Jesus Teaches About Divorce^(A)

19 After Jesus ·said all these things [^Lfinished these words; see 7:28], he left Galilee and went into the ·area [region] of Judea ·on the other side of [beyond] the Jordan River. ² Large crowds followed him, and he healed them there.

³ Some Pharisees came to Jesus ·and tried to trick [to trap/test] him. They asked, “Is it ·right [lawful; ^Caccording to the law of Moses] for a man to divorce his wife for any reason he chooses?”

⁴ Jesus answered, “·Surely you have [^LHaven’t you…?] read in the Scriptures: ·When God made the world, ‘he [^LFrom the beginning, the Creator] made them male and female’ [Gen. 1:27; 5:2]. ⁵ And God said, ‘So a man will leave his father and mother and be ·united with [joined to] his wife, and the two will become ·one body [as though they were one person; ^Tone flesh; Gen. 2:24].’ ⁶ So they are no longer two, but one. God has joined the two together, so no one should separate them.”

⁷ The Pharisees asked, “Why then did Moses give a command for a man to divorce his wife by giving her ·divorce papers [a certificate of divorce/dismissal; Deut. 24:1]?”

⁸ Jesus answered, “Moses ·allowed [permitted] you to divorce your wives because ·you refused to accept God’s teaching [^Lof your hard-heartedness], but ·divorce was not allowed in the beginning [or this was not God’s intention at creation; ^Lfrom the beginning it was not like this]. ⁹ I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife and marries another woman ·is guilty of [commits] adultery.^[a] ·The only reason for a man to divorce his wife is if his wife has sexual relations with another man [^L …except in the case of sexual immorality].”

¹⁰ The ·followers [disciples] said to him, “If that is the ·only reason a man can divorce his wife [situation/case between a husband and wife], it is better not to marry.”

¹¹ Jesus answered, “Not everyone can accept this ·teaching [word], but ·God has made some able to accept it [or only those given this gift of celibacy; ^Lonly to those whom it has been given]. ¹² ·There are different reasons why some men cannot marry [^LFor…]. Some men were born ·without the ability to become fathers [^Las eunuchs]. Others were made ·that way later in life [^Leunuchs] by other people [^Cmales would sometimes be castrated as punishment, or to serve in harems]. And some men have ·given up marriage because [^Lmade themselves eunuchs for the sake] of the kingdom of heaven [^Cthrough abstinence, not necessarily castration]. ·But the person who can marry should accept this teaching about marriage [or The person who can accept this teaching about not marrying should accept it].”

Jesus Welcomes Children^(B)

¹³ Then the people brought their little children to Jesus so he could ·put [lay] his hands on them [^Can act of blessing] and pray for them. [^LBut] His ·followers [disciples] ·told them to stop [scolded/rebuked them], ¹⁴ but Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me. Don’t ·stop [hinder] them, because the kingdom of heaven belongs to people who are like these children [^Cmeaning humble and dependent].” ¹⁵ After Jesus ·put [lay] his hands on the children [^Ca sign of blessing; Mark 10:16], he left there.

A Rich Young Man’s Question^(C)

¹⁶ [At that time; ^LAnd look/^Tbehold] A man came to Jesus and asked, “Teacher, what ·good thing [good deed; ^Lgood] must I do to have ·life forever [eternal life]?”

¹⁷ Jesus answered, “Why do you ask me about what is good? Only ·God [^Lone] is good. But if you want to ·have life forever [have eternal life; ^Lenter life], ·obey [keep] the ·commands [commandments].”

¹⁸ The man asked, “Which commands?”

Jesus answered, “‘You must not murder anyone; you must not ·be guilty of [commit] adultery; you must not steal; you must not ·tell lies about your neighbor [testify falsely; ^Tbear false witness]; ¹⁹ honor your father and mother [Ex. 20:12–16; Deut. 5:16–20]; and love your neighbor as you love yourself [Lev. 19:18].’”

²⁰ The young man said, “I have ·obeyed [kept carefully; guarded] all these things. What ·else do I need to do [^Ldo I still lack]?”

²¹ Jesus answered, “If you want to be ·perfect [complete], then go and sell your possessions and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come and follow me.”

²² But when the young man heard this, he left ·sorrowfully [grieving], because he ·was rich [had many possessions].

²³ Then Jesus said to his ·followers [disciples], “I tell you the truth, it will be hard for a rich person to enter the kingdom of heaven. ²⁴ ·Yes [^LAgain], 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 [^Cmeaning it is impossible, by human effort; see v. 26].”

²⁵ When Jesus’ ·followers [disciples] heard this, they were ·very surprised [astonished] and asked, “Then who can be saved?”

²⁶ Jesus looked at them and said, “·For people [Humanly speaking,] this is impossible, but for God all things are possible.”

²⁷ Peter said to Jesus, “Look, we have left everything and followed you. So what will we ·have [get]?”

²⁸ Jesus said to them, “I tell you the truth, ·when the age to come has arrived [at the renewal of the world; ^Lin the regeneration], the Son of Man [Dan. 7:13–14] will sit on his ·great [glorious] throne. All of you who followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. ²⁹ And all those who have left houses, brothers, sisters, father, mother,^[b] children, or ·farms [fields] ·to follow me [^Lfor my name’s sake] will ·get much more than they left [^Lreceive a hundred times as much], and they will ·have life forever [^Linherit eternal life]. ³⁰ [^LBut] Many who are first now will be last in the future. And many who are last now will be first in the future.