Jesus Teaches About Divorce
(Mk. 10:1–12)
1After Jesus said all these things, he left Galilee. Jesus went into the area of Judea on the other side of the Jordan River.
2Many people followed Jesus. Jesus healed the sick people there.
3Some Pharisees
4Jesus answered, “Surely you have read this {in the Scriptures
5And God said, ‘So a man will leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife. And the two people will become one.’
6So the two people are not two, but one. God joined those two people together. So no person should separate them.”
7The Pharisees
8Jesus answered, “Moses allowed you to divorce your wives because you refused to accept God’s teaching. But divorce was not allowed in the beginning.
9I tell you that any person that divorces his wife and marries another woman is guilty of the sin of adultery.
10The followers said to Jesus, “If that is the only reason a man can divorce his wife, then it is better not to marry.”
11Jesus answered, “Not every person can accept this truth {about marriage}. But God has made some people able to accept it.
12There are different reasons why some men cannot marry.
Jesus Welcomes Children
(Mk. 10:13–16; Lk. 18:15–17)
13Then the people brought their little children to Jesus so that Jesus could put his hands on them
14But Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me. Don’t stop them, because the kingdom of heaven belongs to people that are like these children.”
15After Jesus put his hands on the children, he left there.
A Rich Man Refuses to Follow Jesus
(Mk. 10:17–31; Lk. 18:18–30)
16A man came to Jesus and asked, “Teacher, what good thing must I do to have life forever?”
17Jesus answered, “Why do you ask me about what is good? Only God is good. But if you want to have life forever, obey the commands.”
18The man asked, “Which commands?” Jesus answered, “‘You must not murder anyone, you must not do the sin of adultery,
19you must honor (respect) your father and mother,’
20The young man said, “I have obeyed all these things. What else do I need?”
21Jesus answered, “If you want to be perfect, then go and sell all the things you own. Give the money to the poor people. If you do this, you will have a rich treasure in heaven. Then come and follow me!”
22But when the man heard this, he was very sad. The man was very rich {and wanted to keep his money}. So he left Jesus.
23Then Jesus said to his followers, “I tell you the truth. It will be very hard for a rich person to enter the kingdom of heaven.
24Yes, I tell you that it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.”
25When the followers heard this, they were very surprised. They asked, “Then who can be saved?”
26Jesus looked at his followers and said, “This is something that people cannot do themselves. But God can do all things.”
27Peter said to Jesus, “We left everything we had and followed you. So what will we have?”
28Jesus said to the followers, “I tell you the truth. When the new world is made, the Son of Man
29And every person that has left houses, brothers, sisters, father, mother, children, or farms to follow me will get much more than he left. And that person will have life forever.
30Many people that have the highest place in life now will have the lowest place in the future. And many people that have the lowest place now will have the highest place in the future.