Teachings about Divorce

¹Then Jesus left that place and went into the region of Judea, beyond the Jordan. Again the crowds came to Him and He taught them, as was His custom.

²Some Pharisees came to test Him. “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?” they inquired.

³“What did Moses command you?” He replied.

⁴They answered, “Moses permitted a man to write his wife a certificate of divorce and send her away.”

⁵But Jesus told them, “Moses wrote this commandment for you because of your hardness of heart.

⁶However, from the beginning of creation, ‘God made them male and female.’

⁷‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife,

⁸and the two will become one flesh.’So they are no longer two, but one flesh.

⁹Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate.”

¹⁰When they were back inside the house, the disciples asked Jesus about this matter.

¹¹So He told them, “Whoever divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery against her.

¹²And if a woman divorces her husband and marries another man, she commits adultery.”

Jesus Blesses the Children

¹³Now people were bringing the little children to Jesus for Him to place His hands on them, and the disciples rebuked those who brought them.

¹⁴But when Jesus saw this, He was indignant and told them, “Let the little children come to Me, and do not hinder them! For the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.

¹⁵Truly I tell you, anyone who does not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.”

¹⁶And He took the children in His arms, placed His hands on them, and blessed them.

The Rich Young Man

¹⁷As Jesus started on His way, a man ran up and knelt before Him. “Good Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”

¹⁸“Why do you call Me good?” Jesus replied. “No one is good except God alone.

¹⁹You know the commandments: ‘Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not bear false witness, do not cheat others, honor your father and mother.’”

²⁰“Teacher,” he replied, “all these I have kept from my youth.”

²¹Jesus looked at him, loved him, and said to him, “There is one thing you lack: Go, sell everything you own and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow Me.”

²²But the man was saddened by these words and went away in sorrow, because he had great wealth.

²³Then Jesus looked around and said to His disciples, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God!”

²⁴And the disciples were amazed at His words.But Jesus said to them again, “Children, how hard it is to enterthe kingdom of God!

²⁵It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”

²⁶They were even more astonished and said to one another, “Who then can be saved?”

²⁷Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but not with God. For all things are possible with God.”

²⁸Peter began to say to Him, “Look, we have left everything and followed You.”

²⁹“Truly I tell you,” Jesus replied, “no one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for My sake and for the gospel

³⁰will fail to receive a hundredfold in the present age—houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and fields, along with persecutions—and in the age to come, eternal life.

³¹But many who are first will be last, and the last will be first.”

The Third Prediction of the Passion

³²As they were going up the road to Jerusalem, Jesus was walking ahead of them. The disciples were amazed, but those who followed were afraid. Again Jesus took the Twelve aside and began to tell them what was going to happen to Him:

³³“Look, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and scribes. They will condemn Him to death and will deliver Him over to the Gentiles,

³⁴who will mock Him and spit on Him and flog Him and kill Him. And after three days He will rise again.”

The Request of James and John

³⁵Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to Jesus and declared, “Teacher, we want You to do for us whatever we ask.”

³⁶“What do you want Me to do for you?” He inquired.

³⁷They answered, “Grant that one of us may sit at Your right hand and the other at Your left in Your glory.”

³⁸“You do not know what you are asking,” Jesus replied. “Can you drink the cup I will drink, or be baptized with the baptism I will undergo?”

³⁹“We can,” the brothers answered.“You will drink the cup that I drink,” Jesus said, “and you will be baptized with the baptism that I undergo.

⁴⁰But to sit at My right or left is not Mine to grant. These seats belong to those for whomthey have been prepared.”

⁴¹When the ten heard about this, they became indignant with James and John.

⁴²So Jesus called them together and said, “You know that those regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their superiors exercise authority over them.

⁴³But it shall not be this way among you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant,

⁴⁴and whoever wants to be first must be the slave of all.

⁴⁵For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.”

Jesus Heals Bartimaeus

⁴⁶Next, they came to Jericho. And as Jesus and His disciples were leaving Jericho with a large crowd, a blind beggar named Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, was sitting beside the road.

⁴⁷When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”

⁴⁸Many people admonished him to be silent, but he cried out all the louder, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”

⁴⁹Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.”So they called the blind man. “Take courage!” they said. “Get up! He is calling for you.”

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

⁵¹“What do you want Me to do for you?” Jesus asked.“Rabboni,” said the blind man, “let me see again.”

⁵²“Go,” said Jesus, “your faith has healed you.” And immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus along the road.

The Plot to Kill Jesus

¹Now the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Breadwere two days away, and the chief priests and scribes were looking for a covert way to arrest Jesus and kill Him.

²“But not during the feast,” they said, “or there may be a riot among the people.”

Jesus Anointed at Bethany

³While Jesus was in Bethany reclining at the table in the home of Simon the Leper,a woman came with an alabaster jar of expensive perfume, made of pure nard. She broke open the jar and poured it on Jesus’ head.

⁴Some of those present, however, expressed their indignation to one another: “Why this waste of perfume?

⁵It could have been sold for over three hundred denariiand the money given to the poor.” And they scolded her.

⁶But Jesus said, “Leave her alone; why are you bothering her? She has done a beautiful deed to Me.

⁷The poor you will always have with you,and you can help them whenever you want. But you will not always have Me.

⁸She has done what she could to anoint My body in advance of My burial.

⁹And truly I tell you, wherever the gospel is preached in all the world, what she has done will also be told in memory of her.”

Judas Agrees to Betray Jesus

¹⁰Then Judas Iscariot, one of the Twelve, went to the chief priests to betray Jesus to them.

¹¹They were delighted to hear this, and they promised to give him money.So Judas began to look for an opportunity to betray Jesus.

Preparing the Passover

¹²On the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread,when the Passover lamb was to be sacrificed, Jesus’ disciples asked Him, “Where do You want us to prepare for You to eat the Passover?”

¹³So He sent two of His disciples and told them, “Go into the city, and a man carrying a jug of water will meet you. Follow him,

¹⁴and whichever house he enters, say to the owner, ‘The Teacher asks: Where is My guest room, where I may eat the Passover with My disciples?’

¹⁵And he will show you a large upper room, furnished and ready. Make preparations for us there.”

¹⁶So the disciples left and went into the city, where they found everything as Jesus had described. And they prepared the Passover.

The Last Supper

¹⁷When evening came, Jesus arrived with the Twelve.

¹⁸And while they were reclining and eating, Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, one of you who is eating with Me will betray Me.”

¹⁹They began to be grieved and to ask Him one after another, “Surely not I?”

²⁰He answered, “It is one of the Twelve—the one who is dipping his handinto the bowl with Me.

²¹The Son of Man will go just as it is written about Him, but woe to that man by whom He is betrayed! It would be better for him if he had not been born.”

²²While they were eating, Jesus took bread, spoke a blessing and broke it, and gave it to the disciples, saying, “Take it; this is My body.”

²³Then He took the cup, gave thanks, and gave it to them, and they all drank from it.

²⁴He said to them, “This is My blood of the covenant,which is poured out for many.

²⁵Truly I tell you, I will no longer drink of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it anew in the kingdom of God.”

²⁶And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.

Jesus Predicts Peter’s Denial

²⁷Then Jesus said to them, “You will all fall away,for it is written:‘I will strike the Shepherd,and the sheep will be scattered.’

²⁸But after I have risen, I will go ahead of you into Galilee.”

²⁹Peter declared, “Even if all fall away, I never will.”

³⁰“Truly I tell you,” Jesus replied, “this very night, before the rooster crows twice, you will deny Me three times.”

³¹But Peter kept insisting, “Even if I have to die with You, I will never deny You.” And all the others said the same thing.

Jesus Prays at Gethsemane

³²Then they came to a place called Gethsemane, and Jesus told His disciples, “Sit here while I pray.”

³³He took with Him Peter, James, and John, and began to be deeply troubled and distressed.

³⁴Then He said to them, “My soul is consumed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch.”

³⁵Going a little farther, He fell to the ground and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour would pass from Him.

³⁶“Abba, Father,” He said, “all things are possible for You. Take this cup from Me. Yet not what I will, but what You will.”

³⁷Then Jesus returned and found them sleeping. “Simon, are you asleep?” He asked. “Were you not able to keep watch for one hour?

³⁸Watch and pray so that you will not enter into temptation. For the spirit is willing, but the body is weak.”

³⁹Again He went away and prayed, saying the same thing.

⁴⁰And again Jesus returned and found them sleeping, for their eyes were heavy. And they did not know what to answer Him.

⁴¹When Jesus returned the third time, He said, “Are you still sleeping and resting? That is enough! The hour has come. Look, the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners.

⁴²Rise, let us go. See, My betrayer is approaching!”

The Betrayal of Jesus

⁴³While Jesus was still speaking, Judas, one of the Twelve, arrived, accompanied by a crowd armed with swords and clubs, sent from the chief priests, scribes, and elders.

⁴⁴Now the betrayer had arranged a signal with them: “The One I kiss is the man; arrest Him and lead Him away securely.”

⁴⁵Going directly to Jesus, he said, “Rabbi!” and kissed Him.

⁴⁶Then the men seized Jesus and arrested Him.

⁴⁷And one of the bystanders drew his sword and struck the servant of the high priest, cutting off his ear.

⁴⁸Jesus asked the crowd, “Have you come out with swords and clubs to arrest Me as you would an outlaw?

⁴⁹Every day I was with you, teaching in the temple courts,and you did not arrest Me. But this has happened that the Scriptures would be fulfilled.”

⁵⁰Then everyone deserted Him and fled.

⁵¹One young man who had been following Jesus was wearing a linen cloth around his body. They caught hold of him,

⁵²but he pulled free of the linen cloth and ran away naked.

Jesus before the Sanhedrin

⁵³They led Jesus away to the high priest, and all the chief priests, elders, and scribes assembled.

⁵⁴Peter followed Him at a distance, right into the courtyard of the high priest. And he sat with the officers and warmed himself by the fire.

⁵⁵Now the chief priests and the whole Sanhedrinwere seeking testimony against Jesus to put Him to death, but they did not find any.

⁵⁶For many bore false witness against Jesus, but their testimony was inconsistent.

⁵⁷Then some men stood up and testified falsely against Him:

⁵⁸“We heard Him say, ‘I will destroy this man-made temple, and in three days I will build another that is made without hands.’”

⁵⁹But even their testimony was inconsistent.

⁶⁰So the high priest stood up before them and questioned Jesus, “Have You no answer? What are these men testifying against You?”

⁶¹But Jesus remained silent and made no reply.Again the high priest questioned Him, “Are You the Christ, the Son of the Blessed One?”

⁶²“I am,” said Jesus, “and you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of Powerand coming with the clouds of heaven.”

⁶³At this, the high priest tore his clothes and declared, “Why do we need any more witnesses?

⁶⁴You have heard the blasphemy. What is your verdict?”And they all condemned Him as deserving of death.

⁶⁵Then some of them began to spit on Him. They blindfolded Him, struck Him with their fists, and said to Him, “Prophesy!” And the officers received Him with slaps in His face.

Peter Denies Jesus

⁶⁶While Peter was in the courtyard below, one of the servant girls of the high priest came down

⁶⁷and saw him warming himself there. She looked at Peter and said, “You also were with Jesus the Nazarene.”

⁶⁸But he denied it. “I do not know or even understand what you are talking about,” he said. Then he went out to the gateway, and the rooster crowed.

⁶⁹There the servant girl saw him and again said to those standing nearby, “This man is one of them.”

⁷⁰But he denied it again.After a little while, those standing nearby said once more to Peter, “Surely you are one of them, for you too are a Galilean.”

⁷¹But he began to curse and swear, “I do not know this man of whom you speak!”

⁷²And immediately the rooster crowed a second time.Then Peter remembered the word that Jesus had spoken to him: “Before the rooster crows twice, you will deny Me three times.” And he broke down and wept.

Jesus and Zacchaeus

¹Then Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through.

²And there was a man named Zacchaeus, a chief tax collector, who was very wealthy.

³He was trying to see who Jesus was, but could not see over the crowd because he was small in stature.

⁴So he ran on ahead and climbed a sycamore tree to see Him, since Jesus was about to pass that way.

⁵When Jesus came to that place, He looked up and said, “Zacchaeus, hurry down, for I must stay at your house today.”

⁶So Zacchaeus hurried down and welcomed Him joyfully.

⁷And all who saw this began to grumble, saying, “He has gone to be the guest of a sinful man!”

⁸But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord, half of my possessions I give to the poor, and if I have cheated anyone, I will repay it fourfold.”

⁹Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because this man too is a son of Abraham.

¹⁰For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”

The Parable of the Ten Minas

¹¹While the people were listening to this, Jesus proceeded to tell them a parable, because He was near Jerusalem and they thought the kingdom of God would appear imminently.

¹²So He said, “A man of noble birth went to a distant country to lay claim to his kingship and then return.

¹³Beforehand, he called ten of his servants and gave them ten minas.‘Conduct business with this until I return,’ he said.

¹⁴But his subjects hated him and sent a delegation after him to say, ‘We do not want this man to rule over us.’

¹⁵When he returned from procuring his kingship, he summoned the servants to whom he had given the money, to find out what each one had earned.

¹⁶The first servant came forward and said, ‘Master, your mina has produced ten more minas.’

¹⁷His master replied, ‘Well done, good servant! Because you have been faithful in a very small matter, you shall have authority over ten cities.’

¹⁸The second servant came and said, ‘Master, your mina has made five minas.’

¹⁹And to this one he said, ‘You shall have authority over five cities.’

²⁰Then another servant came and said, ‘Master, here is your mina, which I have laid away in a piece of cloth.

²¹For I was afraid of you, because you are a harsh man. You withdraw what you did not deposit and reap what you did not sow.’

²²His master replied, ‘You wicked servant, I will judge you by your own words. So you knew that I am a harsh man, withdrawing what I did not deposit and reaping what I did not sow?

²³Why then did you not deposit my money in the bank, and upon my return I could have collected it with interest?’

²⁴Then he told those standing by, ‘Take the mina from him and give it to the one who has ten minas.’

²⁵‘Master,’ they said, ‘he already has ten!’

²⁶He replied, ‘I tell you that everyone who has will be given more; but the one who does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him.

²⁷And these enemies of mine who were unwilling for me to rule over them, bring them here and slay them in front of me.’”

The Triumphal Entry

²⁸After Jesus had said this, He went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem.

²⁹As He approached Bethphage and Bethany at the Mount of Olives, He sent out two of His disciples,

³⁰saying, “Go into the village ahead of you, and as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, on which no one has ever sat. Untie it and bring it here.

³¹If anyone asks, ‘Why are you untying it?’ tell him, ‘The Lord needs it.’”

³²So those who were sent went out and found it just as Jesus had told them.

³³As they were untying the colt, its owners asked, “Why are you untying the colt?”

³⁴“The Lord needs it,” they answered.

³⁵Then they led the colt to Jesus, threw their cloaks over it, and put Jesus on it.

³⁶As He rode along, the people spread their cloaks on the road.

³⁷And as He approached the descent from the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of disciples began to praise God joyfully in a loud voice for all the miracles they had seen:

³⁸“Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord!”“Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!”

³⁹But some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Him, “Teacher, rebuke Your disciples!”

⁴⁰“I tell you,” He answered, “if they remain silent, the very stones will cry out.”

Jesus Weeps over Jerusalem

⁴¹As Jesus approached Jerusalem and saw the city, He wept over it

⁴²and said, “If only you had known on this day what would bring you peace! But now it is hidden from your eyes.

⁴³For the days will come upon you when your enemies will barricade you and surround you and hem you in on every side.

⁴⁴They will level you to the ground—you and the children within your walls. They will not leave one stone on another, because you did not recognize the time of your visitation from God.”

Jesus Cleanses the Temple

⁴⁵Then Jesus entered the temple courtsand began to drive out those who were selling there.

⁴⁶He declared to them, “It is written: ‘My house will be a house of prayer.’But you have made it ‘a den of robbers.’”

⁴⁷Jesus was teaching at the temple every day, but the chief priests, scribes, and leaders of the people were intent on killing Him.

⁴⁸Yet they could not find a way to do so, because all the people hung on His words.

To You I Lift Up My Soul

¹To You, O LORD, I lift up my soul;

²in You, my God, I trust.Do not let me be put to shame;do not let my enemies exult over me.

³Surely none who wait for You will be put to shame;but those who engage in treachery without cause will be disgraced.

⁴Show me Your ways, O LORD;teach me Your paths.

⁵Guide me in Your truth and teach me,for You are the God of my salvation;all day long I wait for You.

⁶Remember, O LORD, Your compassion and loving devotion,for they are from age to age.

⁷Remember not the sins of my youth,nor my rebellious acts;remember me according to Your loving devotion,because of Your goodness, O LORD.

⁸Good and upright is the LORD;therefore He shows sinners the way.

⁹He guides the humble in what is rightand teaches them His way.

¹⁰All the LORD’s ways are loving and faithfulto those who keep His covenant and His decrees.

¹¹For the sake of Your name, O LORD,forgive my iniquity, for it is great.

¹²Who is the man who fears the LORD?He will instruct him in the path chosen for him.

¹³His soul will dwell in prosperity,and his descendants will inherit the land.

¹⁴The LORD confides in those who fear Him,and reveals His covenant to them.

¹⁵My eyes are always on the LORD,for He will free my feet from the mesh.

¹⁶Turn to me and be gracious,for I am lonely and afflicted.

¹⁷The troubles of my heart increase;free me from my distress.

¹⁸Consider my affliction and trouble,and take away all my sins.

¹⁹Consider my enemies, for they are many,and they hate me with vicious hatred.

²⁰Guard my soul and deliver me;let me not be put to shame,for I take refuge in You.

²¹May integrity and uprightness preserve me,because I wait for You.

²²Redeem Israel, O God,from all its distress.