Mark 9:38-12:34

^9:38 John said to him, “Teacher, we saw someone casting out demons in your name; and we forbade him, because he was not following us.”

³⁹ But Yeshua said, “Do not forbid him, for there is no one who will do a mighty work in my name, and be able quickly to speak evil of me. ⁴⁰ For whoever is not against us is for us. ⁴¹ For whoever will give you a cup of water to drink in my name, because you belong to the Messiah, truly I tell you, he will in no way lose his reward. ⁴² Whoever will cause one of these little ones who believe in me to stumble, it would be better for him if he was thrown into the sea with a millstone hung around his neck. ⁴³ If your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off.[note: Hyperbole, or Semitic idiom, meaning to stop doing a sin] It is better for you to enter into life maimed, rather than having your two hands to go into Gehinnom, into the unquenchable fire, ^{44  45} If your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off.[note: Hyperbole, or Semitic idiom, meaning to stop doing a sin] It is better for you to enter into life lame, rather than having your two feet to be cast into Gehinnom. ^{46  47} If your eye causes you to stumble, cast it out.[note: Hyperbole, or Semitic idiom, meaning to stop doing a sin] It is better for you to enter into the Kingdom of God with one eye, rather than having two eyes to be cast into Gehinnom, ⁴⁸ ‘where their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched.’ ⁴⁹ For everyone will be salted with fire, and every sacrifice will be salted with salt. ⁵⁰ Salt is good, but if the salt has lost its saltiness, how can you make it salty? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another.”

^10:1 He arose from there and came into the borders of Judea and beyond the Jordan. Crowds came together to him again. As he usually did, he was again teaching them. ² Pharisees came to him testing him, and asked him, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?”

³ He answered, “What did Moses command you?”

⁴ They said, “Moses allowed a certificate of divorce to be written, and to divorce her.”

⁵ But Yeshua said to them, “Because of your hardness of heart, he wrote you this commandment. ⁶ But from the beginning of the creation, he made them male and female. ⁷ For this cause a man will leave his father and mother, and will join to his wife, ⁸ and the two will become one flesh, so that they are no longer two, but one flesh. ⁹ What therefore God has joined together, let no one separate.”

¹⁰ In the house, the talmidim asked him again about the same matter. ¹¹ He said to them, “Whoever divorces his wife, and marries another, commits adultery against her. ¹² If she herself divorces her husband, and marries another, she commits adultery.”

¹³ They were bringing to him little children, that he should touch them, but the talmidim rebuked them. ¹⁴ But when Yeshua saw it, he was moved with indignation, and said to them, “Allow the little children to come to me. Do not forbid them, for the Kingdom of God belongs to such as these. ¹⁵ Truly I tell you, whoever will not receive the Kingdom of God like a little child, he will in no way enter into it.” ¹⁶ And he took them in his arms, laying his hands on them, and blessed them.

¹⁷ As he was going out into the way, one ran to him, knelt before him, and asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do that I may inherit everlasting life?”

¹⁸ Yeshua said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except one—God. ¹⁹ You know the commandments: ‘Do not commit adultery,’ ‘Do not murder,’ ‘Do not steal,’ ‘Do not give false testimony,’ ‘Do not defraud,’ ‘Honor your father and mother.'”

²⁰ And he said to him, “Teacher, I have kept all these things from my youth.”

²¹ Yeshua looking at him loved him, and said to him, “One thing you lack. Go, sell whatever you have, and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me, taking up the cross.”

²² But his face fell at that saying, and he went away sorrowful, for he was one who had great possessions. ²³ Yeshua looked around, and said to his talmidim, “How difficult it is for those who have riches to enter into the Kingdom of God.”

²⁴ The talmidim were amazed at his words. But Yeshua answered again and said to them, “Children, how hard it is for those who trust in riches to enter the kingdom of God. ²⁵ It is easier for a camel to go through a needle’s eye than for a rich person to enter into the Kingdom of God.”

²⁶ They were exceedingly astonished, saying to him, “Then who can be saved?”

²⁷ Yeshua, looking at them, said, “With humans it is impossible, but not with God, for all things are possible with God.”

²⁸ Peter began to tell him, “Look, we have left everything, and have followed you.”

²⁹ Yeshua said, “Truly I tell you, there is no one who has left house, or brothers, or sisters, or mother, or father, or children, or land, for my sake, and for the sake of the Good News, ³⁰ but he will receive one hundred times more now in this time, houses, brothers, sisters, mothers, children, and land, with persecutions; and in the age to come, everlasting life. ³¹ But many who are first will be last; and the last first.”

³² They were on the way, going up to Jerusalem; and Yeshua was going in front of them, and they were amazed; and those who followed were afraid. He again took the twelve, and began to tell them the things that were going to happen to him. ³³ “Look, we are going up to Jerusalem. The Son of Man will be delivered to the chief cohanim and the scribes. They will condemn him to death, and will deliver him to foreigners. ³⁴ They will mock him, spit on him, scourge him, and kill him. After three days he will rise again.”

³⁵ Jacob and John, the sons of Zebedee, came near to him, and said to him, “Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we will ask.”

³⁶ He said to them, “What do you want me to do for you?”

³⁷ They said to him, “Grant to us that we may sit, one at your right hand, and one at your left hand, in your glory.”

³⁸ But Yeshua said to them, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or to be immersed with the immersion that I am immersed with?”

³⁹ And they said to him, “We are able.” And Yeshua said to them, “You will drink the cup I drink, and you will be immersed with the immersion that I am immersed with; ⁴⁰ but to sit at my right hand and at my left hand is not mine to give, but for whom it has been prepared.”

⁴¹ When the ten heard it, they began to be indignant towards Jacob and John.

⁴² Yeshua summoned them, and said to them, “You know that they who are recognized as rulers over the nations lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. ⁴³ But it will not be so among you, but whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant. ⁴⁴ And whoever wants to be first among you must be slave of all. ⁴⁵ For the Son of Man also did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

⁴⁶ They came to Jericho. As he went out from Jericho, with his talmidim and a large crowd, Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, a blind beggar, was sitting by the road. ⁴⁷ When he heard that it was Yeshua the Nazarene, he began to cry out, and say, “Yeshua, Son of David, have mercy on me.” ⁴⁸ Many rebuked him, that he should be quiet, but he shouted all the louder, “Son of David, have mercy on me.”

⁴⁹ Yeshua stood still, and said, “Call him.”

They called the blind man, saying to him, “Cheer up. Get up. He is calling you.”

⁵⁰ He, casting away his coat, jumped up, and came to Yeshua.

⁵¹ Yeshua asked him, “What do you want me to do for you?”

The blind man said to him, “Rabboni, that I may see again.”

⁵² Yeshua said to him, “Go your way. Your faith has made you well.” And immediately he received his sight, and followed him on the road.

^11:1 When they drew near to Jerusalem, to Bethphage and Bethany, at the Mount of Olives, he sent two of his talmidim, ² and said to them, “Go your way into the village that is opposite you. Immediately as you enter into it, you will find a young donkey tied, on which no one has yet sat. Untie him, and bring him. ³ If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ say, ‘Because the Lord needs it,’ and he will send it back here at once.”

⁴ They went away, and found a colt tied at the door outside in the open street, and they untied him. ⁵ Some of those who stood there asked them, “What are you doing, untying the young donkey?” ⁶ They said to them just as Yeshua had said, and they let them go.

⁷ They brought the young donkey to Yeshua, and threw their garments on it, and Yeshua sat on it. ⁸ Many spread their garments on the way, and others spread branches which they had cut from the fields. ⁹ Those who went in front, and those who followed, shouted, “Hosanna. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. ¹⁰ Blessed is the kingdom of our father David. Hosanna in the highest.”

¹¹ And he entered into the temple in Jerusalem. When he had looked around at everything, it being now evening, he went out to Bethany with the twelve.

¹² The next day, when they had come out from Bethany, he was hungry. ¹³ Seeing a fig tree afar off having leaves, he came to see if perhaps he might find anything on it. When he came to it, he found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs. ¹⁴ Yeshua told it, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again.” and his talmidim heard it.

¹⁵ They came to Jerusalem, and he entered into the temple, and began to throw out those who sold and those who bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the money changers, and the seats of those who sold the doves. ¹⁶ He would not allow anyone to carry a container through the temple. ¹⁷ He taught, saying to them, “Is it not written, ‘My house will be called a house of prayer for all the nations?’ But you have made it a den of robbers.”

¹⁸ The chief cohanim and the scribes heard it, and sought how they might destroy him. For they feared him, because all the crowd was astonished at his teaching.

¹⁹ When evening came, they went out of the city. ²⁰ As they passed by in the morning, they saw the fig tree withered away from the roots. ²¹ Peter, remembering, said to him, “Teacher, look. The fig tree which you cursed has withered away.”

²² Yeshua answered them, “Have faith in God. ²³ Truly I tell you, whoever may tell this mountain, ‘Be taken up and cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him. ²⁴ Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. ²⁵ Whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone; so that your Father, who is in heaven, may also forgive you your wrongdoing. ²⁶ But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father in heaven forgive your wrongdoing.”

²⁷ They came again to Jerusalem, and as he was walking in the temple, the chief cohanim, and the scribes, and the elders came to him, ²⁸ and they began saying to him, “By what authority do you do these things? And who gave you this authority to do these things?”

²⁹ Yeshua said to them, “I will also ask you one question. Answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things. ³⁰ The immersion of John—was it from heaven, or from people? Answer me.”

³¹ They reasoned with themselves, saying, “If we should say, ‘From heaven;’ he will say, ‘Why then did you not believe him?’ ³² If we should say, ‘From people'”—they feared the crowd, for all held John to really be a prophet. ³³ They answered and said to Yeshua, “We do not know.”

Yeshua said to them, “Neither do I tell you by what authority I do these things.”

^12:1 He began to speak to them in parables. “A man planted a vineyard, put a hedge around it, dug a pit for the winepress, built a tower, rented it out to a farmer, and went on a journey. ² When it was time, he sent a servant to the farmer to get from the farmer his share of the fruit of the vineyard. ³ They took him, beat him, and sent him away empty. ⁴ Again, he sent another servant to them; and they wounded him in the head, and treated him shamefully. ⁵ And he sent another; and they killed him; and many others, beating some, and killing some. ⁶ He had one left, a beloved son, he sent him last to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ ⁷ But those farmers said among themselves, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’ ⁸ They took him, killed him, and cast him out of the vineyard. ⁹ What therefore will the lord of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy the farmers, and will give the vineyard to others. ¹⁰ Haven’t you even read this Scripture:

‘The stone which the builders rejected,
the same was made the head of the corner.
¹¹ This was from the Lord.
It is marvelous in our eyes’?”

¹² They tried to seize him, but they feared the crowd; for they perceived that he spoke the parable against them. They left him, and went away. ¹³ They sent some of the Pharisees and of the Herodians to him, that they might trap him with words. ¹⁴ When they had come, they asked him, “Teacher, we know that you are honest, and do not defer to anyone; for you are not partial to anyone, but truly teach the way of God. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not? ¹⁵ Should we pay, or should we not pay?”

But he, knowing their hypocrisy, said to them, “Why do you test me? Bring me a denarius, that I may see it.”

¹⁶ They brought it.

He said to them, “Whose is this image and inscription?”

They said to him, “Caesar’s.”

¹⁷ And Yeshua said to them, “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”

And they were utterly amazed at him.

¹⁸ There came to him Sadducees, who say that there is no resurrection. They asked him, saying, ¹⁹ “Teacher, Moses wrote to us, ‘If a man’s brother dies, and leaves a wife behind him, and leaves no children, that his brother should take the wife, and raise up offspring for his brother.’ ²⁰ There were seven brothers. The first took a wife, and dying left no offspring. ²¹ The second took her, and died, leaving no children behind him. The third likewise; ²² and the seven left no children. Last of all the woman also died. ²³ In the resurrection, when they rise, whose wife will she be of them? For the seven had her as a wife.”

²⁴ Yeshua said to them, “Is not this because you are mistaken, not knowing the Scriptures, nor the power of God? ²⁵ For when they will rise from the dead, they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven. ²⁶ But about the dead, that they are raised; have you not read in the book of Moses, about the bush, how God spoke to him, saying, ‘I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? ²⁷ He is not the God of the dead, but of the living. You are therefore badly mistaken.”

²⁸ And one of the scribes came, and heard them questioning together. Seeing that he had answered them well, asked him, “Which commandment is the greatest of all?”

²⁹ Yeshua answered, “The first is, ‘Hear, Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. ³⁰ And you are love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ ³¹ The second is this, ‘You are to love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”

³² The scribe said to him, “Truly, Teacher, you have said well that he is one, and there is none other but he, ³³ and to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love his neighbor as himself, is more important than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.”

³⁴ When Yeshua saw that he answered wisely, he said to him, “You are not far from the Kingdom of God.”

No one dared ask him any question after that.