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Divorce
1 Jesus then left that place and went into the region
of Judea and across the Jordan. Again crowds of people came
to him, and as was his custom, he taught them.
2 Some Pharisees came and tested him by asking, “Is it
lawful for a man to divorce his wife?”
3 “What did Moses command you?” he replied.
4 They said, “Moses permitted a man to write a
certificate of divorce and send her away.”
5 “It was because your hearts were hard that Moses
wrote you this law,” Jesus replied.
6 “But at 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, 8 and the two
will become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two, but one.
9 Therefore what God has joined together, let no one
separate.”
10 When they were in the house again, the disciples
asked Jesus about this. 11 He answered, “Anyone who divorces
his wife and marries another woman commits adultery against
her. 12 And if she divorces her husband and marries another
man, she commits adultery.”
The Little Children and Jesus
13 People were bringing little children to Jesus for
him to place his hands on them, but the disciples rebuked
them. 14 When Jesus saw this, he was indignant. He said to
them, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder
them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. 15
Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of
God like a little child will never enter it.” 16 And he took
the children in his arms, placed his hands on them and
blessed them.
The Rich and the Kingdom of God
17 As Jesus started on his way, a man ran up to him
and fell on his knees before him. “Good teacher,” he asked,
“what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
18 “Why do you call me good?” Jesus answered. “No one
is good—except God alone. 19 You know the commandments: ‘You
shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall
not steal, you shall not give false testimony, you shall not
defraud, honor your father and mother.’ ”
20 “Teacher,” he declared, “all these I have kept
since I was a boy.”
21 Jesus looked at him and loved him. “One thing you
lack,” he said. “Go, sell everything you have and give to
the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come,
follow me.”
22 At this the man’s face fell. He went away sad,
because he had great wealth.
23 Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How
hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God!”
24 The disciples were amazed at his words. But Jesus
said again, “Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom
of God! 25 It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of
a needle than for the rich to enter the kingdom of God.”
26 The disciples were even more amazed, and said to
each other, “Who then can be saved?”
27 Jesus looked at them and said, “With human beings
this is impossible, but not with God; all things are
possible with God.”
28 Then Peter spoke up, “We have left everything to
follow 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 me and the gospel 30 will fail to
receive a hundred times as much in this present age: homes,
brothers, sisters, mothers, children and fields—along with
persecutions—and in the age to come eternal life. 31 But
many who are first will be last, and the last first.”
Jesus Predicts His Death a Third Time
32 They were on their way up to Jerusalem, with Jesus
leading the way, and the disciples were astonished, while
those who followed were afraid. Again he took the Twelve
aside and told them what was going to happen to him.
33 “We are going up to Jerusalem,” he said, “and the
Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and
the teachers of the law. They will condemn him to death and
will hand him over to the Gentiles, 34 who will mock him and
spit on him, flog him and kill him. Three days later he will
rise.”
The Request of James and John
35 Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to
him. “Teacher,” they said, “we want you to do for us
whatever we ask.”
36 “What do you want me to do for you?” he asked.
37 They replied, “Let one of us sit at your right and
the other at your left in your glory.”
38 “You don’t know what you are asking,” Jesus said.
“Can you drink the cup I drink or be baptized with the
baptism I am baptized with?”
39 “We can,” they answered. Jesus said to them, “You
will drink the cup I drink and be baptized with the baptism
I am baptized with, 40 but to sit at my right or left is not
for me to grant. These places belong to those for whom they
have been prepared.”
41 When the ten heard about this, they became
indignant with James and John. 42 Jesus called them together
and said, “You know that those who are regarded as rulers of
the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials
exercise authority over them. 43 Not so with you. Instead,
whoever wants to become great among you must be your
servant, 44 and whoever wants to be first must be slave of
all. 45 For even the Son of Man did not come to be served,
but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
Blind Bartimaeus Receives His Sight
46 Then they came to Jericho. As Jesus and his
disciples, together with a large crowd, were leaving the
city, a blind man, Bartimaeus (which means “son of Timaeus”),
was sitting by the roadside begging. 47 When he heard that
it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout, “Jesus, Son of
David, have mercy on me!”
48 Many rebuked him and told him to be quiet, but he
shouted all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”
49 Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.” So they called
to the blind man, “Cheer up! On your feet! He’s calling
you.” 50 Throwing his cloak aside, he jumped to his feet and
came to Jesus.
51 “What do you want me to do for you?” Jesus asked
him. The blind man said, “Rabbi, I want to see.”
52 “Go,” said Jesus, “your faith has healed you.”
Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus along
the road.
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Cults 
Why Did God Permit Sin?
