The angel came to her and said, "Greetings, you are someone greatly favored [i.e., by God]; the Lord is with you."

Then the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid Mary, for you have received favor from God.

And consider this, your relative Elizabeth is also pregnant with a son in spite of her old age, and [even though] she was said to be unable to have children, she is now six months along.

And Mary said, "Here I am, the Lord's slave-girl; let it happen to me according to what you say." Then the angel left her.

And it happened when Elizabeth heard Mary greet her, the baby in Elizabeth's womb "kicked," and she was filled with the Holy Spirit.

And she who [has] believed [the promises made by the Lord] is [truly] blessed, for the things which have been spoken to her [i.e., to Mary] by the Lord will [indeed] be fulfilled."

So, Mary stayed with [her relative] Elizabeth for about three months [i.e., until about the time John was born. See 1:26-31], and then returned to her home.

When her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had extended great mercy toward her [i.e., in giving her a child], they rejoiced with her.

And they replied to her, " [But] there are not any of your relatives named that."

And it happened while they were there that the due date came for her to have the baby.

So, she bore her firstborn Son and wrapped Him in [linen] cloths and laid Him in an animal's feeding trough because there was no room for them in the lodge.

And there was a woman prophet named Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, from the tribe of Asher [i.e., she was a descendant of one of Jacob's son]. (She was very old, having lived with her husband for [only] seven years after being married,

So, Jesus went down to Nazareth with them and [continued] to obey them. And His mother kept all these things [stored up] in her heart.

Then the devil led Jesus to Jerusalem and placed Him on the elevated wing of the Temple and said to Him, "If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here,

And He replied to them, "No doubt you will tell me this proverb, 'Doctor, heal yourself,' and 'Perform [the miracles] here in your own home town also that we heard you did in Capernaum.'"

So, He left the synagogue and entered Simon's [i.e., Peter's] house. Now Simon's mother-in-law was [in bed] stricken with a high fever. And they [i.e., Andrew, James and John, besides Peter. See Mark 1:29] begged Him [to do something] for her.

So, He stood over her and spoke sternly to the fever. It left her and she got up [out of bed] and began serving them.

But the time will come when the groom will be taken away from them [Note: Jesus here refers to Himself]. Then they will fast at that time."

Now when He approached the town gate, He saw a dead man being carried out; it was the only son of his widowed mother. And many people from the town were with her.

Now when the Lord saw her, He felt very sorry for her and said to her, "Do not cry."

It proves that [God's] wise counsel is right in the eyes of all of her children [i.e., in the eyes of people known for their wisdom]."

and stood behind Jesus, at His feet, crying. She began wetting His feet with her tears and wiping them dry with the hair of her head. Then she kissed His feet and poured the perfume on them.

Then Jesus turned to the woman [who had just poured the perfume on Him] and said to Simon, "Do you see this woman? I came into your house and you did not give me any water for [washing] my feet, but she wet my feet with her tears and wiped them dry with her hair.

For this reason, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven, for she has loved much. [Note: This suggests that her forgiveness was the result of her loving, but the point Jesus makes better fits the idea that her forgiveness produced love]. But the person who is forgiven of little [i.e., of only a few sins], loves [only] a little bit."

Now a herd of many [wild?] hogs was grazing on a [nearby] mountain, so the evil spirits begged Jesus to give them permission to enter [the bodies of] the hogs. So, He gave them permission [to do it].

Then the evil spirits went out of the man and entered the hogs. The herd [immediately] rushed down the cliff into the lake and was drowned.

Then a woman, who had been bleeding for twelve years, and who had spent all her income on doctors without being healed by any of them,

came up behind Jesus and touched the edge of His robe. Immediately her bleeding stopped.

Then Jesus said to her, "Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace."

But taking her by the hand, He called to her, saying, "Child, get up."

And immediately her spirit returned and she stood up. Then Jesus ordered them to give her something to eat.

Her parents were amazed, but Jesus ordered them not to tell anyone what had happened.

But I tell you the truth, there are some people standing here who will surely not experience death until they see that God's kingdom has come [i.e., in a demonstration of power. See Mark 9:1]."

And it happened, as the two men were leaving Him, that Peter said to Jesus, "Master, it is [so] good for us to be here. Let us make three [small] shelters, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah." [But] he did not realize what he was saying. [See note at Matt. 17:4]

And Jesus replied, saying, "You perverse generation of faithless people! How long must I be [patient] with you, and put up with you [i.e., before you understand]? Bring your son here."

Now as they went on their way, Jesus entered a certain village [i.e., Bethany. See John 11:1], and a certain woman named Martha welcomed Him into her house.

But Martha was preoccupied with all the preparations [i.e., for entertaining her beloved guest] and came up to Jesus and said, "Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to do all the work by myself? Ask her to help me."

But the Lord answered her, "Martha, Martha, you are worried and bothered about [so] many things.

But only one thing is [really] needful. For Mary has made the better choice, which will not be taken away from her."

But when someone stronger than he attacks him and overpowers him, he takes away all the armament the strong man relied on, and [then] divides up his storehouse of possessions. [Note: The word here translated "possessions" may be translated "arms" so the meaning could be "divides up his armament"].

The queen of the South [Note: This queen was from Sheba, which was probably in Arabia. See I Kings 10:1] will stand up on the judgment day, along with the people of this generation, and will condemn them because she came from a great distance to hear [and see] Solomon's wisdom [I Kings 10:1ff] and [now] Someone greater than Solomon is here [i.e., Jesus].

The people of Nineveh will stand up on the judgment day with the people of this generation and will condemn them because they repented [i.e., changed their hearts and lives] when hearing the preaching of Jonah [Jonah 3:5-10] and [now] Someone greater than Jonah is here [i.e., Jesus].

"But it is too bad for you Pharisees! For you give a tenth of your mint, rue and every [other] herb [Note: These were small garden plants used for seasoning or medicine] and [yet] neglect [demonstrating] justice and the love of God [toward others]. But you should have done these things and not neglected to do the other things [as well].

Are not five sparrows sold [i.e., in the market as food] for two coins? [Note: The coins here amount to just over one hour's worth of a farm laborer's pay, or about $8 in 1994]. Yet in the presence of God, not a [single] one of them is forgotten.

And a father will be divided against his son and the son against his father; a mother [will be divided] against her daughter and the daughter against her mother; a mother-in-law [will be divided] against her daughter-in-law and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law."

So, he said to the orchard worker, "Look, I have been coming [here] looking for figs for three years now, but have not found any. Cut down the tree, [for] why should it waste the space [i.e., by not producing]?"

And just then [He met] a woman who had an [evil] spirit that had caused her to be deformed for eighteen years. She was bent over and could not raise herself up. [Note: This was probably osteomyelitis or osteoporosis].

And when Jesus saw her, He called and said to her, "Woman, you are freed from your deformed condition."

Then He placed His hands on her and immediately she straightened up and praised God.

At that very time certain Pharisees came to Jesus saying, "Get out of here and go someplace else, for King Herod wants to kill you."

"O, Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you people who murdered the prophets and stoned those who were sent to you! How often I have wanted to gather you people together, even as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing!

Then the slave returned and told his master about these things. Then the master of the house became angry and said to his slave, 'Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and bring people who are poor, and handicapped, and blind and crippled in here [i.e., to the supper].'

And when she finds it, she calls her friends and neighbors together, saying, 'Rejoice with me, for I found the coin I had lost.'

But when he came to his senses, he said, 'How many of my father's hired servants have more than enough bread to eat, and here I am, dying from hunger!

For my son here was dead [spiritually], but is [now] alive again. He was lost [from me], but [now] is found.' And they began to celebrate.

And the father replied, 'Son, you are always [here] with me, and everything I have is yours.

Therefore, I tell you, make friends for yourselves by using worldly wealth, so that when it fails [i.e., when you run out of money] they [i.e., the friends you made with its wise and benevolent use] may welcome you into the eternal [i.e., heavenly] dwelling places. [Note: The idea here seems to be that by your shrewd use of material possessions for the benefit of others, you are actually storing up treasures for yourself in heaven].

"Every person who divorces his wife and marries another woman becomes sexually unfaithful to her [i.e., because he is still regarded by God as married to his first wife. See Matt. 19:9]. And the person who marries someone who has been divorced by her husband commits sexual sin with her [i.e., because she is still rightfully married to her first husband].

But Abraham said [to him], 'Son, remember how you enjoyed good things when you were alive [on earth] and how Lazarus had to put up with bad things? But now here [i.e., in the unseen place of departed spirits] he is being comforted and you are in agony.

And besides all this, there is a huge chasm situated between us and you so that those who wanted to go from here to there [where you are] cannot do it. And no one can cross over from there to us [over here].'

People will not be saying, 'Look, here [it is]!' or 'There [it is]!' For in fact, the kingdom of God is [now] among you [i.e., as represented by the presence and ministry of Jesus]."

And people will be saying to you, 'Look, there [He is]! Look, here [He is]! Do not leave or follow after them.

Whatever person tries to gain [everything to satisfy him in] life [here on earth] will lose it [i.e., never ending life]. But whatever person [is willing to] lose [the comforts and security of] his life [here on earth] will preserve it [for eternity].

I will grant her a [favorable] judgment because she keeps bothering me [about the matter] and is about to exhaust my patience by her persistent visits.'"

Then another slave appeared and said, 'Look, master, here is your sum of money. I kept it [safely] wrapped up in a cloth,

But bring those enemies of mine here [i.e., the citizens. See verse 14], who did not want me to rule over them, and kill them in front of me.'"

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].

They said to Him, "Teacher, Moses wrote to us [Deut 25:5] that if a man's brother dies, leaving his widow [behind] without having had any children, his brother should marry his widow and father children [by her]. These children would then be considered his [dead] brother's.

Then the third one married the [surviving] widow [of the first two brothers]. And in the same way, all seven [brothers] married her, but left no children [behind when they died].

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

For all of them threw in from their abundance, but she threw in from her poverty all she had to live on."

"As for these things you are looking at, the time will come when there will not be one stone left on another here that will not be thrown down."

And when you hear of wars and uprisings [going on], do not be afraid, for such things must necessarily happen first. But the end will not come right away." [Note: By "the end" here Jesus probably alludes to the downfall of Jerusalem, in AD 70, with its attending destruction of the Temple buildings].

"So, when you see Jerusalem surrounded by [Roman] armies, then you will know that her total destruction is near.

And the apostles said, "Look, Lord, we have two swords [here]." And Jesus replied, "That is enough." [Note: Possibly Jesus means, "enough talk about weapons"].

He is not here; for He has risen [from the dead]. [Do you not] remember what He told you when He was still in Galilee, saying,

And while they still could not believe [i.e., or, could hardly believe], out of joy and wonderment, Jesus said to them, "Do you have anything here to eat?"