But Jesus replied to them, “You are all wrong because you know neither the Scriptures [which teach the resurrection] nor the power of God [for He is able to raise the dead].

For in the resurrection they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are like God's angels in heaven.

I am Abraham's God, and Isaac's God and Jacob's God.' [So], He is not God to those who are [physically] dead, but [He is] God to those who are [still] alive."

"What do you think about the Christ [i.e., God's specially chosen one]? Whose son do you think He is?" They replied, "[He is] the son of David."

Neither assume the title 'Master' [i.e., teacher], for [only] one is your Master, the Christ [i.e., God's specially chosen one].

And the one who takes an oath by heaven takes an oath by God’s throne and by Him who sits on it.

The same is true of you: outwardly you seem to the human eye to be good and honest men, but, within, you are full of insincerity and disregard of God's Law.

Listen carefully: your house is being left to you desolate [completely abandoned by God and destitute of His protection]!

For many [false teachers] will come, claiming to be me, and saying, 'I am the Christ [i.e., God's specially chosen one]' and they will lead many people away [from the truth].

and because of the prevalent disregard of God's law the love of the great majority will grow cold;

And this good news concerning the kingdom [of heaven] will be preached to people throughout the world as a testimony [of God's message] to all nations. Then, [after that] the end [i.e., of Jerusalem, the Temple, etc.] will come.

And if those days [of tribulation] had not been cut short, no human life would be saved; but for the sake of the elect (God’s chosen ones) those days will be shortened.

For false Christs and false prophets will appear and they will provide great signs and wonders, so as to deceive, if possible, even the elect (God’s chosen ones).

"But immediately after the terrible trouble of those days, [i.e., the next major event on God's calendar], the sun will become dark, and [therefore] the moon will not [be able to] shed its [reflected] light. The stars will fall 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 the earth].

And He will send out His angels [i.e., as messengers] with the sound of a great trumpet [See I Thess. 4:16] to gather His elect [i.e., God's people] from all directions, [even] from throughout the whole world. [Note: See Mark 13:27, which suggests this thought by its use of 'earth' and 'sky']

And as they were eating, Jesus took a [small] loaf of bread, asked God's blessing on it, then broke it and gave pieces to His disciples and said, "Take some and eat it; this is [i.e., represents] my [physical] body."

stated, “This man said, ‘I can demolish God’s sanctuary and rebuild it in three days.’”

But Jesus did not say anything. So, the head priest said to Him, "I command you [to swear] by the living God, [and] to tell us if you are the Christ [i.e., God's specially chosen one], the Son of God!"

and said, "You who would pull down the Sanctuary and build a new one within three days, save yourself. If you are God's Son, come down from the cross."

He has put His trust in God; let God rescue Him now—if He wants Him! For He said, ‘I am God’s Son.’”

the tombs opened; and many of God's people who were asleep in death awoke.

And the centurion, and those with him watching Jesus, having seen the earthquake, and the things that were done, were exceedingly afraid, saying, 'Truly this was God's Son.'

The beginning of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, God's Son.

Then, after John had been thrown into prison, Jesus came into Galilee proclaiming God's Good News.

he said, "The time has now come, God's reign is near: repent and believe in the gospel."

"What have you to do with us, Jesus the Nazarene? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are--God's Holy One."

Whoever does God's pleasure, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother.

crying out in a loud voice, "What hast Thou to do with me, Jesus, Son of God Most High? In God's name I implore Thee not to torment me."

Then He took the five loaves of bread and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, He asked God's blessing on them. Then He broke the loaves and gave them to His disciples to set in front of the people [to eat]. He divided the two fish among them also

"You neglect God's Commandment: you hold fast to men's traditions."

And he said to them, "You splendidly ignore the commandment of God so that you can keep your tradition.

You revoke God’s word by your tradition that you have handed down. And you do many other similar things.”

They [also] had a few small fish and after asking God's blessing on them, He ordered these also to be set in front of them.

Then He asked them, "But who do you say that I am?" Peter answered Him, "You are the Christ [i.e., God's specially chosen one]."

But turning around [with His back to Peter] and seeing His disciples, He rebuked Peter, saying, “Get behind Me, Satan; for your mind is not set on God’s will or His values and purposes, but on what pleases man.”

For whoever would [try to] save his life [i.e., by neglecting spiritual things] will lose it [i.e., miss out on the blessings of God]. But whoever [is willing] to lose his life [i.e., in commitment to God's service] for my sake and [the work of] the Gospel's sake, will save it [i.e., obtain both temporal and spiritual blessings].

And Jesus said to them, "Truly I tell you, there are some people standing here who will surely not experience death until they see that God's kingdom has come in [a demonstration of] power."

If your eye is a hindrance to you, tear it out: better get into God's Realm with one eye, than keep your two eyes and be thrown into Gehenna,

Therefore, those whom God so joins together [in the marriage bond], no person must ever separate."

Then He lifted up the children into His arms, and placing His hands on them, He asked God's blessing on them.

And Jesus, answering, said to them, Have God's faith.

So they came to Him. "Rabbi," they said, "we know that you are a truthful man and you do not fear any one; for you do not recognize human distinctions, but teach God's way truly. Is it allowable to pay poll-tax to Caesar, or not?

And Jesus answering said unto them, Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's. And they marvelled at him.

Jesus answered them, "Aren't you mistaken because you don't know the Scriptures or God's power?

For those will be times of suffering the like of which has never been from the first creation of God's world until now, and assuredly never will be again;

And if the Lord had not kept those days as short as they were, no one would have been saved [i.e., from the devastating destruction]. But for the sake of the elect [i.e., God's people], whom He chose, He kept those days short.

For there will rise up false Christs and false prophets, displaying signs and prodigies with a view to lead astray--if indeed that were possible--even God's own People.

"But after those days of terrible trouble [i.e., the next major event on God's calendar will be], the sun will become dark, and [therefore] the moon will not [be able to] shed its [reflected] light,

And He will send out His angels and gather His elect [i.e., God's people] from all directions, from the farthest part of the earth to the farthest part of the sky [i.e., from throughout the whole world].

And as they were eating He took a [small] loaf of bread, and when He had asked God's blessing on it, He broke it and gave [pieces] to His disciples and said, "Take this, it is [i.e., represents] my [physical] body."

I assure you and most solemnly say to you, I will not drink again of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.”

But Jesus kept quiet and did not give them any answer. Again the head priest asked Him, "Are you the Christ [i.e., God's specially chosen one]?"

When the centurion, who was standing opposite Him, saw the way He breathed His last [being fully in control], he said, “Truly this man was the Son of God!”

So the Lord Jesus, after he had spoken to them, was caught up into heaven and took his seat at God's right hand.

Both were righteous in God’s sight, living without blame according to all the commands and requirements of the Lord.

When Zechariah was serving with his division of priests in God's presence,

And the angel said to her, Have no fear, Mary, for you have God's approval.

Nothing is impossible with respect to any of God's promises."

Because of our God’s merciful compassion,
the Dawn from on high will visit us

For a Savior has been born today in David's city [i.e., Bethlehem], who is Christ the Lord [i.e., God's specially chosen one].

Now it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die until he had seen the Lord's Christ [i.e., God's, specially chosen one].

[to be] a light for revealing [God's way of salvation] to the [unconverted] Gentiles, and a [source of] glory to your people, the Israelites."

And the child grew and waxed strong in spirit, filled with wisdom, and God's grace was upon him.

during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, God’s word came to John the son of Zechariah in the wilderness.

All flesh will see God's salvation.'"

Now as people were anticipating [what would happen] and everyone was wondering in their hearts if perhaps John were the Christ [i.e., God's specially chosen one],

Then the Devil said to Him, "If you are God's Son, tell this stone to become bread."

Then he brought Him to Jerusalem and caused Him to stand on the roof of the Temple, and said to Him, "If you are God's Son, throw yourself down from here; for it is written,

"Ha! Jesus the Nazarene, what have you to do with us? I know who you are--God's Holy One!"

From many people daemons were also driven out, clamouring aloud, "You are God's son!" But he checked them and refused to let them say anything, as they knew he was the Christ.

But He told them, "I must go to other towns also to preach the good news of God's [coming] kingdom, for this is why I was sent [by God]."

As the crowd was pressing in on Jesus to hear God’s word, He was standing by Lake Gennesaret.

"How he entered into God's house and took and ate the Presented Loaves, and gave some to his followers, loaves which none must eat but the priests?

Then Jesus said to them, “I ask you directly: Is it lawful to do good on the Sabbath or to do evil, to save a life or to destroy it?”

And looking toward His disciples, He began speaking: “Blessed [spiritually prosperous, happy, to be admired] are you who are poor [in spirit, those devoid of spiritual arrogance, those who regard themselves as insignificant], for the kingdom of God is yours [both now and forever].

Blessed [joyful, nourished by God’s goodness] are you who hunger now [for righteousness, actively seeking right standing with God], for you will be [completely] satisfied. Blessed [forgiven, refreshed by God’s grace] are you who weep now [over your sins and repent], for you will laugh [when the burden of sin is lifted].

Blessed [morally courageous and spiritually alive with life-joy in God’s goodness] are you when people hate you, and exclude you [from their fellowship], and insult you, and scorn your name as evil because of [your association with] the Son of Man.

bless and show kindness to those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.

Then everyone was gripped with fear and gave honor to God, saying, " [Surely] a great prophet has arisen among us and God's [presence] has come to His people."

Blessed [joyful, spiritually favored] is he who does not take offense at Me.”

(And when all the people, including the tax collectors, heard this, they acknowledged God’s way of righteousness, because they had been baptized with John’s baptism.

But the Pharisees and the lawyers [who were experts in the Mosaic Law] annulled and set aside God’s purpose for themselves, not having been baptized by John.

It proves that [God's] wise counsel is right in the eyes of all of her children [i.e., in the eyes of people known for their wisdom]."

After this, Jesus traveled from one city and village to another, preaching and spreading the good news about God's kingdom. The Twelve were with him,

The meaning of the parable is as follows. The seed is God's Message.

"My mother and my brothers," He replied, "are these who hear God's Message and obey it."

Then Jesus took the five loaves of bread and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, asked God's blessing on the food. [Then] He broke it [in pieces] and gave it to the disciples to distribute to the crowds.

“But you,” He asked them, “who do you say that I am?”

Peter answered, “God’s Messiah!”

For whoever would [try to] save his life [i.e., by neglecting spiritual things] will lose it [i.e., miss out on the blessings of God]. But whoever [willingly] loses his life [i.e., in commitment to God's service] for my sake, that person will save it [i.e., obtain both temporal and spiritual blessings].

But I tell you the truth, there are some people standing here who will surely not experience death until they see that God's kingdom has come [i.e., in a demonstration of power. See Mark 9:1]."

They were all amazed [practically overwhelmed] at the [evidence of the] greatness of God and His majesty and His wondrous work.

But while they were still awed by everything Jesus was doing, He said to His disciples,

But, if I drive out evil spirits by the finger of God [i.e., by God's direct, supernatural intervention], then [that is evidence that] the kingdom of God has come into your midst [i.e., by my presence and ministry].

"Nay rather," He replied, "they are blessed who hear God's Message and carefully keep it."

"It is too bad for you teachers of the law of Moses! For you took away the key of knowledge [i.e., preventing people from understanding God's plan]. You did not enter [the kingdom of heaven. See Matt. 23:13] yourselves and [you even] prevented those who [wanted] to enter [to get in]."

Aren’t five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten in God’s sight.

"But I tell you, the Son of Man will acknowledge before God's angels everyone who acknowledges me before people.

But whoever denies me before people will be denied before God's angels.

If then God so clothe the grass, which is to day in the field, and to morrow is cast into the oven; how much more will he clothe you, O ye of little faith?

But seek God's Kingdom, and all these things will be added to you.

"You should try hard to enter [God's kingdom] by means of the narrow door, for I tell you, many people will try to enter it but will not be able to.