1 Jesus left ◄that place/Capernaum► with his disciples, and they went through Judea district and on across to the east side of the Jordan River. When crowds gathered around him again, he taught them again, as he customarily did. 2  While he was teaching them, some Pharisees approached him and asked him, “Does our Jewish law permit a man to divorce his wife?” They asked that in order to be able to criticize him whether he answered “yes” or “no”. 3 He answered them, “What did Moses command your ancestors about a man divorcing his wife?” 4  One of them replied, “Moses permitted that a man may write on paper his reason for divorcing his wife, give this paper to her, and then send her away.” 5 Jesus said to them, “It was because your ancestors stubbornly wanted just what they desired that Moses wrote that law for your ancestors, and you are just like them! 6  Remember that he also wrote that, when God first created people, he made one man, and one woman to become that man’s wife. 7 That explains why God said, ‘When a man and woman marry, they should no longer live with their fathers and mothers after they marry. 8 Instead, the two of them shall live together, and they shall become so closely united [MET] that they are like one person.’ Therefore, although the people who marry were two separate persons before, God regards them as one person now, so he wants them to remain married. 9 Because that is true, a man must not separate from his wife whom God has joined to him, because God’s plan is for them to remain together!”

10 When Jesus and his disciples were alone in a house, they asked him again about this. 11 He said to them, “God considers that a marriage lasts until either the husband or the wife dies, so he considers that any man who divorces his wife and marries another woman is committing adultery, even if he divorces his first wife. 12  God also considers a woman who divorces her first husband to be committing adultery if she marries another man.”

13  One day, some people were bringing children to Jesus in order that he would touch and bless them. But the disciples scolded those people because they thought that Jesus ◄did not want to be bothered spending time with/was not concerned about► children. 14 When Jesus saw that, he became angry. He said to the disciples, “Allow the children to come to me! Do not forbid them [DOU]! It is people who are humble and trust as they do who can experience ◄God’s rule in their lives/God taking care of them► [MET]. 15 Note this: Those who do not trustingly allow God to direct their lives, as children do, will not enter the place where God rules.” 16 Then he embraced the children. He also put his hands on them and asked God to bless them.

17 As Jesus was starting to travel again with his disciples, a young man ran up to him. He knelt before Jesus and then he asked him, “Good teacher, what must I do to have eternal life/in order to live with God eternally?” 18 Jesus said to him, “◄You should consider carefully what you are implying (OR, that you are implying that I am God) by calling me good, because only God is good!/Do you realize what you are implying (OR, that you are implying that I am God) by calling me good, because only God is good?► [RHQ] No other person is good 19  But to answer your question, you know the commandments of Moses, which will cause you to live eternally if you obey them perfectly. He commanded things such as ‘do not murder anyone, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not ◄testify falsely/lie►, do not cheat anyone, and honor your father and mother’.” 20 The man said to him, “Teacher, I have obeyed all those commandments ever since I was young. So is ◄that enough/there something else that I have not done►?” 21 Jesus looked at him and loved him. He said to him, “There is one thing that you have not yet done. You must go home, sell all that you possess, and then give the money to poor people. As a result, you will be spiritually rich in heaven. After you have done what I have told you, come with me and be my disciple!” 22 The man became disappointed when he heard that. He went away sad, because he was very rich and he did not want to give away everything. 23 Jesus looked around at the people. Then he exclaimed to his disciples, “It is very difficult for people who are wealthy to decide to let God rule their lives!” 24 The disciples were surprised at what he said. They thought that God favored the rich people, so if God did not save them, he would not save anyone. So Jesus replied again to them, “My dear friends, it is very difficult for anyone to decide to let God rule his life. 25 It is impossible for a camel to go through the eye of a needle. It is almost as difficult [HYP] for rich people to decide to let God rule their lives.” 26 The disciples were very astonished. So they said to each other, “If that is so, ◄it will be unlikely that anyone will be saved {that God will save anyone}!/will God save anyone?► [RHQ]” 27 Jesus looked at them and then he said, “Yes, it is impossible for people to save themselves! But God certainly can save them, because God can do anything!” 28 Peter exclaimed, “You know that we have left behind everything and we have become your disciples. So, ◄what about us/will God <accept us/reward us>►?” 29 Jesus replied, “I want you to know this: Those who have left their houses, their brothers, their sisters, their father, their mother, their children, or their plots of ground, to be my disciples and to proclaim the good news, 30 will receive in this life 100 times as much as they left behind. That will include houses and people as dear as brothers and sisters and mothers and children, and plots of ground. Furthermore, although people will persecute them here on earth because they believe in me, in the future age they will ◄have eternal life/live with God eternally►. 31 But I warn you all: Many of you who now consider yourselves to be very important will be unimportant at that future time, and many of you who now consider yourselves to be unimportant will be very important at that future time!”

32  Some days later as they continued to travel, Jesus and his disciples were walking on the road that leads up to Jerusalem city. Jesus was walking ahead of them. The disciples/apostles were astonished that he was going to where there were many people who opposed him, and the other people who were with them were afraid about what would happen to him in Jerusalem. Along the way he took the twelve disciples to a place by themselves. Then he began to tell them again about what was going to happen to him, saying, 33 “Listen carefully! We are going up to Jerusalem. There the chief priests and the men who teach the Jewish laws will be enabled {someone will help the chief priests and those who teach our Jewish laws} to seize me. Then they will declare that I must die, even though I am the one who came from heaven. Then they will take me to the Roman authorities. 34 Those men will ridicule me. They will spit on me. They will ◄scourge me/whip me with a leaded whip.► Then they will kill me. But on the third day after that, I will become alive again!”

35  Along the way, James and John, who were the two sons of Zebedee, approached Jesus and they said to him, “Teacher, please do for us what we will ask you to do!” 36 He said to them, “What do you want me to do for you?” 37 They said to him, “When you rule gloriously, let us rule with you. Let one of us sit at your right side and one sit at your left side.” 38 But Jesus said to them, “You do not understand what you are asking for.” Then he asked them, “Can you endure suffering [MTY] like I am about to suffer? Can you endure being killed [MTY] as I will be killed {people killing you as they will kill me}?” 39 They said to him, “Yes, we are able to do that!” Then Jesus said to them, “It is true that you will endure suffering [MTY] like I will suffer, and you will endure being killed as I will be killed {people killing you as they will kill me}. 40 But I am not the one who chooses the ones who will sit next to me and rule with me. God will give those places to the ones he appoints.”

41 The other ten disciples later heard about what James and John had requested. As a result, they were angry with them because they also wanted to rule with Jesus in the highest positions. 42 Then, after Jesus called them all together, he said to them, “You know that those who rule the non-Jews enjoy showing that they are powerful. You also know that officials enjoy commanding others. 43 But do not be like them! On the contrary, all those among you who want God to consider them great must become like servants to the rest of you. 44 Furthermore, if anyone among you wants God to consider him to be the most important, he must act like a servant for the rest of you. 45  You should imitate me. Even though I am the one who has come from heaven, I did not come to be served {for others to serve me}. On the contrary, I came in order to serve others and to allow others to kill me, in order that my dying for people would be like a payment to rescue many people from being punished {God punishing them} for their sins.”

46  On the way to Jerusalem, Jesus and the disciples came to Jericho town. Afterwards, while they were leaving Jericho along with a great crowd, a blind man who habitually begged for money was sitting beside the road. His name was Bartimaeus and his father’s name was Timaeus. 47 When he heard people say that Jesus from Nazareth was passing by, he shouted, “Jesus! You who are the Messiah descended from King David, ◄be merciful to/help► me!” 48 Many people rebuked him and told him that he should be quiet. But he shouted even more, “You who are the Messiah descended from King David, ◄be merciful to/help► me!” 49 Jesus stopped and said, “Call him to come over here!” They summoned the blind man, saying, “Jesus is calling you! So cheer up and get up and come!” 50 He threw aside his cloak as he jumped up, and he came to Jesus. 51 Jesus asked him, “What do you want me to do for you?” The blind man said to him, “Sir, I want to be able to see again!” 52 Jesus said to him, “I am healing you because you believed in me. So you may go home!” He could see immediately. And he went with Jesus along the road.