Mark 5-10

Common English Bible

Jesus frees a demon-possessed man

5 Jesus and his disciples came to the other side of the lake, to the region of the Gerasenes. ² As soon as Jesus got out of the boat, a man possessed by an evil spirit came out of the tombs. ³ This man lived among the tombs, and no one was ever strong enough to restrain him, even with a chain. ⁴ He had been secured many times with leg irons and chains, but he broke the chains and smashed the leg irons. No one was tough enough to control him. ⁵ Night and day in the tombs and the hills, he would howl and cut himself with stones. ⁶ When he saw Jesus from far away, he ran and knelt before him, ⁷ shouting, “What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? Swear to God that you won’t torture me!”

⁸ He said this because Jesus had already commanded him, “Unclean spirit, come out of the man!”

⁹ Jesus asked him, “What is your name?”

He responded, “Legion is my name, because we are many.” ¹⁰ They pleaded with Jesus not to send them out of that region.

¹¹ A large herd of pigs was feeding on the hillside. ¹² “Send us into the pigs!” they begged. “Let us go into the pigs!” ¹³ Jesus gave them permission, so the unclean spirits left the man and went into the pigs. Then the herd of about two thousand pigs rushed down the cliff into the lake and drowned.

¹⁴ Those who tended the pigs ran away and told the story in the city and in the countryside. People came to see what had happened. ¹⁵ They came to Jesus and saw the man who used to be demon-possessed. They saw the very man who had been filled with many demons sitting there fully dressed and completely sane, and they were filled with awe. ¹⁶ Those who had actually seen what had happened to the demon-possessed man told the others about the pigs. ¹⁷ Then they pleaded with Jesus to leave their region.

¹⁸ While he was climbing into the boat, the one who had been demon-possessed pleaded with Jesus to let him come along as one of his disciples. ¹⁹ But Jesus wouldn’t allow it. “Go home to your own people,” Jesus said, “and tell them what the Lord has done for you and how he has shown you mercy.” ²⁰ The man went away and began to proclaim in the Ten Cities all that Jesus had done for him, and everyone was amazed.

Jesus heals two people

²¹ Jesus crossed the lake again, and on the other side a large crowd gathered around him on the shore. ²² Jairus, one of the synagogue leaders, came forward. When he saw Jesus, he fell at his feet ²³ and pleaded with him, “My daughter is about to die. Please, come and place your hands on her so that she can be healed and live.” ²⁴ So Jesus went with him.

A swarm of people were following Jesus, crowding in on him. ²⁵ A woman was there who had been bleeding for twelve years. ²⁶ She had suffered a lot under the care of many doctors, and had spent everything she had without getting any better. In fact, she had gotten worse. ²⁷ Because she had heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his clothes. ²⁸ She was thinking, If I can just touch his clothes, I’ll be healed. ²⁹ Her bleeding stopped immediately, and she sensed in her body that her illness had been healed.

³⁰ At that very moment, Jesus recognized that power had gone out from him. He turned around in the crowd and said, “Who touched my clothes?”

³¹ His disciples said to him, “Don’t you see the crowd pressing against you? Yet you ask, ‘Who touched me?’” ³² But Jesus looked around carefully to see who had done it.

³³ The woman, full of fear and trembling, came forward. Knowing what had happened to her, she fell down in front of Jesus and told him the whole truth. ³⁴ He responded, “Daughter, your faith has healed you; go in peace, healed from your disease.”

³⁵ While Jesus was still speaking with her, messengers came from the synagogue leader’s house, saying to Jairus, “Your daughter has died. Why bother the teacher any longer?”

³⁶ But Jesus overheard their report and said to the synagogue leader, “Don’t be afraid; just keep trusting.” ³⁷ He didn’t allow anyone to follow him except Peter, James, and John, James’ brother. ³⁸ They came to the synagogue leader’s house, and he saw a commotion, with people crying and wailing loudly. ³⁹ He went in and said to them, “What’s all this commotion and crying about? The child isn’t dead. She’s only sleeping.” ⁴⁰ They laughed at him, but he threw them all out. Then, taking the child’s parents and his disciples with him, he went to the room where the child was. ⁴¹ Taking her hand, he said to her, “Talitha koum,” which means, “Young woman, get up.” ⁴² Suddenly the young woman got up and began to walk around. She was 12 years old. They were shocked! ⁴³ He gave them strict orders that no one should know what had happened. Then he told them to give her something to eat.

Jesus in his hometown

6 Jesus left that place and came to his hometown. His disciples followed him. ² On the Sabbath, he began to teach in the synagogue. Many who heard him were surprised. “Where did this man get all this? What’s this wisdom he’s been given? What about the powerful acts accomplished through him? ³ Isn’t this the carpenter? Isn’t he Mary’s son and the brother of James, Joses, Judas, and Simon? Aren’t his sisters here with us?” They were repulsed by him and fell into sin.

⁴ Jesus said to them, “Prophets are honored everywhere except in their own hometowns, among their relatives, and in their own households.” ⁵ He was unable to do any miracles there, except that he placed his hands on a few sick people and healed them. ⁶ He was appalled by their disbelief.

Sending out the disciples

Then Jesus traveled through the surrounding villages teaching.

⁷ He called for the Twelve and sent them out in pairs. He gave them authority over unclean spirits. ⁸ He instructed them to take nothing for the journey except a walking stick—no bread, no bags, and no money in their belts. ⁹ He told them to wear sandals but not to put on two shirts. ¹⁰ He said, “Whatever house you enter, remain there until you leave that place. ¹¹ If a place doesn’t welcome you or listen to you, as you leave, shake the dust off your feet as a witness against them.” ¹² So they went out and proclaimed that people should change their hearts and lives. ¹³ They cast out many demons, and they anointed many sick people with olive oil and healed them.

Death of John the Baptist

¹⁴ Herod the king heard about these things, because the name of Jesus had become well-known. Some were saying, “John the Baptist has been raised from the dead, and this is why miraculous powers are at work through him.” ¹⁵ Others were saying, “He is Elijah.” Still others were saying, “He is a prophet like one of the ancient prophets.” ¹⁶ But when Herod heard these rumors, he said, “John, whom I beheaded, has been raised to life.”

¹⁷ He said this because Herod himself had arranged to have John arrested and put in prison because of Herodias, the wife of Herod’s brother Philip. Herod had married her, ¹⁸ but John told Herod, “It’s against the law for you to marry your brother’s wife!” ¹⁹ So Herodias had it in for John. She wanted to kill him, but she couldn’t. ²⁰ This was because Herod respected John. He regarded him as a righteous and holy person, so he protected him. John’s words greatly confused Herod, yet he enjoyed listening to him.

²¹ Finally, the time was right. It was on one of Herod’s birthdays, when he had prepared a feast for his high-ranking officials and military officers and Galilee’s leading residents. ²² Herod’s daughter Herodias^[a] came in and danced, thrilling Herod and his dinner guests. The king said to the young woman, “Ask me whatever you wish, and I will give it to you.” ²³ Then he swore to her, “Whatever you ask I will give to you, even as much as half of my kingdom.”

²⁴ She left the banquet hall and said to her mother, “What should I ask for?”

“John the Baptist’s head,” Herodias replied.

²⁵ Hurrying back to the ruler, she made her request: “I want you to give me John the Baptist’s head on a plate, right this minute.” ²⁶ Although the king was upset, because of his solemn pledge and his guests, he didn’t want to refuse her. ²⁷ So he ordered a guard to bring John’s head. The guard went to the prison, cut off John’s head, ²⁸ brought his head on a plate, and gave it to the young woman, and she gave it to her mother. ²⁹ When John’s disciples heard what had happened, they came and took his dead body and laid it in a tomb.

Jesus feeds five thousand people

³⁰ The apostles returned to Jesus and told him everything they had done and taught. ³¹ Many people were coming and going, so there was no time to eat. He said to the apostles, “Come by yourselves to a secluded place and rest for a while.” ³² They departed in a boat by themselves for a deserted place.

³³ Many people saw them leaving and recognized them, so they ran ahead from all the cities and arrived before them. ³⁴ When Jesus arrived and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them because they were like sheep without a shepherd. Then he began to teach them many things.

³⁵ Late in the day, his disciples came to him and said, “This is an isolated place, and it’s already late in the day. ³⁶ Send them away so that they can go to the surrounding countryside and villages and buy something to eat for themselves.”

³⁷ He replied, “You give them something to eat.”

But they said to him, “Should we go off and buy bread worth almost eight months’ pay^[b] and give it to them to eat?”

³⁸ He said to them, “How much bread do you have? Take a look.”

After checking, they said, “Five loaves of bread and two fish.”

³⁹ He directed the disciples to seat all the people in groups as though they were having a banquet on the green grass. ⁴⁰ They sat down in groups of hundreds and fifties. ⁴¹ He took the five loaves and the two fish, looked up to heaven, blessed them, broke the loaves into pieces, and gave them to his disciples to set before the people. He also divided the two fish among them all. ⁴² Everyone ate until they were full. ⁴³ They filled twelve baskets with the leftover pieces of bread and fish. ⁴⁴ About five thousand had eaten.

Jesus walks on water

⁴⁵ Right then, Jesus made his disciples get into a boat and go ahead to the other side of the lake, toward Bethsaida, while he dismissed the crowd. ⁴⁶ After saying good-bye to them, Jesus went up onto a mountain to pray. ⁴⁷ Evening came and the boat was in the middle of the lake, but he was alone on the land. ⁴⁸ He saw his disciples struggling. They were trying to row forward, but the wind was blowing against them. Very early in the morning, he came to them, walking on the lake. He intended to pass by them. ⁴⁹ When they saw him walking on the lake, they thought he was a ghost and they screamed. ⁵⁰ Seeing him was terrifying to all of them. Just then he spoke to them, “Be encouraged! It’s me. Don’t be afraid.” ⁵¹ He got into the boat, and the wind settled down. His disciples were so baffled they were beside themselves. ⁵² That’s because they hadn’t understood about the loaves. Their minds had been closed so that they resisted God’s ways.

Healings at Gennesaret

⁵³ When Jesus and his disciples had crossed the lake, they landed at Gennesaret, anchored the boat, ⁵⁴ and came ashore. People immediately recognized Jesus ⁵⁵ and ran around that whole region bringing sick people on their mats to wherever they heard he was. ⁵⁶ Wherever he went—villages, cities, or farming communities—they would place the sick in the marketplaces and beg him to allow them to touch even the hem of his clothing. Everyone who touched him was healed.

What contaminates a life?

7 The Pharisees and some legal experts from Jerusalem gathered around Jesus. ² They saw some of his disciples eating food with unclean hands. (They were eating without first ritually purifying their hands through washing. ³ The Pharisees and all the Jews don’t eat without first washing their hands carefully. This is a way of observing the rules handed down by the elders. ⁴ Upon returning from the marketplace, they don’t eat without first immersing themselves. They observe many other rules that have been handed down, such as the washing of cups, jugs, pans, and sleeping mats.) ⁵ So the Pharisees and legal experts asked Jesus, “Why are your disciples not living according to the rules handed down by the elders but instead eat food with ritually unclean hands?”

⁶ He replied, “Isaiah really knew what he was talking about when he prophesied about you hypocrites. He wrote,

⁸ You ignore God’s commandment while holding on to rules created by humans and handed down to you.” ⁹ Jesus continued, “Clearly, you are experts at rejecting God’s commandment in order to establish these rules. ¹⁰ Moses said, Honor your father and your mother,^[d] and The person who speaks against father or mother will certainly be put to death.^{[e] 11} But you say, ‘If you tell your father or mother, “Everything I’m expected to contribute to you is corban(that is, a gift I’m giving to God),” ¹² then you are no longer required to care for your father or mother.’ ¹³ In this way you do away with God’s word in favor of the rules handed down to you, which you pass on to others. And you do a lot of other things just like that.”

¹⁴ Then Jesus called the crowd again and said, “Listen to me, all of you, and understand. ¹⁵ Nothing outside of a person can enter and contaminate a person in God’s sight; rather, the things that come out of a person contaminate the person.”^[f]

¹⁷ After leaving the crowd, he entered a house where his disciples asked him about that riddle. ¹⁸ He said to them, “Don’t you understand either? Don’t you know that nothing from the outside that enters a person has the power to contaminate? ¹⁹ That’s because it doesn’t enter into the heart but into the stomach, and it goes out into the sewer.” By saying this, Jesus declared that no food could contaminate a person in God’s sight. ²⁰ “It’s what comes out of a person that contaminates someone in God’s sight,” he said. ²¹ “It’s from the inside, from the human heart, that evil thoughts come: sexual sins, thefts, murders, ²² adultery, greed, evil actions, deceit, unrestrained immorality, envy, insults, arrogance, and foolishness. ²³ All these evil things come from the inside and contaminate a person in God’s sight.”

An immigrant’s daughter is delivered

²⁴ Jesus left that place and went into the region of Tyre. He didn’t want anyone to know that he had entered a house, but he couldn’t hide. ²⁵ In fact, a woman whose young daughter was possessed by an unclean spirit heard about him right away. She came and fell at his feet. ²⁶ The woman was Greek, Syrophoenician by birth. She begged Jesus to throw the demon out of her daughter. ²⁷ He responded, “The children have to be fed first. It isn’t right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs.”

²⁸ But she answered, “Lord, even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.”

²⁹ “Good answer!” he said. “Go on home. The demon has already left your daughter.” ³⁰ When she returned to her house, she found the child lying on the bed and the demon gone.

A deaf man is healed

³¹ After leaving the region of Tyre, Jesus went through Sidon toward the Galilee Sea through the region of the Ten Cities. ³² Some people brought to him a man who was deaf and could hardly speak, and they begged him to place his hand on the man for healing. ³³ Jesus took him away from the crowd by himself and put his fingers in the man’s ears. Then he spit and touched the man’s tongue. ³⁴ Looking into heaven, Jesus sighed deeply and said, “Ephphatha,” which means, “Open up.” ³⁵ At once, his ears opened, his twisted tongue was released, and he began to speak clearly.

³⁶ Jesus gave the people strict orders not to tell anyone. But the more he tried to silence them, the more eagerly they shared the news. ³⁷ People were overcome with wonder, saying, “He does everything well! He even makes the deaf to hear and gives speech to those who can’t speak.”

Jesus feeds four thousand people

8 In those days there was another large crowd with nothing to eat. Jesus called his disciples and told them, ² “I feel sorry for the crowd because they have been with me for three days and have nothing to eat. ³ If I send them away hungry to their homes, they won’t have enough strength to travel, for some have come a long distance.”

⁴ His disciples responded, “How can anyone get enough food in this wilderness to satisfy these people?”

⁵ Jesus asked, “How much bread do you have?”

They said, “Seven loaves.”

⁶ He told the crowd to sit on the ground. He took the seven loaves, gave thanks, broke them apart, and gave them to his disciples to distribute; and they gave the bread to the crowd. ⁷ They also had a few fish. He said a blessing over them, then gave them to the disciples to hand out also. ⁸ They ate until they were full. They collected seven baskets full of leftovers. ⁹ This was a crowd of about four thousand people! Jesus sent them away, ¹⁰ then got into a boat with his disciples and went over to the region of Dalmanutha.

Looking for proof

¹¹ The Pharisees showed up and began to argue with Jesus. To test him, they asked for a sign from heaven. ¹² With an impatient sigh, Jesus said, “Why does this generation look for a sign? I assure you that no sign will be given to it.” ¹³ Leaving them, he got back in the boat and crossed to the other side of the lake.

Understanding about the bread

¹⁴ Jesus’ disciples had forgotten to bring any bread, so they had only one loaf with them in the boat. ¹⁵ He gave them strict orders: “Watch out and be on your guard for the yeast of the Pharisees as well as the yeast of Herod.”

¹⁶ The disciples discussed this among themselves, “He said this because we have no bread.”

¹⁷ Jesus knew what they were discussing and said, “Why are you talking about the fact that you don’t have any bread? Don’t you grasp what has happened? Don’t you understand? Are your hearts so resistant to what God is doing? ¹⁸ Don’t you have eyes? Why can’t you see? Don’t you have ears? Why can’t you hear? Don’t you remember? ¹⁹ When I broke five loaves of bread for those five thousand people, how many baskets full of leftovers did you gather?”

They answered, “Twelve.”

²⁰ “And when I broke seven loaves of bread for those four thousand people, how many baskets full of leftovers did you gather?”

They answered, “Seven.”

²¹ Jesus said to them, “And you still don’t understand?”

A blind man is healed

²² Jesus and his disciples came to Bethsaida. Some people brought a blind man to Jesus and begged him to touch and heal him. ²³ Taking the blind man’s hand, Jesus led him out of the village. After spitting on his eyes and laying his hands on the man, he asked him, “Do you see anything?”

²⁴ The man looked up and said, “I see people. They look like trees, only they are walking around.”

²⁵ Then Jesus placed his hands on the man’s eyes again. He looked with his eyes wide open, his sight was restored, and he could see everything clearly. ²⁶ Then Jesus sent him home, saying, “Don’t go into the village!”

Jesus predicts his death

²⁷ Jesus and his disciples went into the villages near Caesarea Philippi. On the way he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that I am?”

²⁸ They told him, “Some say John the Baptist, others Elijah, and still others one of the prophets.”

²⁹ He asked them, “And what about you? Who do you say that I am?”

Peter answered, “You are the Christ.” ³⁰ Jesus ordered them not to tell anyone about him.

³¹ Then Jesus began to teach his disciples: “The Human One^[g] must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, chief priests, and the legal experts, and be killed, and then, after three days, rise from the dead.” ³² He said this plainly. But Peter took hold of Jesus and, scolding him, began to correct him. ³³ Jesus turned and looked at his disciples, then sternly corrected Peter: “Get behind me, Satan. You are not thinking God’s thoughts but human thoughts.”

³⁴ After calling the crowd together with his disciples, Jesus said to them, “All who want to come after me must say no to themselves, take up their cross, and follow me. ³⁵ All who want to save their lives will lose them. But all who lose their lives because of me and because of the good news will save them. ³⁶ Why would people gain the whole world but lose their lives? ³⁷ What will people give in exchange for their lives? ³⁸ Whoever is ashamed of me and my words in this unfaithful and sinful generation, the Human One^[h] will be ashamed of that person when he comes in the Father’s glory with the holy angels.” 9 ¹ Jesus continued, “I assure you that some standing here won’t die before they see God’s kingdom arrive in power.”

Jesus transformed

² Six days later Jesus took Peter, James, and John, and brought them to the top of a very high mountain where they were alone. He was transformed in front of them, ³ and his clothes were amazingly bright, brighter than if they had been bleached white. ⁴ Elijah and Moses appeared and were talking with Jesus. ⁵ Peter reacted to all of this by saying to Jesus, “Rabbi, it’s good that we’re here. Let’s make three shrines—one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” ⁶ He said this because he didn’t know how to respond, for the three of them were terrified.

⁷ Then a cloud overshadowed them, and a voice spoke from the cloud, “This is my Son, whom I dearly love. Listen to him!” ⁸ Suddenly, looking around, they no longer saw anyone with them except Jesus.

⁹ As they were coming down the mountain, he ordered them not to tell anyone what they had seen until after the Human One^[i] had risen from the dead. ¹⁰ So they kept it to themselves, wondering, “What’s this ‘rising from the dead’?” ¹¹ They asked Jesus, “Why do the legal experts say that Elijah must come first?”

¹² He answered, “Elijah does come first to restore all things. Why was it written that the Human One^[j] would suffer many things and be rejected? ¹³ In fact, I tell you that Elijah has come, but they did to him whatever they wanted, just as it was written about him.”

A demon-possessed boy

¹⁴ When Jesus, Peter, James, and John approached the other disciples, they saw a large crowd surrounding them and legal experts arguing with them. ¹⁵ Suddenly the whole crowd caught sight of Jesus. They ran to greet him, overcome with excitement. ¹⁶ Jesus asked them, “What are you arguing about?”

¹⁷ Someone from the crowd responded, “Teacher, I brought my son to you, since he has a spirit that doesn’t allow him to speak. ¹⁸ Wherever it overpowers him, it throws him into a fit. He foams at the mouth, grinds his teeth, and stiffens up. So I spoke to your disciples to see if they could throw it out, but they couldn’t.”

¹⁹ Jesus answered them, “You faithless generation, how long will I be with you? How long will I put up with you? Bring him to me.”

²⁰ They brought him. When the spirit saw Jesus, it immediately threw the boy into a fit. He fell on the ground and rolled around, foaming at the mouth. ²¹ Jesus asked his father, “How long has this been going on?”

He said, “Since he was a child. ²² It has often thrown him into a fire or into water trying to kill him. If you can do anything, help us! Show us compassion!”

²³ Jesus said to him, “‘If you can do anything’? All things are possible for the one who has faith.”

²⁴ At that the boy’s father cried out, “I have faith; help my lack of faith!”

²⁵ Noticing that the crowd had surged together, Jesus spoke harshly to the unclean spirit, “Mute and deaf spirit, I command you to come out of him and never enter him again.” ²⁶ After screaming and shaking the boy horribly, the spirit came out. The boy seemed to be dead; in fact, several people said that he had died. ²⁷ But Jesus took his hand, lifted him up, and he arose.

²⁸ After Jesus went into a house, his disciples asked him privately, “Why couldn’t we throw this spirit out?”

²⁹ Jesus answered, “Throwing this kind of spirit out requires prayer.”

Jesus predicts his death

³⁰ From there Jesus and his followers went through Galilee, but he didn’t want anyone to know it. ³¹ This was because he was teaching his disciples, “The Human One^[k] will be delivered into human hands. They will kill him. Three days after he is killed he will rise up.” ³² But they didn’t understand this kind of talk, and they were afraid to ask him.

³³ They entered Capernaum. When they had come into a house, he asked them, “What were you arguing about during the journey?” ³⁴ They didn’t respond, since on the way they had been debating with each other about who was the greatest. ³⁵ He sat down, called the Twelve, and said to them, “Whoever wants to be first must be least of all and the servant of all.” ³⁶ Jesus reached for a little child, placed him among the Twelve, and embraced him. Then he said, ³⁷ “Whoever welcomes one of these children in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me isn’t actually welcoming me but rather the one who sent me.”

Recognize your allies

³⁸ John said to Jesus, “Teacher, we saw someone throwing demons out in your name, and we tried to stop him because he wasn’t following us.”

³⁹ Jesus replied, “Don’t stop him. No one who does powerful acts in my name can quickly turn around and curse me. ⁴⁰ Whoever isn’t against us is for us. ⁴¹ I assure you that whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because you belong to Christ will certainly be rewarded.

⁴² “As for whoever causes these little ones who believe in me to trip and fall into sin, it would be better for them to have a huge stone hung around their necks and to be thrown into the lake. ⁴³ If your hand causes you to fall into sin, chop it off. It’s better for you to enter into life crippled than to go away with two hands into the fire of hell, which can’t be put out.^{[l] 45} If your foot causes you to fall into sin, chop it off. It’s better for you to enter life lame than to be thrown into hell with two feet.^{[m] 47} If your eye causes you to fall into sin, tear it out. It’s better for you to enter God’s kingdom with one eye than to be thrown into hell with two. ⁴⁸ That’s a place where worms don’t die and the fire never goes out.^{[n] 49} Everyone will be salted with fire. ⁵⁰ Salt is good; but if salt loses its saltiness, how will it become salty again? Maintain salt among yourselves and keep peace with each other.”

Divorce and remarriage

10 Jesus left that place and went beyond the Jordan and into the region of Judea. Crowds gathered around him again and, as usual, he taught them. ² Some Pharisees came and, trying to test him, they asked, “Does the Law allow a man to divorce his wife?”

³ Jesus answered, “What did Moses command you?”

⁴ They said, “Moses allowed a man to write a divorce certificate and to divorce his wife.”

⁵ Jesus said to them, “He wrote this commandment for you because of your unyielding hearts. ⁶ At the beginning of creation, God made them male and female.^{[o] 7} Because of this, a man should leave his father and mother and be joined together with his wife, ⁸ and the two will be one flesh.^[p] So they are no longer two but one flesh. ⁹ Therefore, humans must not pull apart what God has put together.”

¹⁰ Inside the house, the disciples asked him again about this. ¹¹ He said to them, “Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her; ¹² and if a wife divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery.”

Jesus blesses children

¹³ People were bringing children to Jesus so that he would bless them. But the disciples scolded them. ¹⁴ When Jesus saw this, he grew angry and said to them, “Allow the children to come to me. Don’t forbid them, because God’s kingdom belongs to people like these children. ¹⁵ I assure you that whoever doesn’t welcome God’s kingdom like a child will never enter it.” ¹⁶ Then he hugged the children and blessed them.

A rich man’s question

¹⁷ As Jesus continued down the road, a man ran up, knelt before him, and asked, “Good Teacher, what must I do to obtain eternal life?”

¹⁸ Jesus replied, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except the one God. ¹⁹ You know the commandments: Don’t commit murder. Don’t commit adultery. Don’t steal. Don’t give false testimony. Don’t cheat. Honor your father and mother.”^[q]

²⁰ “Teacher,” he responded, “I’ve kept all of these things since I was a boy.”

²¹ Jesus looked at him carefully and loved him. He said, “You are lacking one thing. Go, sell what you own, and give the money to the poor. Then you will have treasure in heaven. And come, follow me.” ²² But the man was dismayed at this statement and went away saddened, because he had many possessions.

²³ Looking around, Jesus said to his disciples, “It will be very hard for the wealthy to enter God’s kingdom!” ²⁴ His words startled the disciples, so Jesus told them again, “Children, it’s difficult to enter God’s kingdom! ²⁵ It’s easier for a camel to squeeze through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter God’s kingdom.”

²⁶ They were shocked even more and said to each other, “Then who can be saved?”

²⁷ Jesus looked at them carefully and said, “It’s impossible with human beings, but not with God. All things are possible for God.”

²⁸ Peter said to him, “Look, we’ve left everything and followed you.”

²⁹ Jesus said, “I assure you that anyone who has left house, brothers, sisters, mother, father, children, or farms because of me and because of the good news ³⁰ will receive one hundred times as much now in this life—houses, brothers, sisters, mothers, children, and farms (with harassment)—and in the coming age, eternal life. ³¹ But many who are first will be last. And many who are last will be first.”

Jesus predicts his death and resurrection

³² Jesus and his disciples were on the road, going up to Jerusalem, with Jesus in the lead. The disciples were amazed while the others following behind were afraid. Taking the Twelve aside again, he told them what was about to happen to him. ³³ “Look!” he said. “We’re going up to Jerusalem. The Human One^[r] will be handed over to the chief priests and the legal experts. They will condemn him to death and hand him over to the Gentiles. ³⁴ They will ridicule him, spit on him, torture him, and kill him. After three days, he will rise up.”

A request from James and John

³⁵ James and John, Zebedee’s sons, came to Jesus and said, “Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask.”

³⁶ “What do you want me to do for you?” he asked.

³⁷ They said, “Allow one of us to sit on your right and the other on your left when you enter your glory.”

³⁸ Jesus replied, “You don’t know what you’re asking! Can you drink the cup I drink or receive the baptism I receive?”

³⁹ “We can,” they answered.

Jesus said, “You will drink the cup I drink and receive the baptism I receive, ⁴⁰ but to sit at my right or left hand isn’t mine to give. It belongs to those for whom it has been prepared.”

⁴¹ Now when the other ten disciples heard about this, they became angry with James and John. ⁴² Jesus called them over and said, “You know that the ones who are considered the rulers by the Gentiles show off their authority over them and their high-ranking officials order them around. ⁴³ But that’s not the way it will be with you. Whoever wants to be great among you will be your servant. ⁴⁴ Whoever wants to be first among you will be the slave of all, ⁴⁵ for the Human One^[s] didn’t come to be served but rather to serve and to give his life to liberate many people.”

Healing of blind Bartimaeus

⁴⁶ Jesus and his followers came into Jericho. As Jesus was leaving Jericho, together with his disciples and a sizable crowd, a blind beggar named Bartimaeus, Timaeus’ son, was sitting beside the road. ⁴⁷ When he heard that Jesus of Nazareth was there, he began to shout, “Jesus, Son of David, show me mercy!” ⁴⁸ Many scolded him, telling him to be quiet, but he shouted even louder, “Son of David, show me mercy!”

⁴⁹ Jesus stopped and said, “Call him forward.”

They called the blind man, “Be encouraged! Get up! He’s calling you.”

⁵⁰ Throwing his coat to the side, he jumped up and came to Jesus.

⁵¹ Jesus asked him, “What do you want me to do for you?”

The blind man said, “Teacher, I want to see.”

⁵² Jesus said, “Go, your faith has healed you.” At once he was able to see, and he began to follow Jesus on the way.