and that their high officials order people around. 43Don’t be like that. Instead, any of you who wants to be great among you must become your servant, 44and anyone who wants to be first must be a slave to all the others. 45Even the Son of Man didn’t come to be served, but to serve others and to give his life to set many people free.”
Blind Bartimaeus Able to See
46Then Jesus and his disciples went through Jericho. As they were leaving the city, a large crowd was with them. A blind man named Bartimaeus (which means Son of Timaeus) was sitting by the side of the road begging. 47When he heard that Jesus of Nazareth was passing by, he began to shout, “Jesus! Son of David! Have mercy on me!”
48Many people told him to stop shouting and be quiet. But he shouted even more loudly, “Son of David! Have mercy on me!”
49Jesus stopped and said, “Call for him.”
So they called out to the blind man, “You got what you wanted! Get on your feet! Jesus is calling for you.” 50He threw his coat to one side, jumped to his feet, and came to Jesus.
51“What do you want me to do for you?” Jesus asked him.
The blind man responded, “Rabbi, I want to be able to see.”
52“Go,” Jesus told him, “your faith has healed you.” Right away he could see, and he followed Jesus along the road.
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Mark 10
10
Divorce
1-2From there he went to the area of Judea across the Jordan. A crowd of people, as was so often the case, went along, and he, as he so often did, taught them. Pharisees came up, intending to give him a hard time. They asked, “Is it legal for a man to divorce his wife?”
3Jesus said, “What did Moses command?”
4They answered, “Moses gave permission to fill out a certificate of dismissal and divorce her.”
5-9Jesus said, “Moses wrote this command only as a concession to your hardhearted ways. In the original creation, God made male and female to be together. Because of this, a man leaves father and mother, and in marriage he becomes one flesh with a woman—no longer two individuals, but forming a new unity. Because God created this organic union of the two sexes, no one should desecrate his art by cutting them apart.”
10-12When they were back home, the disciples brought it up again. Jesus gave it to them straight: “A man who divorces his wife so he can marry someone else commits adultery against her. And a woman who divorces her husband so she can marry someone else commits adultery.”
* * *
13-16The people brought children to Jesus, hoping he might touch them. The disciples shooed them off. But Jesus was irate and let them know it: “Don’t push these children away. Don’t ever get between them and me. These children are at the very center of life in the kingdom. Mark this: Unless you accept God’s kingdom in the simplicity of a child, you’ll never get in.” Then, gathering the children up in his arms, he laid his hands of blessing on them.
To Enter God’s Kingdom
17As he went out into the street, a man came running up, greeted him with great reverence, and asked, “Good Teacher, what must I do to get eternal life?”
18-19Jesus said, “Why are you calling me good? No one is good, only God. You know the commandments: Don’t murder, don’t commit adultery, don’t steal, don’t lie, don’t cheat, honor your father and mother.”
20He said, “Teacher, I have—from my youth—kept them all!”
21Jesus looked him hard in the eye—and loved him! He said, “There’s one thing left: Go sell whatever you own and give it to the poor. All your wealth will then be heavenly wealth. And come follow me.”
22The man’s face clouded over. This was the last thing he expected to hear, and he walked off with a heavy heart. He was holding on tight to a lot of things, and not about to let go.
23-25Looking at his disciples, Jesus said, “Do you have any idea how difficult it is for people who ‘have it all’ to enter God’s kingdom?” The disciples couldn’t believe what they were hearing, but Jesus kept on: “You can’t imagine how difficult. I’d say it’s easier for a camel to go through a needle’s eye than for the rich to get into God’s kingdom.”
26 That got their attention. “Then who has any chance at all?” they asked.
27Jesus was blunt: “No chance at all if you think you can pull it off by yourself. Every chance in the world if you let God do it.”
28Peter tried another angle: “We left everything and followed you.”
29-31Jesus said, “Mark my words, no one who sacrifices house, brothers, sisters, mother, father, children, land—whatever—because of me and the Message will lose out. They’ll get it all back, but multiplied many times in homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children, and land—but also in troubles. And then the bonus of eternal life! This is once again the Great Reversal: Many who are first will end up last, and the last first.”
32-34Back on the road, they set out for Jerusalem. Jesus had a head start on them, and they were following, puzzled and not just a little afraid. He took the Twelve and began again to go over what to expect next. “Listen to me carefully. We’re on our way up to Jerusalem. When we get there, the Son of Man will be betrayed to the religious leaders and scholars. They will sentence him to death. Then they will hand him over to the Romans, who will mock and spit on him, give him the third degree, and kill him. After three days he will rise alive.”
The Highest Places of Honor
35James and John, Zebedee’s sons, came up to him. “Teacher, we have something we want you to do for us.”
36“What is it? I’ll see what I can do.”
37“Arrange it,” they said, “so that we will be awarded the highest places of honor in your glory—one of us at your right, the other at your left.”
38Jesus said, “You have no idea what you’re asking. Are you capable of drinking the cup I drink, of being baptized in the baptism I’m about to be plunged into?”
39-40“Sure,” they said. “Why not?”
Jesus said, “Come to think of it, you will drink the cup I drink, and be baptized in my baptism. But as to awarding places of honor, that’s not my business. There are other arrangements for that.”
41-45When the other ten heard of this conversation, they lost their tempers with James and John. Jesus got them together to settle things down. “You’ve observed how godless rulers throw their weight around,” he said, “and when people get a little power how quickly it goes to their heads. It’s not going to be that way with you. Whoever wants to be great must become a servant. Whoever wants to be first among you must be your slave. That is what the Son of Man has done: He came to serve, not to be served—and then to give away his life in exchange for many who are held hostage.”
* * *
46-48They spent some time in Jericho. As Jesus was leaving town, trailed by his disciples and a parade of people, a blind beggar by the name of Bartimaeus, son of Timaeus, was sitting alongside the road. When he heard that Jesus the Nazarene was passing by, he began to cry out, “Son of David, Jesus! Mercy, have mercy on me!” Many tried to hush him up, but he yelled all the louder, “Son of David! Mercy, have mercy on me!”
49-50Jesus stopped in his tracks. “Call him over.”
They called him. “It’s your lucky day! Get up! He’s calling you to come!” Throwing off his coat, he was on his feet at once and came to Jesus.
51Jesus said, “What can I do for you?”
The blind man said, “Rabbi, I want to see.”
52“On your way,” said Jesus. “Your faith has saved and healed you.”
In that very instant he recovered his sight and followed Jesus down the road.
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THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson. All rights reserved. Used by permission of NavPress. Represented by Tyndale House Publishers.