And the lord of the vineyard said, What shall I do? I will send my beloved son. Perhaps they will be made ashamed after seeing this man.

But when the husbandmen saw him, they reasoned among themselves, saying, This is the heir: come, let us kill him, that the inheritance may be ours.

He will come and destroy those tenant farmers and give the vineyard to others." And [when they] heard [this], they said, "[May this] never happen!"

And he beheld them, and said, What is this then that is written, The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner?

Every one falling on this stone shall be broken, but on whomsoever it shall fall, it shall grind him to powder.

And the chief priests and the scribes the same hour sought to lay hands on him; and they feared the people: for they perceived that he had spoken this parable against them.

And they watched and sent forth spies, pretending themselves to be righteous men, so that they might seize upon a word of His, that they might deliver Him in this way to the power and authority of the governor.

they address'd him therefore in this manner; master, we know that what you say and teach is all right. you are not influenc'd by the quality of men, but explain the divine law with sincerity:

show me a penny: whose image and inscription is this? they answer'd, Cesar's.

They could not lay hold of this answer before the people; and, in their wonder at his reply, they held their tongues.

Afterwards some of the Pharisees, who deny there is any resurrection, accosted him with this question,

saying, "Teacher, Moses wrote for us if someone's brother dies having a wife, and this man is childless, that his brother should take the wife and {father} descendants for his brother.

And the second took the woman, and this man died childless.

and then the third married her, and in this same way all seven died, leaving no children.

And Jesus said unto them, The sons of this world marry, and are given in marriage:

And some of the scribes, in answer to this, said, Master, you have said well.

And after this they durst not ask him any question at all.

Then Jesus looked up [i.e., from his seated position at the entrance to the Temple], and saw people throwing their gifts [of money] into the treasury [Note: This was a large open-mouthed container used for receiving offerings for meeting expenses of Temple upkeep].

And he said, Of a truth I say unto you, This poor widow cast in more than they all:

For these all put [gifts] into the offering out of their abundance, but this [woman] out of her poverty put in all the means of subsistence that she had."

"As for all this that you are admiring, the time is coming when not one stone will be left upon another, that will not be torn down."

Then they asked Him, "Teacher, when will this be? And what is the sign that it is about to take place?"

he answered, take care, that you be not seduced: for many shall come in my name, saying, I am the Christ. it won't be long e'er this happens, therefore do not follow them.

And when you hear of wars and tumults, never be panic-stricken. For this has to take place first, but the end will not come all at once."

But before all this, they will take you and be very cruel to you, giving you up to the Synagogues and to prisons, taking you before kings and rulers, because of my name.

This will turn out to you for a [time of] witness.

[But], by holding out steadfastly, you will gain your life. [Note: This means either "preserve your earthly life," or "attain never ending life"].

for this is the time of vengeance, when all that is writ, shall be accomplished.

Woe unto them that are with child and to them that give suck in those days! for there shall be great distress upon the land, and wrath unto this people.

"Then [Note: This event answers to the "immediately" of Matt. 24:29, and suggests the next major event on God's calendar] there will be [supernatural] signs [evident] in the sun and moon and stars. And on earth [there will be] distress among nations; they will be perplexed by the roaring of the ocean's churning waves. [Note: Probably this is figurative language for highly agitated conditions on earth].

And then they will see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great splendor [Note: This no doubt refers to the second coming of Christ. See II Pet. 3:9-10; Matt. 24:30-31; Rev. 1:7].

But when all this is beginning to take place, grieve no longer. Lift up your heads, because your deliverance is drawing near."

When they put out [foliage], now you see for yourselves [and] know that by this time the summer is near.

So, whenever you see all this happen, be sure the Reign of God is at hand.

Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass away, till all things be accomplished.

But take heed to yourselves, lest haply your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and that day come on you suddenly as a snare:

For that is the way this 'day' will arrive for everyone [else] living on the entire earth.

Watch therefore continually and pray, that ye may obtain grace to fly all this that shall come. And that ye may stand before the son of man."

Now Jesus was teaching in the Temple every day, and He went out and lodged on the hill called Olivet every night [Note: Possibly this meant He lodged in a house in Bethany, which was situated on the side of this hill].

Now the Festival of Unleavened Bread, which is called the Passover, was approaching. [Note: This was the annual Jewish festival commemorating Israel's deliverance from Egyptian bondage under Moses' leadership].

They were glad of this, and agreed to pay him.

He assented to this and sought a good opportunity for betraying him to them in the absence of the crowd.

And he said unto them, With desire I have desired to eat this passover with you before I suffer:

for I declare unto you, I shall not celebrate this passover with you any more, to the time, when it shall have its accomplishment in the kingdom of the messiah.

And he received a cup, and when he had given thanks, he said, Take this, and divide it among yourselves:

for I tell you, I will not drink this fruit of the vine [i.e., grape juice] from now on until [I do, figuratively, when] the kingdom of God has come."

And he took bread, and when he had given thanks, he brake it, and gave to them, saying, This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me.

And the cup in like manner after supper, saying, This cup is the new covenant in my blood, even that which is poured out for you.

And they began to question among themselves, which of them it was that should do this thing.

And Jesus said to them, "The kings of the [unconverted] Gentiles lord it over their own people, and those who domineer over them are called 'Benefactors' [Note: This was a title used by Greek kings in Egypt and Syria].

But you [are] not [to be] like this! But the one who is greatest among you must become like the youngest, and the one who leads like the one who serves.

"Simon, Simon [i.e., Peter], Satan has earnestly requested the right to sift you like wheat. [Note: Grain was sifted by using a sieve-like device in which grain and particles of dirt and straw were shaken together, allowing the grain to fall through while the dirt and straw remained. This was an allusion to the agitating trials Peter was soon to endure, and survive].

And he said, I tell thee, Peter, the cock shall not crow this day, until thou shalt thrice deny that thou knowest me.

Then He said to them, "But this time the person who has a money belt should take it, and also [he should take] a traveling bag. And if he does not have a sword, he should sell his coat and buy one.

For I say unto you, that this which is written must be fulfilled in me, And he was reckoned with transgressors: for that which concerneth me hath fulfilment.

But they said, "See, Master, here are two swords!" And he said to them, "Enough of this!"

saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done.

Then a certain one of them struck the head priest's slave and sheared off his right ear. [Note: It was Peter who struck this man, whose name was Malchus. See John 18:10].

But Jesus answered [and] said, "{Stop! No more of this!}" And he touched [his] ear [and] healed him.

When I was daily with you in the temple, ye stretched not forth your hands against me: but this is your hour, and the power of darkness.

And a certain maid seeing him as he sat in the light of the fire , and looking stedfastly upon him, said, This man also was with him.

And after the space of about one hour another confidently affirmed, saying, Of a truth this man also was with him; for he is a Galilaean.

And the Lord turned, and looked upon Peter. And Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how that he said unto him, Before the cock crow this day thou shalt deny me thrice.

and besides all this, they loaded him with the most impious invectives.

But from this time the Son of man will sit on the right hand of the power of God.

upon this they cry'd, what occasion have we for further evidence? for we ourselves have heard enough from his own mouth.

And they began to accuse him, saying, We found this man perverting our nation, and forbidding to give tribute to Caesar, and saying that he himself is Christ a king.

And Pilate said unto the chief priests and the multitudes, I find no fault in this man.

But they were the more urgent, saying, He stirreth up the people, teaching throughout all Judaea, and beginning from Galilee even unto this place.

Now [when] Pilate heard [this], he asked if the man was a Galilean.

And on learning that he belonged to Herods jurisdiction, he sent him to Herod, who was himself also at Jerusalem at this time.

So, Herod and Pilate became mutual friends that very day. (Now before this they had been enemies).

and said unto them, Ye brought unto me this man, as one that perverteth the people: and behold, I having examined him before you, found no fault in this man touching those things whereof ye accuse him:

Neither does Herod, because he sent him back to us! Indeed, this man has done nothing to deserve death.

But they all cried out together, "Away with this man, and release to us Barabbas"

But they cried out all together, saying, Away with this man, and release unto us Barabbas: --

Now this man was in prison because of an attack against the government in the town, in which there had been loss of life

And he said unto them the third time, Why, what evil hath this man done? I have found no cause of death in him: I will therefore chastise him and release him.

Then, as they were leading Jesus away, the soldiers [See Mark 15:16-21] grabbed hold of a man named Simon, from Cyrene [Note: This was a city in the northern African country of Libya], who was coming in from the countryside, and placed the cross [i.e., probably only the cross-beam portion] on him, so he could carry it while following Jesus.

For this is certain: The days are coming when they will say, 'Blessed are the barren, the wombs that never bore children, and the breasts that never nursed!'

For if they do this to a green tree: what shall be done to the dry?"

And when they came to the place called "The Skull" [Note: The Latin word for this place is "Calvary"], they crucified Him there, along with the criminals, one at His right side and one at His left.

And the people stood beholding. And the rulers also scoffed at him, saying, He saved others; let him save himself, if this is the Christ of God, his chosen.

There was also an inscription written over him: THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS.

And there was also a superscription over him, THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS.

And one of the evil-doers on the cross, with bitter feeling, said to him, Are you not the Christ? Get yourself and us out of this.

And we indeed justly, for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong."

And we indeed justly; for we receive the due reward of our deeds: but this man hath done nothing amiss.

So He said to him, "I solemnly say to you, this very day you will be in paradise with me."

And by this time it was about the sixth hour, and darkness came over the whole land until the ninth hour

And Jesus, crying out with a loud voice, said, "Father, into your hands I commit my spirit." And having said this, he breathed his last.

And Jesus, crying with a loud voice, said, Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit: and having said this, he gave up the ghost.

And when the centurion saw what was done, he glorified God, saying, Certainly this was a righteous man.

And all the multitudes that came together to this sight, when they beheld the things that were done, returned smiting their breasts.

And all of those who knew Him, as well as the women who had followed Him from Galilee [See Matt. 27:55-56], watched all this from a distance.

(this man was not consenting to their plan and deed), from Arimathea, {a Judean town}, who was looking forward to the kingdom of God.

this man went to Pilate, and asked for the body of Jesus.

This happened on the Day of Preparation [for the Passover Festival], as the Sabbath day was about to begin [i.e., shortly before

And it happened that while they were perplexed about this, behold, two men in gleaming clothing stood near them.

When they returned from the grave site, they told all this to the eleven apostles and to all the rest [of the disciples].