Mark 8:27-10:45

New Life Version

Peter Says Jesus Is the Christ ^(A)

²⁷ Jesus and His followers went from there to the towns of Caesarea Philippi. As they went, He asked His followers, “Who do people say that I am?” ²⁸ They answered, “Some say John the Baptist and some say Elijah and others say one of the early preachers.” ²⁹ He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter said, “You are the Christ.” ³⁰ He told them with strong words that they should tell no one about Him.

Jesus Tells of His Death for the First Time ^(B)

³¹ He began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things. He told them that the leaders and the religious leaders of the Jews and the teachers of the Law would have nothing to do with Him. He told them He would be killed and three days later He would be raised from the dead.

³² He had said this in plain words. Peter took Him away from the others and began to speak sharp words to Him. ³³ Jesus turned around. He looked at His followers and spoke sharp words to Peter. He said, “Get behind Me, Satan! Your thoughts are not thoughts from God but from men.”

Giving Up Self and One’s Own Desires

³⁴ Jesus called the people and His followers to Him. He said to them, “If anyone wants to be My follower, he must give up himself and his own desires. He must take up his cross and follow Me. ³⁵ If anyone wants to keep his own life safe, he will lose it. If anyone gives up his life because of Me and because of the Good News, he will save it. ³⁶ For what does a man have if he gets all the world and loses his own soul? ³⁷ What can a man give to buy back his soul? ³⁸ Whoever is ashamed of Me and My Words among the sinful people of this day, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when He comes in the shining-greatness of His Father and His holy angels.”

A Look at What Jesus Will Be Like ^(C)

9 Jesus said to them, “For sure I tell you, some standing here will not die until they see the holy nation of God come with power!”

² Six days later Jesus took Peter and James and John with Him. He led them up to a high mountain by themselves. Jesus was changed as they looked at Him. ³ His clothes did shine. They were as white as snow. No one on earth could clean them so white. ⁴ Moses and Elijah were seen talking to Jesus.

⁵ Peter said to Jesus, “Teacher, it is good for us to be here. Let us make three tents to worship in. One will be for You and one for Moses and one for Elijah.” ⁶ Peter did not know what to say. They were very much afraid.

⁷ A cloud came over them and a voice from the cloud said, “This is My much-loved Son. Listen to Him.” ⁸ At once they looked around but saw no one there but Jesus.

⁹ They came down from the mountain. Then Jesus said with strong words that they should tell no one what they had seen. They should wait until the Son of Man had risen from the dead. ¹⁰ So they kept those words to themselves, talking to each other about what He meant by being raised from the dead.

¹¹ They asked Jesus, “Why do the teachers of the Law say that Elijah must come first?” ¹² He said to them, “For sure, Elijah will come first and get things ready. Is it not written that the Son of Man must suffer many things and that men will have nothing to do with Him? ^{(D) 13} But I say to you, Elijah has already come. They did to him whatever they wanted to do. It is written that they would.”

A Boy with a Demon Is Healed ^(E)

¹⁴ When Jesus came back to His followers, He saw many people standing around them. The teachers of the Law were arguing with them. ¹⁵ The people saw Jesus and were surprised and ran to greet Him. ¹⁶ Jesus asked the teachers of the Law, “What are you arguing about with them?” ¹⁷ One of the people said, “Teacher, I brought my son to You. He has a demon in him and cannot talk. ¹⁸ Wherever the demon takes him, it throws him down. Spit runs from his mouth. He grinds his teeth. He is getting weaker. I asked Your followers to put the demon out but they could not.”

¹⁹ He said, “You people of this day have no faith. How long must I be with you? How long must I put up with you? Bring the boy to Me.” ²⁰ They brought the boy to Jesus. The demon saw Jesus and at once held the boy in his power. The boy fell to the ground with spit running from his mouth. ²¹ Jesus asked the boy’s father, “How long has he been like this?” The father said, “From the time he was a child. ²² Many times it throws him into the fire and into the water to kill him. If You can do anything to help us, take pity on us!” ²³ Jesus said to him, “Why do you ask Me that? The one who has faith can do all things.” ²⁴ At once the father cried out. He said with tears in his eyes, “Lord, I have faith. Help my weak faith to be stronger!” ²⁵ Jesus saw that many people were gathering together in a hurry. He spoke sharp words to the demon. He said, “Demon! You who cannot speak or hear, I say to you, come out of him! Do not ever go into him again.” ²⁶ The demon gave a cry. It threw the boy down and came out of him. The boy was so much like a dead man that people said, “He is dead!” ²⁷ But Jesus took him by the hand and helped him and he stood up.

²⁸ When Jesus went into the house, His followers asked Him when He was alone, “Why could we not put out the demon?” ²⁹ He said to them, “The only way this kind of demon is put out is by prayer and by going without food so you can pray better.”

Jesus Tells of His Death the Second Time ^(F)

³⁰ From there Jesus and His followers went through the country of Galilee. He did not want anyone to know where He was. ³¹ He taught His followers, saying, “The Son of Man will be handed over to men. They will kill Him. Three days after He is killed, He will be raised from the dead.” ³² They did not understand what He said and were afraid to ask Him.

Jesus Teaches about the Faith of a Child ^(G)

³³ They came to the city of Capernaum and were in the house. Jesus asked His followers, “What were you arguing about along the road?” ³⁴ They did not answer. They had been arguing along the road about who was the greatest. ³⁵ Jesus sat down and called the followers to Him. He said, “If anyone wants to be first, he must be last of all. He will be the one to care for all.”

³⁶ Jesus took a child and stood it among them. Then He took the child up in His arms and said to the followers, ³⁷ “Whoever receives one of these little children in My name, receives Me. Whoever will receive Me, receives not Me, but Him Who sent Me.”

Jesus Speaks Sharp Words against the Followers

³⁸ John said to Him, “Teacher, we saw someone putting out demons in Your name. We told him to stop because he was not following us.” ³⁹ Jesus said, “Do not stop him. No one who does a powerful work in My name can say anything bad about Me soon after. ⁴⁰ The person who is not against us is for us. ⁴¹ For sure, I tell you, whoever gives you a cup of water to drink in My name because you belong to Christ will not lose his reward from God. ⁴² Whoever is the reason for one of these little ones who believes in Me to sin, it would be better for him to have a large stone put around his neck and to be thrown into the sea. ⁴³ If your hand is the reason you fall into sin, cut it off. It is better to go into life without a hand, than to have two hands and go into the fire of hell that cannot be put out. ⁴⁴ *There is where their worm never dies and the fire cannot be put out. ⁴⁵ If your foot is the reason you fall into sin, cut it off. It is better to go into life with only one foot, than to have two feet and go into the fire of hell that cannot be put out. ⁴⁶ *There is where their worm never dies and the fire cannot be put out. ⁴⁷ If your eye is the reason you fall into sin, take it out. It is better to go into the holy nation of God with only one eye, than to have two eyes and be thrown into the fire of hell. ⁴⁸ There is where their worm never dies and the fire is never put out.

⁴⁹ “Everyone will be made cleaner and stronger with fire. ⁵⁰ Salt is good. But if salt loses its taste, how can it be made to taste like salt again? Have salt in yourselves and be at peace with each other.”

Jesus Teaches about Divorce ^(H)

10 Jesus went away from the city of Capernaum. He came to the country of Judea and to the other side of the Jordan River. Again the people gathered around Him. He began to teach them as He had been doing.

² The proud religious law-keepers came to Him. They tried to trap Him and asked, “Does the Law say a man can divorce his wife?” ³ He said to them, “What did the Law of Moses say?” ⁴ They said, “Moses allowed a man to divorce his wife, if he put it in writing and gave it to her.” ⁵ Jesus said to them, “Because of your hard hearts, Moses gave you this Law. ⁶ From the beginning of the world, God made them man and woman. ⁷ Because of this, a man is to leave his father and mother and is to live with his wife. ⁸ The two will become one. So they are no longer two, but one. ⁹ Let no man divide what God has put together.”

¹⁰ In the house the followers asked Jesus about this again. ¹¹ He said to them, “Whoever divorces his wife and marries another is not faithful to her and is guilty of a sex sin. ¹² If a woman divorces her husband and marries another, she is not faithful to her husband and is guilty of a sex sin.”

Jesus Gives Thanks for Little Children ^(I)

¹³ They brought little children to Jesus that He might put His hand on them. The followers spoke sharp words to those who brought them. ¹⁴ Jesus saw this and was angry with the followers. He said, “Let the little children come to Me. Do not stop them. The holy nation of God is made up of ones like these. ¹⁵ For sure, I tell you, whoever does not receive the holy nation of God as a little child does not go into it.” ¹⁶ He took the children in His arms. He put His hands on them and prayed that good would come to them.

Jesus Teaches about Keeping the Law ^(J)

¹⁷ Jesus was going on His way. A man ran to Him and got down on his knees. He said, “Good Teacher, what must I do to have life that lasts forever?” ¹⁸ Jesus said to him, “Why do you call Me good? There is only One Who is good. That is God. ¹⁹ You know the Laws, ‘Do not be guilty of sex sins in marriage. Do not kill another person. Do not take things from people in wrong ways. Do not steal. Do not lie. Respect your father and mother.’” ²⁰ The man said to Jesus, “Teacher, I have obeyed all these Laws since I was a boy.” ²¹ Jesus looked at him with love and said, “There is one thing for you to do yet. Go and sell everything you have and give the money to poor people. You will have riches in heaven. Then come and follow Me.” ²² When the man heard these words, he was sad. He walked away with sorrow because he had many riches here on earth.

The Danger of Riches

²³ Jesus looked around Him. He said to His followers, “How hard it is for rich people to get into the holy nation of God!” ²⁴ The followers were surprised and wondered about His words. But Jesus said to them again, “Children! How hard it is for those who put their trust in riches to get into the holy nation of God! ²⁵ It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to go to heaven.”

²⁶ They were very surprised and wondered, saying to themselves, “Then who can be saved from the punishment of sin?” ²⁷ Jesus looked at them and said, “This cannot be done by men but God can do anything.”

²⁸ Then Peter began to say to Him, “We have given up everything we had and have followed You.” ²⁹ Jesus said, “For sure, I tell you, there are those who have given up houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands because of Me, and the Good News. ³⁰ They will get back one hundred times as much now at this time in houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands. Along with this, they will have very much trouble. And they will have life that lasts forever in the world to come. ³¹ Many who are first will be last. Many who are last will be first.”

Jesus Tells of His Death the Third Time ^(K)

³² They were on their way to Jerusalem. Jesus walked in front of them. Those who followed were surprised and afraid. Then Jesus took the twelve followers by themselves. He told them what would happen to Him. ³³ He said, “Listen, we are going to Jerusalem. The Son of Man will be handed over to the religious leaders of the Jews and to the teachers of the Law. They will say that He must be put to death. They will hand Him over to the people who are not Jews. ³⁴ They will make fun of Him and will beat Him. They will spit on Him and will kill Him. But three days later He will be raised from the dead.”

James and John Ask Jesus Something Hard ^(L)

³⁵ James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to Jesus. They said, “Teacher, we would like to have You do for us whatever we ask You.” ³⁶ He said to them, “What would you like to have Me do for you?” ³⁷ They said to Him, “Let one of us sit by Your right side and the other by Your left side when You receive Your great honor in heaven.” ³⁸ Jesus said to them, “You do not know what you ask. Can you take the suffering I am about to take? Can you be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?” ³⁹ They said to Him, “Yes, we can.” Jesus said to them, “You will, for sure, suffer the way I will suffer. You will be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with. ⁴⁰ But to sit on My right side or on My left side is not for Me to give. It will be given to those for whom it has been made ready.” ⁴¹ The other ten followers heard it. They were angry with James and John. ⁴² Jesus called them to Him and said, “You know that those who are made leaders over the nations show their power to the people. Important leaders use their power over the people. ⁴³ It must not be that way with you. Whoever wants to be great among you, let him care for you. ⁴⁴ Whoever wants to be first among you, must be the one who is owned and cares for all. ⁴⁵ For the Son of Man did not come to be cared for. He came to care for others. He came to give His life so that many could be bought by His blood and be made free from sin.”