Consider this similitude taken from a fig-tree: when its branch is yet tender, and pushes out its leaves, you know that summer is near:

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

Truly, I say to you, This generation will not come to an end till all these things are complete.

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.

because they kept saying, "This must not happen during the festival. Otherwise, there'll be 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.

But some of them were angry among themselves, saying, For what purpose has this oil been wasted?

For this perfumed oil could have been sold for more than three hundred denarii and given to the poor!" And they began to scold her.

But Jesus said, "Let her alone. Why are you bothering this woman? For she has done a kind deed to me.

She has done what she could. She has applied this aromatic oil to my body in anticipation of my burial.

And truly I say to you, Wherever the good news goes out through all the earth, what this woman has done will be talked of in memory of her.

After this, Judas Iscariot, one of the Twelve, went to the Chief Priests, to betray Jesus to them.

And [when] they heard [this], they were delighted, and promised to give him money. And he began seeking how he could betray him conveniently.

They were grieved at this, and began to say to him, one after another: "Can it be I?"

And while they were taking food, he took bread, and after blessing it, he gave the broken bread to them, and said, Take it: this is my body.

And he said to them, This is my blood of the testament, which is given for men.

Verily I say unto you, I will drink no more of this fruit of the vine, until that day that I shall drink it new in the kingdom of God."

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

And Jesus said to him, Truly, I say to you that you, today, even this night, before the cock's second cry, will say three times that you have no knowledge of me.

Jesus and His disciples came to a place called Gethsemene [Note: This was an olive orchard on a hillside just east of Jerusalem]. He said to His disciples, "You sit here while I [go away and] pray."

then advancing a little further, he fell on the ground, and prayed, that this anxiety might pass from him.

And he said, Abba, Father, all things are possible to you; take away this cup from me: but even so let not my pleasure, but yours be done.

When he came back for the third time, he said to them, "Are you still sleeping and taking your rest? Enough of this! The time has come. See! the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of wicked men.

now he that betrayed him, had given them this signal, you will see me salute one with a kiss, that's he: seize him, and don't let him escape.

I was with you every day in the Temple teaching, and you did not take me; but this is done so that the Writings may come true.

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]

Some took the witness stand and gave this false testimony against Him:

He said in our hearing, I will put an end to this Temple which is made with hands, and in three days I will make another without hands.

And their testimony was not even consistent about this.

Then the high priest arose in the midst and asked Jesus, "Have you no answer to make? What about this testimony they are giving against you?"

At this the High Priest tore his vestments. "Why do we want any more witnesses?" he exclaimed.

And seeing Peter warming himself by the fire, she gave him a look, and said, You were with this Nazarene, even Jesus.

And the girl saw him, and said again to those who were near, This is one of them.

And he began to curse and to swear with an oath, "I do not know this man whom you are talking about!"

And in the same minute, the cock gave a second cry. And it came to Peter's mind how Jesus had said to him, Before the cock's second cry, you will say three times that you have no knowledge of me. And at this thought he was overcome with weeping.

and at this time a man named Barabbas was in prison among the insurgents--persons who in the insurrection had committed murder.

[So], Pilate again asked them, "Then what shall I do to this one you call the king of the Jews?"

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.

They forced a passerby, named Simon of Cyrene [Note: This was a city in the northern African country of Libya], the father of Alexander and Rufus, who was coming in from the countryside, to go with them so he could carry Jesus' cross [i.e., probably only the cross-beam portion].

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].

Then they crucified Him. This done, they divided His garments among them, drawing lots to decide what each should take.

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].

so that this passage of scripture was fulfill'd, "and he was numbred with the transgressors."

Let this Christ, the King of Israel, now come down from the cross, so that we may see and believe!” Those who were crucified with Him were also insulting Him.

When some of those standing there heard this, they said, “Look, He’s calling for Elijah!”

And when the captain, who was near, saw how he gave up his spirit, he said, Truly this man was a son of God.

And there were also some women watching all this from a distance. Among them were Mary from Magdala; Mary the mother of the younger James and [his brother] Joseph [i.e., probably the wife of Clopas. See John 19:25]; and Salome [i.e., the mother of James and John and wife of Zebedee. See Matt. 27:56].

By this time it was evening, and as it was the day of Preparation (that is, the day before the sabbath)

Pilate wondered if He was dead by this time, and summoning the centurion, he questioned him as to whether He was already dead.

And ascertaining this from the centurion, he granted the body to Joseph.

But he said to them, "You must not be amazed. You are looking for Jesus of Nazareth who was crucified. He has risen, he is not here. See! This is where they laid him.

at this they started out, and fled from the sepulchre in a violent consternation, without speaking a word to any by the way: they were so frighted.

After this He showed Himself in a different form to two of them as they were walking along, on their way into the country.

Afterwards he appeared at table to the eleven themselves and reproached them for their unbelief and dulness of mind, because they had not believed those who saw him risen from the dead. [But they excused themselves, saying, "This age of lawlessness and unbelief lies under the sway of Satan, who will not allow what lies under the unclean spirits to understand the truth and power of God; therefore," they said to Christ, "reveal your righteousness now." Christ answered them, "The term of years for Satan's power has now expired, but other terrors are at hand. I was delivered to death on behalf of sinners, that they might return to the truth and sin no more, that they might inherit that glory of righteousness which is spiritual and imperishable in heaven."]

And these [miraculous] signs will attend [the conversion of] those who believe. [Note: This refers to the supernatural miracles performed by the apostles and their associates during the apostolic age. See verse

to perform his customary duties as a priest before God, he drew the responsibility [that day] of entering the Temple of the Lord to burn the incense offering. [Note: This was done on a golden Altar in the Temple by a priest twice a day].

And seeing this, Zacharias was troubled, and fear fell on him.

This will bring you gladness and delight, and many will rejoice over his birth.

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.

And Zacharias said to the angel, How may I be certain of this? For I am an old man, and my wife is far on in years.

And the angel, answering, said, I am Gabriel, whose place is before God; I have been sent to say these words to you and to give you this good news.

Now you will keep silent and be unable to talk until the day when this takes place, because you did not believe what I told you, for it will be fulfilled at the proper time."

So after this his wife Elizabeth became pregnant, and she kept herself in seclusion for five months, saying,

The Lord has done this to me, for his eyes were on me, to take away my shame in the eyes of men.

But she was greatly perplexed at the statement, and was pondering what sort of greeting this might be.

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

This one will be great, and he will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give him the throne of his father David.

And Mary said to the angel, How may this be, because I have had no knowledge of a man?

The angel answered, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; and for this reason your holy offspring will be called 'the Son of God.'

Even now Elisabeth, who is of your family, is to be a mother, though she is old: and this is the sixth month with her who was without children.

So Mary said, "Yes, I am a servant of the Lord; let this happen to me according to your word." Then the angel departed from her.

Soon after this, Mary departed, and made an expeditious journey to a city of Juda, in the mountains:

and Elizabeth divinely inspired, broke out into this acclamation.

And why [is] this [granted] to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?

How blessed is this woman for believing that what was spoken to her by the Lord would be fulfilled!"

For he has had pity on his servant, though she is poor and lowly placed: and from this hour will all generations give witness to the blessing which has come to me.

And they said to her, "There is no one of your relatives who is called by this name."

All their neighbors were awe-struck at this; and throughout the hill-country of Judea the whole story was much talked about;

And all who had word of them kept them in their minds and said, What will this child be? For the hand of the Lord was with him.

"By the lips of his holy prophets he promised of old to do this??71 To save us from our enemies and from the hands of all who hate us,

He has done this to show mercy to our ancestors, and to remember his holy covenant --

the oath which he made to our father Abraham, to grant us this favour,

Just at this time an edict was issued by Caesar Augustus for the registration of the whole Empire.

This was the first numbering, which was made when Quirinius was ruler of Syria.

but the angel said to them, "Have no fear. This is good news I am bringing you, news of a great joy that is meant for all the People.

For on this day, in the town of David, a Saviour has come to birth, who is Christ the Lord.

And this is the sign to you: you will see a young child folded in linen, in the place where the cattle have their food.

And when the angels had gone away from them into heaven, the keepers of the sheep said to one another, Let us go now to Beth-lehem, and see this thing which has come about, which the Lord has made clear to us.

And [when they] saw [it], they made known the statement that had been told to them about this child.

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.

And behold, there was a man in Jerusalem {whose name was} Simeon, and this man [was] righteous and devout, looking forward to the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him.

“Now, Lord, You are releasing Your bond-servant to leave [this world] in peace,
According to Your word;

And Simeon gave them his blessing and said to Mary, his mother, See, this child will be the cause of the downfall and the lifting up of great numbers of people in Israel, and he will be a sign against which hard words will be said;

and this woman was a widow to eighty-four years), who did not depart from the temple, serving with fastings and supplications night and day.

And she came up at this very time, and gave thanks to God, and spoke of him to all that were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem.

Now Jesus' parents went to Jerusalem every year to attend the Passover Festival. [Note: This was the annual Jewish festival commemorating Israel's deliverance from Egyptian bondage under Moses' leadership].

And when they had completed [all] the days [of festivities], and were returning [home], the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem. Now His parents did not know this,

And when they saw him they were surprised, and his mother said to him, Son, why have you done this to us? see, your father and I have been looking for you with sorrow.

Now it was the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar. Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, Herod was ruler of Galilee, his brother Philip was ruler of the regions of Ituraea and Trachonitus [Note: These two men were sons of Herod the Great (See Matt. 2:1) and ruled over provinces east of the Jordan River] and Lysanias was ruler of Abilene [Note: This was a province just north of the two previously mentioned ones].

[During this time], while Annas and Caiaphas [Note: This man was Annas' son-in-law. See John 18:13] were head priests, God's message came to John [the Immerser], son of Zacharias, [when he was] in the desert [of Judea].