Then they sent to him certain of the Pharisees and the Herodians, so that they might make use of his words to take him by a trick.

And when they were come, they say unto him, Master, we know that thou art true, and carest for no man: for thou regardest not the person of men, but teachest the way of God in truth: Is it lawful to give tribute to Caesar, or not?

And they brought it. And he saith unto them, Whose is this image and superscription? And they said unto him, Caesar's.

And Jesus answering said to them, Pay what is Caesar's to Caesar, and what is God's to God. And they wondered at him.

Then come unto him the Sadducees, which say there is no resurrection; and they asked him, saying,

Master, Moses wrote unto us, If a man's brother die, and leave his wife behind him, and leave no children, that his brother should take his wife, and raise up seed unto his brother.

In the resurrection therefore, when they shall rise, whose wife shall she be of them? for the seven had her to wife.

Jesus said unto them, Is it not for this cause that ye err, that ye know not the scriptures, nor the power of God?

For when they shall rise from the dead, they neither marry, nor are given in marriage; but are as the angels which are in heaven.

And as touching the dead, that they rise: have ye not read in the book of Moses, how in the bush God spake unto him, saying, I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob?

He is not the God of the dead, but the God of the living: ye therefore do greatly err.

And one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, and perceiving that he had answered them well, asked him, Which is the first commandment of all?

And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord:

And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment.

And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these.

And the scribe said unto him, Well, Master, thou hast said the truth: for there is one God; and there is none other but he:

And to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love his neighbour as himself, is more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.

And when Jesus saw that he gave a wise answer, he said to him, You are not far from the kingdom of God. And every man after that was in fear of questioning him any more.

And Jesus answered and said, while he taught in the temple, How say the scribes that Christ is the Son of David?

for David himself said speaking in the Holy Spirit, The Lord said to my Lord, Sit on my right hand until I put thine enemies as footstool of thy feet.

David therefore himself calleth him Lord; and whence is he then his son? And the common people heard him gladly.

And in his teaching he said, Be on your watch against the scribes, whose pleasure it is to go about in long robes and be respected in the market-places,

who devour the houses of widows, and as a pretext make long prayers. These shall receive a severer judgment.

As Jesus sat facing the offering box, he watched how the crowd was dropping their money into it. Many rich people were dropping in large amounts.

And a poor widow came and cast in two mites, which is a farthing.

Calling His disciples to Him, He said to them, “I assure you and most solemnly say to you, this poor widow put in [proportionally] more than all the contributors to the treasury.

For, they all, out of their surplus, cast in, but, she, out of her deficiency, all, as much as she had, cast in, - the whole of her living.

And as he went out of the temple, one of his disciples saith unto him, Master, see what manner of stones and what buildings are here!

And Jesus said to him, Do you see these great buildings? there is not one stone here resting on another which will not be overturned.

And as he sat upon the mount of Olives over against the temple, Peter and James and John and Andrew asked him privately,

Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign when all these things shall be fulfilled?

For many shall come in my name, saying, It is I, and shall mislead many.

And when ye shall hear of wars and rumors of wars, be not troubled: these things must needs come to pass; but the end is not yet.

For nation will rise up against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; there will be earthquakes in various places; there will be famines. These things are the beginning of the birth pangs [the intolerable anguish and suffering].

“But be on your guard; they will turn you over to courts, and you will be beaten in synagogues, and you will stand [as accused] before governors and kings for My sake, as a testimony to them.

But when they shall lead you, and deliver you up, take no thought beforehand what ye shall speak, neither do ye premeditate: but whatsoever shall be given you in that hour, that speak ye: for it is not ye that speak, but the Holy Ghost.

'And when ye may see the abomination of the desolation, that was spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing where it ought not, (whoever is reading let him understand), then those in Judea, let them flee to the mountains;

And let him that is on the housetop not go down into the house, neither enter therein, to take any thing out of his house:

And let him that is in the field not turn back again for to take up his garment.

But woe is then to them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days.

And pray that your flight is not in the winter.

For in those days shall be affliction, such as was not from the beginning of the creation which God created unto this time, neither shall be.

And if the Lord had not kept those days as short as they were, no one would have been saved [i.e., from the devastating destruction]. But for the sake of the elect [i.e., God's people], whom He chose, He kept those days short.

And then if any man shall say to you, Lo, here is Christ; or, lo, he is there; believe him not:

For there will arise, false Christs, and false prophets; and they will show signs and wonders, so as to deceive, if possible, the chosen.

But as for yourselves, be on your guard: I have forewarned you of everything.

But when that misery is past, in those days, the sun will be darkened and the moon will not yield her light,

and the stars will be falling from the sky and the forces of the heavens will be shaken. [Note: From the description of these same events in Luke 21:25-26, it is possible that this is figurative language for great calamities happening on earth].

And then he will send forth his heavenly agents, and will gather together his chosen from the four winds, from the outermost part of the earth as far as the outermost part of heaven.

Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When her branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is near:

So ye in like manner, when ye shall see these things come to pass, know that it is nigh, even at the doors.

Verily I say unto you, This generation shall in no wise pass away, till all these things take place.

The heaven and the earth shall pass away, but my words shall in no wise pass away.

"But as to that day or the exact time no one knows--not even the angels in Heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone.

Take ye heed, watch and pray: for ye know not when the time is.

For the Son of man is as a man taking a far journey, who left his house, and gave authority to his servants, and to every man his work, and commanded the porter to watch.

Therefore, be continually on the alert—for you do not know when the master of the house is coming, whether in the evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or in the morning—

Now the Passover Festival and the Festival of Unleavened Bread were held two days later. [Note: This was the annual Jewish Festival week commemorating Israel's deliverance from Egyptian bondage under Moses' leadership. The unleavened bread was specially baked bread containing no yeast, which was eaten for seven days as part of the celebration]. And the leading priests and experts in the law of Moses were looking for a way to take Jesus by trickery and kill Him.

But they said, Not while the feast is going on, for fear there may be trouble among the people.

And being in Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, as he sat at meat, there came a woman having an alabaster box of ointment of spikenard very precious; and she brake the box, and poured it on his head.

But some [of the disciples. See Matt. 26:8] were upset among themselves, saying, "What is the reason for wasting this perfume?

But Jesus said, Let her alone; why do ye trouble her? she has wrought a good work as to me;

She hath done what she could: she is come aforehand to anoint my body to the burying.

I assure you and most solemnly say to you, wherever the good news [regarding salvation] is proclaimed throughout the world, what she has done will be told in memory of her.”

But Judas Iscariot, already mentioned as one of the Twelve, went to the High Priests to betray Jesus to them.

On the first day [of the festival] of Unleavened Bread, when [as was customary] they sacrificed the Passover lamb, His disciples asked Him, “Where do You want us to go and prepare for You to eat the Passover?”

And wheresoever he shall go in, say ye to the goodman of the house, The Master saith, Where is the guestchamber, where I shall eat the passover with my disciples?

And he will shew you a large upper room furnished and prepared: there make ready for us.

And his disciples went forth, and came into the city, and found as he had said unto them: and they made ready the passover.

So they made ready the Passover, and as night fell he came, with the Twelve.

And as they sat and did eat, Jesus said, Verily I say unto you, One of you which eateth with me shall betray me.

And they began to be sorrowful, and to say unto him one by one, Is it I? and another said, Is it I?

And he answered and said unto them, It is one of the twelve, that dippeth with me in the dish.

The Son of man indeed goeth, as it is written of him: but woe to that man by whom the Son of man is betrayed! good were it for that man if he had never been born.

And as they did eat, Jesus took bread, and blessed, and brake it, and gave to them, and said, Take, eat: this is my body.

And he said unto them, This is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many.

And Jesus saith unto them, All ye shall be offended because of me this night: for it is written, I will smite the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered.

But he spake the more vehemently, If I should die with thee, I will not deny thee in any wise. Likewise also said they all.

And they come to a place of which the name is Gethsemane, and he says to his disciples, Sit here while I shall pray.

But he took Peter and James and John along with him; and as he began to feel appalled and agitated,

And saith unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful unto death: tarry ye here, and watch.

He was saying, “Abba, Father! All things are possible for You; take this cup [of judgment] away from Me; but not what I will, but what You will.”

Watch ye and pray, lest ye enter into temptation. The spirit truly is ready, but the flesh is weak.

He went away again and prayed the same prayer as before.

And he cometh the third time, and saith unto them, Sleep on now, and take your rest: it is enough, the hour is come; behold, the Son of man is betrayed into the hands of sinners.

Rise up, let us go; lo, he that betrayeth me is at hand.

And immediately -- while he is yet speaking -- cometh near Judas, one of the twelve, and with him a great multitude, with swords and sticks, from the chief priests, and the scribes, and the elders;

And he that betrayed him had given them a token, saying, Whomsoever I shall kiss, that same is he; take him, and lead him away safely.

And as soon as he was come, he goeth straightway to him, and saith, Master, master; and kissed him.

And Jesus answered and said unto them, Are ye come out, as against a thief, with swords and with staves to take me?

I was daily with you in the temple teaching, and ye took me not: but this is done that the scriptures might be fulfilled.

And a certain young man [Note: Some think this is a reference to Mark himself], who had a linen outer garment thrown over his scantily clad body, was following Jesus until they [i.e., the soldiers and officers] took hold of him. [Note: The wording here does not indicate total nakedness, but rather the wearing of underclothing only]

Peter followed Jesus at a distance, as far as the outer court of the High Priest's palace. But there he remained sitting among the officers, and warming himself by the fire.

Meanwhile the Chief Priest and the whole of the High Council were trying to get such evidence against Jesus as would warrant his being put to death, but they could not find any;

Then some came forward as witnesses and falsely declared,

We heard him say, I will destroy this temple that is made with hands, and within three days I will build another made without hands.

And the high priest stood up in the midst, and asked Jesus, saying, Answerest thou nothing? what is it which these witness against thee?

What is it which these witness against thee? But he held his peace and answered nothing. Again the high priest asked him and said to him, Art thou the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?

Jesus said, "I am. And, what is more, you will all see the Son of man sitting at the right hand of the Power and coming with the clouds of heaven."

And the head priest tore at his clothing [i.e., as an expression of frustration] and said, "What additional need do we have for witnesses?