1 And Jesus and his disciples and his mother and his brethren came to Capernaum and stayed there not many days.1
2 And there he asked the twelve, what was it that ye disputed among yourselves by the way?
3 But they held their peace; for by the way they had disputed among themselves, who should be the greatest.
4 And he sat down, and said unto them, If any man desire to be first, the same shall be last of all, and servant of all.
5 And he took a little child, and set him in the midst of them: and when he had taken him in his arms, he said unto them, Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom.2
6 Then Jesus departed thence, and sent his messengers before his face: and they went, and entered into a village of the Samaritans, to make ready for him.
7 But they received him not; and Jesus said, Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but this messenger of God hath not where to lay his head.
8 And when James and John saw this, They said, Pray to the Lord that he sendeth down fire from heaven to consume them, as Elias did.
9 But Jesus turned and rebuked them, and nicknamed the two brothers Boanerges, meaning, sons of thunder.
10 And they went to another village; and there one man said to him, I will follow thee, allow me to bury my father.
11 But Jesus said unto him, Let the dead bury the dead: but go thou and preach about the kingdom of God.3
12 Then Jesus and those with him came to the coasts of Judea: and, as he was wont, he taught again.
13 And the Pharisees came to him, and asked him, Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife, testing him?
14 And he answered and said unto him, What did Moses command you?
15 And they said, Moses suffered to write a bill of divorcement, and to put her away.
16 And Jesus answered and said unto them, For the hardness of your heart he wrote you this precept.
17 But from the beginning of creation God made them male and female. For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and cleave to his wife.
18 And they twain shall be one flesh: so then they are no more twain, but one flesh.
19 What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.4
20 And one day people brought young children to him: and his disciples rebuked those that brought them.
21 But when Jesus saw it, he was much displeased, and said unto them, Suffer the children to come unto me, and forbid them not; for of such is the kingdom of God.
22 Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, he shall not enter therein.
23 And he took them up in his arms, put his hands upon them, and blessed them.5
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Notes
- Mark 9.33, John 2.12. According to Mark 9.30, the journey through Galilee, the tetrarchy of Herod Antipas, was undertaken in some secrecy, presumably because of Herod’s threat (cf. Note 4, Chapter 15). ↩
- Mark 9:36-37; Matt. 18:1-5; 10:40-42; Luke 9:47-48; Thomas 4b, 27a, 6c. The disciples and the brothers encouraged Jesus to take up the role of the Messiah partly in the hope that they would have a share in his power. Such selfish concerns soon began to give rise to rivalries among them. They began to compete for the highest positions in the messianic kingdom (cf. Mark 10:35-37). ↩
- Luke 9:51-60. ↩
- Mark 10:2-9. ↩
- Mark 10:13-16. ↩