Then Jesus called the crowds to come to Him, and He said to them, "Listen and understand.

And Jesus left there and went into the regions of Tyre and Sidon [i.e., cities on the northwest coast of Palestine].

Then Jesus answered her, "O, woman, how great your faith is. May what you want be done for you." And her daughter was healed that very moment.

Jesus left there and went [over] near Lake Galilee. He went up into a mountain and sat down there.

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."

Jesus replied, "How many loaves of bread do you have?" They said, "[We have] seven [loaves] and a few small fish."

Jesus then sent the crowds away while He boarded a boat and crossed the lake to the region of Magadan [i.e., the west side of Lake Galilee].

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

Jesus said to them, "Pay attention and watch out for the leavening [effect] of the Pharisees and Sadducees."

Jesus, being aware of their thoughts, said, "O, you people with [such] little faith! Why are you reasoning among yourselves about not having bread?

Now when Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, "Who are people saying that the Son of man is?"

Jesus replied, "Simon, son of Jonah, you are fortunate [indeed], for this [truth] was not revealed to you by human beings but [rather] by my Father who is in heaven.

From that time onward Jesus began to explain to His disciples that He would have to go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the [Jewish] elders, leading priests, and experts in the law of Moses; [that He would then] be killed and [yet] raised up on the third day.

But Jesus turned to Peter and said, "Get away from me, Satan; you are causing a hindrance to me because you are not thinking about God's things but about men's."

Then Jesus said to His disciples, "If anyone wants to be my follower, he should deny self [i.e., of always having its own way] and lift up his cross [of responsibility] and [then he can] become my follower.

And after six days [had passed], Jesus took Peter, James, and his brother John aside and went up into a high mountain [i.e., an unidentified mountain nearby].

Then suddenly Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with Jesus.

Peter said to Jesus, "Lord, it is so good for us to be here. If you wish, I will build three [small] shelters here, one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah." [Note: Perhaps Peter wanted to provide quarters for the three to stay temporarily, thus prolonging the wonderful experience. In any event, he should not have done what suggested that Moses and Elijah were equal to Jesus].

But Jesus came and touched them, saying, "Get up, and do not be afraid."

When they looked up, the only one they saw was Jesus.

And as they were coming down from the mountain, Jesus ordered them, saying, "Do not tell anyone about the vision [you have just seen] until the Son of man has been raised from the dead."

Jesus answered them, "Elijah truly was to come, and restore all things [i.e., to their proper perspective concerning the Messiah].

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

Jesus replied [to the crowd], "You perverse generation of faithless people! How long must I be with you [i.e., before you understand]? How long do I have to be patient with you? Bring the sick boy to me."

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 while the disciples were staying in Galilee, Jesus said to them, "The Son of man will be handed over to [evil] men

When Jesus and His disciples came to Capernaum, the collectors of the tax [Note: This was the annual tax used for meeting the expenses of the Temple service and consisted of two days' worth of a farm laborer's pay, or about $140 in 1994] came to Peter and said, "Does not your teacher [also] pay the [Temple] tax?"

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?"

And when Peter said, "From strangers," Jesus added, "Therefore, children are free [from such taxation].

At that very time His disciples came to Jesus, asking, "Who then is the most important person in the kingdom of heaven?"

Then Peter came and said to Jesus, "Lord, how often must I forgive my brother when he sins against me? As many as seven times?"

Jesus replied, "I tell you, not [just] up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven [i.e., a large indefinite number of times].

And so when Jesus had finished speaking He left Galilee and came to the region of Judea, on the east side of the Jordan River.

Jesus said to them, "Moses permitted you to divorce your wives [only] because of the rebellious spirits you [Jews] had. But this was not how it was [intended to be] from the beginning [i.e., when God created one woman for one man].

His disciples [then] said to Jesus, "If this is the way it has to be between a man and his wife, it is not worth getting married."

Then some little children were brought to Jesus so he could pray and place His hands on them [i.e., to bestow a blessing on them]. But His disciples spoke harshly to the people [for doing this].

But Jesus said, "Allow these little children to come to me and stop trying to prevent them. For the kingdom of heaven belongs to such [humble ones] as these." [See 18:4].

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.

Jesus replied, "If you want to be complete, go and sell your possessions and give [the money] to poor people; then become my follower and you will have treasure in heaven."

Jesus said to His disciples, "Truly I tell you, it is difficult for a rich person to enter the kingdom of heaven.

Jesus looked at them and said, "This would be impossible with men, but everything is possible with God."

Jesus said to them, "Truly I tell you, [since] you have become my followers, in the time of new beginnings [i.e., the church age], when the Son of man sits on His glorious throne, you apostles will also sit on twelve thrones, judging [i.e., through their writings] the twelve tribes of Israel [i.e., God's people].

As Jesus was going up to Jerusalem He took the twelve apostles aside. As they traveled along He said to them,

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.

But Jesus replied to her, "You [really] do not know what you are asking for. Are you able to drink the cup [i.e., of suffering] that I am about to drink?" They [i.e., James, John and their mother. See Mark 10:35ff] answered, "[Yes] we are able to."

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].

As they [i.e., the twelve apostles and Jesus] were leaving Jericho [Note: This was a town about eighteen miles northeast of Jerusalem], a huge crowd followed them.

Just then, two blind men sitting along side of the road heard that Jesus was passing by that way. [So], they shouted out, "Lord, take pity on us, son of David."

Then Jesus stopped, and calling to them, said, "What do you want me to do for you?"

Jesus felt deep pity for them, so He touched their eyes and immediately their sight was restored, and they became [His] followers.

And when they [i.e., Jesus and the twelve apostles] approached Jerusalem and came close to Bethphage, near the Mount of Olives [Note: This was about three-fourths of a mile east of Jerusalem], Jesus sent two disciples on ahead,

And the disciples went and did exactly what Jesus had ordered them to do.

They brought the donkey and its colt and spread their clothing on them, and Jesus mounted the colt.

The crowds answered, "He is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth in Galilee."

Then Jesus entered the Temple of God and drove out all those who bought and sold things there. He upset the tables of the cashiers [i.e., those who exchanged foreign coins] and the benches of those who sold pigeons [for sacrifices].

But when the leading priests and the experts in the law of Moses saw the wonderful things [i.e., miracles] He was performing and [heard] the children shouting in the Temple, "Hosanna to the son of David," [See note at verse 9], they were filled with anger [i.e., over the acclaim being given to Jesus].

They said to Jesus, "Do you hear what these [children] are saying [about you]?" Jesus answered them, "Yes, [I do]. Have you not read [in Psa. 8:2] 'You have ordained that praise would come from the mouths of infants and small children?'"

Now in the morning, as Jesus returned to the city [of Jerusalem], He became hungry.

Jesus answered, "Truly I tell you, if you have faith, without doubting, you will not only [be able to] do what was done to this fig tree, but even if you tell this mountain, 'Be lifted up and thrown into the ocean,' it will happen.

Jesus answered them, "Let me also ask you a question. If you answer it, then I will tell you by what authority I am doing these things.

So, they answered Jesus, "We do not know [where John got the authority for his immersion]." Jesus then replied to them, "[Then] neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things [i.e., miracles and teaching].

Which of these two sons did what his father wanted?" They answered, "The first one." Jesus said to them, "Truly I tell you, tax collectors and prostitutes [will] enter the kingdom of God ahead of you.

Jesus [then] said to the leading priests and elders of the Jewish people, "Did you not ever read in the Scriptures [Psa. 118:22-23], 'The building block rejected by the builders is the same one that was made the principal stone by which the entire building was aligned. This was planned by the Lord and is a marvelous thing to us'?

And when the leading priests and Pharisees heard Jesus' parables, they realized He was speaking about them.

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

Jesus again spoke in parables to them [i.e., the Jewish leaders], saying,

Then the Pharisees conspired as to how they could trap Jesus by what He said.

But Jesus perceived their wicked intention and said, "Why are you putting me to a test, you hypocrites?

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

But Jesus answered them, "You are mistaken [in your reasoning], not knowing [what] the Scriptures [teach] or [how much] power God has.

But when the Pharisees heard that Jesus had silenced [the objections of] the Sadducees, they gathered together [i.e., to continue plotting against Jesus. See verse 15].

Jesus replied, [Deut. 6:5] "'You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your mind.'

Now while the Pharisees were assembled together, Jesus asked them this question,

[Psa. 110:1] 'The Lord [i.e., God] said to my [i.e., David's] Lord [i.e., Jesus], sit at my right side until I put your enemies [in full subjection] beneath your feet.'

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.

Then Jesus spoke to the crowds and to His disciples,

But you should not assume the title 'Rabbi,' for [only] one is your teacher [i.e., Jesus Himself] and all of you are [simply] brothers.

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

And Jesus answered them, "Pay attention so that no one leads you astray [from the truth].

And you will hear of wars [going on] and rumors of [other] wars [pending]. Do not worry, for such things must necessarily happen. But the end has not yet come. [Note: By "the end" here Jesus probably alludes to the downfall of Jerusalem, in AD 70, with its attending destruction of the Temple buildings].

In the same way also, when you see all these things happening, you [should] know that He [i.e., Jesus] is as near as your [front] door.

And it happened when Jesus had finished all this teaching, He said to His disciples,

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

Now when Jesus was at Bethany [Note: This was a small village less than two miles east of Jerusalem], in the house of Simon, the man [who probably had been healed] of an infectious skin disease,

But Jesus was aware [of what they were up to], so said, "Why are you bothering this woman? For she has done a kind deed to me.

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.

So, from then on Judas looked for a [good] opportunity to turn Jesus over [to the Jewish leaders].

Now on the first day of the Festival of Unleavened Bread [i.e., the first day of Passover week], His disciples came to Jesus, saying, "Where do you want us to make preparations for you to eat the Passover meal?"

And the disciples did [just] as Jesus had asked them, and they made preparations for the Passover meal.

Now when evening came, Jesus was reclining at the dinner table with His twelve apostles.

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

And as they were eating, Jesus took a [small] loaf of bread, asked God's blessing on it, then broke it and gave pieces to His disciples and said, "Take some and eat it; this is [i.e., represents] my [physical] body."

Then Jesus said [to His disciples], "All of you will have doubts about me tonight, for it is written [Zech. 13:7], 'I will strike down the shepherd and the sheep of the flock will be scattered everywhere.'

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

Then Jesus came with His disciples to a place called Gethsemene. [Note: This was an olive orchard on a hillside just east of Jerusalem]. He said to them, "You sit here while I go over there and pray."

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.