Mat 19-20 | ESV | STEP | Now when Jesus had finished these sayings , he went away from Galilee and entered the region of Judea beyond the Jordan .

Matthew 19

Teaching About Divorce

1 Now when Jesus had finished these sayings, he went away from ^aGalilee and ^bentered ^cthe region of Judea beyond the Jordan. 2 And ^dlarge crowds followed him, and he healed them there.

3 And Pharisees came up to him and ^etested him by asking, ^f“Is it lawful to divorce one’s wife for any cause?” 4 He answered, ^g“Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female, 5 and said, ^h‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and ⁱthe two shall become one flesh’? 6 So they are no longer two but one flesh. ^jWhat therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.” 7 They said to him, ^k“Why then did Moses command one to give a certificate of divorce and to send her away?” 8 He said to them, “Because of your ^lhardness of heart Moses allowed you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so. 9 ^mAnd I say to you: whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery.” ^{▼▼Some manuscripts add and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery; other manuscripts except for sexual immorality, makes her commit adultery, and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery}

10 The disciples said to him, “If such is the case of a man with his wife, it is better not to marry.” 11 But he said to them, ^o“Not everyone can receive this saying, but only ^pthose to ^qwhom it is given. 12 For 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 ^rfor 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 ^sThen children were brought to him that he might lay his hands on them and pray. The disciples ^trebuked the people, 14 but Jesus said, ^u“Let the little children ^vcome to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven.” 15 And he laid his hands on them and went away.

The Rich Young Man

16 ^wAnd behold, a man came up to him, saying, “Teacher, what good deed must I do to ^xhave ^yeternal life?” 17 And he said to him, “Why do you ask me about what is good? There is only one who is good. ^zIf you would enter life, keep the commandments.” 18 He said to him, “Which ones?” And Jesus said, ^aa“You shall not murder, You shall not commit adultery, You shall not steal, You shall not bear false witness, 19 Honor your father and mother, and, ^abYou shall love your neighbor as yourself.” 20 The young man said to him, ^ac“All these I have kept. What do I still lack?” 21 Jesus said to him, “If you would be ^adperfect, go, ^aesell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have ^aftreasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” 22 ^agWhen the young man heard this he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.

23 And Jesus said to his disciples, “Truly, I say to you, ^ahonly with difficulty will a rich person enter the kingdom of heaven. 24 ^aiAgain I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter ^ajthe kingdom of God.” 25 When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished, saying, “Who then can be saved?” 26 But Jesus ^aklooked at them and said, ^al“With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” 27 Then Peter said in reply, “See, ^amwe have left everything and followed you. What then will we have?” 28 Jesus said to them, “Truly, I say to you, in the new world, ^{▼▼Greek in the regeneration} ^aowhen the Son of Man will sit on his glorious throne, you who have followed me ^apwill also sit on twelve thrones, ^aqjudging the twelve tribes of Israel. 29 ^arAnd 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 ^{▼▼Some manuscripts manifold} and will ^atinherit eternal life. 30 But ^aumany who are ^avfirst 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. 2 After agreeing with the laborers for a denarius ^{▼▼A denarius was a day’s wage for a laborer} a day, he sent them into his vineyard. 3 And going out about the third hour he saw others standing idle in the marketplace, 4 and to them he said, ‘You go into the vineyard too, and whatever is right I will give you.’ 5 So they went. Going out again about the sixth hour and the ninth hour, he did the same. 6 And ^axabout the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing. And he said to them, ‘Why do you stand here idle all day?’ 7 They said to him, ‘Because no one has hired us.’ He said to them, ‘You go into the vineyard too.’ 8 And ^aywhen evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his ^azforeman, ‘Call the laborers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last, up to the first.’ 9 And when those hired about the eleventh hour came, each of them received a denarius. 10 Now when those hired first came, they thought they would receive more, but each of them also received a denarius. 11 And on receiving it they grumbled at the master of the house, 12 saying, ‘These last worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the day and ^bathe scorching heat.’ 13 But he replied to one of them, ^bb‘Friend, I am doing you no wrong. Did you not agree with me for a denarius? 14 Take ^bcwhat belongs to you and go. I choose to give to this last worker as I give to you. 15 ^bdAm I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or ^bedo you begrudge my generosity?’ ^{▼▼Or is your eye bad because I am good?} 16 So ^bgthe last will be first, and the first last.”

Jesus Foretells His Death a Third Time

17 ^bhAnd as Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, he took the twelve disciples aside, and on the way he said to them, 18 “See, ^biwe are going up to Jerusalem. And the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and scribes, and they will ^bjcondemn him to death 19 and ^bkdeliver him over to the Gentiles ^blto be mocked and flogged and ^bmcrucified, and he will be raised on ^bnthe third day.”

A Mother’s Request

20 ^boThen ^bpthe mother of the sons of Zebedee came up to him with her sons, and ^bqkneeling before him she asked him for something. 21 And he said to her, “What do you want?” She said to him, “Say that these two sons of mine ^brare to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, ^bsin your kingdom.” 22 Jesus answered, ^bt“You do not know what you are asking. Are you able ^buto drink the cup that I am to drink?” They said to him, “We are able.” 23 He said to them, ^bv“You will drink ^bwmy cup, but to sit at my right hand and at my left is not mine to grant, ^bxbut it is for those for whom it has been ^byprepared by my Father.” 24 And when the ten heard it, they were indignant at the two brothers. 25 But Jesus called them to him and said, ^bz“You know that the rulers of the Gentiles ^calord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. 26 ^cbIt shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, ^{▼▼Greek diakonos} 27 and whoever would be first among you must be your slave, ^{▼▼Greek bondservant (doulos)} 28 even as the Son of Man came not to be served but ^ceto serve, and ^cfto give his life as a ransom for ^cgmany.”

Jesus Heals Two Blind Men

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