“Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its young shoots become tender and it puts out its leaves, you know that summer is near;

So take the talent away from him, and give it to the one who has the ten talents.’

“For to everyone who has [and values his blessings and gifts from God, and has used them wisely], more will be given, and [he will be richly supplied so that] he will have an abundance; but from the one who does not have [because he has ignored or disregarded his blessings and gifts from God], even what he does have will be taken away.

All the nations will be gathered before Him [for judgment]; and He will separate them from one another, as a shepherd separates his sheep from the goats;

“Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father [you favored of God, appointed to eternal salvation], inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.

“Then He will say to those on His left, ‘Leave Me, you cursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels (demons);

And from that moment Judas began looking for an opportune time to betray Jesus.

And after going a little farther, He fell face down and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it is possible [that is, consistent with Your will], let this cup pass from Me; yet not as I will, but as You will.”

As Jesus was still speaking, Judas [Iscariot], one of the twelve [disciples], came up accompanied by a large crowd with swords and clubs, [who came as representatives] from the chief priests and elders of the people.

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 saved others [from death]; He cannot save Himself. He is the King of Israel; let Him now come down from the cross, and we will believe in Him and acknowledge Him.

Now from the sixth hour (noon) there was darkness over all the land until the ninth hour (3:00 p.m.).

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

And [at once] the veil [of the Holy of Holies] of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; the earth shook and the rocks were split apart.

There were also many women there looking on from a distance, who had accompanied Jesus from Galilee, ministering to Him.

When it was evening, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who was also a disciple of Jesus.

Therefore, give orders to have the tomb made secure and safeguarded until the third day, otherwise His disciples may come and steal Him away and tell the people, ‘He has risen from the dead,’ and the last deception [the reporting of His resurrection] will be worse than the first [the reporting that He is the Messiah].”

And a great earthquake had occurred, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled away the stone [from the opening of the tomb], and sat on it.

Then go quickly and tell His disciples that He has risen from the dead; and behold, He is going ahead of you into Galilee [as He promised]. There you will see Him; behold, I have told you.”

And if the governor (Pilate) hears about it, we will calm him down and keep you out of trouble.”

John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins [that is, requiring a change of one’s old way of thinking, turning away from sin and seeking God and His righteousness].

In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan.

and a voice came out of heaven saying: “You are My beloved Son, in You I am well-pleased and delighted!”

Immediately the [Holy] Spirit forced Him out into the wilderness.

As Jesus was walking by the shore of the Sea of Galilee, He saw Simon [Peter] and Simon’s brother, Andrew, casting a net in the sea; for they were fishermen.

Just then there was a man in their synagogue with an unclean spirit; and he cried out [terribly from the depths of his throat],

But he went out and began to proclaim it freely and to spread the news [of his healing], to such an extent that Jesus could no longer openly enter a city [where He was known], but stayed out in the unpopulated places; yet people were still coming to Him from everywhere.

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].”

Jesus answered, “The attendants of the bridegroom cannot fast while the bridegroom is [still] with them, can they? As long as they have the bridegroom with them, they cannot fast.

But the days will come when the bridegroom is [forcefully] taken away from them, and they will fast at that time.

“No one sews a patch of unshrunk (new) cloth on an old garment; otherwise the patch pulls away from it, the new from the old, and the tear becomes worse.

Jesus withdrew to the sea with His disciples; and a large crowd from Galilee followed Him; and also people from Judea,

and from Jerusalem, and from Idumea, and [from the region] beyond the Jordan, and around Tyre and Sidon; a vast number of people came to Him because they were hearing about all [the things] that He was doing.

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.”

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,

For whoever has [a teachable heart], to him more [understanding] will be given; and whoever does not have [a yearning for truth], even what he has will be taken away from him.”

Seeing Jesus from a distance, he ran up and bowed down before Him [in homage];

And Jesus went with him; and a large crowd followed Him and pressed in around Him [from all sides].

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

His disciples said to Him, “You see the crowd pressing in around You [from all sides], and You ask, ‘Who touched Me?’”

Then He said to her, “Daughter, your faith [your personal trust and confidence in Me] has restored you to health; go in peace and be [permanently] healed from your suffering.”

While He was still speaking, some people came from the synagogue official’s house, saying [to Jairus], “Your daughter has died; why bother the Teacher any longer?”

Taking the child’s hand, He said [tenderly] to her, “Talitha kum!”—which translated [from Aramaic] means, “Little girl, I say to you, get up!”

Jesus left there and came to His hometown [Nazareth]; and His disciples followed Him.

Is this not the carpenter, the son of Mary, and the brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon? Are His sisters not here with us?” And they were [deeply] offended by Him [and their disapproval blinded them to the fact that He was anointed by God as the Messiah].

King Herod [Antipas] heard about this, for Jesus’ name and reputation had become well known. People were saying, “John the Baptist has been raised from the dead, and that is why these miraculous powers are at work in Him.”

But when Herod heard [of it], he kept saying, “John, whom I beheaded, has risen [from the dead]!”

Many [people] saw them leaving, and recognized them and ran there together on foot from all the [surrounding] cities, and got there ahead of them.

And the disciples picked up twelve full baskets of the broken pieces [of the loaves], and of the fish.

Now the Pharisees and some of the scribes came from Jerusalem and gathered around Him,

and when they come from the market place, they do not eat unless they cleanse themselves [completely according to ritual]; and there are many other things [oral, man-made laws and traditions handed down to them] which they follow diligently, such as the washing of cups and pitchers and copper utensils.)

He replied, “Rightly did Isaiah prophesy about you hypocrites (play-actors, pretenders), as it is written [in Scripture],

‘These people honor Me with their lips,
But their heart is far from Me.

You disregard and neglect the commandment of God, and cling [faithfully] to the tradition of men.”

but you [Pharisees and scribes] say, ‘If a man tells his father or mother, “Whatever I have that would help you is Corban, (that is to say, already a gift to God),”’

then you no longer let him do anything for his father or mother [since helping them would violate his vow of Corban];

And He said to them, “Are you, too, so foolish and lacking in understanding? Do you not understand that whatever goes into the man from outside cannot defile and dishonor him,

For from within, [that is] out the heart of men, come base and malevolent thoughts and schemes, acts of sexual immorality, thefts, murders, adulteries,

All these evil things [schemes and desires] come from within and defile and dishonor the man.”

Jesus got up and left there and went to the region of Tyre [and Sidon, the coastal area of Phoenicia]. He entered a house and did not want anyone to know about it; but it was impossible for Him to be hidden [from the public].

Soon after this Jesus left the region of Tyre, and passed through Sidon to the Sea of Galilee, through the region of Decapolis [the ten Hellenistic cities].

Jesus, taking him aside by himself, away from the crowd, put His fingers into the man’s ears, and after spitting, He touched the man’s tongue [with the saliva];

The Pharisees came out and began to argue [contentiously and debate] with Him, demanding from Him a sign from heaven, to test Him [because of their unbelief].

And He began to teach them that the Son of Man must [of necessity] suffer many things and be rejected [as the Messiah] by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes, and must be put to death, and after three days rise [from death to life].

As they were coming down from the mountain, Jesus expressly ordered them not to tell anyone what they had seen, until the Son of Man had risen from the dead.

So they [carefully and faithfully] kept the matter to themselves, discussing and questioning [with one another] what it meant to rise from the dead.

Immediately, when the entire crowd saw Jesus, they were startled and began running up to greet Him.

Jesus asked his father, “How long has this been happening to him?” And he answered, “Since childhood.

They went on from there and began to go through Galilee. Jesus did not want anyone to know it,

because He was teaching His disciples [and preparing them for the future]. He told them, “The Son of Man is to be betrayed and handed over to men [who are His enemies], and they will kill Him; and when He has been killed, He will rise [from the dead] three days later.”

But from the beginning of creation God made them male and female.

And he replied to Him, “Teacher, I have [carefully] kept all these [commandments] since my youth.”

They will mock and ridicule Him and spit on Him, and whip (scourge) Him and kill Him, and three days later He will rise [from the dead].”

And many [of the people] spread their coats on the road [as an act of tribute and homage before a new king], and others [scattered a layer of] leafy branches which they had cut from the fields [honoring Him as Messiah].

On the next day, when they had left Bethany, He was hungry.

He said to it, “No one will ever eat fruit from you again!” And His disciples were listening [to what He said].

Was the baptism of John [the Baptist] from heaven [that is, ordained by God] or from men? Answer Me.”

They began discussing it with each other, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ He will say, ‘Then why did you not believe him?’

But shall we say, ‘From men?’” —they were afraid [to answer because] of the crowd, for everyone considered John to have been a real prophet.

When the harvest season came he sent a servant to the tenants, in order to collect from them some of the fruit of the vineyard.

This came about from the Lord,
And it is marvelous and wonderful in our eyes’?”

For when they rise from the dead, they do not marry nor are they given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven.

When Jesus saw that he answered thoughtfully and intelligently, He said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” And after that, no one would dare to ask Him any more questions.

You will be hated by everyone because of [your association with] My name, but the one who [patiently perseveres empowered by the Holy Spirit and] endures to the end, he will be saved.

for at that time there will be such tribulation as has not occurred, from the beginning of the creation which God made, until now—and never will [be again].

and the stars will be falling from the sky, and the powers that are in the heavens will be shaken.

And then He will send out the angels, and will gather together His elect [those He has chosen for Himself] from the four winds, from the farthest end of the earth to the farthest end of heaven.

“Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: as soon as its branch becomes tender and it puts out its leaves, you recognize that summer is near.

After going a little farther, He fell to the ground [distressed by the weight of His spiritual burden] and began to pray that if it were possible [in the Father’s will], the hour [of suffering and death for the sins of mankind] might pass from Him.

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.”

And at once, while He was still speaking, Judas [Iscariot], one of the twelve [disciples], came up, and with him a crowd of men with swords and clubs, who came from the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders [of the Sanhedrin].

But pulling free of the linen sheet, he escaped [from them] naked.

They forced into service a passer-by coming in from the countryside, Simon of Cyrene (the father of Alexander and Rufus), to carry His cross.

save Yourself by coming down from the cross!”

In the same way the chief priests also, along with the scribes, were ridiculing and mocking Him among themselves and saying, “He saved others [from death]; He cannot save Himself!

Let the Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed), the King of Israel, now come down from the cross, so that we may see and believe and trust [in Him]!” Those who were crucified with Him were also insulting Him.

And the veil [of the Holy of Holies] of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom.

Now some women also were watching from a distance, among whom were Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James the Less and of Joses, and Salome.

And when he learned from the centurion [that Jesus was in fact dead], he gave the body to Joseph [by granting him permission to remove it].

So Joseph purchased a [fine] linen cloth [for wrapping the body], and after taking Jesus down [from the cross], he wrapped Him in the linen cloth and placed Him in a tomb which had been cut out of rock. Then he rolled a [large, wheel-shaped] stone against the entrance of the tomb.

They went out and fled from the tomb, for they were seized with trembling and astonishment; and they said nothing [about it] to anyone, because they were afraid.