Now Jesus was born in Bethlehem [a small town] in Judea during the time when Herod [the Great] was king [of Judea]. About that time some astrologer/sages from the east [i.e., Persia] came to Jerusalem, saying,

"Where is the one who was born to be king of the Jews? For we saw a star [signifying his birth while we were still] in the east, and have come here to worship him."

So, he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, "Go and find out the details about the young child, and when you have found him, come and tell me, so I can go and worship him myself."

Jesus then came from [the province of] Galilee to be immersed by John in the Jordan River.

After Jesus was immersed [by John], He came up out of the water and heaven was opened up before Him and He saw the Holy Spirit from God descending, as a dove, and landing upon Him.

Then a voice came out of heaven, saying, "This is my dearly loved Son. I am very pleased with Him."

The tempter [i.e., the devil] came and said to Him, "If you are the Son of God, command these stones to turn into bread."

Then the devil left Him and angels came and tended to His needs [i.e., food, water, etc.].

[After] leaving Nazareth [i.e., a major town in Galilee], He came to live in Capernaum, [a city] beside Lake Galilee, near the districts of Zebulun and Naphtali.

And He said to them, "Come with me, and I will make you fishermen for people."

Seeing the large crowds, Jesus went up in a mountain [i.e., probably a hill near Capernaum] and when He sat down, His disciples came to Him.

"Do not think that I came to do away with the law of Moses or the prophets. I did not come to do away with them, but to fulfill them [i.e., their requirements and predictions].

[In another case], come to terms with the person suing you as soon as possible, [even] on your way [to court], so he does not take you before the judge, and then the judge turn you over to the officer and you be sent to prison.

May your kingdom come [to earth]; may your will be done on earth just as it is [already being done] in heaven.

The [heavy] rains came down and the flood waters rose and the winds blew and beat down on that house, but it did not collapse, for it was [built] on a foundation of rock.

And the [heavy] rains came down and the flood waters rose and the winds blew and struck against that house [until] it collapsed with a terrible crash."

And when He had come down from the mountain [See 5:1], large crowds followed Him.

Just then a person with an infectious skin disease came and worshiped Him, saying, "Lord, if you want to, you can heal me."

But the military officer answered, "Sir, I do not deserve for you to come into my house; just say the word and [I know] my slave-boy will be healed.

For I also am a man [who serves] under the authority [of others], and I have soldiers [who serve] under me. I can say to this one 'Go,' and he goes, and to another one, 'Come,' and he comes, and to my slave 'Do this,' and he does it."

And I [also] say to you, that many people will come from the east and the west and will sit down with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven.

When Jesus had come into Peter's house, He saw Peter's mother-in-law lying sick with a fever.

When evening came they brought many persons who were dominated by evil spirits to Jesus and He drove out the spirits with [just] a word and healed all those who were sick.

Suddenly a violent storm came up over the lake, so that [huge] waves began to overwhelm the boat. But Jesus was sleeping [through it all].

His disciples came and awoke Him, shouting, "Lord, save us, we are sinking!"

And when He got to the other side [i.e., the east side of the lake], He was in the district of the Gadarenes. There He was met by two men dominated by evil spirits. They came from the graveyard [where they lived] and were so fierce that no one could [safely] travel that road.

Suddenly they shouted out, "What do you want with us, you Son of God? Have you come here to torture us before it is time to?" [i.e., before our punishment is due. See II Pet. 2:4; Jude 6].

Jesus replied to them, "Go [ahead]." And they came out [of the man] and entered the [wild] hogs, and suddenly the entire herd rushed down the cliff into the lake and drowned in the water [below].

Quickly, all the people of the town came out to meet Jesus, and when they saw Him, they urged Him to leave the district [i.e., probably because of the loss of livestock].

Then Jesus entered a boat and crossed [back] over [Lake Galilee] and came to His own city [i.e., Capernaum].

And so it happened, as Jesus was having a meal at Matthew's house, a number of [other] tax collectors and worldly people came to sit down with Him and His disciples.

Go and learn what this means: 'I desire mercy and not [only] sacrifice.' For I did not come to call righteous people [to be my followers] but sinners."

Some of John's disciples came to Jesus saying, "Why is it that we and the Pharisees fast frequently [i.e., going without food and/or drink for religious reasons], but your disciples do not fast [at all]?"

Jesus said to them, "Can the groomsmen act sadly while the groom is still with them? But the time will come when the groom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast.

While Jesus spoke these things, a leader [of the Jewish synagogue, named Jairus. See Mark 5:22-43] came and worshiped Him, saying, "My daughter has just died, but if you come and place your hand on her, she will live [again]."

But just then a woman who had been bleeding for twelve years came up behind Him and touched the edge of His robe.

And when He had entered the house [i.e., probably a friend's house there in Capernaum. See 8:20], the blind men came in [after Him]. Jesus said to them, "Do you believe that I am able to do what you are asking?" They replied, "Yes, Lord."

Do not think that I came to bring [only] peace on the earth; I did not come to bring peace [only] but [also] a sword [of division. See Luke 12:51].

For I came to set a person at odds against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.

and said to Jesus, "Are you the One who was to come, or should we look for someone else?"

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.

For when John came, he did not eat or drink [on festive occasions] and people said, 'He is dominated by an evil spirit.'

[Then] the Son of man came eating and drinking [at festive occasions] and they said, 'Look, He is a glutton and a drunkard and a friend of tax collectors and worldly people.' It proves that [God's] wise counsel is right by the way things turn out."

Come to me, all of you who are overworked and overburdened and I will give you rest [i.e., spiritual refreshment].

But if I drive out evil spirits by [the power of] the Holy Spirit, then [that is evidence that] the kingdom of God has come into your midst [i.e., by my presence and ministry].

And whoever speaks an [abusive] word against the Son of man will be forgiven [of it], but whoever speaks [an abusive word] against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven [of it], not in this world nor the one to come.

The queen of the South [Note: This queen was from Sheba, I Kings 10:1, which was probably in Arabia] 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].

Then it says [to itself], I will return to my house which I came out of [i.e., the body of the person it dominated]. But when it returns [to that body] it finds it empty, cleaned out and [newly] decorated.

And some of the seed he sowed [i.e., scattering it by hand] landed along the side of the road and birds came and ate it.

But when the sun came up these tender sprouts were scorched and, since they had such tiny roots, they [quickly] withered away.

Jesus' disciples came and said to Him, "Why are you speaking to them [i.e., the large crowds] by using parables?"

but while his workers were asleep his enemy came and scattered weed seeds throughout his wheat field and then left.

The farmer's hired hands came and asked him, 'Did you not plant [only] good seed in your field? Where did the weeds come from [then]?'

This seed is indeed [one of] the smallest of all seeds, but when it is [fully] grown, it is larger than [other] plants, and [even] becomes a tree, so that the birds of the sky come and roost on its branches."

He then left the crowds and went into the house. [While there] His disciples came to Him, and said, "Explain to us [the meaning of] the parable of the weeds in the field."

At the end of the world it will be that same way. The angels will come and divide the sinful people from the ones who did what was right,

And when He came to His home town [i.e., Nazareth], Jesus taught people in their synagogues to their amazement. They said, "Where did this man get [such] wisdom and [the ability to perform] these supernatural deeds?

But when Herod's birthday came, Herodias' daughter [Note: According to Josephus her name was Salome], pleased him by [her sensual] dancing in front of the party guests.

Jesus' disciples came and took the body and buried it; then they went and told Jesus [all about the incident].

When Jesus came out [of His place of seclusion] and saw a large crowd, He felt a deep compassion for them and healed their sick people.

When it became evening, the disciples came to Him and said, "This place is deserted and it is getting late. Send the crowds away so they can go into the towns and buy food [for their supper]."

After He had dispersed them, He went up into the mountain by Himself to pray. When evening had come He was there alone.

Then between three and six o'clock in the morning Jesus came walking to them on the [surface of the] lake.

Peter answered Him, "Lord, if it is [really] you, ask me to come to you [walking] on the water."

And Jesus replied, "Come [ahead]." So, Peter climbed over the side of the boat and went to Jesus, walking on the water.

Then some Pharisees and experts in the law of Moses came to Jesus from Jerusalem and said,

Then Jesus called the crowds to come to Him, and He said to them, "Listen and understand.

Then His disciples came and said to Him, "Do you know that the Pharisees were upset [with you] when they heard [you say] that?"

But the things that come out of a person's mouth come from his heart. These are what [spiritually] corrupt a person.

For evil thoughts, murder, extramarital affairs, sexual immorality, stealing, perjury, slander --- [all these] come from a person's heart,

Just then a Canaanite woman came out of that area [Note: Mark 7:26 calls her a Syrophoenician Gentile], crying, "O Lord, son of David, have pity on me. My daughter is seriously troubled by an evil spirit."

But He did not say a word to her. His disciples came and begged Him, "Send her away, for she is [continually] shouting at us [as we go along]."

But she came and worshiped Him, saying, "Lord, help me."

Large crowds came to Him, bringing crippled, blind, deaf-mute, disabled and many other [sick] people and laid them down at His feet. And He healed [all of] them,

The Pharisees and Sadducees came [and attempted] to test Jesus [by] asking Him to perform a [supernatural] sign from heaven.

Now the disciples came to the other side [i.e., to the east side of the lake], but had forgotten to bring food [with them].

Now when Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, "Who are people saying that the Son of man is?"

They replied, "Some say you are John the Immerser; some [the prophet] Elijah; and others [the prophet] Jeremiah, or one of the [other] prophets [come back to life]."

But Jesus came and touched them, saying, "Get up, and do not be afraid."

His disciples asked Him, "Why then [since you are obviously the Messiah] do the experts in the law of Moses say that Elijah must come first, [i.e., before the Messiah]?"

Jesus answered them, "Elijah truly was to come, and restore all things [i.e., to their proper perspective concerning the Messiah].

But I tell you that Elijah has already come, but they [i.e., the Jewish leaders] did not understand who he was, but [instead] did to him what they wanted to. In the same way, the Son of man will also suffer from what the Jews will do."

When Jesus and His disciples met the crowd [that was gathered], a man came kneeling down to Jesus and saying to Him,

Then Jesus' disciples came to Him privately and said, "Why could we not drive out that evil spirit?"

When Jesus and His disciples came to Capernaum, the collectors of the tax [Note: This was the annual tax used for meeting the expenses of the Temple service and consisted of two days' worth of a farm laborer's pay, or about $140 in 1994] came to Peter and said, "Does not your teacher [also] pay the [Temple] tax?"

At that very time His disciples came to Jesus, asking, "Who then is the most important person in the kingdom of heaven?"

"It will be too bad for the world because of occasions that cause people to fall away [from God]! For it is inevitable that such occasions come, but it is too bad for that person who is responsible for causing it to happen.

For the Son of man came to save those who were lost.]}]}

Then Peter came and said to Jesus, "Lord, how often must I forgive my brother when he sins against me? As many as seven times?"

And so when Jesus had finished speaking He left Galilee and came to the region of Judea, on the east side of the Jordan River.

Some Pharisees came to Him, [attempting] to put Him to a test. They said, "Is it permissible by the law of Moses for a man to divorce his wife for any reason [he chooses]?"

But Jesus said, "Allow these little children to come to me and stop trying to prevent them. For the kingdom of heaven belongs to such [humble ones] as these." [See 18:4].

Then a rich, young man [See verse 22] came to Him and said, "Teacher, what good deed should I do in order to have never ending life?"

And when evening came the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, 'Call the workers [in] and pay them their wages, beginning with the last [one hired, then] to the first.'

So, when those hired about five o'clock in the afternoon came in, each one received the usual pay for one full day's work. [See note on verse 2].

Then when those who were hired first came [to get paid], they expected to receive more money [than those hired later], but each one received the usual pay for one full day's work also.

Then the mother of Zebedee's sons [i.e., James and John] came to Jesus with her sons and, bowing down in reverence before Him, made a request of Him.

Even so, the Son of man did not come to be served [by others] but to be the servant [of others], and to sacrifice His life as a ransom price to purchase many people [i.e., back from Satan]."

And when they [i.e., Jesus and the twelve apostles] approached Jerusalem and came close to Bethphage, near the Mount of Olives [Note: This was about three-fourths of a mile east of Jerusalem], Jesus sent two disciples on ahead,

And the crowds that walked ahead and followed behind Him shouted, "Hosanna to the son of David. [Note: The Syriac word 'Hosanna' originally meant 'save now' but came to be used as an expression of welcome, praise, blessing or acclamation]. May He, who comes in the name [i.e., by the authority] of the Lord, be blessed. Hosanna in the highest [i.e., may this blessing reach to the highest heaven]."