And Mary said, "Here I am, the Lord's slave-girl; let it happen to me according to what you say." Then the angel left her.

Then the devil led Jesus to Jerusalem and placed Him on the elevated wing of the Temple and said to Him, "If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here,

And He replied to them, "No doubt you will tell me this proverb, 'Doctor, heal yourself,' and 'Perform [the miracles] here in your own home town also that we heard you did in Capernaum.'"

But the time will come when the groom will be taken away from them [Note: Jesus here refers to Himself]. Then they will fast at that time."

But I tell you the truth, there are some people standing here who will surely not experience death until they see that God's kingdom has come [i.e., in a demonstration of power. See Mark 9:1]."

And it happened, as the two men were leaving Him, that Peter said to Jesus, "Master, it is [so] good for us to be here. Let us make three [small] shelters, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah." [But] he did not realize what he was saying. [See note at Matt. 17:4]

And Jesus replied, saying, "You perverse generation of faithless people! How long must I be [patient] with you, and put up with you [i.e., before you understand]? Bring your son here."

But when someone stronger than he attacks him and overpowers him, he takes away all the armament the strong man relied on, and [then] divides up his storehouse of possessions. [Note: The word here translated "possessions" may be translated "arms" so the meaning could be "divides up his armament"].

The queen of the South [Note: This queen was from Sheba, which was probably in Arabia. See I Kings 10:1] will stand up on the judgment day, along with the people of this generation, and will condemn them because she came from a great distance to hear [and see] Solomon's wisdom [I Kings 10:1ff] and [now] Someone greater than Solomon is here [i.e., Jesus].

The people of Nineveh will stand up on the judgment day with the people of this generation and will condemn them because they repented [i.e., changed their hearts and lives] when hearing the preaching of Jonah [Jonah 3:5-10] and [now] Someone greater than Jonah is here [i.e., Jesus].

Are not five sparrows sold [i.e., in the market as food] for two coins? [Note: The coins here amount to just over one hour's worth of a farm laborer's pay, or about $8 in 1994]. Yet in the presence of God, not a [single] one of them is forgotten.

So, he said to the orchard worker, "Look, I have been coming [here] looking for figs for three years now, but have not found any. Cut down the tree, [for] why should it waste the space [i.e., by not producing]?"

At that very time certain Pharisees came to Jesus saying, "Get out of here and go someplace else, for King Herod wants to kill you."

Then the slave returned and told his master about these things. Then the master of the house became angry and said to his slave, 'Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and bring people who are poor, and handicapped, and blind and crippled in here [i.e., to the supper].'

But when he came to his senses, he said, 'How many of my father's hired servants have more than enough bread to eat, and here I am, dying from hunger!

For my son here was dead [spiritually], but is [now] alive again. He was lost [from me], but [now] is found.' And they began to celebrate.

And the father replied, 'Son, you are always [here] with me, and everything I have is yours.

Therefore, I tell you, make friends for yourselves by using worldly wealth, so that when it fails [i.e., when you run out of money] they [i.e., the friends you made with its wise and benevolent use] may welcome you into the eternal [i.e., heavenly] dwelling places. [Note: The idea here seems to be that by your shrewd use of material possessions for the benefit of others, you are actually storing up treasures for yourself in heaven].

But Abraham said [to him], 'Son, remember how you enjoyed good things when you were alive [on earth] and how Lazarus had to put up with bad things? But now here [i.e., in the unseen place of departed spirits] he is being comforted and you are in agony.

And besides all this, there is a huge chasm situated between us and you so that those who wanted to go from here to there [where you are] cannot do it. And no one can cross over from there to us [over here].'

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 people will be saying to you, 'Look, there [He is]! Look, here [He is]! Do not leave or follow after them.

Whatever person tries to gain [everything to satisfy him in] life [here on earth] will lose it [i.e., never ending life]. But whatever person [is willing to] lose [the comforts and security of] his life [here on earth] will preserve it [for eternity].

Then another slave appeared and said, 'Look, master, here is your sum of money. I kept it [safely] wrapped up in a cloth,

But bring those enemies of mine here [i.e., the citizens. See verse 14], who did not want me to rule over them, and kill them in front of me.'"

saying [to them], "Go into the village just ahead of you, and upon entering [it], you will find tied up [there] a colt that no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it [here].

"As for these things you are looking at, the time will come when there will not be one stone left on another here that will not be thrown down."

And when you hear of wars and uprisings [going on], do not be afraid, for such things must necessarily happen first. But the end will not come right away." [Note: By "the end" here Jesus probably alludes to the downfall of Jerusalem, in AD 70, with its attending destruction of the Temple buildings].

And the apostles said, "Look, Lord, we have two swords [here]." And Jesus replied, "That is enough." [Note: Possibly Jesus means, "enough talk about weapons"].

He is not here; for He has risen [from the dead]. [Do you not] remember what He told you when He was still in Galilee, saying,

And while they still could not believe [i.e., or, could hardly believe], out of joy and wonderment, Jesus said to them, "Do you have anything here to eat?"