But he said, that which comes out of the man, this defiles him;

Now the woman was a Greek [i.e., a Gentile], a Syrophoenician by nationality. [Note: This was a region just north of Galilee and consisted of Syria and Phoenicia]. She begged Him to drive out the evil spirit from her daughter.

And he said unto her, For this saying go thy way; the devil is gone out of thy daughter.

Soon after this Jesus left the region of Tyre, and passed through Sidon to the Sea of Galilee, through the region of Decapolis [the ten Hellenistic cities].

And he gave them orders not to give news of it to anyone; but the more he made this request, so much the more they made it public.

"My heart yearns over the people," He said; "for this is now the third day they have remained with me, and they have nothing to eat.

His disciples replied to Him, “Where will anyone be able to find enough bread here in this isolated place to feed these people?”

And he sighed deeply in his spirit, and saith, Why doth this generation seek after a sign? verily I say unto you, There shall no sign be given unto this generation.

So Jesus gave them this warning. "Take care," he said, "beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod."

And they began arguing with one another because they had no bread, He noted this and said to them.

And knowing [this], he said to them, "Why are you discussing that you have no bread? Do you not yet perceive or understand? Have your hearts been hardened?

At this he laid his hands on his eyes once more, and the man stared in front of him; he was quite restored and saw everything distinctly.

Now Jesus and His disciples went out to the villages [in the vicinity] of Caesarea Philippi [Note: This was a city about

"But you," he asked, "who do you say that I am?" To this Peter replied: "You are the Christ."

And He strictly forbad them to tell this about Him to any one.

He was stating the matter plainly [not holding anything back]. Then Peter took Him aside and began to reprimand Him.

But He turned and glanced at His disciples and reproved Peter by saying, "Get out of my way, Satan, for this view of yours is not from God but from men!"

For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever will lose his life because of me and the good-news, this man will save it.

Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation; of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.

Six days later, Jesus took with Him Peter and James and John, and led them up on a high mountain by themselves. And He was transfigured (changed in form) before them [and began to shine brightly with divine and regal glory];

And there was a cloud that overshadowed them: and a voice came out of the cloud, saying, This is my beloved Son: hear him.

And they kept the matter to themselves, discussing what this rising from the dead {meant}.

So they put this question to him, "Why do the [Pharisees and] scribes say that Elijah has to come first?"

He said to them, "Elijah does come first, to restore all things; but what is written about the Son of man as well? This, that he is to endure great suffering and be rejected.

And he asked his father, How long is it ago since this came unto him? And he said, Of a child.

And, Jesus, said unto him - As for this, If it be possible to thee, all things, are possible, to him who hath faith.

When Jesus saw a crowd running together [toward Him], He spoke sternly to the evil spirit [in the boy], saying to it, "You deaf-mute spirit, I order you to come out of this boy and to never return to him again."

now when Jesus was retired to his own house, his disciples asked him in private, why could not we cast this spirit out?

And he said unto them, This kind can come forth by nothing, but by prayer and fasting.

in the mean time he gave his disciples this intimation, "the son of man is going to be delivered up into the hands of men, who will put him to death, and three days after he is put to death he shall rise again."

But they did not understand this statement, and they were afraid to ask Him [what He meant].

Then Jesus and His disciples came to Capernaum [Note: This city on the northwest shore of Lake Galilee had become sort of a headquarters for Jesus when He was in this region]. When He [and His disciples] entered a house He asked them, "What were you discussing on the way here?"

“Whoever welcomes one little child such as this in My name welcomes Me. And whoever welcomes Me does not welcome Me, but Him who sent Me.”

Upon this occasion John address'd himself to Jesus, saying, master, we saw a man casting out demons in your name, tho' he did not belong to us, for which reason we opposed him.

For whoever will give you a cup of water to drink on this account, because you are Christ s, verily I say to you, he shall not lose his reward.

And whoever causes one of these little ones [i.e., humble followers of the Lord. See Matt. 18:6] who believes in me to be led astray [from God], he would have been better off to have had a huge millstone tied around his neck and thrown into the ocean [Note: This was a heavy, circular stone rolled over grain to crush it, and moved by an animal walking in a circle].

For everyone will be salted with fire. [Note: This meant either the suffering "salt" of fiery trials (the sacrifices of verses 43-47 or the punishing "salt" of being thrown into a fiery hell (verse 45-48)].

Now some Pharisees came up and asked him if a man was allowed to divorce his wife. This was to tempt him.

And Jesus answered and said unto them, For the hardness of your heart he wrote you this precept.

For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and cleave to his wife;

And in the house the disciples asked him again of this matter.

Then some [parents] were bringing [their] little children to Jesus so He could touch them [i.e., to bestow a blessing on them], but His disciples spoke harshly to these parents [for doing this].

Jesus, however, on seeing this, was moved to indignation, and said to them, "Let the little children come to me: do not hinder them; for to those who are childlike the Kingdom of God belongs.

But he was stunned at this demand, and he went away grieving, because he had many possessions.

His disciples were startled at this statement. But Jesus again said to them as He continued the topic, "My children, how hard it is to get into the kingdom of God!

at this they were more amazed than before, and said to one another, how then can such a man be saved?

Jesus looked at them and replied, "This is impossible for mere humans, but not for God; all things are possible for God."

But he shall receive an hundredfold now in this time, houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands, with persecutions; and in the world to come eternal life.

"Grant us this," they answered, "to sit, one on your right, and the other on your left, when you come in glory."

But to sit on My right or on My left, this is not Mine to give; but it is for those for whom it has been prepared.”

And [when they] heard [this], the ten began to be indignant about James and John.

But this is not how it is among you; instead, whoever wishes to become great among you must be your servant,

Then they [i.e., Jesus and the twelve apostles] came to Jericho [Note: This was a town about

And if any man say unto you, Why do ye this? say ye that the Lord hath need of him; and straightway he will send him hither.

May the coming kingdom of our forefather David be blessed. Hosanna in the highest [i.e., may this blessing reach to the highest heaven]."

and He said to the tree, "Let no one ever again eat fruit from thee!" And His disciples heard this.

The chief priests and the scribes heard this and began searching for a way to destroy Him; for they were afraid of Him, since the entire crowd was struck with astonishment at His teaching.

For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith.

For this reason I say to you, All things whatsoever ye pray for and ask, believe that ye receive it, and it shall come to pass for you.

And say unto him, By what authority doest thou these things? and who gave thee this authority to do these things?

Jesus said to them, "I am going to ask you a question. Answer this, and I will tell you what authority I have for acting as I do.

And they began to discuss [this] with one another, saying, "What should we say? If we say 'From heaven,' he will say, 'Why then did you not believe him?'

they therefore gave Jesus this answer, we cannot tell. neither do I, said Jesus, acquaint you by what authority I act thus.

Then Jesus address'd himself to them in this parabolical manner. a certain person planted a vineyard, made a fence about it, clear'd the way for a wine-press, built a tower, and committed it to the care of vine-dressers, while he was travelling abroad.

So he sent another slave to them again. This one they struck on the head and treated outrageously.

He sent another, and that one they killed. This happened to many others, some of whom were beaten, others killed.

But those husbandmen said among themselves, This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and the inheritance shall be ours.

And have ye not read this scripture; The stone which the builders rejected is become the head of the corner:

This was the Lord's doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes?

And they were looking for a way to seize Him, but they were afraid of the crowd; for they knew that He spoke this parable in reference to [and as a charge against] them. And so they left Him and went away.

Then the Pharisees sent certain ones of their number [See Matt. 22:15-16] along with the Herodians [Note: This refers to members of a political party favoring King Herod] to attempt to trap Him by what He said.

Should we pay it, or should we not pay it?" But Jesus was aware of their hypocrisy and said to them, "Bring me the coin so I can see it." [Note: The amount of this coin was equivalent to one day of a farm laborer's pay, or about $60-$84 in 1994].

And they brought it. And he saith unto them, Whose is this image and superscription? And they said unto him, Caesar's.

Next came some Sadducees--the men who maintain that there is no resurrection. Their question was this--

"Teacher," they said, "Moses has written this law for us, that if a man's brother dies leaving a wife but no child, his brother is to take the woman and raise offspring for his brother.

Jesus said unto them, Is it not for this cause that ye err, that ye know not the scriptures, nor the power of God?

And touching the dead, that they rise, Have ye oot read in the book of Moses, how in the bush God spake to thim, saying, I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob?

Then came up one of the Teachers of the Law who had heard their discussions. Knowing that Jesus had answered them wisely, he asked him this question: "What is the first of all the commandments?"

“This is the most important,” Jesus answered:

Listen, Israel! The Lord our God, the Lord is One.

And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment.

And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these.

When Jesus saw that this man answered wisely, He said to him, "You are not [very] far from the kingdom of God." And after that, no one dared to ask Him any more questions.

So Jesus asked this question as He taught in the temple complex, “How can the scribes say that the Messiah is the Son of David?

for David himself, who was inspired by the holy spirit, has this expression, "the Lord said to my Lord, sit thou at my right hand till I make thy enemies thy foot-stool."

Then Jesus sat down over near the [Temple] treasury and watched how the crowd was throwing money into the treasury [Note: This "treasury" was a large open-mouthed container used for receiving offerings for meeting expenses of Temple upkeep]. Many rich people were throwing in lots of money.

And he called unto him his disciples, and saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, That this poor widow hath cast more in, than all they which have cast into the treasury:

but Jesus answer'd him, you see this magnificent structure, which shall not be left till it be all demolished, one stone after another.

“Tell us, when will these things happen, and what will be the sign when all these things are about to be fulfilled?”

And Jesus said to them, "Take care that no one misleads you about this.

But when ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars, be not disturbed, for this must happen, but the end is not yet.

For nation will rise up against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; there will be earthquakes in various places; there will be famines. These things are the beginning of the birth pangs [the intolerable anguish and suffering].

"But pay attention to yourselves, for people will turn you over to [Jewish] councils [i.e., for judgment] and you will be beaten in synagogues. You will stand trial before governors and kings for being loyal to me. [This will afford you an opportunity] for witnessing to them.

And when they arrest you [and] hand you over, do not be anxious beforehand what you should say, but whatever is given to you at that hour, say this. For you are not the ones who are speaking, but the Holy Spirit.

And you will be hated by all because of my name. But the one who endures to the end--this one will be saved.

“But when you see the abomination of desolation standing [in the temple sanctuary] where it ought not to be (let the reader understand) then those who are in Judea must flee to the mountains.

Also the person who is on a housetop [Note: This was a flat area where people retired for rest, prayer, etc., with its stairway on the outside] should not go down into his house to take anything out [when he flees].

Pray, too, that this may not occur in winter.

For in those days shall be affliction, such as was not from the beginning of the creation which God created unto this time, neither shall be.

But pay attention, for I have told you [all this] ahead of time.

and the stars will be falling from the sky and the forces of the heavens will be shaken. [Note: From the description of these same events in Luke 21:25-26, it is possible that this is figurative language for great calamities happening on earth].