And when evening came the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, 'Call the workers [in] and pay them their wages, beginning with the last [one hired, then] to the first.'

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

He said to them, "Indeed you will drink my cup [of suffering]. But it is not my prerogative to appoint who sits at my right side and at my left, but rather these places are for those to whom it has been assigned by my Father."

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].

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

And He said to them, "It is written [Isa. 56:7], 'My house [i.e., the Temple] will be called a house for prayer', but [Jer. 7:11 says], 'You have made it a hideout for thieves.'"

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?'"

Upon seeing a fig tree along side of the road, He approached it [i.e., expecting to find fruit on it], but found nothing but leaves. He said to the tree, "There will not be fruit on you ever again." Immediately the fig tree withered up.

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 what do you think [about this]? A man had two sons; He went to the first one and said, 'Son, go to work in my vineyard today.'

He went to the second son and said the same thing. That son replied, '[Yes], sir, I will,' [but] then did not go.

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.

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.'

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'?

He said to the man, 'Friend, how did you get in here without wearing the proper wedding outfit?' And he could not say a word.

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.'

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?

He said to them, "Whose image and inscription are on this coin?"

"Teacher, Moses said [in Deut. 25:5] that when a man dies without having had any children, his brother must marry his widow and father children by her, who would [then] be considered his [dead] brother's.

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

[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.'

The foolish ones said to the sensible ones, 'Give us some of your oil, because our lamps are going out.'

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,

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

But when His disciples saw this they were very upset and said, "What is the reason for such waste?

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.

As they were eating, He said, "Truly I tell you, one of you will turn me over [to the Jewish leaders]."

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."

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.

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."

Then He said to them, "My soul is extremely grieved, even to [the point where I could] die. Stay here and be alert with me [i.e., in prayer]."

And [when] He came [back] to where His disciples were and found them asleep, He said to Peter, "What [is this], could you not remain alert with me [in prayer] for one hour?

Then He came to His disciples and said to them, "Go ahead and sleep now, and get your rest. See, the time is near and the Son of man is [about to be] turned over into the hands of sinners.

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.

[Then] Jesus said to the crowds at that very time, "Have you come out to arrest me with swords and clubs as [you would apprehend] a thief? I sat everyday teaching in the Temple, and you did not [come to] take me.

and said, "This man [i.e., Jesus] said, 'I can destroy the Temple of God, and [then] rebuild it within three days.'"

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."

Now Peter was sitting outside in a courtyard and a servant-girl approached him and said, "You also were with Jesus, the Galilean."

And when he had gone out by the gate, another servant-girl saw him and said to those nearby, "This man also was with Jesus of Nazareth."

And a little later, those standing nearby came to Peter and said, "[We know] for sure, you also are one of them [i.e., Jesus' disciples], because your accent gives you away."

Then Peter remembered the words Jesus had said, "Before the rooster crows, you will deny [knowing] me three times." And he went out and cried bitterly.

The leading priests took the silver coins and said, "It is not permissible by the law of Moses to put this money in the Temple treasury, since it is the price [paid] for [taking] a life.

[Thus the prophecy] spoken by Jeremiah, the prophet [Note: The passage actually appears to be Zech. 11:12-13], was fulfilled which said, "And they took the thirty silver coins, the amount charged for Him on whom certain Israelites had set a price,

Now Jesus stood in front of the governor [i.e., Pilate], who asked Him, "Are you the king of the Jews?" Jesus answered him, "You have said so."

Pilate then said to Him, "Do you not hear how many charges the witnesses are bringing against you?"

And he said, "Why [should he be]? What wrong has he done?" But they shouted out even louder, "Let him be crucified!"

saying, "You who [said you] would destroy the Temple and rebuild it in three days, save yourself [from dying]; if you [really] are the Son of God, come down from the cross."

He trusted in God; now let God deliver him, if He wants [to save him from dying], for he said, 'I am the Son of God.'"

And when some of those standing there heard this, they said, "This man is calling for Elijah."

But the rest of them said, "Let him alone; let us see if Elijah [really] comes to save him."

and said, "Sir, we remember what that deceiver said while he was still alive: 'I will rise [from the dead] after three days.'

Pilate said to them, "Take [a group of] guards [with you]; go and make the grave site as secure as you can."

The angel said to the women, "Do not be afraid, for I know you are looking for Jesus, who has been crucified.

He is not here, for He has risen just as He said [He would]. Come and see the place where the Lord had been lying,

Then Jesus said to them, "Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers [i.e., the disciples, that you have seen me], so they can head for Galilee where they will see me."

In his preaching John said, "One who is more powerful than I am will follow my ministry. I am not [even] worthy to stoop down and loosen the straps of His sandals [i.e., to serve as His slave].

And Jesus said to them, "Come, follow me and I will make you fishermen for people."

When they found Him, they said to Him, "Everyone is looking for you."

He said to them, "Let us go on to the next towns so that I can preach there also, for this was why I came out [i.e., Jesus was sent by God to preach to other towns as well as Capernaum. See Luke 4:43]."

And being moved with deep pity, Jesus reached out His hand, touched him and said, "I do want to; be healed."

When Jesus saw [the evidence of] their faith, He said to the paralyzed man, "Son, your sins are forgiven."

And immediately Jesus perceived in His spirit what they were reasoning in their minds and said to them, "Why are you reasoning like this in your minds?

But, so you will know that the Son of man has authority on earth to forgive sins (He then said to the paralyzed man),

And as He walked along He saw Levi [i.e., the same person as Matthew. See Matt. 9:9], the son of Alphaeus, sitting at the toll booth [i.e., collecting taxes]. He said to him, "Become my follower." And he got up and followed Him.

And when the experts in the law of Moses, being Pharisees [i.e., a strict sect of the Jewish religion], saw that He was eating with tax collectors and worldly people, they said to His disciples, "Why does Jesus eat and drink with tax collectors and worldly people?"

When Jesus heard [about] this, He said to them, "People who are healthy do not need a doctor, but [only] sick people do. I did not come to call those who do right, but sinners [instead]."

And Jesus said to them, "The Sabbath day was made for man's [benefit], and not man for the Sabbath [day's benefit].

And He said to the man whose hand was deformed, "Step forward."

Then He said to the Pharisees, "Is it permissible by the law of Moses to do something good, or something harmful on the Sabbath day? To save a life or to kill it?" But they did not reply.

And when He had looked around at them with righteous indignation, being grieved over their stubbornness, He said to the man, "Reach out your hand." And when he reached it out, his hand was restored [to normal use].

Jesus said all this because these experts in the law of Moses had been saying, "He has an evil spirit in him."

Someone in the large crowd that was sitting around Him said to Him, "Look, your mother and your brothers are outside looking for you."

Then He looked out over those gathered around Him and said, "Look, [here is] my mother and my brothers

He taught the people many things using parables [to illustrate His lessons]. In His teaching He said to them,

And Jesus said, "Whoever has ears to hear with ought to listen [to this] carefully."

He said to them, "You disciples are being given an understanding of the secret of the kingdom of God, but to outsiders everything will be told in parables.

Then He said to them, "Is a lamp brought in to be put under a bushel-sized container, or under the bed, instead of on its stand?

And He said to them, "Pay attention to what you are hearing from me. The standard you use in giving [to others] is the standard they will use on you, with even more added.

And Jesus said, "The kingdom of God is like a farmer who scattered seed on the ground,

When evening came that day He said to the disciples, "Let us go over to the other side [i.e., the east side of Lake Galilee]."

And He said to His disciples, "Why are you so afraid? Do you not still have [any] faith?"

And they were extremely afraid, and said to one another, "Who can this man be that even the wind and water obey him?"

And shouting with a loud voice, he said, "What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you, in God's name, do not torture me."

And His disciples said to Him, "You see the large crowd thronging you and yet you ask 'Who touched me'?"

And He said to her, "Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace and be [i.e., remain] healed from your affliction."

While Jesus was still speaking, someone came from the synagogue official's house and said [to the official], "Your daughter is dead; why are you bothering the Teacher any more?"

But Jesus disregarded what the person said and told the official, "Do not be afraid; just believe [i.e., in my power to restore your daughter]."

And when He entered [the house] He said to them, "Why are you making such a commotion and crying? The child is not [really] dead, but only sleeping."

And taking the child by the hand He said to her, "Talitha cumi," which means "Little girl," (I tell you), "get up."

Then Jesus said to them, "A prophet does not go without receiving honor, except in his own home town, and among his own relatives, and among his own family members."