But He turned and glanced at His disciples and reproved Peter by saying, "Get out of my way, Satan, for this view of yours is not from God but from men!"

For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever will lose his life because of me and the good-news, this man will save it.

Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and of my words, among this adulterous and sinful generation: of him shall the son of man be ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his father with the holy angels."

Six days after this, Jesus took Peter, James, and John with Him, and led them up on a high mountain, alone by themselves. And in their presence His appearance was changed,

And there was a cloud that shadowed them. And a voice came out of the cloud saying, "This is my dear son, hear him."

And they kept the matter to themselves, discussing what this rising from the dead {meant}.

At length they started this question, why do the Scribes say, that Elias must first come?

He said to them, "Elijah does come first, to restore all things; but what is written about the Son of man as well? This, that he is to endure great suffering and be rejected.

And he asked his father, "How long is it ago, since this hath happened him?" And he said, "Of a child.

And, Jesus, said unto him - As for this, If it be possible to thee, all things, are possible, to him who hath faith.

When Jesus saw a crowd running together [toward Him], He spoke sternly to the evil spirit [in the boy], saying to it, "You deaf-mute spirit, I order you to come out of this boy and to never return to him again."

now when Jesus was retired to his own house, his disciples asked him in private, why could not we cast this spirit out?

And he said unto them, "This kind can by no other means come forth, but by prayer and fasting."

in the mean time he gave his disciples this intimation, "the son of man is going to be delivered up into the hands of men, who will put him to death, and three days after he is put to death he shall rise again."

They didn't understand what this statement meant, and they were afraid to ask him.

Then Jesus and His disciples came to Capernaum [Note: This city on the northwest shore of Lake Galilee had become sort of a headquarters for Jesus when He was in this region]. When He [and His disciples] entered a house He asked them, "What were you discussing on the way here?"

"Whoever welcomes a child like this in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes not me but the one who sent me."

Upon this occasion John address'd himself to Jesus, saying, master, we saw a man casting out demons in your name, tho' he did not belong to us, for which reason we opposed him.

For whoever will give you a cup of water to drink on this account, because you are Christ s, verily I say to you, he shall not lose his reward.

And whoever causes one of these little ones [i.e., humble followers of the Lord. See Matt. 18:6] 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 thrown into the ocean [Note: This was a heavy, circular stone rolled over grain to crush it, and moved by an animal walking in a circle].

For everyone will be salted with fire. [Note: This meant either the suffering "salt" of fiery trials (the sacrifices of verses 43-47 or the punishing "salt" of being thrown into a fiery hell (verse 45-48)].

then the Pharisees came and propos'd to him this insnaring question, is it lawful for a man to repudiate his wife?

And Jesus answered, and said unto them, "For the hardness of your hearts he wrote this precept unto you.

'And for this thing's sake shall man leave his father and mother, and bide by his wife,

And in the house again the disciples began to ask him about this.

Then some [parents] were bringing [their] little children to Jesus so He could touch them [i.e., to bestow a blessing on them], but His disciples spoke harshly to these parents [for doing this].

When Jesus saw this, he became furious and told them, "Let the little children come to me, and stop keeping them away, because the kingdom of God belongs to people like these.

Shocked at this statement, the man went away sad, because he had many possessions.

at this expression the disciples were much surpriz'd. but Jesus reassum'd the discourse, and said, how difficult a thing is it for those, who place their trust in riches, to enter into the divine kingdom?

at this they were more amazed than before, and said to one another, how then can such a man be saved?

Jesus looked at them and replied, "This is impossible for mere humans, but not for God; all things are possible for God."

which shall not receive a hundred fold now in this life, houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers and children, and lands with persecutions, and in the world to come eternal life.

"Grant us this," they answered, "to sit, one on your right, and the other on your left, when you come in glory."

But to sit on My right or on My left, this is not Mine to give; but it is for those for whom it has been prepared.”

And [when they] heard [this], the ten began to be indignant about James and John.

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

Then they [i.e., Jesus and the twelve apostles] came to Jericho [Note: This was a town about

And if anyone says to you, 'Why are you doing this?' say 'The Lord has need of it, and will send it here again at once.'"

May the coming kingdom of our forefather David be blessed. Hosanna in the highest [i.e., may this blessing reach to the highest heaven]."

Then he said to it, "May no one ever eat fruit from you after this!" The disciples heard him say it.

This came to the ears of the scribes and high priests, and they tried to get him put to death, for they were afraid of him. But the multitude were all astounded at his teaching.

I tell you truly, whoever says to this hill, 'Take and throw yourself into the sea,' and has not a doubt in his mind but believes that what he says will happen, he will have it done.

For this [reason] I say to you, whatever you pray and ask for, believe that you have received [it], and it will be [done] for you.

and asked him, "What authority have you for acting in this way? Who gave you authority to act in this way?"

Jesus said to them, "I am going to ask you a question. Answer this, and I will tell you what authority I have for acting as I do.

And they began to discuss [this] with one another, saying, "What should we say? If we say 'From heaven,' he will say, 'Why then did you not believe him?'

they therefore gave Jesus this answer, we cannot tell. neither do I, said Jesus, acquaint you by what authority I act thus.

Then Jesus address'd himself to them in this parabolical manner. a certain person planted a vineyard, made a fence about it, clear'd the way for a wine-press, built a tower, and committed it to the care of vine-dressers, while he was travelling abroad.

A second time the owner sent a servant to them; this man, too, the tenants struck on the head, and insulted.

He sent another, and that one they killed. This happened to many others, some of whom were beaten, others killed.

But those vine-dressers said one to another, This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.

Have you not read this scripture: The stone which the builders rejected has become the head of the corner;

this was from the Lord, and it is wondrous in our eyes?

After this his enemies were eager to arrest him, but they were afraid of the crowd; for they saw that it was at them that he had aimed the parable. So they let him alone, and went away.

Then the Pharisees sent certain ones of their number [See Matt. 22:15-16] along with the Herodians [Note: This refers to members of a political party favoring King Herod] to attempt to trap Him by what He said.

Should we pay it, or should we not pay it?" But Jesus was aware of their hypocrisy and said to them, "Bring me the coin so I can see it." [Note: The amount of this coin was equivalent to one day of a farm laborer's pay, or about $60-$84 in 1994].

They brought it; and he said to them: Whose image and superscription is this? They said to him: Caesar's.

Next came some Sadducees--the men who maintain that there is no resurrection. Their question was this--

"Teacher," they said, "Moses has written this law for us, that if a man's brother dies leaving a wife but no child, his brother is to take the woman and raise offspring for his brother.

And Jesus answered and said to them: Do you not err for this reason, because you know not the scriptures, nor the power of God?

Then came up one of the Teachers of the Law who had heard their discussions. Knowing that Jesus had answered them wisely, he asked him this question: "What is the first of all the commandments?"

"The chief Commandment," replied Jesus, "is this: 'Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God is one Lord;

And you shall love the Lord your God with your whole heart, and with your whole soul, and with your whole mind, and with your whole strength. This is the first commandment.

And the second, which is like it, is this: You shall love your neighbor as your self. There is no other commandment greater than these.

And Jesus, perceiving that he answered wisely, said to him, Thou art not far from the kingdom of God. And after this no one dared to question him.

So Jesus asked this question as He taught in the temple complex, “How can the scribes say that the Messiah is the Son of David?

for David himself, who was inspired by the holy spirit, has this expression, "the Lord said to my Lord, sit thou at my right hand till I make thy enemies thy foot-stool."

Then Jesus sat down over near the [Temple] treasury and watched how the crowd was throwing money into the treasury [Note: This "treasury" was a large open-mouthed container used for receiving offerings for meeting expenses of Temple upkeep]. Many rich people were throwing in lots of money.

And he called his disciples to him, and said to them: Verily I say to you, this poor widow has thrown in more than all that have thrown into the treasury.

but Jesus answer'd him, you see this magnificent structure, which shall not be left till it be all demolished, one stone after another.

"Tell us when this will be, and what will be the sign when all this is drawing to its close."

And Jesus said to them, "Take care that no one misleads you about this.

And when you hear about wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed. This must happen, but the end [is] not yet.

For 'nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom'; there will be earthquakes in various places; there will be famines. This will be but the beginning of the birth-pangs.

"But pay attention to yourselves, for people will turn you over to [Jewish] councils [i.e., for judgment] and you will be beaten in synagogues. You will stand trial before governors and kings for being loyal to me. [This will afford you an opportunity] for witnessing to them.

And, when they lead you away, delivering you up, be not anxious beforehand what ye shall speak; but whatsoever is given you in that hour, this speak: for it is not ye that speak, but the Holy Spirit.

And you will be hated by all because of my name. But the one who endures to the end--this one will be saved.

As soon, however, as you see 'the Foul Desecration' standing where he ought not" (the reader must consider what this means) "then those of you who are in Judea must take refuge in the mountains;

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] should not go down into his house to take anything out [when he flees].

Pray, too, that this may not occur in winter.

For these will be the days of affliction, such as has not been from the beginning of the creation which God created, till this time, and will never be.

But see that you are on your guard! I have told you all this beforehand.

and the stars will be falling 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 earth].

"Learn this parable from the fig tree: Whenever its branch becomes tender and puts out its leaves, you know that summer is near.

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

Verily I say to you, this generation shall not pass away, till all these things take place.

Now the Passover Festival and the Festival of Unleavened Bread were held two days later. [Note: This was the annual Jewish Festival week commemorating Israel's deliverance from Egyptian bondage under Moses' leadership. The unleavened bread was specially baked bread containing no yeast, which was eaten for seven days as part of the celebration]. And the leading priests and experts in the law of Moses were looking for a way to take Jesus by trickery and kill Him.

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

And while Jesus was in Bethany [Note: This was a small village fewer than two miles east of Jerusalem], sitting at the dinner table in the house of Simon, the man with an infectious skin disease [Note: This man had probably been healed by now], a woman with an alabaster [i.e., stone] jar of very expensive perfume came to Him, broke the jar and poured the perfume on His head.

But there were some that had indignation among themselves,'saying , To what purpose hath this waste of the ointment been made?

For this ointment might have been sold for above three hundred shillings, and given to the poor. And they murmured against her.

"Let her alone," said Jesus, as they began to find fault with her, "why are you troubling her? This is a beautiful deed that she has done for me.

She has done what she could. She has applied this aromatic oil to my body in anticipation of my burial.

And verily I say unto you, Wheresoever the gospel shall be preached throughout the whole world, that also which this woman hath done shall be spoken of for a memorial of her.

After this, Judas Iscariot, one of the Twelve, went to the Chief Priests, to betray Jesus to them.

And [when] they heard [this], they were delighted, and promised to give him money. And he began seeking how he could betray him conveniently.

They were grieved at this, and began to say to him, one after another: "Can it be I?"

And as they were eating, he took bread, and when he had blessed, he brake it, and gave to them, and said, Take ye: this is my body.

And he said unto them, This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many.

Verily I say unto you, I will drink no more of this fruit of the vine, until that day that I shall drink it new in the kingdom of God."