Matthew 26
26
The Plan to Kill Jesus
1After Jesus finished saying all these things, he told his followers, 2“You know that the day after tomorrow is the day of the Passover Feast. On that day the Son of Man will be given to his enemies to be crucified.”
3Then the leading priests and the elders had a meeting at the palace of the high priest, named Caiaphas. 4At the meeting, they planned to set a trap to arrest Jesus and kill him. 5But they said, “We must not do it during the feast, because the people might cause a riot.”
Perfume for Jesus’ Burial
6Jesus was in Bethany at the house of Simon, who had a skin disease. 7While Jesus was there, a woman approached him with an alabaster jar filled with expensive perfume. She poured this perfume on Jesus’ head while he was eating.
8His followers were upset when they saw the woman do this. They asked, “Why waste that perfume? 9It could have been sold for a great deal of money and the money given to the poor.”
10Knowing what had happened, Jesus said, “Why are you troubling this woman? She did an excellent thing for me. 11You will always have the poor with you, but you will not always have me. 12This woman poured perfume on my body to prepare me for burial. 13I tell you the truth, wherever the Good News is preached in all the world, what this woman has done will be told, and people will remember her.”
Judas Becomes an Enemy of Jesus
14Then one of the twelve apostles, Judas Iscariot, went to talk to the leading priests. 15He said, “What will you pay me for giving Jesus to you?” And they gave him thirty silver coins. 16After that, Judas watched for the best time to turn Jesus in.
Jesus Eats the Passover Meal
17On the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the followers came to Jesus. They said, “Where do you want us to prepare for you to eat the Passover meal?”
18Jesus answered, “Go into the city to a certain man and tell him, ‘The Teacher says: “The chosen time is near. I will have the Passover with my followers at your house.” ’ ” 19The followers did what Jesus told them to do, and they prepared the Passover meal.
20In the evening Jesus was sitting at the table with his twelve followers. 21As they were eating, Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, one of you will turn against me.”
22This made the followers very sad. Each one began to say to Jesus, “Surely, Lord, I am not the one who will turn against you, am I?”
23Jesus answered, “The man who has dipped his hand with me into the bowl is the one who will turn against me. 24The Son of Man will die, just as the Scriptures say. But how terrible it will be for the person who hands the Son of Man over to be killed. It would be better for him if he had never been born.”
25Then Judas, who would give Jesus to his enemies, said to Jesus, “Teacher, surely I am not the one, am I?”
Jesus answered, “Yes, it is you.”
The Lord’s Supper
26While they were eating, Jesus took some bread and thanked God for it and broke it. Then he gave it to his followers and said, “Take this bread and eat it; this is my body.”
27Then Jesus took a cup and thanked God for it and gave it to the followers. He said, “Every one of you drink this. 28This is my blood which is the new agreement that God makes with his people. This blood is poured out for many to forgive their sins. 29I tell you this: I will not drink of this fruit of the vine again until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.”
30After singing a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.
Jesus’ Followers Will Leave Him
31Jesus told his followers, “Tonight you will all stumble in your faith on account of me, because it is written in the Scriptures:
‘I will kill the shepherd,
and the sheep will scatter.’#Zechariah 13:7
32But after I rise from the dead, I will go ahead of you into Galilee.”
33Peter said, “Everyone else may stumble in their faith because of you, but I will not.”
34Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, tonight before the rooster crows you will say three times that you don’t know me.”
35But Peter said, “I will never say that I don’t know you! I will even die with you!” And all the other followers said the same thing.
Jesus Prays Alone
36Then Jesus went with his followers to a place called Gethsemane. He said to them, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.” 37He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee with him, and he began to be very sad and troubled. 38He said to them, “My heart is full of sorrow, to the point of death. Stay here and watch with me.”
39After walking a little farther away from them, Jesus fell to the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, do not give me this cup of suffering. But do what you want, not what I want.” 40Then Jesus went back to his followers and found them asleep. He said to Peter, “You men could not stay awake with me for one hour? 41Stay awake and pray for strength against temptation. The spirit wants to do what is right, but the body is weak.”
42Then Jesus went away a second time and prayed, “My Father, if it is not possible for this painful thing to be taken from me, and if I must do it, I pray that what you want will be done.”
43Then he went back to his followers, and again he found them asleep, because their eyes were heavy. 44So Jesus left them and went away and prayed a third time, saying the same thing.
45Then Jesus went back to his followers and said, “Are you still sleeping and resting? The time has come for the Son of Man to be handed over to sinful people. 46Get up, we must go. Look, here comes the man who has turned against me.”
Jesus Is Arrested
47While Jesus was still speaking, Judas, one of the twelve apostles, came up. With him were many people carrying swords and clubs who had been sent from the leading priests and the Jewish elders of the people. 48Judas had planned to give them a signal, saying, “The man I kiss is Jesus. Arrest him.” 49At once Judas went to Jesus and said, “Greetings, Teacher!” and kissed him.
50Jesus answered, “Friend, do what you came to do.”
Then the people came and grabbed Jesus and arrested him. 51When that happened, one of Jesus’ followers reached for his sword and pulled it out. He struck the servant of the high priest and cut off his ear.
52Jesus said to the man, “Put your sword back in its place. All who use swords will be killed with swords. 53Surely you know I could ask my Father, and he would give me more than twelve armies of angels. 54But it must happen this way to bring about what the Scriptures say.”
55Then Jesus said to the crowd, “You came to get me with swords and clubs as if I were a criminal. Every day I sat in the Temple teaching, and you did not arrest me there. 56But all these things have happened so that it will come about as the prophets wrote.” Then all of Jesus’ followers left him and ran away.
Jesus Before the Leaders
57Those people who arrested Jesus led him to the house of Caiaphas, the high priest, where the teachers of the law and the elders were gathered. 58Peter followed far behind to the courtyard of the high priest’s house, and he sat down with the guards to see what would happen to Jesus.
59The leading priests and the whole Jewish council tried to find something false against Jesus so they could kill him. 60Many people came and told lies about him, but the council could find no real reason to kill him. Then two people came and said, 61“This man said, ‘I can destroy the Temple of God and build it again in three days.’ ”
62Then the high priest stood up and said to Jesus, “Aren’t you going to answer? Don’t you have something to say about their charges against you?” 63But Jesus said nothing.
Again the high priest said to Jesus, “I command you by the power of the living God: Tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God.”
64Jesus answered, “Those are your words. But I tell you, in the future you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of God, the Powerful One, and coming on clouds in the sky.”
65When the high priest heard this, he tore his clothes and said, “This man has said things that are against God! We don’t need any more witnesses; you all heard him say these things against God. 66What do you think?”
The people answered, “He should die.”
67Then the people there spat in Jesus’ face and beat him with their fists. Others slapped him. 68They said, “Prove to us that you are a prophet, you Christ! Tell us who hit you!”
Peter Says He Doesn’t Know Jesus
69At that time, as Peter was sitting in the courtyard, a servant girl came to him and said, “You also were with Jesus of Galilee.”
70But Peter said to all the people there that he was never with Jesus. He said, “I don’t know what you are talking about.”
71When he left the courtyard and was at the gate, another girl saw him. She said to the people there, “This man was with Jesus of Nazareth.”
72Again, Peter said he was never with him, saying, “I swear I don’t know this man Jesus!”
73A short time later, some people standing there went to Peter and said, “Surely you are one of those who followed Jesus. The way you talk shows it.”
74Then Peter began to place a curse on himself and swear, “I don’t know the man.” At once, a rooster crowed. 75And Peter remembered what Jesus had told him: “Before the rooster crows, you will say three times that you don’t know me.” Then Peter went outside and cried painfully.
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Matthew 26: NCV
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The Holy Bible, New Century Version, Copyright © 2005 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.
Matthew 26
26
The Plot to Kill Jesus
(Mark 14:1–2; Luke 22:1–6; John 11:45–57)
1When Jesus finished saying all these things, he told his disciples, 2“You know that the Passover will take place in two days. At that time the Son of Man will be handed over to be crucified.”
3Then the chief priests and the leaders of the people gathered in the palace of the chief priest Caiaphas. 4They made plans to arrest Jesus in an underhanded way and to kill him. 5But they said, “We shouldn’t arrest him during the festival, or else there may be a riot among the people.”
A Woman Prepares Jesus’ Body for the Tomb
(Mark 14:3–9; John 12:1–8)
6Jesus was in Bethany in the home of Simon, a man who had suffered from a skin disease. 7While Jesus was sitting there, a woman went to him with a bottle of very expensive perfume and poured it on his head.
8The disciples were irritated when they saw this. They asked, “Why did she waste it like this? 9It could have been sold for a high price, and the money could have been given to the poor.”
10Since Jesus knew what was going on, he said to them, “Why are you bothering this woman? She has done a beautiful thing for me. 11You will always have the poor with you, but you will not always have me with you. 12She poured this perfume on my body before it is placed in a tomb. 13I can guarantee this truth: Wherever this Good News is spoken in the world, what she has done will also be told in memory of her.”
Judas Plans to Betray Jesus
(Mark 14:10–11; Luke 22:3–6)
14Then one of the twelve apostles, the one named Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests. 15He asked, “What will you pay me if I hand him over to you?”
They offered him 30 silver coins. 16From then on, he looked for a chance to betray Jesus.
Preparations for the Passover
(Mark 14:12–17; Luke 22:7–17)
17On the first day of the Festival of Unleavened Bread, the disciples went to Jesus. They asked, “Where do you want us to prepare the Passover meal for you?”
18He said, “Go to a certain man in the city, and tell him that the teacher says, ‘My time is near. I will celebrate the Passover with my disciples at your house.’ ”
19The disciples did as Jesus had directed them and prepared the Passover.
20When evening came, Jesus was at the table with the twelve apostles.
Jesus Knows Who Will Betray Him
(Mark 14:18–21; Luke 22:21–23; John 13:21–30)
21While they were eating, he said, “I can guarantee this truth: One of you is going to betray me.”
22Feeling deeply hurt, they asked him one by one, “You don’t mean me, do you, Lord?”
23Jesus answered, “Someone who has dipped his hand into the bowl with me will betray me. 24The Son of Man is going to die as the Scriptures say he will. But how horrible it will be for that person who betrays the Son of Man. It would have been better for that person if he had never been born.”
25Then Judas, who betrayed him, asked, “You don’t mean me, do you, Rabbi?”
“Yes, I do,” Jesus replied.
The Lord’s Supper
(Mark 14:22–26; Luke 22:19–20)
26While they were eating, Jesus took bread and blessed it. He broke the bread, gave it to his disciples, and said, “Take this, and eat it. This is my body.”
27Then he took a cup and spoke a prayer of thanksgiving. He gave it to them and said, “Drink from it, all of you. 28This is my blood, the blood of the promise.#26:28 Or “testament,” or “covenant.” It is poured out for many people so that sins are forgiven.
29“I can guarantee that I won’t drink this wine again until that day when I drink new wine with you in my Father’s kingdom.”
30After they sang a hymn, they went to the Mount of Olives.
Jesus Predicts Peter’s Denial
(Mark 14:27–31; Luke 22:31–34; John 13:36–38)
31Then Jesus said to them, “All of you will abandon me tonight. Scripture says,
‘I will strike the shepherd,
and the sheep in the flock will be scattered.’
32“But after I am brought back to life, I will go to Galilee ahead of you.”
33Peter said to him, “Even if everyone else abandons you, I never will.”
34Jesus replied to Peter, “I can guarantee this truth: Before a rooster crows tonight, you will say three times that you don’t know me.”
35Peter told him, “Even if I have to die with you, I’ll never say that I don’t know you!” All the other disciples said the same thing.
Jesus Prays in the Garden of Gethsemane
(Mark 14:32–42; Luke 22:39–46)
36Then Jesus went with the disciples to a place called Gethsemane. He said to them, “Stay here while I go over there and pray.”
37He took Peter and Zebedee’s two sons with him. He was beginning to feel deep anguish. 38Then he said to them, “My anguish is so great that I feel as if I’m dying. Wait here, and stay awake with me.”
39After walking a little farther, he quickly bowed with his face to the ground and prayed, “Father, if it’s possible, let this cup ⌞of suffering⌟ be taken away from me. But let your will be done rather than mine.”
40When he went back to the disciples, he found them asleep. He said to Peter, “Couldn’t you stay awake with me for one hour? 41Stay awake, and pray that you won’t be tempted. You want to do what’s right, but you’re weak.”
42Then he went away a second time and prayed, “Father, if this cup cannot be taken away unless I drink it, let your will be done.”
43He found them asleep again because they couldn’t keep their eyes open.
44After leaving them again, he went away and prayed the same prayer a third time. 45Then he came back to the disciples and said to them, “You might as well sleep now. The time is near for the Son of Man to be handed over to sinners. 46Get up! Let’s go! The one who is betraying me is near.”
Jesus Is Arrested
(Mark 14:43–52; Luke 22:47–54a; John 18:1–14)
47Just then, while Jesus was still speaking, Judas, one of the twelve apostles, arrived. A large crowd carrying swords and clubs was with him. They were from the chief priests and leaders of the people. 48Now, the traitor had given them a signal. He said, “The one I kiss is the man you want. Arrest him!”
49Then Judas quickly stepped up to Jesus and said, “Hello, Rabbi!” and kissed him.
50Jesus said to him, “Friend, why are you here?”
Then some men came forward, took hold of Jesus, and arrested him. 51Suddenly, one of the men with Jesus pulled out his sword and cut off the ear of the chief priest’s servant. 52Then Jesus said to him, “Put your sword away! All who use a sword will be killed by a sword. 53Don’t you think that I could call on my Father to send more than twelve legions of angels to help me now? 54How, then, are the Scriptures to be fulfilled that say this must happen?”
55At that time Jesus said to the crowd, “Have you come out with swords and clubs to arrest me as if I were a criminal? I used to sit teaching in the temple courtyard every day. But you didn’t arrest me then. 56All of this has happened so that what the prophets have written would come true.”
Then all the disciples abandoned him and ran away.
The Trial in Front of the Jewish Council
(Mark 14:53–65; Luke 22:63–71)
57Those who had arrested Jesus took him to Caiaphas, the chief priest, where the experts in Moses’ Teachings and the leaders had gathered together. 58Peter followed at a distance until he came to the chief priest’s courtyard. He went inside and sat with the guards to see how this would turn out.
59The chief priests and the whole council were searching for false testimony to use against Jesus in order to execute him. 60But they did not find any, although many came forward with false testimony. At last two men came forward. 61They stated, “This man said, ‘I can tear down God’s temple and rebuild it in three days.’ ”
62The chief priest stood up and said to Jesus, “Don’t you have any answer to what these men testify against you?”
63But Jesus was silent.
Then the chief priest said to him, “Swear an oath in front of the living God and tell us, are you the Messiah, the Son of God?”
64Jesus answered him, “Yes, I am. But I alone can guarantee that from now on you will see the Son of Man in the honored position—the one next to God the Father on the heavenly throne #26:64 Or “you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of God.”. He will be coming on the clouds of heaven.”
65Then the chief priest tore his robes in horror and said, “He has dishonored God! Why do we need any more witnesses? You’ve just heard him dishonor God! 66What’s your verdict?”
They answered, “He deserves the death penalty!”
67Then they spit in his face, hit him with their fists, and some of them slapped him. 68They said, “You Christ, if you’re a prophet, tell us who hit you.”
Peter Denies Jesus
(Mark 14:66–72; Luke 22:54b–62; John 18:15–18, 25–27)
69Peter was sitting in the courtyard. A female servant came to him and said, “You, too, were with Jesus the Galilean.”
70But Peter denied it in front of them all by saying, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
71As he went to the entrance, another female servant saw him. She told those who were there, “This man was with Jesus from Nazareth.”
72Again Peter denied it and swore with an oath, “I don’t know the man!”
73After a little while the men standing there approached Peter and said, “It’s obvious you’re also one of them. Your accent gives you away!”
74Then Peter began to curse and swear with an oath, “I don’t know the man!” Just then a rooster crowed. 75Peter remembered what Jesus had said: “Before a rooster crows, you will say three times that you don’t know me.” Then Peter went outside and cried bitterly.
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