Mark 10

Chapter 10.

10 ¹ Leaving there, he went to the region of Judea and beyond the Jordan, and crowds gathered to him again. As was his custom, he taught them once more.

² Some Pharisees came up to test him, asking, "Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?"

³ He answered them, "What did Moses command you?"

⁴ They said, "Moses permitted a man to write a certificate of divorce and send her away."

⁵ Jesus said to them, "It was because of your hardness of heart that he wrote you this command. ⁶ But from the beginning of creation, our Father made them male and female. ⁷ 'For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, ⁸ and the two will become one flesh.' So they are no longer two, but one flesh. ⁹ Therefore what our Father has joined together, let no one separate."

¹⁰ Back in the house, the disciples asked him about this again. ¹¹ He 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."

The Father Welcomes Children

¹³ People were bringing children to him so that he might touch them, but the disciples rebuked them. ¹⁴ When Jesus saw it, he was indignant and said to them, "Let the children come to me; do not hinder them, for the kingdom of our Father belongs to such as these. ¹⁵ Truly I tell you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of our Father like a child will never enter it." ¹⁶ And he took them in his arms and blessed them, laying his hands on them.

The Man Who Had Much but Lacked One Thing

¹⁷ As he was setting out on his way, a man ran up, knelt before him, and asked, "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 except our Father alone. ¹⁹ You know the commandments: 'Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony, do not defraud, honor your father and mother.'"

²⁰ He said to him, "Teacher, all these I have kept since my youth."

²¹ Jesus looked at him, loved him, and said, "You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me."

²² At this word his face fell, and he went away grieving, for he had many possessions.

²³ Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, "How hard it will be for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of our Father!"

²⁴ The disciples were amazed at his words. But Jesus said to them again, "Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of our Father!" ²⁵ It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of our Father."

²⁶ They were even more astonished and said to one another, "Then who can be saved?"

²⁷ Jesus looked at them and said, "With man this is impossible, but not with our Father. For all things are possible with our Father."

²⁸ Peter began to say to him, "Look, we have left everything and followed you."

²⁹ Jesus said, "Truly I tell you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for my sake and for the gospel ³⁰ who will not receive a hundredfold now in this time — houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and fields, along with persecutions — and in the age to come, eternal life. ³¹ But many who are first will be last, and the last first."

Jesus Foretells His Death a Third Time

³² They were on the road, going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was walking ahead of them. They were amazed, and those who followed were afraid. Again he took the twelve aside and began to tell them what was about to happen to him: ³³ "See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests and the scribes. They will condemn him to death and hand him over to the Gentiles, ³⁴ and they will mock him, spit on him, flog him, and kill him; and after three days he will rise."

Greatness Through Serving

³⁵ James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to him and said, "Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask."

³⁶ He said to them, "What do you want me to do for you?"

³⁷ They said to him, "Grant us to sit, one at your right and one at your left, in your glory."

³⁸ Jesus said to them, "You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or to be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with?"

³⁹ "We are able," they said. Jesus said to them, "The cup that I drink you will drink, and with the baptism I am baptized with you will be baptized, ⁴⁰ but to sit at my right or at my left is not mine to grant. It belongs to those for whom it has been prepared."

⁴¹ When the ten heard this, they began to be indignant at James and John. ⁴² Jesus called them together and said, "You know that those regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. ⁴³ But it shall not be this way among you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, ⁴⁴ and whoever wants to be first among you must be slave of all. ⁴⁵ For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."

Bartimaeus Receives His Sight

⁴⁶ They came to Jericho. As Jesus was leaving Jericho with his disciples and a large crowd, a blind beggar, Bartimaeus son of Timaeus, was sitting by the roadside. ⁴⁷ When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!" ⁴⁸ Many rebuked him and told him to be quiet, but he cried out all the more, "Son of David, have mercy on me!"

⁴⁹ Jesus stopped and said, "Call him." So they called the blind man, telling him, "Take heart! Get up; he is calling you."

⁵⁰ Throwing off his cloak, he jumped up and came to Jesus.

⁵¹ Jesus said to him, "What do you want me to do for you?" The blind man said to him, "Rabboni, let me see again." ^a a v51 "Rabboni" is a heartfelt, personal way of addressing Jesus — "my teacher," spoken with deep trust.

⁵² Jesus said to him, "Go; your faith has healed you." Immediately he could see again, and he followed Jesus on the road.