Jesus called His disciples to Him and said to them, "Truly I tell you, this poor widow has thrown in more than all the rest who are throwing [money] into the treasury.

As Jesus left the Temple, one of His disciples said to Him, "Teacher, look at the kind of stones these buildings are made of "

And Jesus responded to him, "Do you see these huge buildings? There will not be one stone left on another here that will not be thrown down."

As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, over near the Temple, Peter, James, John and Andrew asked Him privately,

And then if anyone says to you, 'Look, here is Christ,' or 'Look, there He is,' do not believe him.

Now the Passover Festival and the Festival of Unleavened Bread were held two days later. [Note: This was the annual Jewish Festival week commemorating Israel's deliverance from Egyptian bondage under Moses' leadership. The unleavened bread was specially baked bread containing no yeast, which was eaten for seven days as part of the celebration]. And the leading priests and experts in the law of Moses were looking for a way to take Jesus by trickery and kill Him.

But they reasoned, "We will not [take him] during the Festival, because it might start a riot among the people."

And while Jesus was in Bethany [Note: This was a small village fewer than two miles east of Jerusalem], sitting at the dinner table in the house of Simon, the man with an infectious skin disease [Note: This man had probably been healed by now], a woman with an alabaster [i.e., stone] jar of very expensive perfume came to Him, broke the jar and poured the perfume on His head.

And when they [i.e., the leading priests] realized this, they were very pleased and promised to give him money. So, Judas began looking for a convenient way to turn Jesus over to these Jewish leaders.

Now on the first day of the Festival of Unleavened Bread [i.e., the beginning of the Passover Festival week], when they sacrificed the Passover [lamb], Jesus' disciples said to Him, "Where do you want us to go to make preparations for you to eat the Passover meal?"

So, He sent two of His disciples, saying to them, "Go into the city [of Jerusalem] and there a man carrying a pitcher of water will meet you; follow him.

And wherever he enters a house [follow him inside and] say to the owner, 'The Teacher says, where is my guest room where I can eat the Passover meal with my disciples?'

And they [all] began to be grieved and said to Him, one by one, "Am I the one?"

But Peter said to Him, "Although everyone else will have doubts [about you], I never will."

And Jesus said to him, "Truly I tell you, today, in fact this very night, before the rooster crows twice, you will deny [knowing] me three times."

And He took Peter, James and John with Him and began to be troubled and deeply distressed.

And He went on ahead a short distance and fell to the ground and prayed for that hour [i.e., that time of terrible grief] to pass away from Him, if it were at all possible.

Now the one who turned Him over to the Jewish leaders [i.e., Judas] had given them a signal, saying, "Whoever I give a kiss [of greeting] to, he is the one; arrest him and lead him away under guard."

And when Judas came, immediately he went to Jesus and said, "Rabbi," and then kissed Him [enthusiastically].

Then the soldiers and officers arrested Him and began taking Him away.

And all of His disciples left Him and ran away.

And a certain young man [Note: Some think this is a reference to Mark himself], who had a linen outer garment thrown over his scantily clad body, was following Jesus until they [i.e., the soldiers and officers] took hold of him. [Note: The wording here does not indicate total nakedness, but rather the wearing of underclothing only]

Then they led Jesus away to the head priest, and all the leading priests, [Jewish] elders and experts in the law of Moses came together with Him.

But Peter had followed Him from a distance, right into the courtyard of the head priest. He was sitting there with the [Jewish] officers, warming himself by the light of the fire.

Now the leading priests and the entire Council [called the "Sanhedrin"] were looking for [false] witnesses to testify against Jesus in order to put Him to death, but did not find any.

For many persons gave false testimony against Him, but their stories did not harmonize.

Then two people [See Matt. 26:60] stood up and gave false testimony against Him, saying,

"We heard him say, 'I will destroy this Temple, which was constructed by hand, and in three days I will build another one, not made by hand.'"

But Jesus kept quiet and did not give them any answer. Again the head priest asked Him, "Are you the Christ [i.e., God's specially chosen one]?"

You [yourselves] have heard him speaking against God. What do you people think [i.e., about such statements]?" And they all condemned Him as deserving the death penalty.

And some of them began to spit on Him, then to cover His face [with a blindfold] and hit Him [with their fists], saying, "Prophesy [i.e., tell who hit you]." And the officers in charge of Him also struck Him with their hands.

and seeing Peter warming himself by the fire, she looked at him and said, "You were with Jesus from Nazareth, too."

When the servant girl saw him [there], she again began saying to those nearby, "This man is one of them [i.e., a disciple of Jesus]."

But again he denied it. Then after a little while those standing nearby said to Peter again, "We know for sure that you are one of them because you are from Galilee." [Note: Peter's accent gave him away. See Matt. 26:73].

Immediately the rooster crowed for the second time and Peter was reminded of the words of Jesus, who had said to him, "You will deny [knowing] me three times before the rooster crows twice." And as he thought about this, he cried.

As soon as it was morning the leading priests, along with the [Jewish] elders and experts in the law of Moses and the entire Council, held a conference. Then they tied Jesus up, led Him away and turned Him over to Pilate [the Roman governor].

Pilate asked Him, "Are you the king of the Jews?" Jesus answered him, "You have said so."

[Then] the leading priests accused Him of many things.

So, Pilate again asked Him, "Do you not have any answer? Look at how many charges they are bringing against you."

Now at the Passover Festival Pilate customarily released whatever prisoner the people asked him to.

The crowd [then] went to Pilate and asked him to do what he was accustomed to doing for them [i.e., release a prisoner of their choosing during the Passover Festival].

For he perceived that the leading priests had turned Jesus over to him out of envy.

And they shouted out again, "Crucify him "

And Pilate said to them, "Why [should we]; what wrong has he done?" But they shouted out even louder, "Crucify him."

So Pilate, wanting to satisfy the crowd, released Barabbas to them, and after he had Jesus flogged, he turned Him over to be crucified.

They placed a purple robe on Him [Note: Matt. 27:28 calls this a "scarlet" robe. In that day, any color with a mixture of "red" in it was often called "purple"], and making a wreath out of thorns, they placed it on His head.

Then they began "greeting" Him with "Hey, king of the Jews "

They beat His head with a stick, spat on Him, knelt down before Him and [mockingly] worshiped Him.

And when they had mocked Him, they took the purple robe off of Him and put His own clothing [back] on Him. Then they led Him out to crucify Him.

They offered Him wine, mixed with aromatic spices, but He refused to accept it. [Note: Matt. 27:34 calls this "gall," a bitter drug for the purpose of dulling the pain of crucifixion].

So, they crucified Him and divided His clothing by gambling for them to decide what each soldier would get.

It was nine o'clock in the morning and they crucified Him. [Note: John 19:14 indicates that the crucifixion took place about noon. This can be harmonized if we take Mark's account to mean when the entire process began].

The inscription, stating the charge against Him, was attached above His head [i.e., to the upright portion of the cross]. It read, "The king of the Jews."

And they also crucified two thieves with Him, one at His right side and one at His left. {{Some ancient manuscripts add verse

And those who passed by the cross shouted abuse at Him and shook their heads [in derision], saying, "Ha, you who said you would destroy the Temple and rebuild it in three days,

In the same way, the leading priests also mocked Him among themselves, along with the experts in the law of Moses, saying, "He saved other people, now he cannot even save himself.

This 'Christ, the king of Israel,' let him now come down from the cross so we can see it and believe in him." And the thieves who were being crucified with Him also spoke abusively to Him.

Then one of the soldiers ran and filled a sponge full of sour wine, put it on a stick and gave it to Him to drink, saying, "Let him alone; let us see if Elijah comes to take him down [from the cross]."

And when the military officer in charge of one hundred men, who was standing in front of Jesus, saw Him die like that, he said, "Truly this man was the Son of God."

These women had ministered to Jesus' needs when they followed Him from Galilee. Others watching were many women who had come up to Jerusalem with Him.

Joseph, from Arimathea, a highly respected member of the [Jewish] Council, who was expecting the kingdom of God, went boldly to Pilate [i.e., the Roman appointed governor] and asked [him] for the body of Jesus.

Pilate was amazed that Jesus had already died, and calling the military officer to him, asked how long He had been dead.

He said to them, "Do not be amazed. You are looking for Jesus from Nazareth, who was crucified, [are you not]? He has risen from the dead. He is not here. Look at the place where they laid Him.

So, go and tell His disciples and Peter, 'He is going on ahead of you to Galilee. You will see Him there, just as He told you.'"

Then she went and told those disciples who had been with Him what had happened. They were sorrowful and began to cry.

Later on Jesus showed Himself to the eleven apostles as they sat [i.e., reclined. See Matt. 23:6], eating a meal. He scolded them for their lack of faith and stubbornness because they refused to believe those who had seen Him [alive] after His resurrection.

Just then an angel from the Lord appeared to him, standing at the right side of the incense altar.

But the angel said to him, "Do not be afraid Zacharias, for your earnest prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will give birth to a son and you will name him John.

For he will be great in the sight of the Lord and he will not drink any wine or intoxicating drinks [Note: This restriction suggests that John may have taken the special vow of consecration making him a "Nazarite"]. And he will be filled with the Holy Spirit from the time he is born.

The angel answered him, "I am Gabriel, who stands in the presence of God, and I was sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news.

And consider this, you will become pregnant and give birth to a son and you will name Him Jesus.

He will be great and will be called the Son of the Highest [i.e., God], and the Lord will give Him the throne of His forefather King David.

He shows mercy to generation after generation of people who have reverence for Him.

And it happened on the eighth day [i.e., since the baby was born] that they came to circumcise the child [i.e., to perform the Jewish rite of identity, signifying the responsibility to observe the law of Moses]. And they [i.e., probably the neighbors and/or relatives of Elizabeth and Zacharias] suggested that they name him Zacharias, after his father.

And [so] they made [hand] signs to the [baby's] father to find out what he wanted to name him.

And everyone who heard about this incident remembered it [i.e., for some time]. They were saying, "What will this child become? For the hand of the Lord was [surely] with him."

that we would be delivered from the [destructive] hand of our enemies and [then] serve Him without fear

by living holy and righteous lives before Him all of our days.

[He went] to register, along with Mary, who was engaged to him and who was pregnant [at the time].

So, she bore her firstborn Son and wrapped Him in [linen] cloths and laid Him in an animal's feeding trough because there was no room for them in the lodge.

Eight days later it was time to circumcise Jesus [i.e., to perform the Jewish rite of identity, signifying the responsibility to observe the law of Moses], and they named Him Jesus, which was the name given by the angel before He was [even] conceived.

Then when the days of their purification according to the law of Moses were completed [Note: This was a set procedure required for a Jewish mother on the birth of a child. See Lev. 12:1-8], Joseph and Mary brought Jesus up to Jerusalem to present Him to the Lord.

Now there was a righteous and devoted man named Simeon at Jerusalem, who was expecting the consolation of the Israelites [i.e., the coming of the Messiah to save them], and the Holy Spirit was upon him.

Now it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die until he had seen the Lord's Christ [i.e., God's, specially chosen one].

And he was led by the Holy Spirit into the Temple, and when Joseph and Mary brought the baby Jesus in, so they could do to Him what was customary under the law of Moses,

And Jesus' [step-] father and His mother were amazed at the things said about Him.

Then Simeon [asked God to] bless them and said to Jesus' mother Mary, "Look, many Israelites will be caused to fall [i.e., into spiritual ruin] or rise [i.e., to spiritual renewal] because of Him. And [He will be] a 'sign' [for people] to speak against,

And the child [i.e., Jesus] grew and became strong. He was filled with wisdom and God's favor was upon Him.

so thinking He was in the caravan, they continued traveling for an entire day [before] they began looking for Him among their relatives and friends.

And when they could not find Him, they returned to Jerusalem to look for Him.

And it happened after three days that they found Him in the Temple, sitting in the middle of the [Jewish] teachers, listening to them and asking questions.

And all of them who heard Him were amazed at His understanding [i.e., of spiritual matters] and His answers [to questions they would ask Him].

When His parents [finally] saw Him, they were very surprised and His mother asked Him, "Son, why have you treated us this way? Look, your [step-] father and I have been anxiously searching for you."

This was according to what is written in the book containing the words of Isaiah, the prophet [Isa. 40:3ff], "The voice of a man who speaks out in the desert [urging people] to make the road for the Lord ready [for Him to travel]; to make a straight pathway for Him [to walk on].

He said to the crowds of people that went out [to the desert] to be immersed by him, "You children of snakes, who warned you to run away from the coming wrath [of God]?

Then the crowds asked him, "What then must we do [i.e., to demonstrate our repentance]?"

Then some tax collectors came to him to be immersed and asked him, "Teacher, what must we do [i.e., to demonstrate our repentance]?"

Some soldiers on duty also asked him, "And what must we do [i.e., to demonstrate our repentance]?" And he answered them, "Do not force people to give you money or accuse them falsely, and be content with your pay."

Now it happened when all the people had been immersed [by John], that Jesus was also immersed [by him]. And while Jesus was praying, heaven was opened

and the Holy Spirit came down on Him in a physical form, as a dove, and a voice spoke out of heaven [saying], "You are my dearly loved Son. I am very pleased with you."