Hezekiah had a son named Manasseh; Manasseh had a son named Amon; Amon had a son named Josiah;

So, he gathered all the leading priests and experts in the law of Moses from among the people and asked them where the Christ [child] was to be born.

And you, Bethlehem in the country of Judah, are not among the least [towns in furnishing] rulers for Judah, for you will produce a leader who will become shepherd of my [i.e., God's] people Israel.'"

Jesus went all over Galilee teaching in the [Jewish] synagogues and preaching the good news of the [coming, see verse 17] kingdom, and healing all kinds of disease and sickness among the people.

Or, what person among you would give his son a stone if he asked you for a piece of bread?

And when Jesus heard this, He was amazed and said to those who were following [along], "It is true when I tell to you, I have never found [anyone with] such great faith, not [even] among the Israelites.

Here is how it will be: I am sending you out like sheep among wolves; therefore you should be as crafty [Note: The Greek word here is "sensible"] as snakes, yet as harmless [Note: The Greek word is "sincere"] as doves.

It is true when I tell you, among [all] those born of women, no one greater than John the Immerser has come along. Yet the least significant person in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.

And other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and [eventually] choked out the tender sprouts.

And the person who was sown among the thorns is the one who hears the message, but the anxieties of the world [i.e., of life] and the deceptiveness of [material] riches choke the message and he becomes unproductive.

And they were led to doubt His true identity. But Jesus said to them, "A prophet does not go without being honored, except in His own home town and among His own family members."

And they began reasoning among themselves, saying, "[Why be concerned about yeast since] we did not bring [any] bread?"

Jesus, being aware of their thoughts, said, "O, you people with [such] little faith! Why are you reasoning among yourselves about not having bread?

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

But it will not be this way among you, for whoever would like to become important among you will become your servant.

And whoever would like to be first [in prominence] among you will be your slave.

Where did the immersion of John come from? From heaven or from men?" And they discussed this among themselves, saying, "If we say, 'from heaven,' He will say to us, 'Why then did you not believe his message?'

Now among our people there were [these] seven brothers; the first one married and [later] died without having any children, leaving his widow to [marry] his brother.

But the greatest person among you will be your servant.

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

And after they had crucified Him, the soldiers divided His clothing among themselves by gambling for them.

Among them were Mary from Magdala; Mary, the mother of James and Joseph [i.e., probably the wife of Clopas. See John 19:25]; and the mother of James and John, the sons of Zebedee [i.e., Salome. Mark 15:40].

So, they took the money and did as they were instructed. And this story [i.e., that Jesus' body had been stolen by His disciples] was told widely among the Jews, and continues to be told to this day.

And other seeds fell among thorns which grew up and choked them so that they yielded no crop.

And other seeds represent those who are sown among thorns. These are people who heard 'the word,'

Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James, Joseph, Judas and Simon? And are not his sisters living here among us?" And they were led to doubt His true identity.

Then Jesus said to them, "A prophet does not go without receiving honor, except in his own home town, and among his own relatives, and among his own family members."

Then He took the five loaves of bread and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, He asked God's blessing on them. Then He broke the loaves and gave them to His disciples to set in front of the people [to eat]. He divided the two fish among them also

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."

So, they kept what He told them to themselves, discussing [only] among themselves what "rising again from the dead" meant.

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].

But it is not [to be] this way among you, for whoever would like to become important among you will be your servant.

And whoever would like to be first [in prominence] among you, will be your slave.

So, they discussed this among themselves, saying, "If we say 'from heaven' He will say to us, 'Then why did you not believe his message?'

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

But some [of the disciples. See Matt. 26:8] were upset among themselves, saying, "What is the reason for wasting this perfume?

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.

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].

They were questioning among themselves, "Who will roll away the stone from the entrance of the cave for us?"

Your Excellency Theophilus: Since so many people have undertaken the task of compiling a narrative of events that have happened among us,

Then she spoke out in a loud voice and said, " [Mary], you are [truly] blessed [from] among [all] women, and the child you will bear [i.e., Jesus] is blessed [as well].

So, Joseph also went from the Galilean town of Nazareth to David's town, which was the Judean town of Bethlehem, because he was among the descendants and family of David.

"May there be glory to God in the highest [heavens], and may there be peace on earth among men who are pleasing to God."

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.

But the experts in the law of Moses and the Pharisees became furious and began discussing among themselves what they could do to Jesus.

And when it was daylight, He called His disciples and chose from among them twelve, whom He also called apostles.

And when Jesus heard these things, He was amazed and said to the crowd that was following Him, "I tell you, I have never found [anyone with] such great faith, not [even] among the Israelites."

Then everyone was gripped with fear and gave honor to God, saying, " [Surely] a great prophet has arisen among us and God's [presence] has come to His people."

And I tell you, among [all] those born of women, there is no one greater than John [the Immerser], yet the least significant person in the kingdom of God is greater than he."

And those who were reclining at the [dinner] table with Him began saying among themselves, "Who is this person who can even forgive sins?"

And other [seed] fell among thorns, which grew up with it and [eventually] choked out [the tender sprouts].

And those people [represented by the seed] that fell among thorns are the ones who have heard [the word], and as they go about their business, they become choked by worry, by money and by worldly pleasures, and produce no mature crop.

Then a dispute developed among Jesus' disciples as to which one of them was the greatest.

and said to the disciples, "The person who welcomes this little child in my name [i.e., because he belongs to me], welcomes me [also]. And the person who welcomes me [i.e., into his life ?] welcomes God, who sent me. For that person who is the least [significant] among you men is the one who is the greatest [in importance]."

[So], go on; See, I am sending you out as lambs among wolves.

And what father among you, whose son asks [him] {{Some ancient manuscripts add for a loaf of bread, will give him a stone [instead]? Or, [if he asks]}} for a fish, will give him a snake [instead]?

And He said to them, "You are people who claim to be just in the eyes of [other] people, but God knows [what is in] your hearts. For that which is held up as most important among people [i.e., fame or fortune ?] is disgusting in the eyes of God.

People will not be saying, 'Look, here [it is]!' or 'There [it is]!' For in fact, the kingdom of God is [now] among you [i.e., as represented by the presence and ministry of Jesus]."

And they discussed this among themselves, saying, "If we say 'from heaven,' He will say 'Why [then] did you not believe him [i.e., believe his message]?'

"Then [Note: This event answers to the "immediately" of Matt. 24:29, and suggests the next major event on God's calendar] there will be [supernatural] signs [evident] in the sun and moon and stars. And on earth [there will be] distress among nations; they will be perplexed by the roaring of the ocean's churning waves. [Note: Probably this is figurative language for highly agitated conditions on earth].

Then Jesus took a cup [Note: This was one of the cups partaken of during the Passover meal], and after giving thanks to God [for it], He said, "Take this and share it among yourselves,

So, the apostles began discussing among themselves which one of them would do such a thing.

Then a dispute arose among the apostles as to which one of them should be considered the greatest.

But it will not be that way among you, for the person who is the most important among you should become [like] the youngest [i.e., least important]. And the person who is the leader should become like the servant.

For who is most important, the person who reclines at the dinner table or the person who serves [him]? Is it not the person who reclines at the dinner table? But I am among you as the person who serves.

And when they [i.e., the priest's servants] had built a fire in the middle of the courtyard, they sat down together [i.e., to warm themselves. See Mark 14:67], with Peter [sitting] among the group.

Then Jesus called out, "Father, forgive these people [i.e., the ones responsible for crucifying Him], for they do not know [i.e., realize] what they are doing." Then the soldiers [See John 19:23] divided Jesus' clothing among them by gambling for them.

And as the apostles were talking about these things, Jesus Himself [reappeared], standing among them, and said to them, "May there be peace in your lives."

[Eventually] this Word became a human being and lived among us [Note: The word "lived" here refers to pitching a temporary tent]. (And we saw His splendor; such splendor as belongs to the Father's only Son), full of God's favor and truth.

So, John answered them, saying, "I am immersing people in water, but there is Someone among you whom you do not recognize.

Jesus answered them, "Stop complaining among yourselves.

And there was much whispering about Him among the crowds. Some were saying, "He is a good man," [but] others said, "No [he is not], he is [just] deceiving the crowd."

The Jews [i.e., the authorities] were saying among themselves, "Where will this man go that we will not be able to find him? Will he go where the Jewish people are scattered among the Greeks, and teach the Greeks?

So, a division arose among people in the crowd over Jesus.

But when they continued asking Him [about the woman], He stood up and said to them, "That person among you who has never sinned should be the first one to throw a stone at her."

Some of the Pharisees then said, "The man who did this is not from God, because he does not observe the Sabbath day. But other people said, "How could a man who is a sinner do such [miraculous] signs?" And the people were divided among themselves [over the issue].

So, Jesus stopped traveling publicly among the Jews [in Judea], but left there and went to a district near the desert, to a town called Ephraim, where He remained with His disciples. [Note: Ephraim was a small town about

So, they began looking for Jesus and saying among themselves, as they gathered in the Temple, "What do you think? He will not attend the Festival, will he?"

There Mary and Martha prepared a meal for Jesus. Martha served it while Lazarus was among those who reclined at the table with Him. [Note: See Matt. 23:6].

For you will always have poor people among you, but you will not always have me."

So, the Pharisees were saying among themselves, "Look, you men are getting nowhere [in this situation]. See, the [whole] world has gone after him."

Now there were certain Greeks among those going up to Jerusalem to worship [God] at the [Passover] Festival [Note: These people were God-fearing Gentiles like Cornelius. See Acts 10].

So, Jesus said to them, "The Light will be among you for only a little while [longer]. Walk around while you [still] have the Light [with you], before darkness surrounds you. For the person who walks around in darkness does not know where he is going.

If I had not performed the [miraculous] deeds among them which no one else had done, they would not be guilty of sinning. But now they have both seen and hated both me and my Father.

Jesus sensed that the disciples wanted to ask Him a question, so He said to them, "Are you discussing among yourselves my saying 'After a little while [longer] you will not see me. Then, a little while [later] you will see me again'?

So, when it was evening on that day, [which was] the first day of the week [i.e., Sunday] and the doors [of someone's house], where the disciples were gathered, were closed [i.e., probably locked] for fear of the Jewish authorities, Jesus came and stood among them. [Note: Probably Jesus passed through the closed door miraculously]. He said to them, "May there be peace in your hearts."

Eight days later [i.e., the following Sunday], Jesus' disciples were inside [the house] again, [but this time] Thomas was with them. The doors were [still] closed when Jesus [suddenly] stood among them [See note on verse 19] and said, "May there be peace in your hearts."

So, a rumor began circulating among the brothers that this disciple would not die. Yet Jesus did not tell him he would not die, but [He said], "If I want him to remain [alive] until I return, what [business] is that of yours?"

They sold their belongings and property and divided [the money] among all [the believers] according to each one's need.

Moses [expressed it when he] said [Deut. 18:15], 'The Lord God will raise up a prophet for you from among your brothers; He will be like me [in some ways] and you must all pay attention to Him in everything He says to you.'

[Deut. 18:19 says], 'And it will be [at that time] that every person who does not listen to that prophet will be completely destroyed [spiritually] from among [God's] people.'

But when the Council [of Jewish leaders] made Peter and John leave [the meeting], they discussed the matter among themselves,

Brothers, select from among you seven men with good reputations, who are full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom, whom we can appoint to take care of this matter.

"This is the Moses who had said to the Israelites [Deut. 18:15], 'God will raise up a prophet from among your countrymen who will be like me [in some ways].'

They said, "Cornelius, a [military] man in charge of one hundred soldiers, [and] a man who does what is right, [and] who respects God and who has a good reputation among all the Jews [who know him], was urged by God through a holy angel to have you come to his house so he could hear you speak [about salvation, See 11:14]."

Now as soon as it got daylight there was a lot of commotion among the soldiers over what had become of Peter.

And after many questions were asked [about it] Peter stood up and addressed the assembly [including the former Pharisees who were now brothers]: "Brothers, you are aware that some time ago God decided that, from among your number, it would be through my ministry that the Gentiles would hear and believe the Gospel message.

The whole crowd remained quiet as they listened to Barnabas and Paul reporting on the [miraculous] signs and wonders God had performed among the Gentiles through them.

So, my advice is not to make it difficult for those who turn to God from among the Gentiles,