Then after these things happened, Jesus went out [i.e., probably walking along a street] and saw a publican [Note: This was a person with a bad reputation for dishonest tax collecting activities] named Matthew [i.e., the same as Levi. See Mark 2:14] sitting at the toll booth [collecting taxes] and said, "Become my follower."

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.

What did you expect to see? A man dressed in fancy clothes? Look, people who wear elaborate outfits and bask in luxury live in kings' palaces.

But what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I will say [he is], and much more than a prophet.

For the Holy Spirit will teach you what you should say at that very time."

And Jesus also said to the crowds, "When you see a cloud rising in the west, you immediately say, 'A rainstorm is coming up,' and sure enough, it does.

And there He saw a certain man suffering from dropsy [Note: This is a condition in which the tissues of the body retain too much fluid].

And He saw a certain poor widow throwing two small copper coins into it [Note: These two coins amounted to about ten minutes of a farm laborer's pay, or about one dollar in 1994].