And whoever would like to be first [in prominence] among you, will be your slave.

Many people spoke harshly to the blind man, telling him to be quiet. But he shouted all the more [loudly], "Son of David, have pity on me."

And Jesus said to him, "Go on your way, your faith [in me] has made you well." And immediately his sight was restored, and he began following Jesus along the road.

And when they [all] approached Jerusalem, and came close to Bethphage and Bethany, near the Mount of Olives [Note: These small villages were about two miles east of Jerusalem], He sent two of His disciples on ahead,

saying to them, "Go into the village just ahead of you and, upon entering it, you will find tied up [there] a colt that no one has ever ridden; untie it and bring it here.

And if anyone says to you, "Why are you doing this?" you should say, "The Lord needs it," and immediately he will send it back here.

Many people spread their clothing on the roadway, while others spread leafy branches, which they had cut from the fields.

Therefore, He said to the tree, "From now on no one will ever eat fruit from you." Now His disciples heard Him say this.

And He would not [even] allow anyone to carry a container [of goods] through the Temple [area].

Then He taught them, saying, "Is it not written [Isa. 56:7], 'My house [i.e., the Temple] will be called a house of prayer for people of all nations'? But [Jer. 7:11 says], 'You have made it a hideout for thieves.'"

The leading priests and experts in the law of Moses heard this and began looking for some way to kill Jesus, because they were afraid of Him, since the whole crowd was amazed at His teaching.

Truly I tell you, whoever will say to this mountain, 'Be lifted up and thrown into the ocean' and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he said will happen, he will have his request granted.

Therefore I tell you, whatever things you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received them, and you will have every one of them.

And whenever you stand praying, forgive whatever [grievance] you might have against anyone, so that your Father in heaven will also forgive you of your sins." {{Verse

Jesus answered them, "Let me ask you a question. And if you answer it, then I will tell you by what authority I am doing these things.

So, they discussed this among themselves, saying, "If we say 'from heaven' He will say to us, 'Then why did you not believe his message?'

But, should we say 'from men' [instead]?" Now they feared the people, for all of them considered John to be a true prophet.

So, they answered Jesus and said, "We do not know [where John got his authority to immerse]." Jesus replied to them, " [Then] neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things [i.e., miracles and teaching]."

The owner had one more person [left to send], his dearly loved son. [So] he sent him to them last of all, reasoning to himself, ' [Surely] they will treat my son with respect.'

But the tenant farmers said to one another, 'This is the heir [to the vineyard]. Come on, let us kill him and then the inheritance will be ours.'

What do you think the owner of the vineyard will do [when he gets back]?" Jesus asked. [Then He continued], "He will come and kill those tenant farmers and give the vineyard to other people.

And when they arrived, they said to Him, "Teacher, we know that you are sincere, and [that you] do not care for [i.e., do not fear or give in to] anyone. For you do not allow [the position of] any person to influence you, but teach the truth about God's way. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?

All seven left no children [behind when they died]. Finally, the woman also passed away.

[Now] whose wife will she be in the resurrected state, for all seven [brothers] were married to her?"

For when people rise from the dead, men do not get married, and women are not given away in marriage, but [all] are like angels in heaven.

Then one of the experts in the law of Moses [Note: Matt. 22:34 identifies him as being a Pharisee also], came and heard Jesus and the Sadducees discussing together [i.e., the subject of the resurrection], and knowing that Jesus had refuted the Sadducees successfully, asked Him, "Which commandment is foremost, above all the others?"

and you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind and with all your strength.'

And that to love Him with all one's heart, with all one's understanding, and with all one's strength, and to love one's neighbor the same way he loves himself, are far more [important] than all the burnt offerings and sacrifices [in the world]."

They consume widows' houses [i.e., by foreclosing on them] and [then] cover it up by offering lengthy prayers. These people will receive a more severe judgment."

Jesus called His disciples to Him and said to them, "Truly I tell you, this poor widow has thrown in more than all the rest who are throwing [money] into the treasury.

For all of them threw in from their abundance, but being very poor, she threw in everything she had, even all she had to live on."

And Jesus responded to him, "Do you see these huge buildings? There will not be one stone left on another here that will not be thrown down."

"Tell us, when will these things [you just spoke of] happen? And what will be the sign [that indicates] when all these things are about to be fulfilled?"

[For] many [false teachers] will come, claiming to be me, and saying, 'I am [the Christ] and they will lead many people astray.

For nations will wage war against one another, and kingdoms will attack one another. And earthquakes will happen at various places [in the world], and there will be famines. These things are [only] the beginning of terrible times.

"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 the good news must first be preached to people of all nations.

And when they lead you into court, and hand you over [to be judged], do not worry ahead of time about what you will say, but [just] say whatever you are told [i.e., by God] when the time comes.

And [at that time] a person will turn his brother over to be killed, and the father will do the same to his child. And children will rebel against their parents and will turn them over to be killed.

You will be hated by all people because you belong to me, but the person who holds out [i.e., remains faithful to God] until the end [i.e., the end of this time of severe persecution] will be saved [from destruction].

[It will be] too bad for those who are pregnant and those who are nursing babies in those days.

And pray that [your flight] will not be in the winter.

There will be great trouble during those days, such as had never been from the beginning of God's creation until the present, or even will be [in the days to come].

For false Christs and false prophets will appear and they will perform [miraculous] signs and [supernatural] wonders in order to lead astray [even] the elect, if possible.

But pay attention, for I have told you [all this] ahead of time.

"But after those days of terrible trouble [i.e., the next major event on God's calendar will be], the sun will become dark, and [therefore] the moon will not [be able to] shed its [reflected] light,

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].

And then they will see the Son of man coming in the clouds with great power and splendor.

And He will send out His angels and gather His elect [i.e., God's people] from all directions, from the farthest part of the earth to the farthest part of the sky [i.e., from throughout the whole world].

Truly I tell you, the people of this generation will not [all] die off before all these things [i.e., mentioned above] happen.

Although the sky and the earth will pass away [See II Pet. 3:10], my words will not pass away [i.e., they will certainly come true].

But no one knows when that day or that hour will come; not even the angels in heaven or the Son of God know, but only the Father does.

"You should pay attention; be alert and pray, for you do not know when the time will come [i.e., for the Lord to return].

It is like a man who left his house on a trip to another country. [Before leaving] he put his servants in charge of his affairs, giving each one a [particular] job to do, then he ordered the gatekeeper to stay alert [i.e., while he was gone].

So, be alert, because you do not know when the owner of the house will return, whether [some] evening, at midnight, at dawn, or at [mid-] morning.

But they reasoned, "We will not [take him] during the Festival, because it might start 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.

You will always have poor people with you, and you can do something good for them whenever you want to, but you will not always have me with you.

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

For truly I tell you, wherever the Gospel message will be preached throughout the whole world, what this woman has done [for me] will [also] be told about as a memorial of her [kindness to me]."

So, He sent two of His disciples, saying to them, "Go into the city [of Jerusalem] and there a man carrying a pitcher of water will meet you; follow him.

And the owner himself will show you a large upstairs room all furnished and ready. Make preparations for us there [i.e., to observe the Passover meal]."

As they reclined at the table to eat, [Note: See Matt. 23:6] Jesus said, "Truly I tell you, one of you will turn me over [i.e., to the Jewish leaders]; [it is the one] who is eating with me."

And they [all] began to be grieved and said to Him, one by one, "Am I the one?"

For the Son of man is going [to die], but it is too bad for that person who will turn me over to the Jewish leaders It would be better for that man if he had not been born."

Then He took a cup [i.e., probably wine made from fresh or possibly preserved grape juice], and when He had given thanks to God, He passed it to them and they all drank from it.

Truly I tell you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine [i.e., grape juice] any more until that day when I will drink it again [i.e., figuratively] in the kingdom of God."

Then Jesus said to His disciples, "All of you will have doubts about me, for it is written [Zech. 13:7], 'I will strike down the shepherd and the sheep will be scattered everywhere.'

However, after I am raised up, I will go on ahead of you to Galilee."

But Peter said to Him, "Although everyone else will have doubts [about you], I never will."

And Jesus said to him, "Truly I tell you, today, in fact this very night, before the rooster crows twice, you will deny [knowing] me three times."

But Peter kept insisting emphatically, "Even if I have to die with you, still I will not deny [knowing] you." And all the rest of the disciples spoke the same way.

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

And He went on ahead a short distance and fell to the ground and prayed for that hour [i.e., that time of terrible grief] to pass away from Him, if it were at all possible.

Then He came back again and found His disciples still asleep, because they had not been able to keep their eyes open at all.

Get up, let us be going. Look, the one who will turn me over [i.e., to the Jewish leaders] is nearby."

And all of His disciples left Him and ran away.

Then they led Jesus away to the head priest, and all the leading priests, [Jewish] elders and experts in the law of Moses came together with Him.

"We heard him say, 'I will destroy this Temple, which was constructed by hand, and in three days I will build another one, not made by hand.'"

And Jesus answered, "Yes, I am; and you will see the Son of man sitting at the right side of Power [i.e., God, Himself], and coming on the clouds of the sky."

You [yourselves] have heard him speaking against God. What do you people think [i.e., about such statements]?" And they all condemned Him as deserving the death penalty.

But again he denied it. Then after a little while those standing nearby said to Peter again, "We know for sure that you are one of them because you are from Galilee." [Note: Peter's accent gave him away. See Matt. 26:73].

Immediately the rooster crowed for the second time and Peter was reminded of the words of Jesus, who had said to him, "You will deny [knowing] me three times before the rooster crows twice." And as he thought about this, he cried.

Then at three o'clock Jesus shouted in a loud voice, "Eloi, Eloi, lama, sabachthani?" [Note: These words were in the commonly spoken Aramaic language], which being interpreted, means "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"

And there were also some women watching all this from a distance. Among them were Mary from Magdala; Mary the mother of the younger James and [his brother] Joseph [i.e., probably the wife of Clopas. See John 19:25]; and Salome [i.e., the mother of James and John and wife of Zebedee. See Matt. 27:56].

They were questioning among themselves, "Who will roll away the stone from the entrance of the cave for us?"

So, go and tell His disciples and Peter, 'He is going on ahead of you to Galilee. You will see Him there, just as He told you.'"

The person who believes [i.e., the Gospel] and is immersed will be saved [i.e., from condemnation], but whoever does not believe it will be condemned.

And these [miraculous] signs will attend [the conversion of] those who believe. [Note: This refers to the supernatural miracles performed by the apostles and their associates during the apostolic age. See verse

they will pick up snakes [i.e., without being harmed]; and if they happen to drink anything poisonous, it will not harm them; they will place hands on sick people [i.e., with prayer] and they will be healed."

and Acts 2:43]. In my name [i.e., by my authority], they will drive out evil spirits; they will speak in languages [supernaturally];