Then they asked Him, "Why did Moses command us to give a written divorce charge, and in this way to divorce a wife?"

He said to them, "Moses, with reference to your hardness of heart, permitted you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not like this.

The disciples said to Jesus, “If the relationship of a man with his wife is like this, it is better not to marry.”

But he said unto them, All men cannot receive this saying, save they to whom it is given.

For there are eunuchs who have been born that way from their mother’s womb [making them incapable of consummating a marriage]; and there are eunuchs who have been made eunuchs by men [for royal service]; and there are eunuchs who have made themselves so for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. He who is able to accept this, let him accept it.”

Then some little children were brought to Jesus so he could pray and place His hands on them [i.e., to bestow a blessing on them]. But His disciples spoke harshly to the people [for doing this].

Then Jesus said, “Leave the children alone, and don’t try to keep them from coming to Me, because the kingdom of heaven is made up of people like this.”

He said to him, What? And Jesus said, this; You shall not kill; You shall not commit adultery; You shall not steal; You shall not testify falsely;

But when the young man heard this, he left grieving and distressed, for he owned much property and had many possessions [which he treasured more than his relationship with God].

At this, Jesus said to his disciples: "I tell you that a rich man will find it hard to enter the Kingdom of Heaven!

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

But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.

And every person who has left his house, or brothers, or sisters, or father, or mother, or children or property, for my name's sake [i.e., to become a servant of the Lord], will receive [back] a hundred times as much [in this life] and will [also] inherit never ending life.

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].

Take that thine is, and go thy way: I will give unto this last, even as unto thee.

He *said to them, “My cup you shall drink; but to sit on My right and on My left, this is not Mine to give, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared by My Father.”

And when the [other] ten heard this, they were resentful and angry with the two brothers.

It will not be like this among you! But whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant,

As they [i.e., the twelve apostles and Jesus] were leaving Jericho [Note: This was a town about eighteen miles northeast of Jerusalem], a huge crowd followed them.

And when they [i.e., Jesus and the twelve apostles] approached Jerusalem and came close to Bethphage, near the Mount of Olives [Note: This was about three-fourths of a mile east of Jerusalem], Jesus sent two disciples on ahead,

And, if any one says anything to you, you are to say this-- 'The Master wants them'; and he will send them at once."

All this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying,

And the crowds that walked ahead and followed behind Him shouted, "Hosanna to the son of David. [Note: The Syriac word 'Hosanna' originally meant 'save now' but came to be used as an expression of welcome, praise, blessing or acclamation]. May He, who comes in the name [i.e., by the authority] of the Lord, be blessed. Hosanna in the highest [i.e., may this blessing reach to the highest heaven]."

And when he was come into Jerusalem, all the city was moved, saying, Who is this?

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

and asked Him, "Do you hear what they are saying?" Jesus answered them, "Yes. Did you never read this, 'Out of the mouths of little children, yea, of infants, you have perfect praise'?"

He then left them and went out of the city [of Jerusalem] to Bethany [Note: This was a small village near Bethphage] and stayed there [i.e., probably at the home of Mary, Martha and Lazarus. See John 11:1].

And seeing a fig-tree by the wayside, he came to it, and saw nothing on it but leaves only; and he said to it, Let there be no fruit from you from this time forward for ever. And straight away the fig-tree became dry and dead.

When the disciples saw this, they were amazed. "How did the fig tree dry up so quickly?" they asked.

Jesus answered and said unto them, Verily I say unto you, If ye have faith, and doubt not, ye shall not only do this which is done to the fig tree, but also if ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; it shall be done.

And when he was come into the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came unto him as he was teaching, and said, By what authority doest thou these things? and who gave thee this authority?

From where was the baptism of John--from heaven or from men?" And they began to discuss [this] among themselves, saying, "If we say 'From heaven,' he will say to us, 'Why then did you not believe him?'

They began discussing this among themselves: "If we say, "From heaven,' he will ask us, "Then why didn't you believe him?' But if we say, "From humans,' we are afraid of the crowd, because everyone regards John as a prophet."

But what do you think [about this]? A man had two sons; He went to the first one and said, 'Son, go to work in my vineyard today.'

The father went to the other son and said the same thing. This boy answered, 'I will, sir,' but did not go.

For John came to you observing all sorts of ritual, and you put no faith in him: the tax-gatherers and the notorious sinners did put faith in him, and you, though you saw this example set you, were not even afterwards sorry so as to believe him.

But when the husbandmen saw the son, they said among themselves, This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and let us seize on his inheritance.

Jesus saith unto them, Did ye never read in the scriptures, The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner: this is the Lord's doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes?

'Because of this I say to you, that the reign of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth its fruit;

And whosoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken: but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder.

But they paid no attention [and] went away--this one to his own field, that one to his business.

The king was enraged [when he heard this], and sent his soldiers and destroyed those murderers and burned their city.

Upon this the Pharisees withdrew, and consulted how they might insnare him in his discourse.

Tell us then, what do You think? Is it permissible [according to Jewish law and tradition] to pay a poll-tax to Caesar, or not?”

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 he saith unto them, Whose is this image and superscription?

And [when they] heard [this], they were astonished, and they left him [and] went away.

On the same day a party of Sadducees came to Him, contending that there is no resurrection. And they put this case to Him.

now if there be another life after this, whose wife shall she be of the seven? for they all married her.

for in the other life after this, there will be no such thing as marriage; but they will be as the angels of God in heaven.

And when the multitude heard this, they were astonished at his doctrine.

Then one of them, a Student of the Law, to test him, asked this question--

And Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind: this is the first and great command.

This is the first and great commandment.

And a second like unto it is this, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.

Now while the Pharisees were assembled together, Jesus asked them this question,

They love to recline at the head place at dinner tables [Note: This referred to the practice of lying down on their left side on a couch next to the dinner table, and leaning on their left elbow, while eating with their right hand], and to occupy the principal seats in the synagogues.

They love the [special] greetings they receive at the open shopping markets and to be addressed as 'Rabbi' [Note: This word signified 'great' or 'master'].

But alas for you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you eat up the houses of widows, and for a pretext make long prayers. For this reason, you shall receive the greater condemnation.

'Woe to you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because ye eat up the houses of the widows, and for a pretence make long prayers, because of this ye shall receive more abundant judgment.

"How terrible it will be for you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to make a single convert, and when this happens you make him twice as fit for hell as you are.

In this way also, ye indeed outwardly appear righteous to men, but inside ye are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.

By saying this you testify against yourselves that you are descendants of those who murdered the prophets.

'Because of this, lo, I send to you prophets, and wise men, and scribes, and of them ye will kill and crucify, and of them ye will scourge in your synagogues, and will pursue from city to city;

[This will be done] so that on you may fall the guilt for shedding on the ground the blood of all those innocent people, from the blood of righteous Abel to that of Barachiah's son Zachariah, whom you murdered between the Sanctuary and the Altar [i.e., in the Temple area].

Verily I say unto you, All these things shall come upon this generation.

For I say to you, You will not see me from this time till you say, A blessing on him who comes in the name of the Lord.

but he replied to them, "You see all this? I tell you truly, not a stone here will be left upon another, without being torn down."

While Jesus was seated on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, and said, “Tell us, when will this [destruction of the temple] take place, and what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end (completion, consummation) of the age?”

Jesus answered, "Take care that no one misleads you about this.

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].

But all these things are merely the beginning of birth pangs [of the intolerable anguish and the time of unprecedented trouble].

But the one who endures to the end--this person will be saved.

And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.

“So when you see the abomination of desolation [the appalling sacrilege that astonishes and makes desolate], spoken of by the prophet Daniel, standing in the Holy Place (let the reader understand),

[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].

For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.

Remember, I've told you this beforehand.

Wherever there is a dead body, [you can expect to see] vultures gathered there. [Note: This may mean that such a significant event as the coming of Christ would surely not go unnoticed].

"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']

“Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its young shoots become tender and it puts out its leaves, you know that summer is near;

so, whenever you see all this happen, you may be sure He is at hand, at the very door.

Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.

They didn’t know until the flood came and swept them all away. So this is the way the coming of the Son of Man will be:

Two women will be grinding grain at a millstone [Note: This was a hand-operated device where two persons sat across from each other and rotated a circular stone over kernels of grain]; one will be taken, while the other one will be left.

But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up.

because of this also ye, become ye ready, because in what hour ye do not think, the Son of Man doth come.

How blessed is that servant whom his master finds doing this when he comes!

He gave one servant five talents [Note: This 'talent' was a large sum of money in the form of a certain weight of silver. It was the equivalent of sixty years of a farm laborer's wages, or about $750,000 in income]. He gave two talents to another servant and one talent to another. He gave to each one an amount in keeping with his ability [to invest it wisely], and then left on his trip.

And throw this good-for-nothing slave into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

And the King will answer them and say, 'Truly I tell you, since you did all this for one of my least [significant] brothers, you did it for me.'

to this he will reply, I declare unto you, your not doing this for one of the least of these, is the same thing as not doing it for me.

When Jesus had finished this discourse, He said to His disciples,

"You know that the Passover Festival will be celebrated in two more days [Note: This was the annual Jewish festival commemorating Israel's deliverance from Egyptian bondage under Moses' leadership], and the Son of man will be turned over to be crucified."

About this time the chief priests, and the elders of the people, assembled in the palace of the high priest, whose name was Caiaphas,

But they kept saying, "This must not happen during the festival. Otherwise, there'll be a riot among the people."

Now when Jesus was at Bethany [Note: This was a small village less than two miles east of Jerusalem], in the house of Simon, the man [who probably had been healed] of an infectious skin disease,

But when his disciples saw it, they had indignation, saying, To what purpose is this waste?

For this ointment might have been sold for much, and given to the poor.