This is [how] the good news about Jesus Christ, the Son of God, began.

And a voice called out from heaven, saying, "You are my dearly loved Son. I am very pleased with you."

Then, as He walked on a little farther, He saw James, the son of Zebedee, and his brother John, who were in their boat repairing nets.

And as soon as they left the synagogue, they went into the house of Simon [i.e., Peter] and Andrew, taking James and John with them.

When evening came and the sun had set, they brought to Jesus all those who were sick and those dominated by evil spirits.

When Jesus saw [the evidence of] their faith, He said to the paralyzed man, "Son, your sins are forgiven."

But, so you will know that the Son of man has authority on earth to forgive sins (He then said to the paralyzed man),

So, he got up and immediately picked up his cot and walked out in front of them all, so that everyone was amazed and gave honor to God, saying, "We have never seen anything like this before."

And as He walked along He saw Levi [i.e., the same person as Matthew. See Matt. 9:9], the son of Alphaeus, sitting at the toll booth [i.e., collecting taxes]. He said to him, "Become my follower." And he got up and followed Him.

So, the Son of man is lord [i.e., has authority] even over the Sabbath day."

And whenever they saw Him, [people possessed by] evil spirits fell to the ground in front of Him, shouting, "You are the Son of God."

Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew [i.e., the same as Nathaniel. See John 1:45], Matthew [i.e., the same as Levi. See Mark 2:14], Thomas [i.e., the same as Didymus. See John 11:16], James, the son of Alphaeus, Thaddaeus [i.e., the same as Judas, the son of James. See Luke 6:16], Simon the Canaanean [i.e., the same as the Zealot. See Luke 6:15],

Soon a crowd assembled again so that they could not even eat a meal [i.e., without people crowding all around them].

But the person who speaks against the Holy Spirit can never be forgiven, for he is guilty of a never ending sin."

But when the sun came up the newly sprouted plants were scorched, and because they had no roots, [soon] withered away.

Some of the seed that fell along the roadside represents where 'the word' was sown [i.e., preached]. When these people have heard, immediately Satan comes and takes away 'the word' which had been sown in them.

And in the same way, some [of the seed] that was sown on rocky soil represented those who heard 'the word' and immediately accepted it gladly,

And other seeds represent those who are sown among thorns. These are people who heard 'the word,'

Then there were those who were sown on fertile soil. These represent people who heard 'the word,' accepted it and yielded a crop of thirty, sixty and even a hundred times [as much as was planted]."

And shouting with a loud voice, he said, "What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you, in God's name, do not torture me."

And when people came to Jesus, they saw the man who had been dominated by 5,000 to 6,000 evil spirits sitting down with his clothes on and perfectly sane, and they were afraid.

Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James, Joseph, Judas and Simon? And are not his sisters living here among us?" And they were led to doubt His true identity.

As soon as they got out of the boat the people recognized Jesus

The Pharisees and Sadducees [i.e., these were strict sects of the Jewish religion], came out and began disputing with Jesus, asking for a [supernatural] sign from Him, [in an attempt] to test Him.

Then He sighed deeply in His spirit and said, "Why does this generation of people look for a [supernatural] sign? Truly I tell you, there will not be any [supernatural] sign given to this generation."

Jesus then began teaching them that the Son of man must suffer very much, be rejected by the [Jewish] elders, leading priests, and experts in the law of Moses and be killed, but rise again [from the dead] after three days.

For whoever will be ashamed of me and of my words in this [spiritually] unfaithful and sinful generation, the Son of man will also be ashamed of him when He returns in the splendor of His Father, accompanied by the holy angels."

[Just then] a cloud engulfed them and a voice spoke out of the cloud saying, "This is my dearly loved Son, listen to Him."

And as they were coming down from the mountain Jesus ordered His disciples not to tell anyone what they had seen until [after] the Son of man was raised again from the dead.

Jesus answered them, "Elijah truly will come first and restore all things [i.e., to their proper perspective concerning the Messiah]. And it is [also] written [in the Scriptures] about the Son of man, that He would suffer very much and be rejected.

And someone in the crowd answered Him, "Teacher, I brought to you my son, who is dominated by a spirit which causes him to be a mute.

For He taught His disciples, saying to them, "The Son of man will be handed over to [evil] men and they will kill Him, and three days after He dies He will rise up again."

miles northeast of Jerusalem]. As He left there with His disciples and a large crowd, they met a blind beggar named Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, sitting along side the road.

He said, "Look, we are going up to Jerusalem and the Son of man will be turned over to the leading priests and experts in the law of Moses. They will condemn Him to death and turn Him over to the [unconverted] Gentiles.

For the Son of man did not come to be served [by others] but to be the servant [of others], and to sacrifice His life as a ransom price for many people [i.e., to purchase them back from Satan]."

When he heard that it was Jesus from Nazareth [passing by], he began shouting, "Jesus, son of David, have pity on me."

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."

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.'

As Jesus was teaching in the Temple, He responded [to some Pharisees. See Matt. 22:41] by asking, "How is it that the experts in the law of Moses can say that the Christ is the son of David?

David himself called Him [i.e., Jesus] Lord, so how could He be his son?" And the large crowd listened to Him with pleasure.

"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?"

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

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.

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."

And He came back a third time and said to them, "Go ahead and sleep now and get your rest. That is enough; the time has come. See, the Son of man is about to be turned over into the hands of sinners.

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."

As soon as it was morning the leading priests, along with the [Jewish] elders and experts in the law of Moses and the entire Council, held a conference. Then they tied Jesus up, led Him away and turned Him over to Pilate [the Roman governor].

And when the military officer in charge of one hundred men, who was standing in front of Jesus, saw Him die like that, he said, "Truly this man was the Son of God."

And when they heard that Jesus was alive and had been seen by Mary from Magdala, they refused to believe it.

Later on Jesus showed Himself to the eleven apostles as they sat [i.e., reclined. See Matt. 23:6], eating a meal. He scolded them for their lack of faith and stubbornness because they refused to believe those who had seen Him [alive] after His resurrection.