When His relatives [or friends] heard about this [i.e., all that He was doing], they went out to take custody of Him [for safety reasons?], for people were saying, "He has lost his mind."

And when He was alone those people who gathered around Him, along with the twelve apostles, asked Him what the parables meant.

Then Jesus ordered them, saying, "Pay attention and watch out for the leavening [effect] of the Pharisees and Herod." [Note: By "Herod" is probably meant the Herodians, who were a party favorable to King Herod and, along with the Pharisees and Sadducees, were out to get Jesus. See Matt. 16:6].

So, they kept what He told them to themselves, discussing [only] among themselves what "rising again from the dead" meant.

But His disciples did not understand what He meant and were afraid to ask Him.

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)].

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,

And the people who walked ahead of Him and followed behind shouted, "Hosanna [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.

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.'

As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, over near the Temple, Peter, James, John and Andrew asked Him privately,

"But when you see that disgusting thing that causes total destruction [i.e., the Roman army. See Luke 21:20] standing where it ought not to be [i.e., surrounding the besieged city of Jerusalem], (let the reader understand [what is meant by this]), then those of you in Judea are to run away into the [nearby] mountains.

And after they had sung a hymn, they went up to the Mount of Olives.