Teaching About Divorce
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Now when Jesus had finished these sayings, he went away from 1Galilee and 2entered 3the region of Judea beyond the Jordan.
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And Pharisees came up to him and 5tested him by asking, 6"Is it lawful to divorce one's wife for any cause?"
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He answered, 7"Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female,
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and said, 8'Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and 9the two shall become one flesh'?
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So they are no longer two but one flesh. 10What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate."
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They said to him, 11"Why then did Moses command one to give a certificate of divorce and to send her away?"
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He said to them, "Because of your 12hardness of heart Moses allowed you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so.
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13And I say to you: whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery."a
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The disciples said to him, "If such is the case of a man with his wife, it is better not to marry."
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But he said to them, 14"Not everyone can receive this saying, but only 15those to 16whom it is given.
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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 17for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. Let the one who is able to receive this receive it."
Let the Children Come to Me
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18Then children were brought to him that he might lay his hands on them and pray. The disciples 19rebuked the people,
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but Jesus said, 20"Let the little children 21come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven."
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And he laid his hands on them and went away.
The Rich Young Man
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22And behold, a man came up to him, saying, "Teacher, what good deed must I do to 23have 24eternal life?"
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And he said to him, "Why do you ask me about what is good? There is only one who is good. 25If you would enter life, keep the commandments."
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He said to him, "Which ones?" And Jesus said, 26"You shall not murder, You shall not commit adultery, You shall not steal, You shall not bear false witness,
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Jesus said to him, "If you would be 29perfect, go, 30sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have 31treasure in heaven; and come, follow me."
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And Jesus said to his disciples, "Truly, I say to you, 33only with difficulty will a rich person enter the kingdom of heaven.
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34Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter 35the kingdom of God."
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When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished, saying, "Who then can be saved?"
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But Jesus 36looked at them and said, 37"With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible."
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Then Peter said in reply, "See, 38we have left everything and followed you. What then will we have?"
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Jesus said to them, "Truly, I say to you, in the new world,b39when the Son of Man will sit on his glorious throne, you who have followed me 40will also sit on twelve thrones, 41judging the twelve tribes of Israel.
The English Standard Version is published with the permission of Good News Publishers.
(English Standard Version - The Holy Bible Online)