But Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Get behind Me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to Me; for you are not setting your mind on things of God, but on things of man.”

Because whoever has a desire to keep his life safe will have it taken from him; but whoever gives up his life because of me, will have it given back to him.

There in their presence His form underwent a change; His face shone like the sun, and His raiment became as white as the light.

While he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well-pleased and delighted! Listen to Him!”

And lifting up their eyes, they saw no man, but Jesus only. And as they came down from the mountain,

And as they came down from the mountain, Jesus charged them, saying, Tell the vision to no man, until the Son of man be risen again from the dead.

But I say unto you that Elias has already come, and they have not known him, but have done unto him whatever they would. Thus also the Son of man is about to suffer from them.

So shall also the Son of man suffer from them. Then the disciples understood, that he spoke to them of John the Baptist.

And Jesus rebuked the devil; and he departed out of him: and the child was cured from that very hour.

He answered, “Because of your little faith [your lack of trust and confidence in the power of God]; for I assure you and most solemnly say to you, if you have [living] faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and [if it is God’s will] it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you.

As they continued going from place to place in Galilee, Jesus said to them. "The Son of man is about to be betrayed into the hands of men;

And they will put him to death, and the third day he will come again from the dead. And they were very sad.

When Jesus and His disciples came to Capernaum, the collectors of the tax [Note: This was the annual tax used for meeting the expenses of the Temple service and consisted of two days' worth of a farm laborer's pay, or about $140 in 1994] came to Peter and said, "Does not your teacher [also] pay the [Temple] tax?"

He saith, Yea. And when he came into the house, Jesus spake first to him, saying, What thinkest thou, Simon? the kings of the earth, from whom do they receive toll or tribute? from their sons, or from strangers?

And when he said, From strangers, Jesus said unto him, Therefore the sons are free.

At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, "Who, then, is the greatest in the kingdom from heaven?"

Then he said, "I tell all of you with certainty, unless you change and become like little children, you will never get into the kingdom from heaven.

Therefore, whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom from heaven,

But that person who causes one of these little ones [i.e., humble followers of the Lord] 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 dumped into a deep ocean [Note: This "millstone" was a heavy circular stone rolled over grain to crush it and was moved by an animal walking in a circle].

'Woe to the world from the stumbling-blocks! for there is a necessity for the stumbling-blocks to come, but woe to that man through whom the stumbling-block doth come!

Wherefore if thy hand or thy foot offend thee, cut them off, and cast them from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life halt or maimed, rather than having two hands or two feet to be cast into everlasting fire.

And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire.

[For the Son of Man has come to save that which was lost.]

How, to you, doth it seem? If a certain man come to have a hundred sheep and one from among them go astray, Will he not leave the ninety-nine upon the mountains, and going, seek the straying one?

Again I say to you, that if two of you shall agree on the earth concerning any matter, whatsoever it may be that they shall ask, it shall come to them from my Father who is in the heavens.

"That is why the kingdom from heaven may be compared to a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants.

And the master of that servant felt deep pity [for him], so released him [from custody] and canceled his debt.

But that [same] servant went out and found one of his fellow-servants who owed him a small sum of money [Note: The amount was about days of a farm laborer's pay or about $7,000 in 1994]. He grabbed him by the throat, saying, 'Pay [me] what you owe.'

So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses.

And it came to pass, that when Jesus had finished these sayings, he departed from Galilee, and came into the coasts of Judaea beyond Jordan;

And he answered and said, Have ye not read, that he who made them from the beginning made them male and female,

For this cause will a man go away from his father and mother, and be joined to his wife; and the two will become one flesh?

They say to him, Why then did Moses give orders that a husband might give her a statement in writing and be free from her?

He saith unto them, Moses because of the hardness of your hearts suffered you to put away your wives: but from the beginning it was not so.

For there are some eunuchs, which were so born from their mother's womb: and there are some eunuchs, which were made eunuchs of men: and there be eunuchs, which have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven's sake. He that is able to receive it, let him receive it.

But Jesus said, Suffer little children, and do not hinder them from coming to me; for the kingdom of the heavens is of such:

And he laid his hands on them [and] traveled on from there.

The young man saith unto him, All these things have I kept from my youth up: what lack I yet?

Then Jesus told his disciples, "I tell all of you with certainty, it will be hard for a rich person to get into the kingdom from heaven.

When the disciples heard this, they were completely astonished and bewildered, saying, “Then who can be saved [from the wrath of God]?”

"The kingdom from heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard.

When he had agreed with the workers [on wages] for the usual farm laborer's pay for a day's work, he [then] sent them to work in his vineyard. [Note: The coin mentioned here would amount to $60-$84 in 1994, based on $5-$7 an hour for a twelve hour day. This coin also forms the basis for calculating all other monetary references in the New Testament].

And having gone out about the third hour, he saw others standing idle in the forum:

So when even was come, the lord of the vineyard saith unto his steward, Call the labourers, and give them their hire, beginning from the last unto the first.

And will give him up to the Gentiles to be made sport of and to be whipped and to be put to death on the cross: and the third day he will come back again from the dead.

Then came near to him the mother of the sons of Zebedee, with her sons, bowing and asking something from him,

"None of you know what you are asking for," said Jesus; "can you drink out of the cup from which I am about to drink?" "We can," they replied.

He told them, "You will indeed drink from my cup. But it's not up to me to grant you a seat at my right hand or at my left. These positions have already been prepared for others by my Father."

Even so, the Son of man did not come to be served [by others] but to be the servant [of others], and to sacrifice His life as a ransom price to purchase many people [i.e., back from Satan]."

And as they departed from Jericho, a great multitude followed him.

saying to them, Go into the village across from you. And immediately you will find an ass tied, and a colt with her. Untie them and bring them to Me.

And a very great multitude spread their garments in the way; others cut down branches from the trees, and strawed them in the way.

The crowds that led the way, as well as those that followed behind, kept shouting: "God save the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! God save him from on high!"

And the multitudes said, This is the prophet, Jesus, from Nazareth of Galilee.

and said to Him, “Do You hear what these children are saying?”

“Yes,” Jesus told them. “Have you never read:

You have prepared praise
from the mouths of children and nursing infants?”

Then He left them and went out of the city to Bethany, and spent the night there.

And seeing a fig tree by the way side, he came to it, and found nothing thereon, but leaves only; and he saith unto it, Let there be no fruit from thee henceforward for ever. And immediately the fig tree withered away.

Jesus replied to them, “I assure you and most solemnly say to you, if you have faith [personal trust and confidence in Me] and do not doubt or allow yourself to be drawn in two directions, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ it will happen [if God wills it].

The baptism of John, whence was it? from heaven, or of men? And they reasoned with themselves, saying, If we shall say, From heaven; he will say unto us, Why did ye not then believe him?

But if we shall say, From men; we fear the multitude; for all hold John as a prophet.

"Listen to another parable [i.e., a brief story used to illustrate His teaching]: There was the owner of a farm who planted a vineyard and built a fence around it. He constructed a grape squeezing device, built a [lookout] tower [near it], leased it to tenant farmers and then went to another country.

And when the season for harvesting the grapes approached, the owner of the farm sent his slaves to the tenant farmers to arrange for delivery of his crop.

But the tenant farmers took the farm owner's slaves and beat one, killed another and stoned another.

The owner of the farm then sent additional slaves and they were treated the same way.

Jesus saith unto them, Did ye never read in the scriptures, The stone which the builders rejected, The same was made the head of the corner; This was from the Lord, And it is marvelous in our eyes?

Therefore say I unto you, The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof.

"The kingdom from heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding banquet for his son.

But they made light of it, and went their ways, one to his farm, another to his merchandise:

So go to the main highways that lead out of the city, and invite to the wedding feast as many as you find.’

Show me the coin used for paying taxes." And they brought to Him a coin [Note: This coin was equivalent to one day of a farm laborer's pay, or about $60-$84 in 1994].

And hearing it, they were full of wonder, and went away from him.

On the same day there came to him the Sadducees, who say that there is no coming back from the dead: and they put a question to him, saying,

When they come back from the dead, then, whose wife will she be of the seven? because they all had her.

Jesus then answering, said unto them, Ye are in an error, from not knowing the Scriptures, and the power of God.

For when they come back from the dead there are no husbands and wives, but they are as the angels in heaven.

As for the resurrection from the dead, haven't you read what was spoken to you by God when he said,

and one from among them, a lawyer, proposed a question, putting him to the test:

And no man was able to answer him a word, neither durst any man from that day forth ask him any more questions.

“But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! You lock up the kingdom of heaven from people. For you don’t go in, and you don’t allow those entering to go in.

is absent from the oldest manuscripts]}]}

You blind guides, who take out a fly from your drink, but make no trouble over a camel.

Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye cleanse the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full from extortion and excess.

So you bear witness against yourselves that you are descended from the murderers of the prophets.

'Serpents! brood of vipers! how may ye escape from the judgment of the gehenna?

Wherefore, behold, I send unto you prophets, and wise men, and scribes: and some of them ye shall kill and crucify; and some of them shall ye scourge in your synagogues, and persecute them from city to city:

That upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zacharias son of Barachias, whom ye slew between the temple and the altar.

For I tell you, you will never see me from now [on] until you say, 'Blessed [is] the one who comes in the name of the Lord!'"

And Jesus went out, and departed from the temple: and his disciples came to him for to shew him the buildings of the temple.

Afterwards He was on the Mount of Olives and was seated there when the disciples came to Him, apart from the others, and said, "Tell us when this will be; and what will be the sign of your Coming and of the Close of the Age?"

And Jesus answered them, "Pay attention so that no one leads you astray [from the truth].

For people will come in my name, saying, I am the Christ; and a number will be turned from the true way through them.

At that time people will turn you over [to the authorities] for persecution and will [even] kill you. And people from all countries will hate you for being loyal to me.

And numbers of people will be turned from the right way, and will give one another up and have hate for one another.

And many false prophets will appear and will lead many people away [from the truth].

but those who stand firm to the End shall be saved.

[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], is not to take any of the belongings from his house as he comes down [to flee].

The person who is in a field [i.e., doing farm work] is not [even] to return [to his house] to get his coat.

And pray that it will not be in the winter or on a Sabbath day when you will have to flee [from the city]. [Note: Jewish Sabbath day restrictions on travel (only three-fifths of a mile) and city gate closures would make leaving the city nearly impossible].

for then shall be great tribulation, such as hath not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, nor ever shall be.

And if those days had not been 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], those days will be short.