Do not let yourselves be called leaders or teachers; for One is your Leader (Teacher), the Christ.

“But woe (judgment is coming) to you, [self-righteous] scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you shut off the kingdom of heaven in front of people; for you do not enter yourselves, nor do you allow those who are [in the process of] entering to do so.

[Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you swallow up widows’ houses, and to cover it up you make long prayers; therefore you will receive the greater condemnation.]

“Woe to you, [self-righteous] scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you travel over sea and land to make a single proselyte (convert to Judaism), and when he becomes a convert, you make him twice as much a son of hell as you are.

You fools and blind men! Which is more important, the gold or the sanctuary of the temple that sanctified the gold?

“Woe to you, [self-righteous] scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you give a tenth (tithe) of your mint and dill and cumin [focusing on minor matters], and have neglected the weightier [more important moral and spiritual] provisions of the Law: justice and mercy and faithfulness; but these are the [primary] things you ought to have done without neglecting the others.

“Woe to you, [self-righteous] scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and of the plate, but inside they are full of extortion and robbery and self-indulgence (unrestrained greed).

“Woe to you, [self-righteous] scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which look beautiful on the outside, but inside are full of dead men’s bones and everything unclean.

“Woe to you, [self-righteous] scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you build tombs for the prophets and decorate and adorn the monuments of the righteous,

For I say to you, you will not see Me again [ministering to you publicly] until you say, ‘Blessed [to be celebrated with praise] is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’”

For many will come in My name [misusing it, and appropriating the strength of the name which belongs to Me], saying, ‘I am the Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed),’ and they will mislead many.

You will continually hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not frightened, for those things must take place, but that is not yet the end [of the age].

For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places.

“Then they will hand you over to [endure] tribulation, and will put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of My name.

And woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days!

For at that time there will be a great tribulation (pressure, distress, oppression), such as has not occurred since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever will [again].

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).

For just as the lightning comes from the east and flashes as far as the west, so will be the coming [in glory] of the Son of Man [everyone will see Him clearly].

And He will send His angels with a loud trumpet and they will gather together His elect (God’s chosen ones) from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.

For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the [very] day when Noah entered the ark,

“So be alert [give strict attention, be cautious and active in faith], for you do not know which day [whether near or far] your Lord is coming.

Therefore, you [who follow Me] must also be ready; because the Son of Man is coming at an hour when you do not expect Him.

For when the foolish took their lamps, they did not take any [extra] oil with them,

But the foolish virgins said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, because our lamps are going out.’

But the wise replied, ‘No, otherwise there will not be enough for us and for you, too; go instead to the dealers and buy oil for yourselves.’

Therefore, be on the alert [be prepared and ready], for you do not know the day nor the hour [when the Son of Man will come].

“For it is just like a man who was about to take a journey, and he called his servants together and entrusted them with his possessions.

“For to everyone who has [and values his blessings and gifts from God, and has used them wisely], more will be given, and [he will be richly supplied so that] he will have an abundance; but from the one who does not have [because he has ignored or disregarded his blessings and gifts from God], even what he does have will be taken away.

And throw out the worthless servant into the outer darkness; in that place [of grief and torment] there will be weeping [over sorrow and pain] and grinding of teeth [over distress and anger].

“Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father [you favored of God, appointed to eternal salvation], inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.

For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in;

The King will answer and say to them, ‘I assure you and most solemnly say to you, to the extent that you did it for one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it for Me.’

“Then He will say to those on His left, ‘Leave Me, you cursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels (demons);

for I was hungry, and you gave Me nothing to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me nothing to drink;

Then He will reply to them, ‘I assure you and most solemnly say to you, to the extent that you did not do it for one of the least of these [my followers], you did not do it for Me.’

But they said, “It must not be during the festival (Passover), otherwise there might be a riot among the people.”

But when the disciples saw it they were indignant and angry, saying, “Why all this waste [of money]?

For this perfume might have been sold at a high price and the money given to the poor.”

For you always have the poor with you; but you will not always have Me.

When she poured this perfume on My body, she did it to prepare Me for burial.

and said, “What are you willing to give me if I hand Jesus over to you?” And they weighed out thirty pieces of silver.

Now on the first day of Unleavened Bread (Passover Week) the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Where do You want us to prepare for You to eat the Passover?”

The Son of Man is to go [to the cross], just as it is written [in Scripture] of Him; but woe (judgment is coming) to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been good for that man if he had never been born.”

for this is My blood of the [new and better] covenant, which [ratifies the agreement and] is being poured out for many [as a substitutionary atonement] for the forgiveness of sins.

Then Jesus said to them, “You will all fall away because of Me this night [disillusioned about Me, confused, and some even ashamed of Me], for it is written [in the Scriptures], ‘I will strike the Shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.’

And He came to the disciples and found them sleeping, and said to Peter, “So, you men could not stay awake and keep watch with Me for one hour?

Again He came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were heavy.

So, leaving them again, He went away and prayed for the third time, saying the same words once more.

Jesus said to Judas, “Friend, do what you came for.” Then they came and seized Jesus and arrested Him.

Then Jesus said to him, “Put your sword back in its place; for all those who habitually draw the sword will die by the sword.

But Peter followed Him at a distance as far as the courtyard of the [elegant home of the Jewish] high priest, and went inside, and sat with the guards to see the outcome.

After a little while the bystanders came up and said to Peter, “Surely you are one of them too; for even your [Galilean] accent gives you away.”

When Judas, His betrayer, saw that Jesus was condemned, he was gripped with remorse and returned the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and the elders,

The chief priests, picking up the pieces of silver, said, “It is not lawful to put these in the treasury [of the temple], because it is the price of blood.”

and they gave them for the Potter’s Field, as the Lord directed me.”

Now at the feast [of the Passover] the governor was in the habit of setting free any one prisoner whom the people chose.

So when they had assembled [for this purpose], Pilate said to them, “Whom do you want me to set free for you? Barabbas, or Jesus who is called Christ?”

For Pilate knew that it was because of jealousy that the chief priests and elders had handed Jesus over to him.

While he was seated on the judgment seat, his wife sent him a message, saying, “Have nothing to do with that righteous and innocent Man; for last night I suffered greatly in a dream because of Him.”

But the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowds to ask for Barabbas and to put Jesus to death.

The governor said to them, “Which of the two do you wish me to set free for you?” And they said, “Barabbas.”

So when Pilate saw that he was getting nowhere, but rather that a riot was breaking out, he took water and washed his hands [to ceremonially cleanse himself of guilt] in the presence of the crowd, saying, “I am innocent of this [righteous] Man’s blood; see to that yourselves.”

So he set Barabbas free for them; but after having Jesus severely whipped (scourged), he handed Him over to be crucified.

He trusts in God; let God rescue Him now, if He delights in Him; for He said, ‘I am the Son of God.’”

When some of the bystanders there heard it, they began saying, “This man is calling for Elijah.”

He went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus [so that he might bury Him], and Pilate ordered that it be given to him.

And Joseph took the body and wrapped it in a clean linen cloth (burial wrapping),

The next day, that is, the day after the [day of] preparation [for the Sabbath], the chief priests and the Pharisees assembled before Pilate,

Therefore, give orders to have the tomb made secure and safeguarded until the third day, otherwise His disciples may come and steal Him away and tell the people, ‘He has risen from the dead,’ and the last deception [the reporting of His resurrection] will be worse than the first [the reporting that He is the Messiah].”

And a great earthquake had occurred, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled away the stone [from the opening of the tomb], and sat on it.

But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid; for I know that you are looking for Jesus who has been crucified.

So the women left the tomb quickly with fear and great joy, and ran to tell [the good news to] the disciples.

And if the governor (Pilate) hears about it, we will calm him down and keep you out of trouble.”