Matthew 19

Teaching About Divorce

¹Now when Jesus had finished these sayings, he went away from^(A) Galilee and^(B) entered^(C)the region of Judea beyond the Jordan. ²And^(D) large crowds followed him, and he healed them there. ³And Pharisees came up to him and^(E) tested him by asking,^(F)“Is it lawful to divorce one’s wife for any cause?” ⁴He answered,^(G) ”Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female, ⁵and said,^(H) ’Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and^(I) the two shall become one flesh’? ⁶So they are no longer two but one flesh.^(J) What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.” ⁷They said to him,^(K)“Why then did Moses command one to give a certificate of divorce and to send her away?”⁸He said to them, ”Because of your^(L) hardness of heart Moses allowed you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so. ^9(M) And I say to you: whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery.”^[a]

¹⁰The disciples said to him, “If such is the case of a man with his wife, it is better not to marry.” ¹¹But he said to them,^(N) ”Not everyone can receive this saying, but only^(O) those to^(P) whom it is given. ¹²For there are eunuchs who have been so from birth, and there are eunuchs who have been made eunuchs by men, and there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs^(Q) for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. Let the one who is able to receive this receive it.”

Let the Children Come to Me

^13(R) Then children were brought to him that he might lay his hands on them and pray. The disciples^(S) rebuked the people, ¹⁴but Jesus said,^(T) ”Let the little children^(U) come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven.” ¹⁵And he laid his hands on them and went away.

The Rich Young Man

^16(V) And behold, a man came up to him, saying, “Teacher, what good deed must I do to^(W)have^(X) eternal life?” ¹⁷And he said to him, ”Why do you ask me about what is good? There is only one who is good.^(Y) If you would enter life, keep the commandments.” ¹⁸He said to him, “Which ones?” And Jesus said, ^(Z) ”You shall not murder, You shall not commit adultery, You shall not steal, You shall not bear false witness, ¹⁹Honor your father and mother, and,^(AA) You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” ²⁰The young man said to him,^(AB) ”All these I have kept. What do I still lack?” ²¹Jesus said to him, ”If you would be^(AC) perfect, go,^(AD) sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have^(AE) treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” ^22(AF) When the young man heard this he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions. ²³And Jesus said to his disciples, ”Truly, I say to you,^(AG) only with difficulty will a rich person enter the kingdom of heaven. ^24(AH) Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter^(AI)the kingdom of God.” ²⁵When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished, saying, “Who then can be saved?” ²⁶But Jesus^(AJ) looked at them and said, ^(AK) ”With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” ²⁷Then Peter said in reply, “See,^(AL) we have left everything and followed you. What then will we have?” ²⁸Jesus said to them, ”Truly, I say to you, in the new world,^[b](AM) when the Son of Man will sit on his glorious throne, you who have followed me^(AN) will also sit on twelve thrones,^(AO) judging the twelve tribes of Israel. ^29(AP) And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands, for my name’s sake, will receive a hundredfold^[c] and will^(AQ) inherit eternal life. ³⁰But^(AR) many who are^(AS) first will be last, and the last first.

Matthew 20

Laborers in the Vineyard

¹“For the kingdom of heaven is like a master of a house who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. ²After agreeing with the laborers for a denarius^[d] a day, he sent them into his vineyard. ³And going out about the third hour he saw others standing idle in the marketplace, ⁴and to them he said, ‘You go into the vineyard too, and whatever is right I will give you.’ ⁵So they went. Going out again about the sixth hour and the ninth hour, he did the same.⁶And^(AT) about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing. And he said to them, ‘Why do you stand here idle all day?’ ⁷They said to him, ‘Because no one has hired us.’ He said to them, ‘You go into the vineyard too.’ ⁸And^(AU)when evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his^(AV) foreman, ‘Call the laborers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last, up to the first.’ ⁹And when those hired about the eleventh hour came, each of them received a denarius. ¹⁰Now when those hired first came, they thought they would receive more, but each of them also received a denarius. ¹¹And on receiving it they grumbled at the master of the house, ¹²saying, ‘These last worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the day and^(AW) the scorching heat.’ ¹³But he replied to one of them,^(AX) ’Friend, I am doing you no wrong. Did you not agree with me for a denarius? ¹⁴Take^(AY)what belongs to you and go. I choose to give to this last worker as I give to you. ^15(AZ) Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or^(BA) do you begrudge my generosity?’^[e]16So^(BB) the last will be first, and the first last.”

Jesus Foretells His Death a Third Time

^17(BC) And as Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, he took the twelve disciples aside, and on the way he said to them, ¹⁸“See,^(BD) we are going up to Jerusalem. And the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and scribes, and they will^(BE) condemn him to death ¹⁹and^(BF)deliver him over to the Gentiles^(BG) to be mocked and flogged and^(BH) crucified, and he will be raised on^(BI) the third day.”

A Mother’s Request

^20(BJ) Then^(BK) the mother of the sons of Zebedee came up to him with her sons, and^(BL)kneeling before him she asked him for something. ²¹And he said to her, ”What do you want?” She said to him, “Say that these two sons of mine^(BM) are to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left,^(BN) in your kingdom.” ²²Jesus answered, ^(BO) ”You do not know what you are asking. Are you able^(BP) to drink the cup that I am to drink?” They said to him, “We are able.”²³He said to them, ^(BQ) ”You will drink^(BR) my cup, but to sit at my right hand and at my left is not mine to grant,^(BS) but it is for those for whom it has been^(BT) prepared by my Father.” ²⁴And when the ten heard it, they were indignant at the two brothers. ²⁵But Jesus called them to him and said, ^(BU) ”You know that the rulers of the Gentiles^(BV) lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. ^26(BW) It shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant,^[f] 27and whoever would be first among you must be your slave,^[g] 28even as the Son of Man came not to be served but^(BX) to serve, and^(BY) to give his life as a ransom for^(BZ) many.”

Jesus Heals Two Blind Men

^29(CA) And as they went out of Jericho, a great crowd followed him. ³⁰And behold, there were two blind men sitting by the roadside, and when they heard that Jesus was passing by, they cried out, “Lord,^[h] have mercy on us,^(CB) Son of David!” ³¹The crowd^(CC) rebuked them, telling them to be silent, but they cried out all the more, “Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David!”³²And stopping, Jesus called them and said,”What do you want me to do for you?” ³³They said to him, “Lord, let our eyes be opened.”³⁴And Jesus in pity touched their eyes, and immediately they recovered their sight and followed him.