1Jesus then left that place and arrived at the borders of Judea, by the other side of the Jordan. Again, crowds were gathering around him. As he usually did, he taught them again. 2The Pharisees513 came to test him, asking, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?”
3Jesus answered, “What instructions did Moses give you?”
4They replied, “Moses allowed a certificate of divorce to be written, and to divorce her.”514
5But Jesus answered and said to them, “It was because of your hardness of heart that Moses wrote this law for you. 6But from the beginning of creation, God made them male and female.515 7For this reason, a man will leave his father and mother, and will be joined to his wife, 8and the two will become one flesh.516 Thus, they are no longer two, but one flesh. 9What therefore God has joined together, let no one tear apart!”
10In the house, the disciples asked him again about this matter. 11He told them, “Whoever divorces his wife and marries another [woman] commits adultery against her. 12And if a woman divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery.”
The Lord blesses little children
13People were bringing little children to him so that he might touch them, but the disciples rebuked those who were bringing them. 14But when Jesus saw this, he was indignant. He said to them, “Let the little children come to me and do not forbid them! For the Kingdom of God belongs to such as these. 15Amen, I tell you that whoever will not receive the Kingdom of God like a little child will in no way enter into it!” 16He took the children in his arms and blessed them, laying his hands on them.
The question of the rich man—How to inherit eternal life
17As Jesus517 was setting out on his journey, someone ran to him, knelt before him, and asked him, “Good Teacher, what shall I do in order to inherit eternal life?”
18Jesus replied, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except one: God. 19You know the commandments: ‘Do not commit adultery,’ ‘Do not murder,’ ‘Do not steal,’ ‘Do not give false testimony,’ ‘Do not defraud,’ ‘Honor your father and mother.’”518
20The man replied, “Teacher, I have observed all these things since my youth!”
21Jesus looked at him and loved519 him. He then said, “You [still] lack one thing. [If you want to be perfect520], go, sell whatever you have, and give to the poor. You will have a treasure in heaven! Then come and follow me, taking up the cross.”
22However, the man was distressed when he heard this. He went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions. 23Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How difficult it is for the wealthy to enter into the Kingdom of God!”
24The disciples were amazed at his words. But again, Jesus said, “Children,521 how hard it is for those who trust in riches to enter into the Kingdom of God! 25It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter into the Kingdom of God!”
26They were extremely astonished, saying among themselves, “Who then can be saved?”
27Jesus looked at them and answered, “With men it is impossible, but not with God, for all things are possible with God!”
28Peter began to tell him, “Behold, we have left everything and followed you.”
29So Jesus replied, “Amen, I tell you: there is no one who has left house, brothers or sisters, father or mother, or wife, children, or land, for my sake and for the sake of the Good News, 30who will not receive a hundred times more in this time: houses, brothers, sisters522, mothers, children, and land, (with persecutions); and in the age to come eternal life. 31But many who are first will be last; and the last [will be] first.”
Third announcement of the passion
32They were on their way up to Jerusalem, and as Jesus was going in front of them, they were stunned; and those who followed were afraid. Again, he took the Twelve [aside] and began to tell them about the things that were going to happen to him. 33”Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem. The Son of Man will be delivered to the chief priests and the scribes. They will condemn him to death and deliver him to the Gentiles. 34They will scourge him, mock him, spit on him, and kill him. On the third day, he will rise again.”
The request from James and John—‘Whoever wishes to be great’
35James and John, the sons of Zebedee, approached Jesus523 and said, “Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we will ask!”
36He replied, “What do you want me to do for you?”
37They answered, “Grant to us that we may sit, one at your right hand, and one at your left hand, in your glory.”
38But Jesus said to them, “You do not know what you are asking! Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, and to be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?”
39They replied, “We are able!”
Jesus said to them, “You shall indeed drink the cup that I drink, and you shall be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with! 40However, to sit at my right hand and at my left hand is not mine to give, but it is for whom it has been prepared.”
41When the ten heard this, they became upset with James and John.
42Jesus called them, and told them, “You know that those who are recognized as rulers over the nations lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. 43But it shall not be so among you! Whoever wants to become great among you shall be your servant. 44Whoever of you wants to become first shall be slave of all. 45For the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
The healing of Bartimaeus, a blind beggar
46Then they arrived in Jericho. As Jesus was leaving the city524 with his disciples and a great crowd, the son of Timaeus, Bartimaeus the blind man, sat by the road begging. 47When he heard that it was Jesus the Nazarene, he began to cry out, “Jesus, son of David, have mercy on me!” 48Many rebuked him and told him to be quiet. But Bartimaeus cried out even more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”
49Jesus stood still and commanded him to be called.
They called the blind man and said to him, “Cheer up! Get up, he is calling you!”
50Having thrown his cloak aside, he got up and came to Jesus.
51Jesus asked him, “What do you want me to do for you?”
The blind man replied, “Rabboni,525 that I may see again!”
52Jesus said to him, “Be on your way! Your faith has made you well.” At once, the man received his sight and followed Jesus along the way.
The Entrance into Jerusalem
- Codex Bezae (D), several old Latin manuscripts and the Sinaitic Syriac, omit the words “the Pharisees.” In these (western) manuscripts, it is the people of Mark 10:1 that are presenting the question.
- Deuteronomy 24:1-3
- Genesis 1:27
- Genesis 2:24
- Greek “he”
- Exodus 20:12-16; Deuteronomy 5:16-20
- Greek hvga,phsen, related to agape
- Other manuscripts omit “If you want to be perfect” (a harmonization of Matt 19:21)
- Greek te,kna, compare John 21:5
- Some manuscripts add “fathers” (the Byzantine tradition omits it)
- Greek “him”
- Greek “Jericho”
- Rabboni is a transliteration of the Hebrew word for “great teacher.”
Text: The Eastern / Greek Orthodox Bible, New Testament (EOB). Used with permission.
