The Destruction of the Temple and Signs before the End

131 As He was going out of the temple , one of His disciples said to Him, "Teacher , behold what wonderful stones and what wonderful buildings !" 2 And Jesus said to him, "Do you see these great buildings ? Not one stone will be left upon another which will not be torn down ." 3 As He was sitting on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple , Peter and James and John and Andrew were questioning Him privately e , 4 "Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign when all these things are going to be fulfilled ?"

5 And Jesus began to say to them, "See to it that no one misleads you. 6 "Many will come in My name , saying , ' I am He!' and will mislead many . 7 "When you hear of wars and rumors of wars , do not be frightened ; those things must take place ; but that is not yet the end . 8 "For nation will rise up against nation , and kingdom against kingdom ; there will be earthquakes in various places ; there will also be famines . These things are merely the beginning of birth pangs . 9 "But be on your guard ; for they will deliver you to the courts , and you will be flogged in the synagogues , and you will stand before governors and kings for My sake , as a testimony to them. 10 " The gospel must first be preached to all the nations . 11 " When they arrest you and hand you over, do not worry beforehand about what you are to say , but say whatever e is given you in that hour ; for it is not you who speak , but it is the Holy Spirit . 12 "Brother will betray brother to death , and a father his child ; and children will rise up against parents and have them put to death . 13 " You will be hated by all because of My name , but the one who endures to the end , he will be saved .

14 "But when you see the ABOMINATION OF DESOLATION standing where it should not be (let the reader understand ), then those who are in Judea must flee to the mountains . 15 " The one who is on the housetop must not go down , or go in to get anything out of his house ; 16 and the one who is in the field must not turn back e to get his coat . 17 "But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days ! 18 "But pray that it may not happen in the winter . 19 "For those days will be a time of tribulation such as has not occurred since the beginning of the creation which God created until now , and never e will. 20 "Unless the Lord had shortened those days , no e life would have been saved ; but for the sake of the elect , whom He chose , He shortened the days . 21 "And then if anyone says to you, 'Behold , here is the Christ '; or, 'Behold , He is there '; do not believe him; 22 for false Christs and false prophets will arise , and will show signs and wonders , in order to lead astray , if possible , the elect . 23 "But take heed ; behold , I have told you everything in advance .

The Coming of the Son of Man

24 "But in those days , after that tribulation , THE SUN WILL BE DARKENED AND THE MOON WILL NOT GIVE ITS LIGHT , 25  AND THE STARS WILL BE FALLING from heaven , and the powers that are in the heavens will be shaken . 26 "Then they will see THE SON OF MAN COMING IN CLOUDS with great power and glory . 27 "And then He will send forth the angels , and will gather together His elect from the four winds , from the farthest end of the earth to the farthest end of heaven .

28 "Now learn the parable from the fig tree : when its branch has already become tender and puts forth its leaves , you know that summer is near . 29 "Even so , you too , when you see these things happening , recognize that He is near , right at the door . 30 "Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place . 31 "Heaven and earth will pass away , but My words will not pass away . 32 " But of that day or hour no one knows , not even the angels in heaven , nor the Son , but the Father alone. 33 "Take heed , keep on the alert ; for you do not know when the appointed time will come . 34 " It is like a man away on a journey , who upon leaving his house and putting his slaves in charge , assigning to each one his task , also commanded the doorkeeper to stay on the alert . 35 "Therefore , be on the alert -for you do not know when the master of the house is coming , whether in the evening , at midnight , or when the rooster crows , or in the morning - 36 in case he should come suddenly and find you asleep . 37 "What I say to you I say to all , ' Be on the alert !' "

The Man with a Withered Hand

31 He entered again into a synagogue ; and a man was there whose hand was withered . 2 They were watching Him to see if He would heal him on the Sabbath , so that they might accuse Him. 3 He said to the man with the withered hand , "Get up and come forward e !" 4 And He said to them, "Is it lawful to do good or to do harm on the Sabbath , to save a life or to kill ?" But they kept silent . 5 After looking around at them with anger , grieved at their hardness of heart , He said to the man , "Stretch out your hand ." And he stretched it out, and his hand was restored . 6 The Pharisees went out and immediately began conspiring with the Herodians against Him, as to how they might destroy Him.

A Multitude at the Seaside

7 Jesus withdrew to the sea with His disciples ; and a great multitude from Galilee followed ; and also from Judea , 8 and from Jerusalem , and from Idumea , and beyond the Jordan , and the vicinity of Tyre and Sidon , a great number of people heard of all that He was doing and came to Him. 9 And He told His disciples that a boat should stand ready for Him because of the crowd , so that they would not crowd Him; 10 for He had healed many , with the result that all those who had afflictions pressed around Him in order to touch Him. 11 Whenever the unclean spirits saw Him, they would fall down before Him and shout , "You are the Son of God !" 12 And He earnestly warned them not to tell who He was.

Jesus Chooses the Twelve

13 And He went up on the mountain and summoned those whom He Himself wanted , and they came to Him. 14 And He appointed twelve , so that they would be with Him and that He could send them out to preach , 15 and to have authority to cast out the demons . 16 And He appointed the twelve : Simon (to whom He gave the name Peter ), 17 and James , the son of Zebedee , and John the brother of James (to them He gave the name Boanerges , which means , "Sons of Thunder "); 18 and Andrew , and Philip , and Bartholomew , and Matthew , and Thomas , and James the son of Alphaeus , and Thaddaeus , and Simon the Zealot ; 19 and Judas Iscariot , who betrayed Him.

A Divided House Cannot Stand

20 And He came home , and the crowd gathered again , to such an extent that they could not even eat a meal . 21 When His own people heard of this, they went out to take custody of Him; for they were saying , " He has lost His senses ."

22 The scribes who came down from Jerusalem were saying , "He is possessed by Beelzebul ," and " He casts out the demons by the ruler of the demons ." 23 And He called them to Himself and began speaking to them in parables , "How can Satan cast out Satan ? 24 "If a kingdom is divided against itself , that kingdom cannot e stand . 25 "If a house is divided against itself , that house will not be able to stand . 26 "If Satan has risen up against himself and is divided , he cannot e stand , but he is finished ! 27 " But no one can enter the strong man's house and plunder his property unless e he first binds the strong man , and then he will plunder his house . 28 " Truly I say to you, all sins shall be forgiven the sons of men , and whatever e blasphemies they utter ; 29 but whoever e blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never e e has forgiveness , but is guilty of an eternal sin "- 30 because they were saying , "He has an unclean spirit ."

Jesus' Mother and Brethren

31 Then His mother and His brothers arrived , and standing outside they sent word to Him and called Him. 32 A crowd was sitting around Him, and they said to Him, "Behold , Your mother and Your brothers are outside looking for You." 33 Answering them, He said , "Who are My mother and My brothers ?" 34 Looking about at those who were sitting around e Him, He said , " Behold My mother and My brothers ! 35 "For whoever e does the will of God , he is My brother and sister and mother ."