For false Christs and false prophets will appear and they will provide great signs and wonders, so as to deceive, if possible, even the elect (God’s chosen ones).

So if they say to you, ‘Look! He is in the wilderness,’ do not go out there, or, ‘Look! He is in the inner rooms [of a house],’ do not believe it.

And at that time the sign of the Son of Man [coming in His glory] will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of the earth [and especially Israel] will mourn [regretting their rebellion and rejection of the Messiah], and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory [in brilliance and splendor].

And He will send His angels with a loud trumpet and they will gather together His elect (God’s chosen ones) from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.

For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the [very] day when Noah entered the ark,

and they did not know or understand until the flood came and swept them all away; so will the coming of the Son of Man be [unexpected judgment].

For when the foolish took their lamps, they did not take any [extra] oil with them,

Now while the bridegroom was delayed, they all began to nod off, and they fell asleep.

But while they were going away to buy oil, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding feast; and the door was shut and locked.

Then they also [in their turn] will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, or thirsty, or as a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister to You?’

Then these [unbelieving people] will go away into eternal (unending) punishment, but those who are righteous and in right standing with God [will go, by His remarkable grace] into eternal (unending) life.”

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

But when the disciples saw it they were indignant and angry, saying, “Why all this waste [of money]?

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

[Accordingly] the disciples did as Jesus had directed them, and they prepared the Passover.

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

Being deeply grieved and extremely distressed, each one of them began to say to Him, “Surely not I, Lord?”

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.”

After singing a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.

Peter replied to Him, “Though they all fall away because of You [and doubt and disown You], I will never fall away!”

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

Now the chief priests and the whole Council (Sanhedrin, Jewish High Court) tried to get false witnesses to testify against Jesus, so that they might [have a reason to] put Him to death.

They found none, even though many false witnesses came forward. At last two came forward,

What do you think?” They answered, “He deserves to be put to death.”

Then they spat in His face and struck Him with their fists; and some slapped Him,

so they bound Him, and led Him away and handed Him over to Pilate the governor [of Judea, who had the authority to condemn prisoners to death].

saying, “I have sinned by betraying innocent blood.” They replied, “What is that to us? See to that yourself!”

So after consultation they used the money to buy the Potter’s Field as a burial place for strangers.

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;

and they gave them for the Potter’s Field, as the Lord directed me.”

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

Now at the feast [of the Passover] the governor was in the habit of setting free any one prisoner whom the people chose.

And at that time they were holding a notorious prisoner [guilty of insurrection and murder], called Barabbas.

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?”

For Pilate knew that it was because of jealousy that the chief priests and elders had handed Jesus over to him.

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

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

Then the governor’s soldiers took Jesus into the Praetorium, and they gathered the whole Roman cohort around Him.

They stripped him and put a scarlet robe on Him [as a king’s robe].

And after twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on His head, and put a reed in His right hand [as a scepter]. Kneeling before Him, they ridiculed Him, saying, “Hail (rejoice), King of the Jews!”

They spat on Him, and took the reed and struck Him repeatedly on the head.

After they finished ridiculing Him, they stripped Him of the scarlet robe and put His own clothes on Him, and led Him away to crucify Him.

Now as they were coming out, they found a man of Cyrene named Simon, whom they forced into service to carry the cross of Jesus.

And when they came to a place called Golgotha, which means Place of a Skull,

they offered Him wine mixed with gall (myrrh, a bitter-tasting narcotic) to drink; but after tasting it, He refused to drink it.

And when they had crucified Him, they divided His clothes among them by casting lots.

Then sitting down there, they began to keep watch over Him [to guard against any rescue attempt].

And above His head they put the accusation against Him which read, “THIS IS JESUS THE KING OF THE JEWS.”

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.”

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

and coming out of the tombs after His resurrection, they entered the holy city (Jerusalem) and appeared to many people.

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!”

So they went and made the tomb secure, and along with [stationing] a guard of soldiers [to be on watch] they set a seal on the stone.

The guards shook, paralyzed with fear [at the sight] of him and became like dead men [pale and immobile].

So the women left the tomb quickly with fear and great joy, and ran to tell [the good news to] the disciples.

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].”

While they were on their way, some of the [Roman] guards went into the city and reported to the chief priests everything that had happened.

And when the chief priests had gathered with the elders and had consulted together [to develop a plan of deception], they gave a sufficient sum of money [as a bribe] to the soldiers,

So they took the money [they were paid for lying] and did as they were instructed; and this [fabricated] story was widely spread among the Jews, and is to the present day.

And when they saw Him, they worshiped Him; but some doubted [that it was really He].

And all the country of Judea and all the people of Jerusalem were continually going out to him; and they were being baptized by him in the Jordan River, as they confessed their sins.

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.

Immediately they left their nets and followed Him [becoming His disciples, believing and trusting in Him and following His example].

Immediately Jesus called to them; and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired workers, and went away to follow Him [becoming His disciples, believing and trusting in Him and following His example].

They went into Capernaum, and immediately on the Sabbath Jesus went into the synagogue and began to teach.

They were completely amazed at His teaching; because He was teaching them as one having [God-given] authority, and not as the scribes.

They were all so amazed that they debated and questioned each other, saying, “What is this? A new teaching with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits (demons), and they obey Him.”

Now Simon’s mother-in-law was lying sick with a fever; and immediately they told Him about her.

Now when evening came, after the sun had set [and the Sabbath Day had ended, in a steady stream] they were bringing to Him all who were sick and those who were under the power of demons,

And Jesus healed many who were suffering with various diseases; and He drove out many demons, but would not allow the demons to speak, because they knew Him [recognizing Him as the Son of God].

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

Then they came, bringing to Him a paralyzed man, who was being carried by four men.

When they were unable to get to Him because of the crowd, they removed the roof above Jesus; and when they had dug out an opening, they let down the mat on which the paralyzed man was lying.

But some of the scribes were sitting there debating in their hearts [the implication of what He had said],

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?

And he got up and immediately picked up the mat and went out before them all, so that they all were astonished and they glorified and praised God, saying, “We have never seen anything like this!”

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?”

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.

One Sabbath He was walking along [with His disciples] through the grainfields, and as they went along, His disciples began picking the heads of grain.

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

The Pharisees were watching Jesus closely to see if He would heal him on the Sabbath, so that they might accuse Him [in the Jewish high court].

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.

Then the Pharisees went out and immediately began conspiring with the Herodians [to plot] against Him, as to how they might [fabricate some legal grounds to] put Him to death.

And He told His disciples to have a small boat stand ready for Him because of the many people, so that they would not crowd Him;

for He had healed many, and as a result all who had diseases pressed around Him to touch Him.

Whenever the unclean spirits saw Him, they fell down before Him and screamed out, “You are the Son of God!”

Jesus sternly warned them [again and again] not to tell who He was.

He went up on the hillside and called those whom He Himself wanted and chose; and they came to Him.

He appointed the twelve: Simon (to whom He gave the name Peter),

When His own family heard this they went to take custody of Him; for they were saying, “He is out of His mind.”

“I assure you and most solemnly say to you, all sins will be forgiven the sons of men, and all the abusive and blasphemous things they say;

[Jesus said this] because the scribes and Pharisees were [attributing His miracles to Satan by] saying, “He has an unclean spirit.”

Then His mother and His brothers arrived, and standing outside they sent word to Him and called for Him.

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

so that they will continually look but not see, and they will continually hear but not understand, otherwise they might turn [from their rejection of the truth] and be forgiven.”

These [in the first group] are the ones along the road where the word is sown; but when they hear, Satan immediately comes and takes away the word which has been sown in them.

In a similar way these [in the second group] are the ones on whom seed was sown on rocky ground, who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with joy [but accept it only superficially];

and they have no real root in themselves, so they endure only for a little while; then, when trouble or persecution comes because of the word, immediately they [are offended and displeased at being associated with Me and] stumble and fall away.