"Look, the virgin will become pregnant and have a son, and they will name Him Immanuel," which means "God with us."

After hearing the king they left and the star, which they had seen [while still] in the east, moved on ahead of them until it stopped over [the house] where the young child was staying. [See verse 11].

"You people are [like] salt on the earth. But if salt loses its flavoring ability, how will it ever get it back again? From then on it would be good for nothing except to be thrown out onto the roadway and walked on by people. [Note: This was mined salt which, when losing its "saltiness" due to exposure to the sun or rain, was simply disposed of by being dumped onto the roadway where people walked].

It was also said [Deut. 24:1-3], 'Whoever divorces his wife, let it be done with a [legally binding] divorce decree, which he must give her.'

And which one of you can worry yourself into living a single day longer?

So, if God so [beautifully] dresses the grass in a field, which is [green] today, and [then] tomorrow [dries up and] is thrown in the oven [i.e., as fuel], will He not do even more in providing your clothing, you people with such little faith?

Jesus replied to him, "The foxes have dens [in which to live] and the birds of the sky have nests [in which to roost]; but the Son of man does not have anywhere to lay His head."

For which is easier, to say 'Your sins are forgiven,' or [to say] 'Get up and walk?'

[He said] "It will be too bad for you, Chorazin! It will be too bad for you, Bethsaida! For if the powerful miracles had been performed in [the cities of] Tyre and Sidon which were performed in your presence, they would have repented long ago, [demonstrating it] by wearing sackcloth [i.e., a coarse cloth made of goat hair] and throwing ashes [into the air].

And Capernaum, do you think you will be lifted up toward heaven [as a proud city]? [No indeed], you will [surely] go down to the place of the unseen [i.e., become obscure or obliterated as a city]. For if the powerful miracles had been performed in Sodom which were performed in your presence, it would have remained [even] until today.

He entered the house of God [i.e., the Temple] and ate the 'Bread of Presence', which was not permissible, according to the law of Moses, for him or those with him to do, since it was reserved only for the priests.

He answered them, "Which one of you who has [only] one sheep, and it fell in a ditch, would not reach down and lift it out [even] if it were on a Sabbath day?

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

So, the prophecy of Isaiah is being fulfilled by them, which says, [Isa. 6:9f] 'You will hear all right, but you will not understand [what you hear]. You will see all right but you will not perceive [what you see].

Jesus told them another parable, saying, "The kingdom of heaven is similar to a seed from the mustard tree which a man took and planted in his field.

Then He told them another parable: "The kingdom of heaven is similar to yeast, which a woman worked into a batch of dough [i.e., the amount was over half a bushel], until [the dough] was completely leavened [by it]."

They all ate until they were full; then gathered up seven baskets full of broken pieces which were left over.

The young man asked Him, "Which [ones]?" Jesus answered, "You must not murder. You must not be sexually unfaithful to your mate. You must not steal. You must not give false testimony.

Which of these two sons did what his father wanted?" They answered, "The first one." Jesus said to them, "Truly I tell you, tax collectors and prostitutes [will] enter the kingdom of God ahead of you.

Jesus [then] said to the leading priests and elders of the Jewish people, "Did you not ever read in the Scriptures [Psa. 118:22-23], 'The building block rejected by the builders is the same one that was made the principal stone by which the entire building was aligned. This was planned by the Lord and is a marvelous thing to us'?

"Teacher, which one is the greatest commandment in the law of Moses?" he asked.

You foolish, blind people! Which is greater, the gold or the Temple that makes its gold sacred?

You blind people! Which is more important, the gift or the Altar that makes the gift sacred?

"It is too bad for you hypocritical experts in the law of Moses and [you] Pharisees! For you are like white-washed tombs, used for burial [sites], which appear beautiful on the outside, but on the inside are full of the bones and decaying flesh of dead people.

"Therefore, when you see that disgusting thing which causes total destruction [i.e., the Roman armies. See Luke 21:20], which Daniel the prophet spoke about [Dan. 9:27; 11:31; 12:11], standing in the sacred place [i.e., Jerusalem and especially the Temple area], (let the reader understand [what is meant by this]),

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']

The one with the five talents soon invested the money in business transactions which netted him five more.

Then the King will say to those at His right side, 'You who are blessed by my Father, come and receive the kingdom which has been prepared for you since the creation of the world,

Then He [i.e., the King] will say to those at His left side, 'Go away from me, you who are cursed [by God], into the never ending fire which is prepared for the devil and his angels.

for this is [i.e., represents] my blood of the Agreement [i.e., between God and mankind], which is [to be] poured out for many people in order for [their] sins to be forgiven.

[Thus the prophecy] spoken by Jeremiah, the prophet [Note: The passage actually appears to be Zech. 11:12-13], was fulfilled which said, "And they took the thirty silver coins, the amount charged for Him on whom certain Israelites had set a price,

But He [again] made no reply, not even to a single charge, which caused the governor to be greatly amazed.

But the governor asked them, "Which one of these two men do you want me to release to you?" And they answered, "Barabbas."

And when they had come to the place called Golgotha, which means "the place of a skull" [i.e., probably because it was a skull-shaped knoll in appearance],

They attached over His head [i.e., to the upright portion of the cross] the charge made against Him, which read, "This is Jesus, the king of the Jews."

Then about three in the afternoon Jesus called out in a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama, sabachthani? [Note: These words were spoken in the commonly used Aramaic language], which mean, My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?

and placed it in his own newly prepared grave, which he had cut out of [a ledge of] rock. Then he [had] a huge stone rolled across the entrance of the grave and went away.

Now on the following day, which was the day after the Preparation [for the Passover Festival], the leading priests and Pharisees assembled in front of Pilate