And when the Sabbath day came, He began teaching in the synagogue and many who heard Him were amazed, and asked [such questions as], "Where did this man get these things [i.e., knowledge, miracles, etc.]?" and "What kind of wisdom has been given to him?" and "What do these supernatural powers he performs mean?

And He could not perform any supernatural deed there [i.e., because of their lack of faith in Him], except He placed hands on a few sick people [i.e., accompanied by prayer ?] and healed them.

Then Jesus called to Him the twelve apostles and sent them out two by two. He gave them authority over evil spirits

For it was Herod himself who had sent for John and had him arrested and chained up in prison. He did this to please Herodias, who was [i.e., had been] his brother Philip's wife, but whom Herod had married.

Now [because of this] Herodias had a grudge against John and wanted to kill him, but had not been able to.

It was because Herod was afraid of John, knowing he was a righteous and holy man, so he protected him. And Herod became very disturbed whenever he listened to John, yet he heard him gladly.

And immediately the king sent a soldier who served as his guard and ordered him to bring John's head to him. So, he went and decapitated him in the prison,

Then the apostles got together with Jesus and told Him everything they had done and taught [on their mission].

And when the day was nearly over His disciples came to Him and said, "This place is deserted and the day is almost over;

And about then Jesus compelled His disciples to get into a boat and go on ahead of Him to the other side [i.e., to the west side of Lake Galilee] to Bethsaida [Note: This was apparently a different "Bethsaida" from the one mentioned in Luke 9:10, which was on the east side of Lake Galilee], while He Himself sent the crowd away.

But when they saw Him walking on the water they thought it was a spirit, so shouted out,

becoming [very] frightened when they saw Him. But He immediately spoke to them and said, "Take courage, and do not be afraid, it is I."

And wherever He entered towns, cities or the countryside, they placed sick people at the open shopping markets and begged Him to allow them to touch even the edge of His robe. And all those who touched Him were made well.

you are not allowing him to do anything for his father or mother anymore.

Then He called the crowd to Him again and said to them, "Listen to me, all of you, and understand [what I am saying].

There is nothing that enters a person's body from the outside that can [spiritually] corrupt him, but it is what proceeds out of a person's life that [spiritually] corrupts him." {{Verse

And when He had gone into the house away from the crowd His disciples asked Him about this parable.

He said to them, "Are you also as lacking in understanding [as the others]? Do you not understand that whatever enters a person's body from the outside cannot [spiritually] corrupt him?

And He said, "Whatever proceeds out of a man's life is what [spiritually] corrupts him.

All these evil things proceed from within [man's heart] and [spiritually] corrupt him."

Now the woman was a Greek [i.e., a Gentile], a Syrophoenician by nationality. [Note: This was a region just north of Galilee and consisted of Syria and Phoenicia]. She begged Him to drive out the evil spirit from her daughter.

But she answered Him, "Yes Lord, but even the dogs under the table eat the crumbs dropped by the children."

And they brought to Him a deaf man who had a speech impediment and they begged Him to place His hand on him [for healing].

So, Jesus took him away from the crowd by himself and put His fingers into the man's ears. Then He spit and touched the man's tongue [i.e., with His saliva]

And His disciples replied to Him, "Where will a person get enough bread to feed these people in such a deserted place like this?"

The Pharisees and Sadducees [i.e., these were strict sects of the Jewish religion], came out and began disputing with Jesus, asking for a [supernatural] sign from Him, [in an attempt] to test Him.

When I divided the five loaves of bread among the five thousand persons, how many baskets full of broken pieces did you gather up?" They said to Him, "Twelve baskets full."

He again asked, "And when the seven loaves were divided among the four thousand persons, how many large basketfuls of broken pieces did you gather up?" And they said to Him, "Seven large basketfuls."

And when they came to Bethsaida some people brought a blind man to Jesus and begged Him to touch him [i.e., for healing].

[So], He took hold of the blind man by his hand and brought him out of the village. When Jesus spit [and put His saliva] on his eyes [See 7:33 for a similar use of His saliva in healing] and placed His hands on him [for healing], He asked him, "Can you see anything?"

Then Jesus sent him home, saying, "Do not even go through the village [on your way]."

And they answered Him, " [Some say] you are John the Immerser; others say [the prophet] Elijah, but others say [you are] one of the prophets."

Then He asked them, "But who do you say that I am?" Peter answered Him, "You are the Christ [i.e., God's specially chosen one]."

And He spoke about this freely. But Peter took Jesus aside and began rebuking Him [i.e., for saying such things].

But He turned around, and looking at His disciples, He rebuked Peter, saying to him, "Get away from me, Satan; for you are not thinking about God's things but about men's."

And He called the crowd to Him, along with His disciples, and said to them, "If anyone wants to be my follower, he should deny himself [i.e., of always having his own way] and accept his cross [i.e., his responsibilities, with all their difficulties] and then he can become my follower.

For whoever will be ashamed of me and of my words in this [spiritually] unfaithful and sinful generation, the Son of man will also be ashamed of him when He returns in the splendor of His Father, accompanied by the holy angels."

[Just then] a cloud engulfed them and a voice spoke out of the cloud saying, "This is my dearly loved Son, listen to Him."

Then His disciples asked Him, "Why is it, [since you are obviously the Messiah], that the experts in the law of Moses say that Elijah must come first?"

But I tell you, Elijah has [already] come, and they did to him what they wanted to, just like it was written about him [in the Scriptures]."

And immediately, upon seeing Jesus, the entire crowd ran to greet Him in great amazement [i.e., possibly over His sudden appearance].

And someone in the crowd answered Him, "Teacher, I brought to you my son, who is dominated by a spirit which causes him to be a mute.

Wherever it seizes him, it throws him down and he foams at the mouth, grinds his teeth and stiffens out. I spoke to your disciples, asking them to drive it out, but they were not able to."

Then they [i.e., some people from the crowd] brought the sick boy to Jesus, and when the spirit saw Him, it immediately caused the boy to have convulsions and to fall to the ground and roll around, foaming at the mouth.

Jesus asked the boy's father, "How long has this been happening to him?" And he answered, "Since he was a small child.

And frequently the evil spirit has tried to kill him, throwing him into a fire or into the water. But if you can do anything [for him], have pity on us and help us."

And Jesus said to him, "'If you can.' [Note: By repeating the man's words Jesus seems to be saying, "You mean, if YOU can believe"]. Everything is possible to the person who believes [it can happen]."

When Jesus saw a crowd running together [toward Him], He spoke sternly to the evil spirit [in the boy], saying to it, "You deaf-mute spirit, I order you to come out of this boy and to never return to him again."

The spirit shrieked and caused violent convulsions [in the boy], then came out of him. The boy appeared to be dead, so that most of the people were saying, "He is dead."

But Jesus grasped his hand and lifted him up, and he arose [fully healed].

And when Jesus had come into a house, His disciples asked Him privately, "Why could we not drive out the evil spirit [from that boy]?"

For He taught His disciples, saying to them, "The Son of man will be handed over to [evil] men and they will kill Him, and three days after He dies He will rise up again."

But His disciples did not understand what He meant and were afraid to ask Him.

[Then] John [the apostle] said to Him, "Teacher, we saw someone driving out evil spirits by using your name, so we told him to stop doing it, because he was not following [You] with us."

But Jesus said, "Do not try to stop him, for there is not anyone who performs a supernatural deed using my name who will be able to quickly say something bad about me.

And Jesus left there and went to the region of Judea and east of the Jordan River. Again crowds gathered around Him and He continued teaching them, as was His custom.

Some Pharisees [i.e., a strict sect of the Jewish religion] came to Him [and attempted] to test Him by asking, "Is it permissible by the law of Moses for a man to divorce his wife?"

And when they were in the house, His disciples asked Him about this matter again.

And if she herself divorces her husband and marries another [man], she commits sexual unfaithfulness [toward him]."

As Jesus was leaving to go on His way, a man ran to Him and kneeled down in front of Him and asked, "Good Teacher, what should I do in order to possess never ending life?"

Jesus answered him, "Why are you calling me good? Nobody is good except One, that is, God.

And Jesus looked at him, and filled with love, said to him, "There is one thing you [still] lack. Go and sell your possessions and give [the money] to poor people; become my follower, then you will have treasure in heaven."

Then Jesus looked around Him and said to His disciples, "How difficult it is for rich people to enter the kingdom of God "

And they were utterly amazed and said to Him, "Then who can [possibly] be saved?"

Peter began saying to Him, "Look, we have left everything [i.e., homes, jobs, family, etc.] to follow you."

Now Jesus and His disciples were [traveling] along the road, going up to Jerusalem, with Jesus moving on ahead of the others. The disciples were amazed and they followed [behind Him] fearfully. [Note: From the context, it appears their amazement was due to His eagerness to enter Jerusalem in spite of the imminent danger they felt awaited Him there]. He took the twelve apostles aside and began telling them about the things that were going to happen to Him.

He said, "Look, we are going up to Jerusalem and 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.

They will mock Him, and spit on Him, and whip Him and [finally] kill Him, but after three days He will rise again [from the dead]."

Now James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came over to Jesus and said to Him, "We would like you to do for us whatever we ask you."

They answered Him, "Appoint one of us to sit at your right side and the other at your left side [when you come] in splendor."

And they said to Him, " [Yes], we are able to." And Jesus said to them, "The cup [of suffering] that I [will] drink, you [also] will drink. And the immersion [with agony] with which I am [to be] immersed, you [also] will be immersed.

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

Many people spoke harshly to the blind man, telling him to be quiet. But he shouted all the more [loudly], "Son of David, have pity on me."

So, Jesus stopped and said, "Call that man [to me]." Then the crowd called the blind man, saying to him, "Cheer up, Jesus is calling you."

Jesus said to him, "What do you want me to do for you?" And the blind man answered, "Rabboni [i.e., Teacher], I want to have my sight restored."

And Jesus said to him, "Go on your way, your faith [in me] has made you well." And immediately his sight was restored, and he began following Jesus along the road.

But they answered him exactly what Jesus had told them to say, so the people let them go.

And the people who walked ahead of Him and followed behind shouted, "Hosanna [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.

Therefore, He said to the tree, "From now on no one will ever eat fruit from you." Now His disciples heard Him say this.

The leading priests and experts in the law of Moses heard this and began looking for some way to kill Jesus, because they were afraid of Him, since the whole crowd was amazed at His teaching.

Then Peter remembered [what Jesus had done to the fig tree on a recent occasion], and said to Him, "Rabbi [i.e., Teacher], look, the fig tree you cursed [the other day] has withered up."

Jesus replied to him, "You should have faith in God.

Jesus and His disciples again came to Jerusalem. As He was walking in the Temple [area] the leading priests, experts in the law of Moses and [Jewish] elders came to Him

And when the [grape harvest] season came, the owner of the farm sent a slave to the tenant farmers asking them to deliver the grape crop [to him].

But they took the slave and beat him and sent him away empty handed.

The owner had one more person [left to send], his dearly loved son. [So] he sent him to them last of all, reasoning to himself, ' [Surely] they will treat my son with respect.'

But the tenant farmers said to one another, 'This is the heir [to the vineyard]. Come on, let us kill him and then the inheritance will be ours.'

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

And they [i.e., the leading priests and experts in the Law of Moses] attempted to arrest Jesus, but [hesitated because] they feared what the crowd might do, for they understood that He was speaking the parable against them. So, they left Him and went away.

Then the Pharisees sent certain ones of their number [See Matt. 22:15-16] along with the Herodians [Note: This refers to members of a political party favoring King Herod] to attempt to trap Him by what He said.

And when they arrived, they said to Him, "Teacher, we know that you are sincere, and [that you] do not care for [i.e., do not fear or give in to] anyone. For you do not allow [the position of] any person to influence you, but teach the truth about God's way. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?

So, they brought it to Him and He said to them, "Whose image and inscription [are on this coin]?" And they answered Him, "Caesar's."

Then Jesus replied to them, "Pay to Caesar whatever belongs to Caesar and pay to God whatever belongs to God." And they greatly marveled at Him.

Then some Sadducees, [the ones] who say there is no resurrection [of the dead], came and asked Him,

But concerning those who are raised from the dead, have you never read in the book of Moses, in the incident about the bush, how God spoke to him, saying [Ex. 3:6], 'I am Abraham's God, and Isaac's God, and Jacob's God?'

Then one of the experts in the law of Moses [Note: Matt. 22:34 identifies him as being a Pharisee also], came and heard Jesus and the Sadducees discussing together [i.e., the subject of the resurrection], and knowing that Jesus had refuted the Sadducees successfully, asked Him, "Which commandment is foremost, above all the others?"

The expert in the law of Moses said to Jesus, "Truly, Teacher, you are right in saying that God is [the only] one and that there is no other God but Him.

And that to love Him with all one's heart, with all one's understanding, and with all one's strength, and to love one's neighbor the same way he loves himself, are far more [important] than all the burnt offerings and sacrifices [in the world]."

When Jesus saw that this man answered wisely, He said to him, "You are not [very] far from the kingdom of God." And after that, no one dared to ask Him any more questions.

David himself called Him [i.e., Jesus] Lord, so how could He be his son?" And the large crowd listened to Him with pleasure.