Then His disciples came and said to Him, "Do you know that the Pharisees were upset [with you] when they heard [you say] that?"

And Peter said to Him, "Explain the parable to us."

and are what corrupt him [spiritually]. But eating [a meal] with [ceremonially] unwashed hands does not [spiritually] corrupt him."

But He did not say a word to her. His disciples came and begged Him, "Send her away, for she is [continually] shouting at us [as we go along]."

But she came and worshiped Him, saying, "Lord, help me."

Large crowds came to Him, bringing crippled, blind, deaf-mute, disabled and many other [sick] people and laid them down at His feet. And He healed [all of] them,

Jesus called His disciples to Him and said, "I feel deeply moved over this crowd, because they have continued listening to me for three days now, and have nothing [left] to eat. I do not want to send them away hungry because they will become weak along the way."

And the disciples said to Him, "Where will we get enough loaves of bread to feed a large crowd in [such] a deserted place [as this]?"

The Pharisees and Sadducees came [and attempted] to test Jesus [by] asking Him to perform a [supernatural] sign from heaven.

Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, "I should say not, Lord; that will never happen to you."

While he was still talking, suddenly a bright cloud engulfed them. Just then, a voice spoke out of the cloud, saying, "This is my dearly loved Son, who is very pleasing to me; listen to Him."

His disciples asked Him, "Why then [since you are obviously the Messiah] do the experts in the law of Moses say that Elijah must come first, [i.e., before the Messiah]?"

But I tell you that Elijah has already come, but they [i.e., the Jewish leaders] did not understand who he was, but [instead] did to him what they wanted to. In the same way, the Son of man will also suffer from what the Jews will do."

When Jesus and His disciples met the crowd [that was gathered], a man came kneeling down to Jesus and saying to Him,

I brought him to [some of] your disciples [for help] but they were not able to heal him."

Then Jesus spoke sternly to [the evil spirit in] the boy, and it left him, and he was immediately healed.

Then Jesus' disciples came to Him privately and said, "Why could we not drive out that evil spirit?"

and they will kill Him, but on the third day He will be raised up [from the dead]." And they were very grieved [when they heard this].

He replied, "Yes, [He does]." And when Peter entered the house, Jesus spoke to him first, [i.e., without waiting for Peter to tell Him what he had said to the tax collectors], saying, "What do you think, Simon? From whom do earthly kings collect custom duty and taxes? From their children or from strangers?"

So, He called to Him a little child and placed him in front of them,

"And if your brother sins against you, go and show him where he wronged you, [but] keep it between just the two of you. If he listens to you [i.e., accepts your reasoning and repents], you have won your brother [back].

And if he refuses to listen to them [i.e., the witnesses], explain the [whole] matter to the church [i.e., probably a specially called meeting of mature Christians to resolve the matter]. And if he refuses to listen to the church also, [i.e., to acknowledge his sin and repent of it], consider him like an [unconverted] Gentile or tax collector [i.e., do not have fellowship with him].

When he began figuring, one of his servants, who owed him a huge sum of money [Note: The amount is variously estimated to be as much as $50,000,000 in 1994], was brought to him.

The servant then fell to the ground [before his master] and humbly implored him, saying, 'Master, [please] be patient with me and I will repay you everything [I owe].'

And the master of that servant felt deep pity [for him], so released him [from custody] and canceled his debt.

But that [same] servant went out and found one of his fellow-servants who owed him a small sum of money [Note: The amount was about days of a farm laborer's pay or about $7,000 in 1994]. He grabbed him by the throat, saying, 'Pay [me] what you owe.'

His fellow-servant fell [on the ground before him] and begged him, saying, '[Please] be patient with me and I will repay you [all I owe you].'

But he would not do it. Instead, he took him and had him thrown into prison until he paid [him] all he owed.

Then his master called for him and said to him, 'You wicked servant! I canceled all of your debt because you begged me to.

His master then became furious and turned him over [to the authorities] to be punished until he paid all that he owed.

Large crowds followed Him there and were healed by Him.

Some Pharisees came to Him, [attempting] to put Him to a test. They said, "Is it permissible by the law of Moses for a man to divorce his wife for any reason [he chooses]?"

Then a rich, young man [See verse 22] came to Him and said, "Teacher, what good deed should I do in order to have never ending life?"

Jesus answered him, "Why do you ask me about what is good? There is [only] One who is good [i.e., God]. But if you want to enter [never ending] life, [then] obey His commandments."

The young man asked Him, "Which [ones]?" Jesus answered, "You must not murder. You must not be sexually unfaithful to your mate. You must not steal. You must not give false testimony.

The young man said to Him, "I have [already] been observing all of these commandments. What do I [still] lack?"

Peter then answered Him, "Look, we have left everything [i.e., homes, jobs, family, etc.], to follow you. What will we get for it?"

"Now look, we are going up to Jerusalem and [while there] 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, who will mock, whip and crucify Him; then on the third day He will be raised up."

Then the mother of Zebedee's sons [i.e., James and John] came to Jesus with her sons and, bowing down in reverence before Him, made a request of Him.

Then Jesus called all the apostles to Him and said, "You are aware that rulers among the [unconverted] Gentiles lord it over their own people and their important men domineer over them [as well].

And the crowds that walked ahead and followed behind Him shouted, "Hosanna to the son of David. [Note: The Syriac word 'Hosanna' originally meant 'save now' but came to be used as an expression of welcome, praise, blessing or acclamation]. May He, who comes in the name [i.e., by the authority] of the Lord, be blessed. Hosanna in the highest [i.e., may this blessing reach to the highest heaven]."

[Then] blind and crippled people came to Him in the Temple and He healed them.

When He had come into the Temple, the leading priests and elders of the [Jewish] people came to Him while He was teaching, and said, "By what authority are you doing these things [i.e., miracles and teaching]? And who gave you this authority?"

But when the tenant farmers saw the son, they said to one another, 'This is the heir [to the vineyard]. Come on, let us kill him so we can take over his inheritance.'

So, they took him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him.

They answered him, "He will bring terrible destruction on those evil men and will lease the vineyard to other tenant farmers who will deliver the crops to him each harvest time."

When they attempted to arrest Him, [they hesitated because] they feared [what] the crowds [might do], since they considered Jesus a prophet.

Then the king said to his servants, 'Tie him up, hand and foot, and throw him into [a place of] outer darkness where there will be crying and excruciating pain.'

For many people are called [by God] but [only those] few [who respond] are chosen [by Him]."

So, they sent their disciples, [along] with the Herodians to Him [Note: These were members of a political party favoring King Herod], saying, "Teacher, we know that you are sincere, and that you teach the truth about God's way. You do not care for [i.e., do not fear or give in to] anyone or allow the position of any person to influence you.

Show me the coin used for paying taxes." And they brought to Him a coin [Note: This coin was equivalent to one day of a farm laborer's pay, or about $60-$84 in 1994].

They answered Him, "Caesar's." Then He replied, "Pay to Caesar whatever belongs to Caesar and pay to God whatever belongs to God."

And when they heard this, they marveled; then left Him and went away.

Some Sadducees [Note: These were the Jewish party that denied there was a resurrection] came to Jesus that day and asked Him,

One of them, a teacher of the law of Moses, asked Him a question [in an attempt] to test Him.

He said to them, "How is it [then] that David, by [inspiration of] the Holy Spirit, calls Him Lord, saying,

If David then could call Him [i.e., Jesus] Lord, how could He be his son?"

No one was able to answer [Jesus' reasoning] with [so much as] a word, and no one dared to ask Him any more questions from that day onward.

"It is too bad for you hypocritical experts in the law of Moses and [you] Pharisees! For you travel over land and sea [in hope of] making one person a proselyte [i.e., a convert to the Jewish religion]. And when you do convert one, you make him twice as deserving of hell as yourselves.

And the person who takes an oath 'by the Temple,' [not only] swears by it, but [also] by Him [i.e., God] who lives there.

And the person who takes an oath 'by heaven,' swears 'by the throne of God,' and [also] by Him [i.e., God] who sits on it.

As Jesus left the Temple, His disciples approached Him as He was walking along the road and pointed out the Temple buildings.

And as He was sitting on the Mount of Olives, His disciples came to Him privately, saying, "Tell us, when will these things [you just spoke of] happen? And what will be the sign that indicates your presence and the end of the [present] age?"

Then if anyone says to you, 'Look, here is Christ,' or 'There [he is],' do not believe him.

Therefore, if people say to you, 'Look, he [i.e., Christ. See verse 23] is in the desert,' do not go out there. [Or if they say], 'Look, he is in an inside room,' do not believe him.

Therefore, you also should be ready, for the Son of man will come at a time when you least expect Him.

That slave will be happy when his master returns to find him doing his job [well].

And [that master] will whip him to shreds and will turn him over to suffer the same fate as hypocrites do. That fate will involve crying and excruciating pain."

"For the kingdom of heaven is similar to a man who planned to go on a trip to a distant country, so called his servants and entrusted to each of them a large sum of money [Note: The narrative that follows suggests that the man was turning over some of his assets to financial managers to invest for him].

The one with the five talents soon invested the money in business transactions which netted him five more.

His master said to him, 'Well done, you are a good and trustworthy servant. You have been trustworthy over a [relatively] few things, [so] I will place you over many things. Come and share in your master's joy.'

But his master said to him, 'You wicked, lazy servant. [Since] you knew that I reaped where I had not sown and gathered where I had not scattered seed,

Take the one talent away from him, therefore, and give it to the servant who had the ten talents.

For to every person who has [something], more will be given, so he will have plenty. But from the person who has [virtually] nothing, even that [little bit] he has will be taken away [from him].

And people from all the nations will be assembled in front of Him and He will separate them from one another, like a shepherd separating his sheep from the goats.

They were taking counsel together as to how they might take Jesus by trickery and kill Him.

a woman with an alabaster [i.e., stone] jar of very expensive perfume came to Him and poured it on His head as He reclined at the dinner table. [Note: See Matt. 23:6]

and said, "What would you give me if I turned Jesus over to you?" And they weighed out thirty silver coins [Note: This amount was equivalent to about five months of a farm laborer's wages, or approximately $7,000 in 1994], and promised [See Mark 14:11] to give him that much money.

He answered, "Go into the city [i.e., Jerusalem] to a certain man and say to him, 'The Teacher says, My time is near [i.e., to be turned over to the Jewish leaders]; I plan to observe the Passover Festival at your house with my disciples.'"

And they were extremely grieved, and each one of them began saying to Him, "Am I the one, Lord?"

Then Judas, the one who betrayed Him asked, "Am I the one, Rabbi?" Jesus answered Him, "You have said so."

Peter answered Him, "[Even] if everyone [else] has doubts about you, I never will."

Jesus said to him, "Truly I tell you, this [very] night, before the rooster crows, you will deny [knowing] me three times."

Peter replied to Him, "Even if I have to die with you, still I will not deny [knowing] you." And all [the rest of] the disciples said the same thing.

He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee [i.e., James and John] with Him, and [soon] began to be grieved and very distressed.

Now the one who betrayed Him had given them a signal, saying, "Whoever I give a kiss [of greeting to], he is the one, take hold of him."

So, immediately he went to Jesus and said, "Greetings, Rabbi," and [then] kissed Him [enthusiastically].

And Jesus said to him, "[My] friend, [go ahead], do what you came to do." Then the Jewish officers came and arrested Jesus and began taking Him away.

Then Jesus said to him, "Put your sword back in your belt again, for all those who use the sword will die by the sword.

Or, do you think that I cannot appeal to my Father and He will immediately send me more than twelve legions of angels [i.e., Jesus could have called about 72,000 angels to minister to Him. See Matt. 4:11]?

But all this has happened so that the Scriptures of the prophets would be fulfilled." Then all of His disciples left Him and ran away.

And those who had arrested Jesus led Him away to the house of Caiaphas, the head priest, where the experts in the law of Moses and the [Jewish] elders were gathered.

But Peter followed Him from a distance [as they were going] to the courtyard of the head priest. He went inside [i.e., eventually. See John 18:15-16] and sat down with the [Jewish] officers to see how things would turn out [i.e., with Jesus' trial].

Now the leading priests and the entire Council [called "the Sanhedrin"] looked for false witnesses [to testify] against Jesus, in order to put Him to death.

The head priest stood up and said to Him, "Have you nothing to answer? What about this charge being made against you by these people?"

But Jesus did not say anything. So, the head priest said to Him, "I command you [to swear] by the living God, [and] to tell us if you are the Christ [i.e., God's specially chosen one], the Son of God!"

Jesus replied to him, "You have said so; nevertheless I tell you, from now on 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."

Then the head priest tore at his clothing [i.e., as an expression of frustration], saying, "He has spoken against God [i.e., by claiming Deity for Himself]. What additional need do we have for witnesses? Look, you [yourselves] have now heard him speaking against God.

Then they spit in His face and hit Him [with their fists], while others slapped Him [in the face],