The Plot to Kill Jesus

26 ^(A)When Jesus had finished all these words, He said to His disciples, ² “^(B)You know that after two days ^(C)the Passover is coming, and the Son of Man is to be ^(D)handed over for crucifixion.”

^3 (E)At that time the chief priests and the elders of the people were gathered together in ^(F)the courtyard of the high priest named ^(G)Caiaphas; ⁴ and they ^(H)plotted together to arrest Jesus covertly and kill Him. ⁵ But they were saying, “Not during the festival, ^(I)otherwise a riot might occur among the people.”

The Precious Ointment

^6 (J)Now when Jesus was in ^(K)Bethany, at the home of Simon ^[a]the Leper, ^7 (L)a woman came to Him with an alabaster vial of very expensive perfume, and she poured it on His head as He was reclining at the table. ⁸ But the disciples were indignant when they saw this, and said, “Why this waste? ⁹ For this perfume could have been sold for a high price and the money given to the poor.” ¹⁰ But Jesus, aware of this, said to them, “Why are you bothering the woman? For she has done a good deed for Me. ¹¹ For you always have ^(M)the poor with you; but you do not always have Me. ¹² For when she poured this perfume on My body, she did it ^(N)to prepare Me for burial. ¹³ Truly I say to you, ^(O)wherever this gospel is preached in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be told in memory of her.”

Judas’ Bargain

^14 (P)Then one of the twelve, named ^(Q)Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests ¹⁵ and said, “What are you willing to give me ^[b]to ^[c](R)betray Him to you?” And ^(S)they set out for him thirty ^[d]pieces of silver. ¹⁶ And from then on he looked for a good opportunity to ^[e]betray ^[f]Jesus.

^17 (T)Now on the first day of ^[g](U)Unleavened Bread the disciples came to Jesus and ^[h]asked, “Where do You want us to prepare for You to eat the Passover?” ¹⁸ And He said, “Go into the city to ^(V)a certain man, and say to him, ‘The Teacher says, “^(W)My time is near; I am keeping the Passover at your house with My disciples.”’” ¹⁹ The disciples did as Jesus had directed them; and they prepared the Passover.

The Last Passover

^20 (X)Now when evening came, Jesus was reclining at the table with the ^[i]twelve. ²¹ And as they were eating, He said, “^(Y)Truly I say to you that one of you will betray Me.” ²² Being deeply grieved, they began saying to Him, each one: “Surely it is not I, Lord?” ²³ And He answered, “^(Z)He who dipped his hand with Me in the bowl is the one who will betray Me. ²⁴ The Son of Man is going away ^(AA)just as it is written about Him; but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! ^(AB)It would have been good ^[j]for that man if he had not been born.” ²⁵ And ^(AC)Judas, who was betraying Him, said, “Surely it is not I, ^(AD)Rabbi?” Jesus *said to him, “^(AE)You have said it yourself.”

The Lord’s Supper Instituted

^26 (AF)Now while they were eating, Jesus took some bread, and ^[k](AG)after a blessing, He broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat; this is My body.” ²⁷ And when He had taken a cup and given thanks, He gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you; ²⁸ for ^(AH)this is My blood of the covenant, which is being poured out for ^(AI)many for forgiveness of sins. ²⁹ But I say to you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it with you, new, in My Father’s kingdom.”

^30 (AJ)And after singing a ^[l]hymn, they went out to ^(AK)the Mount of Olives.

³¹ Then Jesus *said to them, “You will all ^[m](AL)fall away because of Me this night, for it is written: ‘^(AM)I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be ^(AN)scattered.’ ³² But after I have been raised, ^(AO)I will go ahead of you to Galilee.” ³³ But Peter replied to Him, “Even if they all ^[n]fall away because of You, I will never fall away!” ³⁴ Jesus said to him, “^(AP)Truly I say to you that ^(AQ)this very night, before a rooster crows, you will deny Me three times.” ³⁵ Peter *said to Him, “^(AR)Even if I have to die with You, I will not deny You!” All the disciples said the same thing as well.

The Garden of Gethsemane

^36 (AS)Then Jesus *came with them to a place called ^[o](AT)Gethsemane, and *told His disciples, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.” ³⁷ And He took ^(AU)Peter and the two sons of Zebedee with Him, and began to be grieved and distressed. ³⁸ Then He *said to them, “^(AV)My soul is deeply grieved, to the point of death; remain here and ^(AW)keep watch with Me.”

³⁹ And He went a little beyond them, and fell on His face and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it is possible, let ^(AX)this cup pass from Me; ^(AY)yet not as I will, but as You will.” ⁴⁰ And He *came to the disciples and *found them sleeping, and He *said to Peter, “So, you men could not ^(AZ)keep watch with Me for one hour? ^41 (BA)Keep watching and praying, so that you do not come into temptation; ^(BB)the spirit is ^[p]willing, but the flesh is weak.”

⁴² He went away again a second time and prayed, saying, “My Father, if this cup ^(BC)cannot pass away unless I drink from it, ^(BD)Your will be done.” ⁴³ Again He came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were heavy. ⁴⁴ And He left them again, and went away and prayed a third time, saying the same thing once more. ⁴⁵ Then He *came to the disciples and *said to them, “^[q]Are you still sleeping and resting? Behold, ^(BE)the hour ^[r]is at hand and the Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of sinners. ⁴⁶ Get up, let’s go; behold, the one who is betraying Me is near!”

Jesus’ Betrayal and Arrest

^47 (BF)And while He was still speaking, behold, ^(BG)Judas, one of the twelve, came ^[s]accompanied by a large crowd with swords and clubs, who came from the chief priests and elders of the people. ⁴⁸ Now he who was betraying Him gave them a sign previously, saying, “Whomever I kiss, He is the one; arrest Him.” ⁴⁹ And immediately Judas went up to Jesus and said, “Greetings, ^(BH)Rabbi!” and kissed Him. ⁵⁰ But Jesus said to him, “^(BI)Friend, do what you have come for.” Then they came and laid hands on Jesus and arrested Him.

⁵¹ And behold, ^(BJ)one of those who were with Jesus ^[t]reached and drew his ^(BK)sword, and struck the ^(BL)slave of the high priest and ^[u]cut off his ear. ⁵² Then Jesus *said to him, “Put your sword back into its place; for ^(BM)all those who take up the sword will perish by the sword. ⁵³ Or do you think that I cannot appeal to My Father, and He will at once put at My disposal more than twelve ^[v](BN)legions of ^(BO)angels? ⁵⁴ How then would ^(BP)the Scriptures be fulfilled, which say that it must happen this way?”

⁵⁵ At that time Jesus said to the crowds, “Have you come out with swords and clubs to arrest Me as you would against a man inciting a revolt? ^(BQ)Every day I used to sit within the temple grounds teaching, and you did not arrest Me. ⁵⁶ But all this has taken place so that ^(BR)the Scriptures of the prophets will be fulfilled.” Then all the disciples left Him and fled.

Jesus before Caiaphas

^57 (BS)Those who had arrested Jesus led Him away to ^(BT)Caiaphas, the high priest, where the scribes and the elders were gathered together. ⁵⁸ But ^(BU)Peter was following Him at a distance, as far as the ^(BV)courtyard of the high priest, and he came inside and sat down with the ^[w](BW)officers to see the outcome.

⁵⁹ Now the chief priests and the entire ^[x](BX)Council kept trying to obtain false testimony against Jesus, so that they might put Him to death. ⁶⁰ They did not find any, even though many false witnesses came forward. But later on ^(BY)two came forward, ⁶¹ and said, “This man stated, ‘^(BZ)I am able to destroy the ^[y]temple of God and to rebuild it ^[z]in three days.’” ⁶² The high priest stood up and said to Him, “Do You offer no answer for what these men are testifying against You?” ⁶³ But ^(CA)Jesus kept silent. ^(CB)And the high priest said to Him, “I ^(CC)place You under oath by ^(CD)the living God, to tell us whether You are the ^[aa]Christ, ^(CE)the Son of God.” ⁶⁴ Jesus *said to him, “^(CF)You have said it yourself. But I tell you, from now on you will see ^(CG)the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of power, and ^(CH)coming on the clouds of heaven.”

⁶⁵ Then the high priest ^(CI)tore his ^[ab]robes and said, “He has blasphemed! What further need do we have of witnesses? See, you have now heard the blasphemy; ⁶⁶ what do you think?” They answered, “^(CJ)He deserves death!”

^67 (CK)Then they ^(CL)spit in His face and beat Him with their fists; and others ^[ac]slapped Him, ⁶⁸ and said, “^(CM)Prophesy to us, You ^[ad]Christ; who is the one who hit You?”

Peter’s Denials

^69 (CN)Now Peter was sitting outside in the ^(CO)courtyard, and a slave woman came to him and said, “You too were with Jesus the Galilean.” ⁷⁰ But he denied it before them all, saying, “I do not know what you are talking about.” ⁷¹ When he had gone out to the gateway, another slave woman saw him and *said to those who were there, “This man was with Jesus of Nazareth.” ⁷² And again he denied it, with an oath: “I do not know the man.” ⁷³ A little later the bystanders came up and said to Peter, “You really are one of them as well, ^(CP)since even the way you talk ^[ae]gives you away.” ⁷⁴ Then he began to curse and swear, “I do not know the man!” And immediately a rooster crowed. ⁷⁵ And Peter remembered the statement that Jesus had ^[af]made: “^(CQ)Before a rooster crows, you will deny Me three times.” And he went out and wept bitterly.

Death Plot and Anointing

14 ^(A)Now ^(B)the Passover and Festival of Unleavened Bread were two days away; and the chief priests and the scribes ^(C)were seeking how to arrest Him covertly and kill Him; ² for they were saying, “Not during the festival, otherwise there will be a riot of the people.”

^3 (D)While He was in ^(E)Bethany at the home of Simon ^[a]the Leper, He was reclining at the table, and a woman came with an alabaster vial of very ^(F)expensive perfume of pure ^[b]nard. She broke the vial and poured the perfume over His head. ⁴ But there were some indignantly remarking to one another, “Why has this perfume been wasted? ⁵ For this perfume could have been sold for over three hundred ^[c]denarii, and the money given to the poor.” And they were scolding her. ⁶ But Jesus said, “Leave her alone! Why are you bothering her? She has done a good deed for Me. ⁷ For you always have ^(G)the poor with you, and whenever you want, you can do good to them; but you do not always have Me. ⁸ She has done what she could; ^(H)she has anointed My body beforehand for the burial. ⁹ Truly I say to you, ^(I)wherever the gospel is preached in the entire world, what this woman has done will also be told in memory of her.”

^10 (J)Then Judas Iscariot, ^(K)who was one of the twelve, went off to the chief priests in order to ^[d]betray Him to them. ¹¹ They were delighted when they heard this, and promised to give him money. And he began seeking how to betray Him at an opportune time.

The Last Passover

^12 (L)On the first day of ^[e](M)Unleavened Bread, when ^[f]the Passover lamb was being ^(N)sacrificed, His disciples *said to Him, “Where do You want us to go and prepare for You to eat the Passover?” ¹³ And He *sent two of His disciples and *said to them, “Go into the city, and a man carrying a pitcher of water will meet you; follow him; ¹⁴ and wherever he enters, say to the owner of the house, ‘The Teacher says, “Where is My ^(O)guest room in which I may eat the Passover with My disciples?”’ ¹⁵ And he himself will show you a large upstairs room furnished and ready; prepare for us there.” ¹⁶ The disciples left and came to the city, and found everything just as He had told them; and they prepared the Passover.

^17 (P)When it was evening He *came with the twelve. ¹⁸ And as they were reclining at the table and eating, Jesus said, “Truly I say to you that one of you will ^[g]betray Me—^[h]one who is eating with Me.” ¹⁹ They began to be grieved and to say to Him one by one, “Surely not I?” ²⁰ But He said to them, “It is one of the twelve, the one who dips bread with Me in the bowl. ²¹ For the Son of Man is going away just as it is written about Him; but woe to that man ^[i]by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been good ^[j]for that man if he had not been born.”

The Lord’s Supper

^22 (Q)While they were eating, He took some bread, and ^[k]after a ^(R)blessing He broke it, and gave it to them, and said, “Take it; this is My body.” ²³ And when He had taken a cup and given thanks, He gave it to them, and they all drank from it. ²⁴ And He said to them, “This is My ^(S)blood of the ^(T)covenant, which is being poured out for many. ²⁵ Truly I say to you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine again, until that day when I drink it, new, in the kingdom of God.”

^26 (U)And after singing a ^[l]hymn, they went out to ^(V)the Mount of Olives.

^27 (W)And Jesus *said to them, “You will all ^[m]fall away, because it is written: ‘^(X)I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered.’ ²⁸ But after I am raised, ^(Y)I will go ahead of you to Galilee.” ²⁹ But Peter said to Him, “Even if they all ^[n]fall away, yet I will not!” ³⁰ And Jesus *said to him, “Truly I say to you, that ^[o](Z)this very night, before ^(AA)a rooster crows twice, you yourself will deny Me three times.” ³¹ But ^[p]Peter repeatedly said insistently, “Even if I have to die with You, I will not deny You!” And they all were saying the same thing as well.

Jesus in Gethsemane

^32 (AB)They *came to a place named ^[q]Gethsemane; and He *said to His disciples, “Sit here until I have prayed.” ³³ And He *took with Him Peter, ^[r]James, and John, and began to be very ^(AC)distressed and troubled. ³⁴ And He *said to them, “^(AD)My soul is deeply grieved, to the point of death; remain here and ^[s]keep watch.” ³⁵ And He went a little beyond them, and fell to the ground and began praying that if it were possible, ^(AE)the hour might ^[t]pass Him by. ³⁶ And He was saying, “^(AF)Abba! ^[u]Father! All things are possible for You; remove this cup from Me; ^(AG)yet not what I will, but what You will.” ³⁷ And He *came and *found them sleeping, and *said to Peter, “Simon, are you asleep? Could you not ^[v]keep watch for one hour? ^38 [w](AH)Keep watching and praying, so that you will not come into temptation; the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.” ³⁹ And again He went away and prayed, saying the same ^[x]words. ⁴⁰ And again He came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were heavy; and they did not know what to say in reply to Him. ⁴¹ And He *came the third time, and *said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting? That is enough. ^(AI)The hour has come; behold, the Son of Man is being ^[y]betrayed into the hands of sinners. ⁴² Get up, let’s go; behold, the one who is betraying Me is near!”

Betrayal and Arrest

^43 (AJ)And immediately, while He was still speaking, Judas, one of the twelve, *came up, ^[z]accompanied by a crowd with swords and clubs who were from the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders. ⁴⁴ Now he who was betraying Him had given them a signal, saying, “Whomever I kiss, He is the one; arrest Him and lead Him away ^[aa]under guard.” ⁴⁵ And after coming, Judas immediately went to Him and *said, “^(AK)Rabbi!” and kissed Him. ⁴⁶ And they laid hands on Him and arrested Him. ⁴⁷ But one of those who stood by drew his sword, and struck the slave of the high priest and ^[ab]cut off his ear. ⁴⁸ And Jesus said to them, “Have you come out with swords and clubs to arrest Me, as you would against a man inciting a revolt? ⁴⁹ Every day I was with you ^(AL)within the temple grounds teaching, and you did not arrest Me; but this has taken place so that the Scriptures will be fulfilled.” ⁵⁰ And ^[ac]His disciples all left Him and fled.

⁵¹ A young man was following Him, wearing nothing but a linen sheet over his naked body; and they *seized him. ⁵² But he ^[ad]pulled free of the linen sheet and escaped naked.

Jesus before His Accusers

^53 (AM)They led Jesus away to the high priest; and all the chief priests, the elders, and the scribes *gathered together. ⁵⁴ And Peter had followed Him at a distance, ^(AN)right into ^(AO)the courtyard of the high priest; and he was sitting with the ^[ae]officers and ^(AP)warming himself at the ^[af]fire. ⁵⁵ Now the chief priests and the entire ^[ag](AQ)Council were trying to obtain testimony against Jesus to put Him to death, and they were not finding any. ⁵⁶ For many people were giving false testimony against Him, and so their testimonies were not consistent. ⁵⁷ And then some stood up and began giving false testimony against Him, saying, ⁵⁸ “We heard Him say, ‘^(AR)I will destroy this ^[ah]temple that was made by hands, and in three days I will build another, made without hands.’” ⁵⁹ And not even in this respect was their testimony consistent. ⁶⁰ And then the high priest stood up and came forward and questioned Jesus, saying, “Do You not offer any answer for what these men are testifying against You?” ^61 (AS)But He kept silent and did not offer any answer. ^(AT)Again the high priest was questioning Him, and *said to Him, “Are You the ^[ai]Christ, the Son of ^[aj]the Blessed One?” ⁶² And Jesus said, “I am; and you shall see ^(AU)the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of power, and ^(AV)coming with the clouds of heaven.” ^63 (AW)Tearing his clothes, the high priest *said, “What further need do we have of witnesses? ⁶⁴ You have heard the ^(AX)blasphemy; how does it seem to you?” And they all condemned Him as deserving of death. ⁶⁵ And some began to ^(AY)spit on Him, and ^[ak](AZ)to blindfold Him, and to beat Him with their fists and say to Him, “^(BA)Prophesy!” Then the officers took custody of Him ^[al]and slapped Him in the face.

Peter’s Denials

^66 (BB)And while Peter was below in ^(BC)the courtyard, one of the slave women of the high priest *came, ⁶⁷ and seeing Peter ^(BD)warming himself, she looked at him and *said, “You were with Jesus the ^(BE)Nazarene as well.” ⁶⁸ But he denied it, saying, “I neither know nor understand what you are talking about.” And he ^(BF)went out onto the ^[am]porch.^{[an] 69} The slave woman saw him, and began once more to say to the bystanders, “This man is one of them!” ⁷⁰ But again ^(BG)he denied it. And after a little while the bystanders were again saying to Peter, “You really are one of them, ^(BH)for you are a Galilean as well.” ⁷¹ But he began to ^[ao]curse himself and to swear, “I do not know this man of whom you speak!” ⁷² And immediately a rooster crowed a second time. And Peter remembered how Jesus had made the remark to him, “Before ^(BI)a rooster crows twice, you will deny Me three times.” And ^[ap]he hurried on and began to weep.