Jesus went away from there, and came to the area of Judea and the other side of the Jordan River. Crowds of people came to Him again, and He taught them, just as He usually did.
Some Pharisees came to test Jesus. They asked Him, "Does the law allow a man to divorce his wife?"
He answered them, "What did Moses command you to do?"
They said, "Moses allowed a man to write a lawful agreement for divorce, and send his wife away."
But Jesus said to them, "Moses wrote this command in the Law because of your hard hearts. But God made people to be male and female from the beginning of the time when all things were made. A man will leave his father and mother for this reason and will be joined to his wife, and the two people will become one body. They are not two any longer but one. So, people must not separate what God has joined."
Jesus' followers asked Him again about this when they were in the house. He said to them, "A man is guilty of adultery if he divorces his wife and marries another woman. The wife is guilty of adultery if she divorces her husband and marries another man."
People brought little children to Jesus so He could touch them. But His followers rebuked the people. Jesus was very angry when He saw this, and said to them, "Let the little children come to me. Do not stop them, because the kingdom of God belongs to people who are like these little children. I tell you the truth, a person can never go into the kingdom of God if he does not accept it like a little child does." He put His arms around them, and put His hands on them, and blessed them.
Jesus started to leave on a trip, and a man ran to Him and went down on his knees in front of Him and asked, "Good Teacher, what must I do to receive life that lasts forever?"
Jesus answered him, "Why do you say I am good? No one is good except God only. You know the commands that say, 'Do not kill, do not be guilty of adultery, do not take things that belong to other people, do not lie, do not cheat, and respect your father and your mother.'"
He said to Him, "Teacher, I have obeyed all these things since I was young."
Jesus looked at him, and loved him. He said to him, "There is one more thing you must do. Go and sell the things you have and give the money to the poor people, and you will have riches in heaven. Then come and follow Me." But the man became sad because of what Jesus said, and he went away with great sadness because he was a rich man who owned many things.
Then Jesus looked at His followers, and said to them, "It is very hard for people who are rich to come into the kingdom of God!" His followers were very surprised because He said that. But Jesus said to them again, "Children, it is very hard to come into the kingdom of God ! It is easier for a camel to go through the very small hole of a needle, than for a rich person to come into the kingdom of God."
They were very surprised and they said to each other, "Then who can be saved?"
Jesus looked at them and said, "It is impossible for people to do this, but it is not impossible for God, because all things are possible with God."
Peter began to say to Jesus, "We have left everything and have followed you."
Jesus said, "I tell you the truth, everyone who has left his house, or brothers, or sisters, or mother, or father, or children, or fields for me and the good news will receive 100 times more now in this life (houses, brothers, sisters, mothers, children, and fields, together with persecutions). They will also receive life that lasts forever in the future. But many people who are first now will be last then, and the people who are last now will be first then."
Jesus and His twelve followers were going on the road to Jerusalem , and Jesus went ahead of them. They were very surprised and the other people who followed behind them were afraid. Jesus took the Twelve away privately again and began to tell them the things that were going to happen to Him soon. He said, "We are going up to Jerusalem , and the Son of Man will be given to the chief priests and the teachers of the religious law. They will accuse Him and say He must be killed, and they will give Him to the Gentiles. The Gentiles will laugh at Him, spit on Him, beat Him, and kill Him. But He will come back to life from death three days after He is killed."
Then James and John, the two sons of Zebedee, came to Him and said, "Teacher, we want You to do for us what we will ask You to do."
He said to them, "What do you want Me to do for you?"
They said to Him, "Let one of us sit at Your right side, and the other one at Your left side, in Your glory." But Jesus said to them, "You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink? Are you able to be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?"
They said to Him, "We are able." Jesus said to them, "You will drink the cup that I drink, and you will be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with. But I do not have the authority to choose the people who will sit at My right side and at My left side. These places belong to the people they have been made ready for."
The other ten followers were angry with James and John when they heard this. Jesus called them to Him and said to them, "You know the men who rule the Gentiles use their power over them, and their important leaders use their authority over them. But it must not be like this among you. You must be a servant to the others among you if you want to become great, and you must be the slave of everyone if you want to be first among you. Even the Son of Man did not come to be served by other people, but to serve them and to give His life to pay for the salvation of many people."
Jesus and His followers came to Jericho . Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, was a blind beggar. He sat by the side of the road as Jesus, His followers, and a large crowd of people were leaving Jericho . The blind man called out when he heard it was Jesus the Nazarene. He said, "Jesus, Son of David, be merciful to me!" Many people rebuked him and told him to be quiet. But he continued to call out even more, "Son of David, be merciful to me!"
Jesus stopped, and said to His followers, "Call him here to Me."
They called to the blind man and said to him, "Have courage and stand. He is calling you to Him." He threw down his coat, and stood quickly and came to Jesus.
Jesus said to him, "What do you want Me to do for you?"
The blind man said to Him, "Teacher, I want to be able to see again."
Jesus said to him, "Go. You are healed because you have much faith." He was able to see immediately, and he began to follow Jesus on the road.