Show me the coin used for paying taxes." And they brought to Him a coin [Note: This coin was equivalent to one day of a farm laborer's pay, or about $60-$84 in 1994].

In that day there came near to him Sadducees, who are saying there is not a rising again, and they questioned him, saying,

saying, Teacher, Moses said, If any one die, not having children, his brother shall marry his wife and shall raise up seed to his brother.

Now there were with us seven brethren; and the first having married died, and not having seed, left his wife to his brother.

For they all had her. Jesus answering said to them, Ye err, not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God.

Jesus answered and said unto them, Ye do err, not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God.

for in the rising again they do not marry, nor are they given in marriage, but are as messengers of God in heaven.

But as touching the resurrection of the dead, have ye not read that which was spoken unto you by God, saying,

I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living.

God is not a God of the dead, but of the living. And the multitude hearing it, were astonished at his doctrine.

And not one could answer Him a word, and from that day on no one ever dared to ask Him any more questions.

All therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and do; but do not ye after their works: for they say, and do not.

For they bind heavy burdens and grievous to be borne, and lay them on men's shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers.

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 be not ye called Rabbi: for one is your Master, even Christ; and all ye are brethren.

And call not any one your father upon the earth; for one is your Father, he who is in the heavens.

Do not let yourselves be called leaders or teachers; for One is your Leader (Teacher), the Christ.

But woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because ye shut the kingdom of heaven against men: for ye enter not in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering in to enter.

But alas for you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites; because ye are locking up the kingdom of the heavens before men, - for, ye, are not entering, neither, them who are entering, suffer ye to enter.

"It is too bad for you blind leaders who say that whoever takes an oath 'by the Temple,' it does not [really] mean anything, but whoever takes an oath 'by the gold of the Temple,' he is obligated to [fulfill] the oath.

And [you scribes and Pharisees say], ‘Whoever swears [an oath] by the altar, that is nothing (non-binding), but whoever swears [an oath] by the offering on it, he is obligated [as a debtor to fulfill his vow and keep his promise].’

The person, therefore, who takes an oath 'by the Altar,' [not only] swears by it, but [also] by everything on it.

And the person who takes an oath 'by the Temple,' [not only] swears by it, but [also] by Him [i.e., God] who lives there.

Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone.

Ye blind guides, which strain at a gnat, and swallow a camel.

And say, If we had been in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets.

O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!

For I say unto you, Ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.

And Jesus said unto them, See ye not all these things? verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down.

And Jesus said to them in answer, Take care that you are not tricked.

And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.

"So when you see the destructive desecration, mentioned by the prophet Daniel, standing in the Holy Place (let the reader take note),

Let not him that is on the house-top,

Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take any thing out of his house:

and let him that is in the field not return back to take his cloak.

But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day:

For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.

and if those days had not been cut short, no flesh had been saved; but on account of the elect those days shall be cut short.

Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not.

Take note: I have told you in advance.

Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth: behold, he is in the secret chambers; believe it not.

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].

Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken:

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']

Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.

Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.

But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.

And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man 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.

Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come.

But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up.

Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh.

But if that evil slave says in his heart, ‘My master is not coming for a long time,’

The lord of that servant shall come in a day when he looketh not for him, and in an hour that he is not aware of,

"Then the kingdom of heaven will be similar to ten bridesmaids who took their lamps and went out to meet the [bride and] groom. [Note: The picture here is that of a newly married couple returning from a festive reception to the groom's home where they continued celebrating and were welcomed by a late evening wedding party]

They that were foolish took their torches and did not take oil with them;

But the thoughtful ones not only took their lamps but also extra oil in their oil cans.

But in the middle of the night there was a cry, Behold, the bridegroom; go forth to meet him.

But the wise answered, saying, Not so; lest there be not enough for us and you: but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves.

But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not.

Watch therefore, for ye know not the day nor the hour.

"For the kingdom of heaven is similar to a man who planned to go on a trip to a distant country, so called his servants and entrusted to each of them a large sum of money [Note: The narrative that follows suggests that the man was turning over some of his assets to financial managers to invest for him].

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.

Then he which had received the one talent came and said, Lord, I knew thee that thou art an hard man, reaping where thou hast not sown, and gathering where thou hast not strawed:

His lord answered and said unto him, Thou wicked and slothful servant, thou knewest that I reap where I sowed not, and gather where I have not strawed:

Why, then, did you not put my money in the bank, and at my coming I would have got back what is mine with interest?

For unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath.

For I was in need of food, and you gave it to me: I was in need of drink, and you gave it to me: I was wandering, and you took me in;

Then will the upright make answer to him, saying, Lord, when did we see you in need of food, and give it to you? or in need of drink, and give it to you?

for I was hungry, and ye did not give me to eat; I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink;

I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not.

Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee?

Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me.

"You know that the Passover Festival will be celebrated in two more days [Note: This was the annual Jewish festival commemorating Israel's deliverance from Egyptian bondage under Moses' leadership], and the Son of man will be turned over to be crucified."

But they said, Not on the feast day, lest there be an uproar 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,

a woman with an alabaster [i.e., stone] jar of very expensive perfume came to Him and poured it on His head as He reclined at the dinner table. [Note: See Matt. 23:6]

But Jesus, taking note, said unto them - Why vex ye the woman? for, a seemly work, hath she wrought for me;

For ye have the poor always with you; but me ye have not always.

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 greatly distressed, each one began to say to him, "{Surely I am not he, am I}, Lord?"

The Son of man goeth as it is written of him: but woe unto that man by whom the Son of man is betrayed! it had been good for that man if he had not been born.

And Judas, the betrayer, said, “Surely it is not I, Rabbi?” Jesus said to him, “You have said it yourself.”

But I say unto you, I will not drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine, until that day when I 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 saith Jesus unto them, All ye shall be offended because of me this night: for it is written, I will smite the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock shall be scattered abroad.

And Peter answered and said to him, If all men shall be offended with you, I will not.

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

Peter said unto him, Though I should die with thee, yet will I not deny thee. Likewise also said all the disciples.

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

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

And he cometh unto the disciples, and findeth them asleep, and saith unto Peter, What, could ye not watch with me one hour?

Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.

He went away again the second time, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it, thy will be done.

And he came again [and] found them sleeping, {for they could not keep their eyes open}.

dost thou think that I am not able now to call upon my Father, and He will place beside me more than twelve legions of messengers?

In that hour said Jesus to the multitudes, Are ye come out as against a robber with swords and staves to seize me? I sat daily in the temple teaching, and ye took me not.

and they found it not, though many false witnesses came. But afterward came two,

The high priest stood up and said to Him, “Do You not answer? What is it that these men are testifying against You?”