Matthew 26
26
The Plot to Kill Jesus
1When Jesus had finished saying all these things,#Mk 14:1–2; Lk 22:1–2; Jn 11:47–53 he told his disciples, 2“You know#26:2 Or “Know (as a command) that the Passover takes place after two days, and the Son of Man will be handed over to be crucified.”#Jn 11:55; 13:1
3Then the chief priests#26:3 Other mss add and the scribes and the elders of the people assembled in the courtyard of the high priest, who was named Caiaphas,#Ps 2:2; Mt 26:57; Lk 3:2; Jn 11:47; 18:13,15; Ac 4:6 4and they conspired to arrest Jesus in a treacherous way and kill him.#Mt 21:46; Jn 11:53 5“Not during the festival,” they said, “so there won’t be rioting among the people.”
The Anointing at Bethany
6While Jesus was in Bethany at the house of Simon#Mk 14:3–9; Jn 12:1–8 the leper,#26:6 Gk lepros; a term for various skin diseases; see Lv 13–14 7a woman approached him with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume. She poured it on his head as he was reclining at the table. 8When the disciples#Mt 10:1; 26:56; Mk 3:7; 16:20; Lk 6:13; Jn 12:16 saw it, they were indignant. “Why this waste?” they asked. 9“This might have been sold for a great deal and given to the poor.”
10Aware of this, Jesus said to them, “Why are you bothering this woman? She has done a noble thing for me. 11You always have the poor with you, but you do not always have me.#Dt 15:11; Jn 12:8 12By pouring this perfume on my body, she has prepared me for burial. 13Truly I tell you, wherever this gospel#Mt 24:14; Mk 1:1; 13:10 is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will also be told in memory of her.”
14Then#Mk 14:10–11; Lk 22:3–6 one of the Twelve, the man called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests#Mt 10:4; Jn 6:71; 12:4; 13:30; Ac 1:16 15and said, “What are you willing to give me if I hand him over to you?” So they weighed out thirty pieces of silver for him.#Ex 21:32; Zch 11:12–13; Mt 27:3 16And from that time he started looking for a good opportunity to betray him.
Betrayal at the Passover
17On the first day of Unleavened Bread#Mk 14:12–16; Lk 22:7–13 the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Where do you want us to make preparations for you to eat the Passover?”
18 “Go into the city to a certain man,” he said, “and tell him, ‘The Teacher says: My time is near; I am celebrating the Passover at your place#26:18 Lit Passover with you with my disciples.’”#Jn 7:6,8; 8:20; 13:1; 17:1 19So the disciples did as Jesus had directed them and prepared the Passover. 20When evening came, he was reclining at the table with the Twelve. 21While they were eating, he said, “Truly I tell you, one of you will betray me.”#Mk 14:17–21; Lk 22:21–23; Jn 13:21–26
22Deeply distressed, each one began to say to him, “Surely not I, Lord?”
23He replied, “The one who dipped his hand with me in the bowl — he will betray me. 24The Son of Man will go just as it is written about him,#Dn 9:26; Mk 9:12; Lk 24:25–27; Ac 17:2–3; 26:22–23; 1Co 15:3; 1Pt 1:10 but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been better for him if he had not been born.”
25Judas, his betrayer, replied, “Surely not I, Rabbi?” #Lk 22:70; Jn 1:38
“You have said it,” he told him.
The First Lord’s Supper
26As they were eating,#Mk 14:22–25; Lk 22:17–20; 1Co 11:23–25 Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it, gave it to the disciples,#Mt 10:1; 26:56; Mk 3:7; 16:20; Lk 6:13; Jn 12:16 and said, “Take and eat it; this is my body.”#Mt 14:19; 1Co 10:16 27Then he took a cup, and after giving thanks, he gave it to them and said, “Drink from it, all of you. 28For this is my blood of the covenant,#26:28 Other mss read new covenant which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.#Ex 24:8; Mt 20:28; Mk 1:4; Heb 9:20 29But I tell you, I will not drink from this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.”#Mt 4:23; Mk 1:15; Ac 20:25 30After singing a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.#Mt 21:1; Lk 22:39; Jn 18:1
Peter’s Denial Predicted
31Then Jesus said to them, “Tonight all of you will fall away because of me, for it is written:
I will strike the shepherd,
and the sheep of the flock will be scattered. # 26:31 Zch 13:7 #
Zch 13:7; Mt 11:6; Jn 16:32
32 But after I have risen, I will go ahead of you to Galilee.” #
Mt 28:7,10,16; Mk 16:7
33Peter told him, “Even if everyone falls away because of you, I will never fall away.”
34 “Truly I tell you,” Jesus said to him, “tonight, before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times.”#Mt 26:75; Lk 22:34; Jn 13:38
35“Even if I have to die with you,” Peter told him, “I will never deny you,” and all the disciples said the same thing.
The Prayer in the Garden
36Then Jesus came with them to a place called Gethsemane,#Mk 14:32–42; Lk 22:40–46 and he told the disciples, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.” 37Taking along Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, he began to be sorrowful and troubled.#Mt 4:21; 17:1 38He said to them, “I am deeply grieved#26:38 Lit “My soul is swallowed up in sorrow to the point of death. Remain here and stay awake with me.”#Ps 42:5–6; Mt 24:42; Jn 12:27 39Going a little farther,#26:39 Other mss read Drawing nearer he fell facedown and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.”#Mt 20:22; Jn 5:30; 6:38; Php 2:8; Heb 5:7
40Then he came to the disciples and found them sleeping. He asked Peter, “So, couldn’t you stay awake with me one hour? 41Stay awake and pray, so that you won’t enter into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”
42Again, a second time, he went away and prayed, “My Father, if this#26:42 Other mss add cup cannot pass#26:42 Other mss add from me unless I drink it, your will be done.”#Mt 26:39; Mk 14:36; Lk 22:42; Jn 6:38 43And he came again and found them sleeping, because they could not keep their eyes open.
44After leaving them, he went away again and prayed a third time, saying the same thing once more. 45Then he came to the disciples and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting? See, the time is near. The Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners.#Jn 12:27; 13:1 46Get up; let’s go. See, my betrayer is near.”
Judas’s Betrayal of Jesus
47While he was still speaking, Judas, one of the Twelve, suddenly arrived.#Mk 14:43–50; Lk 22:47–53; Jn 18:3–11 A large mob with swords and clubs was with him from the chief priests and elders of the people. 48His betrayer had given them a sign: “The one I kiss, he’s the one; arrest him.” 49So immediately he went up to Jesus and said, “Greetings, Rabbi!” and kissed him.
50 “Friend,” #
Mt 20:13; 22:12 Jesus asked him, “why have you come?” #26:50 Or Jesus told him, “do what you have come for.”
Then they came up, took hold of Jesus, and arrested him. 51At that moment one of those with Jesus reached out his hand and drew his sword. He struck the high priest’s servant and cut off his ear.#Lk 22:38; Jn 18:10
52Then Jesus told him, “Put your sword back in its place because all who take up the sword will perish by the sword.#Gn 9:6; Rv 13:10 53Or do you think that I cannot call on my Father, and he will provide me here and now with more than twelve legions of angels?#2Kg 6:17; Dn 7:10; Mt 4:11; Lk 8:30 54How, then, would the Scriptures be fulfilled#Mt 1:22; 26:24 that say it must happen this way?”
55At that time Jesus said to the crowds, “Have you come out with swords and clubs, as if I were a criminal,#26:55 Lit as against a criminal to capture me? Every day I used to sit, teaching in the temple, and you didn’t arrest me.#Mk 12:35; Lk 21:37; Jn 7:19; 8:2; 18:20 56But all this has happened so that the writings of the prophets#Mt 26:54; Rm 1:2; 2Pt 1:20 would be fulfilled.” Then all the disciples#Mt 10:1; 26:56; Mk 3:7; 16:20; Lk 6:13; Jn 12:16 deserted him and ran away.
Jesus Faces the Sanhedrin
57Those#Mk 14:53–65; Jn 18:12–13,19–24 who had arrested Jesus led him away to Caiaphas#Mt 26:3; Jn 11:49 the high priest, where the scribes and the elders had convened. 58Peter was following him at a distance right to the high priest’s courtyard. He went in and was sitting with the servants to see the outcome.#Jn 7:32; 18:15
59The chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin were looking for false testimony against Jesus so that they could put him to death,#Mt 5:22; Ac 6:11 60but they could not find any, even though many false witnesses#Dt 19:15; Ps 27:12; 35:11; Ac 6:13 came forward.#26:60 Other mss add they found none Finally, two#26:60 Other mss add false witnesses who came forward 61stated, “This man said, ‘I can destroy the temple of God#Mt 27:40; Jn 2:19; Ac 6:14 and rebuild it in three days.’”
62The high priest stood up and said to him, “Don’t you have an answer to what these men are testifying against you?” 63But#Lk 22:67–71 Jesus kept silent.#Is 53:7; Mt 27:12,14; Jn 19:9 The high priest said to him, “I charge you under oath#Lv 19:12; Nm 30:2; Dt 23:21; Mt 5:33; 14:7; 23:16 by the living God: Tell us if you are the Messiah, the Son of God.”#Lv 5:1; 1Sm 14:24,26; Mt 16:16
64 “You have said it,” Jesus told him. “But I tell you, in the future#26:64 Lit you, from now you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power and coming on the clouds of heaven.”#26:64Ps 110:1; Dn 7:13#Ps 110:1; Dn 7:13; Mt 16:27; 24:30; Rv 1:7
65Then the high priest tore his robes and said, “He has blasphemed!#Mk 3:29; Jn 10:33 Why do we still need witnesses? See, now you’ve heard the blasphemy.#Nm 14:6; Mk 14:63; Ac 14:14 66What is your decision?”
They answered, “He deserves death!” #Lv 24:16; Jn 19:7 67Then they spat in his face#Mt 27:30; Mk 10:34; Lk 22:63–65; Jn 18:22 and beat him; others slapped him 68and said, “Prophesy to us, Messiah! Who was it that hit you?” #Mk 14:65; Lk 22:64
Peter Denies His Lord
69Now Peter was sitting outside in the courtyard.#Mk 14:66–72; Lk 22:55–62; Jn 18:16–18,25–27 A servant girl approached him and said, “You were with Jesus the Galilean too.”
70But he denied it in front of everyone: “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
71When he had gone out to the gateway, another woman saw him and told those who were there, “This man was with Jesus the Nazarene!” #Mk 14:67; Ac 6:14
72And again he denied it with an oath:#Lv 19:12; Nm 30:2; Dt 23:21; Mt 5:33; 14:7; 23:16 “I don’t know the man!”
73After a little while those standing there approached and said to Peter, “You really are one of them, since even your accent#26:73 Or speech gives you away.”
74Then he started to curse and to swear with an oath, “I don’t know the man!” Immediately a rooster crowed, 75and Peter remembered the words Jesus had spoken, “Before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times.”#Mt 26:34; Jn 13:38; Ac 3:13–14 And he went outside and wept bitterly.
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Matthew 26: CSB
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© 2017 Holman Bible Publishers
Matthew 26
26
The Plan to Kill Jesus
1Jesus finished saying all these things. Then he said to his disciples, 2“As you know, the Passover Feast is two days away. The Son of Man will be handed over to be nailed to a cross.”
3Then the chief priests met with the elders of the people. They met in the palace of Caiaphas, the high priest. 4They made plans to arrest Jesus secretly. They wanted to kill him. 5“But not during the feast,” they said. “The people may stir up trouble.”
A Woman Pours Perfume on Jesus
6Jesus was in Bethany. He was in the home of Simon, who had a skin disease. 7A woman came to Jesus with a special sealed jar of very expensive perfume. She poured the perfume on his head while he was at the table.
8When the disciples saw this, they became angry. “Why this waste?” they asked. 9“The perfume could have been sold at a high price. The money could have been given to poor people.”
10Jesus was aware of this. So he said to them, “Why are you bothering this woman? She has done a beautiful thing to me. 11You will always have poor people with you. But you will not always have me. 12She poured the perfume on my body to prepare me to be buried. 13What I’m about to tell you is true. What she has done will be told anywhere this good news is preached all over the world. It will be told in memory of her.”
Judas Agrees to Hand Jesus Over
14One of the 12 disciples went to the chief priests. His name was Judas Iscariot. 15He asked, “What will you give me if I hand Jesus over to you?” So they counted out 30 silver coins for him. 16From then on, Judas watched for the right time to hand Jesus over to them.
The Lord’s Supper
17It was the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread. The disciples came to Jesus. They asked, “Where do you want us to prepare for you to eat the Passover meal?”
18He replied, “Go into the city to a certain man. Tell him, ‘The Teacher says, “My time is near. I am going to celebrate the Passover at your house with my disciples.” ’ ” 19So the disciples did what Jesus had told them to do. They prepared the Passover meal.
20When evening came, Jesus was at the table with his 12 disciples. 21While they were eating, he said, “What I’m about to tell you is true. One of you will hand me over to my enemies.”
22The disciples became very sad. One after the other, they began to say to him, “Surely you don’t mean me, Lord, do you?”
23Jesus replied, “The one who has dipped his hand into the bowl with me will hand me over. 24The Son of Man will go just as it is written about him. But how terrible it will be for the one who hands over the Son of Man! It would be better for him if he had not been born.”
25Judas was the one who was going to hand him over. He said, “Surely you don’t mean me, Teacher, do you?”
Jesus answered, “You have said so.”
26While they were eating, Jesus took bread. He gave thanks and broke it. He handed it to his disciples and said, “Take this and eat it. This is my body.”
27Then he took a cup. He gave thanks and handed it to them. He said, “All of you drink from it. 28This is my blood of the covenant. It is poured out to forgive the sins of many people. 29Here is what I tell you. From now on, I won’t drink wine with you again until the day I drink it with you in my Father’s kingdom.”
30Then they sang a hymn and went out to the Mount of Olives.
Jesus Says That the Disciples Will Turn Away
31Jesus told them, “This very night you will all turn away because of me. It is written that the Lord said,
“ ‘I will strike the shepherd down.
Then the sheep of the flock will be scattered.’ (Zechariah 13:7)
32But after I rise from the dead, I will go ahead of you into Galilee.”
33Peter replied, “All the others may turn away because of you. But I never will.”
34“What I’m about to tell you is true,” Jesus answered. “It will happen tonight. Before the rooster crows, you will say three times that you don’t know me.”
35But Peter said, “I may have to die with you. But I will never say I don’t know you.” And all the other disciples said the same thing.
Jesus Prays in Gethsemane
36Then Jesus went with his disciples 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 along with him. He began to be sad and troubled. 38Then he said to them, “My soul is very sad. I feel close to death. Stay here. Keep watch with me.”
39He went a little farther. Then he fell with his face to the ground. He prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, take this cup of suffering away from me. But let what you want be done, not what I want.”
40Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. “Couldn’t you men keep watch with me for one hour?” he asked Peter. 41“Watch and pray. Then you won’t fall into sin when you are tempted. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak.”
42Jesus went away a second time. He prayed, “My Father, is it possible for this cup to be taken away? But if I must drink it, may what you want be done.”
43Then he came back. Again he found them sleeping. They couldn’t keep their eyes open. 44So he left them and went away once more. For the third time he prayed the same thing.
45Then he returned to the disciples. He said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting? Look! The hour has come. The Son of Man is about to be handed over to sinners. 46Get up! Let us go! Here comes the one who is handing me over to them!”
Jesus Is Arrested
47While Jesus was still speaking, Judas arrived. He was one of the 12 disciples. A large crowd was with him. They were carrying swords and clubs. The chief priests and the elders of the people had sent them. 48Judas, who was going to hand Jesus over, had arranged a signal with them. “The one I kiss is the man,” he said. “Arrest him.” 49So Judas went to Jesus at once. He said, “Greetings, Rabbi!” And he kissed him.
50Jesus replied, “Friend, do what you came to do.”
Then the men stepped forward. They grabbed Jesus and arrested him. 51At that moment, one of Jesus’ companions reached for his sword. He pulled it out and struck the slave of the high priest with it. He cut off the slave’s ear.
52“Put your sword back in its place,” Jesus said to him. “All who use the sword will die by the sword. 53Do you think I can’t ask my Father for help? He would send an army of more than 70,000 angels right away. 54But then how would the Scriptures come true? They say it must happen in this way.”
55At that time Jesus spoke to the crowd. “Am I leading a band of armed men against you?” he asked. “Do you have to come out with swords and clubs to capture me? Every day I sat in the temple courtyard teaching. And you didn’t arrest me. 56But all this has happened so that the words of the prophets would come true.” Then all the disciples left him and ran away.
Jesus Is Taken to the Sanhedrin
57Those who had arrested Jesus took him to Caiaphas, the high priest. The teachers of the law and the elders had come together there. 58Not too far away, Peter followed Jesus. He went right up to the courtyard of the high priest. He entered and sat down with the guards to see what would happen.
59The chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin were looking for something to use against Jesus. They wanted to put him to death. 60But they did not find any proof, even though many false witnesses came forward.
Finally, two other witnesses came forward. 61They said, “This fellow claimed, ‘I am able to destroy the temple of God. I can build it again in three days.’ ”
62Then the high priest stood up. He asked Jesus, “Aren’t you going to answer? What are these charges that these men are bringing against you?” 63But Jesus remained silent.
The high priest said to him, “I am commanding you in the name of the living God. May he judge you if you don’t tell the truth. Tell us if you are the Messiah, the Son of God.”
64“You have said so,” Jesus replied. “But here is what I say to all of you. From now on, you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One. You will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven.”
65Then the high priest tore his clothes. He said, “He has spoken a very evil thing against God! Why do we need any more witnesses? You have heard him say this evil thing. 66What do you think?”
“He must die!” they answered.
67Then they spit in his face. They hit him with their fists. Others slapped him. 68They said, “Prophesy to us, Messiah! Who hit you?”
Peter Says He Does Not Know Jesus
69Peter was sitting out in the courtyard. A female servant came to him. “You also were with Jesus of Galilee,” she said.
70But in front of all of them, Peter said he was not. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he said.
71Then he went out to the gate leading into the courtyard. There another servant saw him. She said to the people, “This fellow was with Jesus of Nazareth.”
72Again he said he was not. With a curse he said, “I don’t know the man!”
73After a little while, those standing there went up to Peter. “You must be one of them,” they said. “The way you talk gives you away.”
74Then Peter began to curse and said to them, “I don’t know the man!”
Right away a rooster crowed. 75Then Peter remembered what Jesus had said. “The rooster will crow,” Jesus had told him. “Before it does, you will say three times that you don’t know me.” Peter went outside. He broke down and cried.
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