Now [after] Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem,

And [when] King Herod heard [it], he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him,

[Jer. 31:15], "A voice was heard in [the town of] Ramah [Note: This was a village near Jerusalem, where Rachel was buried], with crying and deep mourning. It was Rachel crying for her children [Note: Initially this was a reference to the Israelites who were taken to Babylonian captivity. See Jer. 29-31]. She refused to be comforted because they were dead."

Then Jerusalem and all Judea and all the district around the Jordan were going out to him,

then the devil took Jesus with him to Jerusalem, and having set him on the wing of the temple, he said to him,

And large crowds followed him from Galilee, Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea, and from the other side of the Jordan.

or by the earth, because it is the footstool of his feet, or by Jerusalem, because it is the city of the great king.

Then Pharisees and scribes came to Jesus from Jerusalem, saying,

From that time [on] Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many [things] from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised on the third day.

And [as] Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, he took the twelve disciples by themselves and said to them on the way,

"Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests and scribes, and they will condemn him to death,

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 drew near to Jerusalem and came to Bethphage at the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples,

[Zech. 9:9], 'You should tell the daughter of Zion [i.e., the people of Jerusalem], look, your King is coming to you. He is gentle and [will be] riding on a donkey, [even] on a colt, the offspring of the donkey.'"

And [when] he entered into Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred up, saying, "Who is this?"

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].

Now in the morning, as Jesus returned to the city [of Jerusalem], He became hungry.

O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, putting to death the prophets, and stoning those who are sent to her! Again and again would I have taken your children to myself as a bird takes her young ones under her wings, and you would not!

And you will hear of wars [going on] and rumors of [other] wars [pending]. Do not worry, for such things must necessarily happen. But the end has not yet come. [Note: By "the end" here Jesus probably alludes to the downfall of Jerusalem, in AD 70, with its attending destruction of the Temple buildings].

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.

"Therefore, when you see that disgusting thing which causes total destruction [i.e., the Roman armies. See Luke 21:20], which Daniel the prophet spoke about [Dan. 9:27; 11:31; 12:11], standing in the sacred place [i.e., Jerusalem and especially the Temple area], (let the reader understand [what is meant by this]),

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,

He answered, "Go into the city [i.e., Jerusalem] to a certain man and say to him, 'The Teacher says, My time is near [i.e., to be turned over to the Jewish leaders]; I plan to observe the Passover Festival at your house with my disciples.'"

And after they had sung a hymn, they went up to the Mount of Olives. [Note: This was a small hill just east of Jerusalem]

Then Jesus came with His disciples to a place called Gethsemene. [Note: This was an olive orchard on a hillside just east of Jerusalem]. He said to them, "You sit here while I go over there and pray."

As they were leaving [i.e., probably the city of Jerusalem], they met a man from Cyrene [Note: This was a city in the northern African country of Libya]. His name was Simon and they forced him to go with them so he could carry Jesus' cross [i.e., probably only the cross-beam portion].

They came out of their graves after Jesus' resurrection and entered the holy city [i.e., Jerusalem] where they appeared to many people.