and he said, ‘Friend, how did you come in here without wearing the wedding clothes [that were provided for you]?’ And the man was speechless and without excuse.

Then the king said to the attendants, ‘Tie him hand and foot, and throw him into the darkness outside; in that place there will be weeping [over sorrow and pain] and grinding of teeth [over distress and anger].’

And Jesus said to them, “Whose likeness and inscription is this?”

They said, “[The Emperor Tiberius] Caesar’s.” Then He said to them, “Then pay to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s; and to God the things that are God’s.”

saying, “Teacher, Moses said, ‘If a man dies, leaving no children, his brother as next of kin shall marry his widow, and raise children for his brother.’

But as to the resurrection of the dead—have you not read [in the Scripture] what God said to you:

“What do you [Pharisees] think of the Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed)? Whose Son is He?” They said to Him, “The son of David.”

Jesus asked them, “How is it then that David by the inspiration of the Spirit, calls Him ‘Lord,’ saying,

‘The Lord (the Father) said to my Lord (the Son, the Messiah),
“Sit at My right hand,
Until I put Your enemies under Your feet”’?

Then Jesus spoke to the crowds and to His disciples,

While Jesus was seated on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, and said, “Tell us, when will this [destruction of the temple] take place, and what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end (completion, consummation) of the age?”

But the foolish virgins said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, because our lamps are going out.’

Later the others also came, and said, ‘Lord, Lord, open [the door] for us.’

His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful and trustworthy over a little, I will put you in charge of many things; share in the joy of your master.’

His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful and trustworthy over a little, I will put you in charge of many things; share in the joy of your master.’

When Jesus had finished this discourse, He said to His disciples,

But they said, “It must not be during the festival (Passover), otherwise there might be a riot among the people.”

But Jesus, aware [of the malice] of this [remark], said to them, “Why are you bothering the woman? She has done a good thing to Me.

and said, “What are you willing to give me if I hand Jesus over to you?” And they weighed out thirty pieces of silver.

Now on the first day of Unleavened Bread (Passover Week) the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Where do You want us to prepare for You to eat the Passover?”

He said, “Go into the city to a certain man, and say to him, ‘The Teacher says, “My time [to suffer and atone for sin] is near; I am to keep the Passover at your house with My disciples.”’”

And as they were eating, He said, “I assure you and most solemnly say to you that one of you will betray Me.”

And Judas, the betrayer, said, “Surely it is not I, Rabbi?” Jesus said to him, “You have said it yourself.”

Now as they were eating Jesus took bread, and after blessing it, He broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat; this is My body.”

Then Jesus said to them, “You will all fall away because of Me this night [disillusioned about Me, confused, and some even ashamed of Me], for it is written [in the Scriptures], ‘I will strike the Shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.’

Jesus said to him, “I assure you and most solemnly say to you, this night, before a rooster crows, you will [completely] deny Me three times.”

Peter said to Jesus, “Even if I have to die with You, I will not deny You!” And all the disciples said the same thing.

Then He said to them, “My soul is deeply grieved, so that I am almost dying of sorrow. Stay here and stay awake and keep watch with Me.”

And He came to the disciples and found them sleeping, and said to Peter, “So, you men could not stay awake and keep watch with Me for one hour?

Then He returned to the disciples and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting? Listen, the hour [of My sacrifice] is at hand and the Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of sinners [whose way and nature is to oppose God].

Immediately Judas went to Jesus and said, “Greetings (rejoice), Rabbi!” And he kissed Him [in a deliberate act of betrayal].

Jesus said to Judas, “Friend, do what you came for.” Then they came and seized Jesus and arrested Him.

Then Jesus said to him, “Put your sword back in its place; for all those who habitually draw the sword will die by the sword.

At that moment Jesus said to the crowds, “Have you come out with swords and clubs to arrest Me as you would against a robber? Day after day I used to sit in the porches and courts of the temple teaching, and you did not arrest Me.

and testified, “This man said, ‘I am able to tear down the temple of God and rebuild it in three days.’”

The high priest stood up and said to Jesus, “Have You no answer to give? What is it that these men are testifying against You?”

But Jesus kept silent. And the high priest said to Him, “I call on You to swear a binding oath by the living God, that you tell us whether You are the Christ, the Son of God.”

Jesus said to him, “You have [in fact] said it; but more than that I tell you [regardless of what you do with Me now], in the future you will see [Me revealed as] the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power, and coming on the clouds of heaven.”

Now Peter was sitting outside in the courtyard, and a servant-girl came up to him and said, “You too were with Jesus the Galilean.”

And when he had gone out to the gateway, another servant-girl saw him and she said to the bystanders, “This man was with Jesus the Nazarene.”

After a little while the bystanders came up and said to Peter, “Surely you are one of them too; for even your [Galilean] accent gives you away.”

And Peter remembered the [prophetic] words of Jesus, when He had said, “Before a rooster crows, you will deny Me three times.” And he went outside and wept bitterly [in repentance].

The chief priests, picking up the pieces of silver, said, “It is not lawful to put these in the treasury [of the temple], because it is the price of blood.”

Then the words spoken by Jeremiah the prophet were fulfilled: “And they took the thirty pieces of silver, the price of Him on whom a price had been set by the sons of Israel;

Now Jesus stood before [Pilate] the governor, and the governor asked Him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” [In affirmation] Jesus said to him, “It is as you say.”

Then Pilate said to Him, “Do You not hear how many things they are testifying against You?”

So when they had assembled [for this purpose], Pilate said to them, “Whom do you want me to set free for you? Barabbas, or Jesus who is called Christ?”

The governor said to them, “Which of the two do you wish me to set free for you?” And they said, “Barabbas.”

Pilate said to them, “Then what shall I do with Jesus who is called Christ?” They all replied, “Let Him be crucified!”

And he said, “Why, what has He done that is evil?” But they continued shouting all the louder, “Let Him be crucified!”

and they said [tauntingly], “You who would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save Yourself [from death]! If You are the Son of God, come down from the cross.”

He trusts in God; let God rescue Him now, if He delights in Him; for He said, ‘I am the Son of God.’”

When some of the bystanders there heard it, they began saying, “This man is calling for Elijah.”

But the rest said, “Let us see whether Elijah will come to save Him [from death].”

Now the centurion, and those who were with him keeping guard over Jesus, when they saw the earthquake and the things that were happening, they were terribly frightened and filled with awe, and said, “Truly this was the Son of God!”

and said, “Sir, we have remembered that when He was still alive that deceiver said, ‘After three days I will rise [from the dead].’

Pilate said to them, “You have a guard [of soldiers]; go [with them], make the tomb as secure as you know how.”

But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid; for I know that you are looking for Jesus who has been crucified.

He is not here, for He has risen, just as He said [He would]. Come! See the place where He was lying.

And as they went, suddenly, Jesus met them, saying, “Rejoice!” And they went to Him and took hold of His feet [in homage] and worshiped Him [as the Messiah].

Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid; go and tell My brothers to leave for Galilee, and there they will see Me [just as I promised].”

and said, “You say this, ‘His disciples came at night and stole Him while we were sleeping.’

Jesus came up and said to them, “All authority (all power of absolute rule) in heaven and on earth has been given to Me.

And Jesus said to them, “Follow Me [as My disciples, accepting Me as your Master and Teacher and walking the same path of life that I walk], and I will make you fishers of men.”

and they found Him and said, “Everybody is looking for You!”

He replied, “Let us go on to the neighboring towns, so I may preach there also; that is why I came [from the Father].”

Moved with compassion [for his suffering], Jesus reached out with His hand and touched him, and said to him, “I am willing; be cleansed.”

saying to him, “See that you tell no one anything [about this]; but go, show yourself to the priest and offer for your purification what Moses commanded, as proof to them [that you are really healed].”

When Jesus saw their [active] faith [springing from confidence in Him], He said to the paralyzed man, “Son, your sins are forgiven.”

Immediately Jesus, being fully aware [of their hostility] and knowing in His spirit that they were thinking this, said to them, “Why are you debating and arguing about these things in your hearts?

But so that you may know that the Son of Man has the authority and power on earth to forgive sins”—He said to the paralyzed man,

As He was passing by, He saw Levi (Matthew) the son of Alphaeus sitting in the tax collector’s booth, and He said to him, “Follow Me [as My disciple, accepting Me as your Master and Teacher and walking the same path of life that I walk].” And he got up and followed Him [becoming His disciple, believing and trusting in Him and following His example].

When the scribes [belonging to the sect] of the Pharisees saw that Jesus was eating with the sinners [including non-observant Jews] and tax collectors, they asked His disciples, “Why does He eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?”

When Jesus heard this, He said to them, “Those who are healthy have no need of a physician, but [only] those who are sick; I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners [who recognize their sin and humbly seek forgiveness].”

The Pharisees said to Him, “Look, why are they doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath?”

Jesus said to them, “Have you never read [in the Scriptures] what David did when he was in need and was hungry, he and his companions;

Jesus said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.

He said to the man whose hand was withered, “Get up and come forward!”

He asked them, “Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil, to save a life or to kill?” But they kept silent.

After looking around at them with anger, grieved at the hardness and arrogance of their hearts, He told the man, “Hold out your hand.” And he held it out, and his hand was [completely] restored.

The scribes who came down from Jerusalem were saying, “He is possessed by Beelzebul (Satan),” and “He is driving out the demons by the [power of the] ruler of the demons.”

So He called them to Himself and spoke to them in parables, “How can Satan drive out Satan?

A crowd was sitting around Him, and they said to Him, “Look! Your mother and Your brothers are outside asking for You.”

Looking at those who were sitting in a circle around Him, He said, “Here are My mother and My brothers!

And He taught them many things in parables, and in His teaching He said to them,

And He said, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear and heed My words.”

He said to them, “The mystery of the kingdom of God has been given to you [who have teachable hearts], but those who are outside [the unbelievers, the spiritually blind] get everything in parables,

Then He said to them, “Do you not understand this parable? How will you understand and grasp the meaning of all the parables?

He said to them, “A lamp is not brought in to be put under a basket or under a bed, is it? Is it not [brought in] to be put on the lampstand?

Then He said to them, “Pay attention to what you hear. By your own standard of measurement [that is, to the extent that you study spiritual truth and apply godly wisdom] it will be measured to you [and you will be given even greater ability to respond]—and more will be given to you besides.

Then He said, “The kingdom of God is like a man who throws seed on the ground;

And He said, “How shall we picture the kingdom of God, or what parable shall we use to illustrate and explain it?

On that [same] day, when evening had come, He said to them, “Let us go over to the other side [of the Sea of Galilee].”

But Jesus was in the stern, asleep [with His head] on the [sailor’s leather] cushion. And they woke Him and said to Him, “Teacher, do You not care that we are about to die?”

And He got up and [sternly] rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Hush, be still (muzzled)!” And the wind died down [as if it had grown weary] and there was [at once] a great calm [a perfect peacefulness].

Jesus said to them, “Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith and confidence [in Me]?”

They were filled with great fear, and said to each other, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey Him?”

and screaming with a loud voice, he said, “What business do we have in common with each other, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I implore you by God [swear to me], do not torment me!”

Jesus did not let him [come], but [instead] He said to him, “Go home to your family and tell them all the great things that the Lord has done for you, and how He has had mercy on you.”

Immediately Jesus, recognizing in Himself that power had gone out from Him, turned around in the crowd and asked, “Who touched My clothes?”