But I say to you, do not take any oath, [saying] 'by heaven,' for it is God's throne;

Jesus sent these twelve apostles out and ordered them saying, "Do not go on any road leading to Gentile territory or enter any town of the Samaritans.

Do not take [any] gold, silver or copper [coinage] in your money belts,

But He said to them, "It is [only] an evil and unfaithful [i.e., to God] generation of people that looks for a [supernatural] sign. And there will not be any sign given to it except the [supernatural] sign [demonstrated in the life] of Jonah, the prophet.

And they began reasoning among themselves, saying, "[Why be concerned about yeast since] we did not bring [any] bread?"

Peter said to Jesus, "Lord, it is so good for us to be here. If you wish, I will build three [small] shelters here, one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah." [Note: Perhaps Peter wanted to provide quarters for the three to stay temporarily, thus prolonging the wonderful experience. In any event, he should not have done what suggested that Moses and Elijah were equal to Jesus].

Make sure you do not look down on any one of these little ones [i.e., humble followers of Christ]. For I tell you, their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father in heaven. {[{[Some ancient manuscripts include verse

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]?"

So, they sent their disciples, [along] with the Herodians to Him [Note: These were members of a political party favoring King Herod], saying, "Teacher, we know that you are sincere, and that you teach the truth about God's way. You do not care for [i.e., do not fear or give in to] anyone or allow the position of any person to influence you.

"Teacher, Moses said [in Deut. 25:5] that when a man dies without having had any children, his brother must marry his widow and father children by her, who would [then] be considered his [dead] brother's.

Now among our people there were [these] seven brothers; the first one married and [later] died without having any children, leaving his widow to [marry] his brother.

No one was able to answer [Jesus' reasoning] with [so much as] a word, and no one dared to ask Him any more questions from that day onward.

And do not call any man on earth 'father,' [i.e., in a religious sense], for the [only] one who is your Father is in heaven.

[Also], the person who is on a housetop [Note: This was a flat area where people retired for rest, prayer, etc., with its stairway on the outside], is not to take any of the belongings from his house as he comes down [to flee].

But they did not find any [i.e., whose stories harmonized. See Mark 14:56], even though many false witnesses came [forward to testify]. Finally, two [false witnesses] came forward

They stripped off His clothing and placed a scarlet robe on Him [Note: Mark 15:17 calls this a "purple" robe because in that day, any color with a mixture of "red" in it was often called "purple," so the use of "scarlet" was appropriate].

And there were so many people gathered to listen to His message that there was no room for any more [in the courtyard] around the doorway.

And Jesus continued to speak to them, "Do you not know what this parable means? Then how can you understand any of the other parables?

And He said to His disciples, "Why are you so afraid? Do you not still have [any] faith?"

While Jesus was still speaking, someone came from the synagogue official's house and said [to the official], "Your daughter is dead; why are you bothering the Teacher any more?"

And He could not perform any supernatural deed there [i.e., because of their lack of faith in Him], except He placed hands on a few sick people [i.e., accompanied by prayer ?] and healed them.

Then He sighed deeply in His spirit and said, "Why does this generation of people look for a [supernatural] sign? Truly I tell you, there will not be any [supernatural] sign given to this generation."

Now Jesus' disciples had forgotten to take [any] food [with them], and had only one loaf of bread in the boat.

And they began reasoning with one another, saying, " [Why be concerned about yeast since] we do not have [any] bread?"

Jesus, being aware of what they were thinking, said, "Why are you reasoning about not having any bread? Have you not yet perceived or understood? Have your hearts become insensitive?

And when they arrived, they said to Him, "Teacher, we know that you are sincere, and [that you] do not care for [i.e., do not fear or give in to] anyone. For you do not allow [the position of] any person to influence you, but teach the truth about God's way. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?

"Teacher, Moses wrote to us [Deut. 25:5] that if a man's brother dies, leaving his widow behind without having had any children, his brother should marry his widow and father children by her. These children would then be considered his [dead] brother's.

When Jesus saw that this man answered wisely, He said to him, "You are not [very] far from the kingdom of God." And after that, no one dared to ask Him any more questions.

Truly I tell you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine [i.e., grape juice] any more until that day when I will drink it again [i.e., figuratively] in the kingdom of God."

Now the leading priests and the entire Council [called the "Sanhedrin"] were looking for [false] witnesses to testify against Jesus in order to put Him to death, but did not find any.

But Jesus kept quiet and did not give them any answer. Again the head priest asked Him, "Are you the Christ [i.e., God's specially chosen one]?"

So, Pilate again asked Him, "Do you not have any answer? Look at how many charges they are bringing against you."

They placed a purple robe on Him [Note: Matt. 27:28 calls this a "scarlet" robe. In that day, any color with a mixture of "red" in it was often called "purple"], and making a wreath out of thorns, they placed it on His head.

For he will be great in the sight of the Lord and he will not drink any wine or intoxicating drinks [Note: This restriction suggests that John may have taken the special vow of consecration making him a "Nazarite"]. And he will be filled with the Holy Spirit from the time he is born.

And they replied to her, " [But] there are not any of your relatives named that."

And he answered them, "The person who has two coats should give [one of them] to the person who does not have any; and the person who has food should do the same thing."

And he answered them, "Do not collect any more [tax money] than you are required to."

Elijah was not sent to any of them, except to a widow in Zarephath [i.e., a Gentile town] in the region of Sidon.

Then Jesus spoke sternly to the evil spirit [in the man], saying, "Be quiet, and come out of him." And when the evil spirit had thrown the man down in front of them, it came out of him, without causing any harm.

Then Jesus turned to the woman [who had just poured the perfume on Him] and said to Simon, "Do you see this woman? I came into your house and you did not give me any water for [washing] my feet, but she wet my feet with her tears and wiped them dry with her hair.

And when He stepped out [of the boat] onto the shore, He was met by a certain man from the town, who was dominated by evil spirits. He had not worn any clothes for a long time and lived in the graveyard instead of a house.

Then a woman, who had been bleeding for twelve years, and who had spent all her income on doctors without being healed by any of them,

"When an evil spirit has been driven out of a man, it roams through desert regions trying to find rest, but [when it] cannot find any, it says [to itself], 'I will return to my house from which I came [i.e., the body of the person it dominated].'

so he thought to himself, 'What should I do, because I do not have any [more] room to store my crops?'

Then He told them this parable: A certain man had a fig tree [which had been] planted in his orchard. When he came looking for figs on it, he did not find any.

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]?"

Now he wanted to fill his stomach with the [carob] pods the hogs were eating, but no one gave him any [or perhaps, anything else].

But he replied to his father, 'Look, I have served you [as a slave] for all these years and have never disobeyed any of your orders, yet you never gave me [even] a young goat, so I could enjoy myself with my friends.

On that day, the person who is on a housetop [Note: This was a flat area where people retired for rest, prayer, etc., with its stairway on the outside], whose belongings are [still] in his house, is not to go down and [attempt to] take any of them away. And the person who is in a field [i.e., doing farm work], also is not to return [to his house].

But His disciples did not understand [what He meant by] any of these things, for this message was hidden from them so they did not comprehend what He was saying.

They said to Him, "Teacher, Moses wrote to us [Deut 25:5] that if a man's brother dies, leaving his widow [behind] without having had any children, his brother should marry his widow and father children [by her]. These children would then be considered his [dead] brother's.

[Now] there were these seven brothers; the first one got married, but when he died he did not leave any children behind.

For they did not dare ask Him any more questions.

And they replied, "Why do we need any more evidence? For we have heard [enough] from his own mouth, ourselves."

So, he asked Him many questions, but Jesus did not respond to any [of them].

So, Pilate called out to them a third time, "Why [should he be crucified]; what wrong has this man done? I have not found any reason for putting him to death, so I will punish him and [then] release him."

But the other criminal spoke harshly to the first one, saying, "Do you not even have any fear of God [left], since you [too] are experiencing the same sentence of condemnation?

Now when they had run out of wine, Jesus' mother said to Him, "They do not have any more wine [left]."

Therefore, the Samaritan woman asked Him, "Why is it that you, being a Jew, would ask a Samaritan woman [like me] for a drink?" (For Jews do not have any fellowship with Samaritans). [Note: The reason for this stemmed from longstanding religious, cultural and ethnic prejudices].

And this is what God, who sent me, wants: That I should not lose any of those persons whom He has given me, but should raise them up [from the dead] on the last day [i.e., the judgment day].

Have any of the authorities or Pharisees believed in him?

So, Jesus stood up [again] and said to her, "[My dear] woman, where are the men? Did not any of them [stay to] condemn you?"

Many people came to Him and were saying, "It is true that John did not perform any [miraculous] signs, but everything he said about this man was true."

If any person wants to serve me, he should become my follower; and wherever I am, my servant will be there also. If any person serves me, the Father will honor him.

And if any person hears my message and does not obey it, I will not judge him [now], for I did not come into the world to judge it, but to save it.

No one has [any] greater love than to give up his life for his friends.

And [now] I am coming to you, for I will not be in the world any longer, yet these men are [still] in the world. Holy Father, protect them by [the power of] your name which you have given me. May these men be one, as we are.

[He said this] so the words He had spoken [previously] would be fulfilled [See 17:12], "I did not lose any of those men you [i.e., God] gave me."

When Jesus said this, one of the guards standing there struck Him [in the face], saying, "Is that any way to talk to the head priest?"

Pilate replied to Him, "What is truth?" After saying this, Pilate again went outside to the Jews and said to them, "I do not find him guilty of any crime.

Now Pilate went outside again and said to the Jewish authorities, "Look, I am bringing him out here to you, so you can know that I do not find him guilty of any crime."

Then, when the leading priests and the [Temple] guards saw Him, they shouted out, "Crucify him, crucify him!" Pilate responded by saying, "Take him yourselves and crucify him, because I do not find him guilty of any crime."

Jesus answered him, "You would not have any authority over me unless it were given to you from above [i.e., from God]. So, the person who turned me over to you is guilty of a worse sin."

Then they shouted out, "Take him away; take him away and crucify him!" Pilate replied to them, "Do you want me to crucify your king?" The leading priests answered, "We do not have any [other] king, except Caesar."

So, Jesus said to them, "Young fellows, you have not [caught] any fish yet, have you?" They answered Him, "No, [we have not]."

But instead, Peter said, "I do not have any money [i.e., silver or gold], but I will give you what I do have. In the name of Jesus from Nazareth [i.e., by His authority], get up and walk."

But we do not want this [teaching] to spread any further so let us threaten them [and demand] that they do not speak to anyone about Jesus anymore."

And when the Council had threatened them some more, they [finally] released them because they could not find any reason to punish them. [Actually] they were worried about how the people felt [about the matter], since everybody was giving honor to God for the miracle that had been performed.

[Immediately] the captain, with his officers, went [to the Temple] and brought the apostles back again, but did not use any violence because they feared that the people might stone them.

for as yet [such power] had not fallen on any of them; they had only been immersed into the name of the Lord Jesus [i.e., with no accompanying miraculous powers].

You do not have any share or involvement in this matter because your heart is not right before God.

to ask for letters [authorizing him to go] to Damascus and to enter [Jewish] synagogues looking for people of "the Way" [Note: This was a designation for Christians at that time]. And if he found any, whether men or women, he would tie them up and take them to Jerusalem.

But Peter answered, "No, Lord, I cannot. I have never eaten any such ordinary or [ceremonially] unfit creatures."

And he said to them, "You people know how unlawful it is for a Jew to associate with, or even go near a person from another [i.e., non-Jewish] country, and yet God showed me that I should not consider any person ordinary or [ceremonially] unacceptable.

The Holy Spirit directed me to go with them, without showing any discrimination. With these six brothers accompanying me, we went into Cornelius' house

And after the reading of the law of Moses and [the writings of] the prophets, the rulers of the synagogue sent [word] to Paul and Barnabas, saying, "Brothers, if you [men] have any message that will exhort [or encourage] the people, you may speak."

They asked Pilate to have Him put to death, even though they could not find any [legitimate] reason to execute Him.

He wanted these people to search for God in hope that, by groping for Him, they might [eventually] find Him, even though He is not [really] very far from [any of] us.

He asked them, "Did [any of] you receive the [indwelling] Holy Spirit when you became believers [in Jesus]?" They answered him, "No, we have never [even] heard that there was a Holy Spirit."

For Paul had decided to sail on past Ephesus so he would not have to spend any time in [the province of] Asia, because he was hurrying to get to Jerusalem in time for the Day of Pentecost, if at all possible.

Therefore, I [must] declare to you today that I am not responsible for what happens to any of you.

So, he ordered his officer to keep Paul in custody, yet with some freedom, and not to prevent any of his friends from ministering to his needs.

Paul replied in his defense, "I have not committed any sin against the law of the Jews, nor against the Temple, nor against Caesar."

If then I am a criminal and have committed any crime that deserves the death penalty, I will not try to avoid being put to death. But if none of the charges I have been accused of are true, [then] no one has the right to turn me over [to the authorities]. I make my appeal to Caesar."

I answered them that it is not the custom of the Romans to turn over any person [for sentencing] before he is faced by his accusers and has had the opportunity to defend himself against the charges made against him.

However, Paul shook off the creature into the fire without suffering any harm.

But the natives expected him to swell up [from snake bite] or fall dead suddenly, but after expecting this for a long time and not seeing any harm come to him, they changed their minds and said he was a god.

After questioning me, they wanted to release me because they could not find any grounds for sentencing me to death.

Then they said to him, "We did not receive any letters from Judea about you, nor did any of the brothers come here to report anything bad about you.

they do not have any sense; they do not keep their promises; they fail to show natural affection; and they are merciless.