That same day some Sadducees came up to Jesus, maintaining that there is no resurrection. Their question was this:--

now if there be another life after this, whose wife shall she be of the seven? for they all married her.

for in the other life after this, there will be no such thing as marriage; but they will be as the angels of God in heaven.

And when the multitude heard this, they were astonished at his teaching.

Then one of them, a Student of the Law, to test him, asked this question--

And Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind: this is the first and great command.

This is the first and great commandment.

The second, which is like it, is this--'Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thou dost thyself.'

Before the Pharisees separated, Jesus put this question to them--

They love to recline at the head place at dinner tables [Note: This referred to the practice of lying down on their left side on a couch next to the dinner table, and leaning on their left elbow, while eating with their right hand], and to occupy the principal seats in the synagogues.

They love the [special] greetings they receive at the open shopping markets and to be addressed as 'Rabbi' [Note: This word signified 'great' or 'master'].

But alas for you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you eat up the houses of widows, and for a pretext make long prayers. For this reason, you shall receive the greater condemnation.

'Woe to you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because ye eat up the houses of the widows, and for a pretence make long prayers, because of this ye shall receive more abundant judgment.

"How terrible it will be for you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to make a single convert, and when this happens you make him twice as fit for hell as you are.

In this way also, ye indeed outwardly appear righteous to men, but inside ye are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.

By doing this you are furnishing evidence against yourselves that you are true children of the men who murdered the Prophets.

For this [reason], behold, I am sending to you prophets and wise men and scribes. [Some] of them you will kill and crucify, and some of them you will flog in your synagogues and will pursue from town to town,

[This will be done] so that on you may fall the guilt for shedding on the ground the blood of all those innocent people, from the blood of righteous Abel to that of Barachiah's son Zachariah, whom you murdered between the Sanctuary and the Altar [i.e., in the Temple area].

Truly I say to you, all these [things] will come upon this generation!

For I say to you, You will not see me from this time till you say, A blessing on him who comes in the name of the Lord.

but he replied to them, "You see all this? I tell you truly, not a stone here will be left upon another, without being torn down."

So, while Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, his disciples came up to him privately and said: "Tell us when this will be, and what will be the sign of your Coming, and of the close of the age."

Jesus answered, "Take care that no one misleads you about this.

And you are going to hear about wars and rumors of wars. See to it that you are not alarmed, for this must happen, but the end is not yet.

All this, however, will be but the beginning of the birth pangs!

But the one who endures to the end--this person will be saved.

And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed in the whole inhabited earth for a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come.

As soon, then, as you see 'the Foul Desecration,' mentioned by the Prophet Daniel, standing in the Holy Place," (the reader must consider what this means)

[Also], the person who is on a housetop [Note: This was a flat area where people retired for rest, prayer, etc., with its stairway on the outside], is not to take any of the belongings from his house as he comes down [to flee].

For there will then be great distress, such as hath not been from the beginning of the world to this time; no, nor shall ever be.

(I am telling you this beforehand.)

Wherever there is a dead body, [you can expect to see] vultures gathered there. [Note: This may mean that such a significant event as the coming of Christ would surely not go unnoticed].

"But immediately after the terrible trouble of those days, [i.e., the next major event on God's calendar], the sun will become dark, and [therefore] the moon will not [be able to] shed its [reflected] light. The stars will fall from the sky and the forces of the heavens will be shaken [Note: From the description of these same events in Luke 21:25-26, it is possible that this is figurative language for great calamities happening on the earth].

And He will send out His angels [i.e., as messengers] with the sound of a great trumpet [See I Thess. 4:16] to gather His elect [i.e., God's people] from all directions, [even] from throughout the whole world. [Note: See Mark 13:27, which suggests this thought by its use of 'earth' and 'sky']

"Learn this parable from the fig tree: Whenever its branch becomes tender and puts out its leaves, you know that summer is near.

so, whenever you see all this happen, you may be sure He is at hand, at the very door.

Truly I say to you that this generation will never pass away until all these [things] take place!

They didn’t know until the flood came and swept them all away. So this is the way the coming of the Son of Man will be:

Two women will be grinding grain at a millstone [Note: This was a hand-operated device where two persons sat across from each other and rotated a circular stone over kernels of grain]; one will be taken, while the other one will be left.

But understand this: that if the master of the house had known what watch of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into.

For this [reason] you also must be ready, because the Son of Man is coming at an hour that you do not think [he will come].

Happy will that servant be whom his master, when he comes home, shall find doing this.

He gave one servant five talents [Note: This 'talent' was a large sum of money in the form of a certain weight of silver. It was the equivalent of sixty years of a farm laborer's wages, or about $750,000 in income]. He gave two talents to another servant and one talent to another. He gave to each one an amount in keeping with his ability [to invest it wisely], and then left on his trip.

Throw this useless servant into the darkness outside! In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.'"

and the king will reply, I declare unto you, your having done this for one of the least of these my brethren, is the same thing as doing it for me.

to this he will reply, I declare unto you, your not doing this for one of the least of these, is the same thing as not doing it for me.

When Jesus had finished all this teaching, he said to his disciples:

"You know the passover is to be held two days after this; and the Son of man will be delivered up to be crucified."

About this time the chief priests, and the elders of the people, assembled in the palace of the high priest, whose name was Caiaphas,

But they kept saying, "This must not happen during the festival. Otherwise, there'll be a riot among the people."

Now when Jesus was at Bethany [Note: This was a small village less than two miles east of Jerusalem], in the house of Simon, the man [who probably had been healed] of an infectious skin disease,

When his disciples saw that, they had indignation saying, "What needed this waste?

This ointment might have been well sold, and given to the poor."

But Jesus, knowing [this], said to them, "Why do you cause trouble for the woman? For she has done a good deed for me.

(seeing ye have the poor always with you, but me ye have not always:) for in pouring this ointment on my body,

And in that she casted this ointment on my body, she did it to bury me, withal.

Verily I say unto you, wheresoever this gospel shall be preached throughout all the world, there shall also this that she hath done, be told for a memorial of her."

About this time went one of the twelve, called Judas Iscariot,

and said, "What would you give me if I turned Jesus over to you?" And they weighed out thirty silver coins [Note: This amount was equivalent to about five months of a farm laborer's wages, or approximately $7,000 in 1994], and promised [See Mark 14:11] to give him that much money.

and as they were eating, he said, 'tis indeed true that one of this company shall betray me.

They were greatly distressed at this, and each of them said to him, "Lord, surely it is not me."

And he answered [and] said, "The one who dips his hand in the bowl with me--this one will betray me.

As they did eat, Jesus took bread and gave thanks, brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, "Take. Eat. This is my body."

And taking the cup, and giving thanks, he gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of this:

This is my blood of the new testament, that shall be shed for many, for the forgiveness of sins.

I say unto you, I will not drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine tree, until that day, when I shall drink it new with you in my father's kingdom."

And after they had sung a hymn, they went up to the Mount of Olives. [Note: This was a small hill just east of Jerusalem]

Then said Jesus unto them, "All ye shall be offended by me this night. For it is written, 'I will smite the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock shall be scattered abroad.'

Jesus said unto him, "Verily I say unto thee, that this same night, before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice."

After this, Jesus went with them to a place called Gethsemani, and said to the disciples, stay here, while I go there and pray.

And he went away a little apart, and fell flat on his face, and prayed, saying, "O my father, if it possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless, not as I will, but as thou wilt."

And [when] He came [back] to where His disciples were and found them asleep, He said to Peter, "What [is this], could you not remain alert with me [in prayer] for one hour?

He went away once more, and prayed, saying, "O my father, if this cup cannot pass away from me, but that I drink of it, thy will be fulfilled."

and at his return, he said to his disciples, is this a time to sleep and take your rest? the hour draws nigh, and the son of man is betrayed into the hands of the gentiles.

now he that was to betray him, gave them this signal, the person I shall kiss, is the very man, be sure to secure him.

"Do you not suppose that I am able to appeal to my Father to furnish me at this very moment with twelve legions of angels?

How then would the scriptures be fulfilled that it must happen in this way?"

At this point, Jesus asked the crowds, "Have you come out with swords and clubs to arrest me as if I were a bandit? Day after day I sat teaching in the Temple, yet you didn't arrest me.

All this was done that the scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled." Then all the disciples forsook him and fled.

Peter, however, followed him at a distance as far as the high priest's courtyard. He went inside and sat down with the servants to see how this would end.

and said, "This fellow said, I can destroy the temple of God, and build the it again in three days."

Then the High Priest stood up, and said to Jesus: "Have you no answer? What is this evidence which these men are giving against you?"

But Jesus remained silent. On this the High Priest said to him: "I adjure you, by the Living God, to tell us whether you are the Christ, the Son of God."

"I am He," Jesus answered; "yet I tell you that from this time on you will see the Son of man sitting at the right hand of Power, and coming upon the clouds of heaven."

Then the High Priest tore his robes. "This is blasphemy!" he exclaimed. "Why do we want any more witnesses? You have just heard his blasphemy!

saying, "Prophesy to us, you 'Christ.' Tell us who hit you?" [Note: By this time Jesus had been blindfolded. See Mark 14:65].

When he was gone out into the porch, another wench saw him, and said unto them that were there, "This fellow was also with Jesus of Nazareth."

And he denied [it] again, [this time] with an oath, saying, "I do not [even] know the man."

At this he broke out cursing and swearing, "I do not know the man." At that moment a cock crowed.

The high priests picked up the pieces of silver and said, "It is not lawful to put this into the Temple treasury, because it is blood money."

So, they conferred together [and decided] to buy "The Potter's Field" with the money [Note: This was probably an abandoned field where clay had been obtained for making pottery], for use in burying people who were not from the local area.

Wherefore that field is called the field of blood, until this day.

and at this time there was a notorious prisoner named Barabbas.

So when they met for this purpose, Pilate asked them, "Which one do you want me to set free, Barabbas, or Jesus, the so-called Christ?"

He did this because he knew that they had handed him over out of jealousy.

When he was set down to give judgment, his wife sent to him, saying, "Have thou nothing to do with that just man, I have suffered many things this day in a dream about him."

When Pilate saw that he prevailed nothing, but that more business was made, he took water and washed his hands before the people saying, "I am innocent of the blood of this righteous person: see ye thereto."

To this all the people replied, "His blood be on us and on our children!"

after this the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the common hall, and gathered all the foot-guards about him.

They stripped off His clothing and placed a scarlet robe on Him [Note: Mark 15:17 calls this a "purple" robe because in that day, any color with a mixture of "red" in it was often called "purple," so the use of "scarlet" was appropriate].