Mark 14
14
A Woman Pours Perfume on Jesus at Bethany
1When the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread were only two days away, the chief priests and the teachers of the law got together to make plans to arrest Jesus secretly and kill him. 2“But we can’t do it during the feast,” they agreed, “or the people may riot.”
3Jesus was in Bethany, eating dinner in the home of Simon the Leper. A woman came in with an alabaster jar that contained very expensive perfume made out of pure nard. She broke the jar open and poured the perfume on Jesus’ head.
4Some of the people there got angry and said to one another, “Why did she waste that perfume? 5It could have been sold for more than a year’s pay, and the money could have been given to the poor.” And they started angrily telling the woman that she’d done something wrong.
6“Leave her alone,” Jesus told them. “Why are you criticizing her? She has done a beautiful thing for me. 7You’ll always have the poor with you, and you can help them any time you want. But you won’t always have me. 8She did what she could. She poured perfume on my body to prepare me for burial. 9Truly I tell you, what she has done will be told wherever the good news is preached all over the world, and she will be remembered.”
10Then Judas Iscariot, one of the 12 disciples, went to the chief priests and offered to hand Jesus over to them. 11They were delighted to hear this, and they promised to give him money. So he looked for the right time to hand Jesus over to them.
The Last Supper
12On the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, when it was time to sacrifice the Passover lamb, Jesus’ disciples asked him, “Where do you want us to go and prepare the Passover meal for you?”
13He sent out two of his disciples, telling them, “Go into the city, and you’ll meet a man carrying a jar of water. Follow him 14when he goes into a house. Say to the owner of the house, ‘The Teacher asks, “Where is my guest room, where can I eat the Passover meal with my disciples?” ’ 15He’ll show you a large room upstairs that’s already set up with furniture. Prepare the meal there for us.”
16The disciples left and went into the city, and they found things just as Jesus had told them. So they prepared the Passover meal.
17When evening came, Jesus arrived with the 12 disciples. 18While they were at the table eating, Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, one of you who is eating with me will hand me over to my enemies.”
19They were dismayed. One by one they asked him, “Surely you don’t mean me?”
20“It’s one of you,” Jesus replied, “one who has dipped his bread into the same bowl as me. 21The Son of Man will go just as it is written about him. But woe to the one who hands over the Son of Man! It would have been better for him if he’d never been born.”
22While they were eating, Jesus took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying, “Take this; it is my body.”
23Then he took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he handed it to them, and they all drank from it.
24“This is my blood of the covenant,” he told them, “poured out for many. 25Truly I tell you, I won’t drink wine with you again until the day I drink it in the kingdom of God.”
26Then they sang a hymn and went out to the Mount of Olives.
Jesus Says That the Disciples Will Turn Away
27“You’re all going to abandon me,” Jesus told his disciples. “It is written,
“ ‘I will strike down the shepherd,
and the sheep will be scattered.’
28But after I rise from the dead, I will go ahead of you into Galilee.”
29Peter replied, “Even if all the others abandon you, I never will.”
30“Truly I tell you,” Jesus responded, “tonight—before the rooster crows twice—you’ll claim three times that you don’t know me.”
31But Peter insisted, “Even if I have to die with you, I’ll never say that I don’t know you.” And all the others said the same thing.
Jesus Prays in Gethsemane
32They went to a place called Gethsemane, and Jesus told his disciples, “Sit here while I go pray.” 33He took Peter, James, and John along with him. He became very distressed, and he said to them, 34“My soul is filled with anguish, and I feel like I might die. Stay here and keep watch.”
35He went a little farther, and then he fell to the ground and prayed that, if possible, he wouldn’t have to go through the time that was coming. 36“Abba, Father,” he said, “everything is possible for you. Take this cup of suffering away from me. Not what I want, though. Do what you want.”
37Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. “Simon,” he said to Peter, “are you asleep? Couldn’t you keep watch for one hour? 38Watch and pray so that you won’t fall into sin when you’re tempted. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak.”
39Once more Jesus went away and prayed the same thing. 40When he came back, he found them sleeping once again. They couldn’t keep their eyes open, and they didn’t know what to say to him.
41When Jesus came back a third time, he said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting? Enough! The time has come. Look! The Son of Man is about to be handed over to sinners. 42Get up! Let’s go! Here comes the one who’s handing me over to them!”
Jesus Is Arrested
43While Jesus was still speaking, Judas, who was one of the 12 disciples, suddenly appeared. He had a group of men with him who were armed with swords and clubs. The chief priests, teachers of the law, and elders had sent them.
44Judas had arranged to hand Jesus over by giving them a signal. “The one I kiss will be the man,” he’d told them. “Arrest him and have the guards lead him away.” 45Judas went right over to Jesus and said, “Rabbi!” Then he kissed him. 46The men grabbed Jesus and arrested him. 47Then one of those who was with Jesus reached for his sword. He pulled it out and slashed at the high priest’s slave with it, cutting off his ear.
48“Am I leading a rebellion against you?” asked Jesus. “Did you have to come out with swords and clubs to capture me? 49I was with you every day, teaching in the temple courtyard, and you didn’t arrest me. But the Scriptures must come true.” 50Then all his disciples abandoned him and ran away.
51A young man was following Jesus, wearing just a linen cloth. The men tried to grab him too, 52but he wriggled out of his clothing and ran away naked.
The Sanhedrin Puts Jesus on Trial
53The men took Jesus to the high priest, and all the chief priests, elders, and teachers of the law gathered for his trial. 54Peter followed Jesus from a distance and came as close as the courtyard of the high priest. There he sat with the guards and warmed himself by the fire.
55The chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin (the council of elders) were looking for evidence against Jesus so they could put him to death. But they didn’t find anything they could use. 56Many witnesses said things about him that weren’t true, and their stories didn’t agree.
57Then some people stood up and gave this false testimony about him: 58“We heard him say, ‘I will destroy this temple made by human hands, and in three days I will build another temple that’s not made by human hands.’ ” 59But even their stories didn’t agree.
60Then the high priest stood up in front of everyone and asked Jesus, “Aren’t you going to answer? What have you got to say about the charges these men are bringing against you?” 61But Jesus remained silent and gave no answer.
So the high priest asked him directly, “Are you the Messiah? Are you the Son of the Blessed One?”
62“I am,” Jesus replied. “And you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One, coming on the clouds of heaven.”
63The high priest ripped his clothes. “Why do we need any more witnesses?” he asked. 64“You’ve heard him claim that he’s God! How does it look to you?”
They all found him guilty and said he had to die. 65Then some began to spit on him. They blindfolded him, hit him with their fists, and said, “Prophesy!” Then the guards took him and beat him.
Peter Says He Doesn’t Know Jesus
66Peter was still down in the courtyard. One of the high priest’s female servants came by, 67and when she saw Peter warming himself, she looked at him closely.
“You were also with Jesus, that Nazarene,” she said.
68But Peter denied it. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he insisted, “it’s nonsense.” Then he went out to the entrance to the courtyard. A rooster crowed.
69The same servant noticed him again there and she said to those who were standing around, “This man is one of them.” 70Peter denied it again.
After a little while, those who were standing nearby said to Peter, “You must be one of them, because you’re from Galilee.”
71“May I be cursed if I’m not telling the truth!” Peter said to them. “I swear that I don’t know this man you’re talking about!”
72Right then the rooster crowed for a second time. Then Peter remembered what Jesus had told him: “Before the rooster crows twice, you’ll say three times that you don’t know me.” And he broke down and cried.
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Mark 14
14
Anointing His Head
1-2In only two days the eight-day Festival of Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread would begin. The high priests and religion scholars were looking for a way they could seize Jesus by stealth and kill him. They agreed that it should not be done during Passover Week. “We don’t want the crowds up in arms,” they said.
3-5Jesus was at Bethany, a guest of Simon the Leper. While he was eating dinner, a woman came up carrying a bottle of very expensive perfume. Opening the bottle, she poured it on his head. Some of the guests became furious among themselves. “That’s criminal! A sheer waste! This perfume could have been sold for well over a year’s wages and handed out to the poor.” They swelled up in anger, nearly bursting with indignation over her.
6-9But Jesus said, “Let her alone. Why are you giving her a hard time? She has just done something wonderfully significant for me. You will have the poor with you every day for the rest of your lives. Whenever you feel like it, you can do something for them. Not so with me. She did what she could when she could—she pre-anointed my body for burial. And you can be sure that wherever in the whole world the Message is preached, what she just did is going to be talked about admiringly.”
10-11Judas Iscariot, one of the Twelve, went to the cabal of high priests, determined to betray him. They couldn’t believe their ears, and promised to pay him well. He started looking for just the right moment to hand him over.
Traitor to the Son of Man
12On the first of the Days of Unleavened Bread, the day they prepare the Passover sacrifice, his disciples asked him, “Where do you want us to go and make preparations so you can eat the Passover meal?”
13-15He directed two of his disciples, “Go into the city. A man carrying a water jug will meet you. Follow him. Ask the owner of whichever house he enters, ‘The Teacher wants to know, Where is my guest room where I can eat the Passover meal with my disciples?’ He will show you a spacious second-story room, swept and ready. Prepare for us there.”
16The disciples left, came to the city, found everything just as he had told them, and prepared the Passover meal.
17-18After sunset he came with the Twelve. As they were at the supper table eating, Jesus said, “I have something hard but important to say to you: One of you is going to hand me over to the conspirators, one who at this moment is eating with me.”
19Stunned, they started asking, one after another, “It isn’t me, is it?”
20-21He said, “It’s one of the Twelve, one who eats with me out of the same bowl. In one sense, it turns out that the Son of Man is entering into a way of treachery well-marked by the Scriptures—no surprises here. In another sense, the man who turns him in, turns traitor to the Son of Man—better never to have been born than do this!”
“This Is My Body”
22In the course of their meal, having taken and blessed the bread, he broke it and gave it to them. Then he said,
Take, this is my body.
23-24Taking the chalice, he gave it to them, thanking God, and they all drank from it. He said,
This is my blood,
God’s new covenant,
Poured out for many people.
25“I’ll not be drinking wine again until the new day when I drink it in the kingdom of God.”
26They sang a hymn and then went directly to Mount Olives.
* * *
27-28Jesus told them, “You’re all going to feel that your world is falling apart and that it’s my fault. There’s a Scripture that says,
I will strike the shepherd;
The sheep will scatter.
“But after I am raised up, I will go ahead of you, leading the way to Galilee.”
29Peter blurted out, “Even if everyone else is ashamed of you when things fall to pieces, I won’t be.”
30Jesus said, “Don’t be so sure. Today, this very night in fact, before the rooster crows twice, you will deny me three times.”
31He blustered in protest, “Even if I have to die with you, I will never deny you.” All the others said the same thing.
Gethsemane
32-34They came to an area called Gethsemane. Jesus told his disciples, “Sit here while I pray.” He took Peter, James, and John with him. He sank into a pit of suffocating darkness. He told them, “I feel bad enough right now to die. Stay here and keep vigil with me.”
35-36Going a little ahead, he fell to the ground and prayed for a way out: “Papa, Father, you can—can’t you?—get me out of this. Take this cup away from me. But please, not what I want—what do you want?”
37-38He came back and found them sound asleep. He said to Peter, “Simon, you went to sleep on me? Can’t you stick it out with me a single hour? Stay alert, be in prayer, so you don’t enter the danger zone without even knowing it. Don’t be naive. Part of you is eager, ready for anything in God; but another part is as lazy as an old dog sleeping by the fire.”
39-40He then went back and prayed the same prayer. Returning, he again found them sound asleep. They simply couldn’t keep their eyes open, and they didn’t have a plausible excuse.
41-42He came back a third time and said, “Are you going to sleep all night? No—you’ve slept long enough. Time’s up. The Son of Man is about to be betrayed into the hands of sinners. Get up. Let’s get going. My betrayer has arrived.”
A Bunch of Thugs
43-47No sooner were the words out of his mouth when Judas, the one out of the Twelve, showed up, and with him a bunch of thugs, sent by the high priests, religion scholars, and leaders, brandishing swords and clubs. The betrayer had worked out a signal with them: “The one I kiss, that’s the one—seize him. Make sure he doesn’t get away.” He went straight to Jesus and said, “Rabbi!” and kissed him. The others then grabbed him and roughed him up. One of the men standing there unsheathed his sword, swung, and came down on the Chief Priest’s servant, lopping off the man’s ear.
48-50Jesus said to them, “What is this, coming after me with swords and clubs as if I were a dangerous criminal? Day after day I’ve been sitting in the Temple teaching, and you never so much as lifted a hand against me. What you in fact have done is confirm the prophetic writings.” All the disciples bailed on him.
51-52A young man was following along. All he had on was a bedsheet. Some of the men grabbed him but he got away, running off naked, leaving them holding the sheet.
Condemned to Death
53-54They led Jesus to the Chief Priest, where the high priests, religious leaders, and scholars had gathered together. Peter followed at a safe distance until they got to the Chief Priest’s courtyard, where he mingled with the servants and warmed himself at the fire.
55-59The high priests conspiring with the Jewish Council looked high and low for evidence against Jesus by which they could sentence him to death. They found nothing. Plenty of people were willing to bring in false charges, but nothing added up, and they ended up canceling each other out. Then a few of them stood up and lied: “We heard him say, ‘I am going to tear down this Temple, built by hard labor, and in three days build another without lifting a hand.’” But even they couldn’t agree exactly.
60-61In the middle of this, the Chief Priest stood up and asked Jesus, “What do you have to say to the accusation?” Jesus was silent. He said nothing.
The Chief Priest tried again, this time asking, “Are you the Messiah, the Son of the Blessed?”
62Jesus said, “Yes, I am, and you’ll see it yourself:
The Son of Man seated
At the right hand of the Mighty One,
Arriving on the clouds of heaven.”
63-64The Chief Priest lost his temper. Ripping his clothes, he yelled, “Did you hear that? After that do we need witnesses? You heard the blasphemy. Are you going to stand for it?”
They condemned him, one and all. The sentence: death.
65Some of them started spitting at him. They blindfolded his eyes, then hit him, saying, “Who hit you? Prophesy!” The guards, punching and slapping, took him away.
The Rooster Crowed
66-67While all this was going on, Peter was down in the courtyard. One of the Chief Priest’s servant girls came in and, seeing Peter warming himself there, looked hard at him and said, “You were with the Nazarene, Jesus.”
68He denied it: “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” He went out on the porch. A rooster crowed.
69-70The girl spotted him and began telling the people standing around, “He’s one of them.” He denied it again.
After a little while, the bystanders brought it up again. “You’ve got to be one of them. You’ve got ‘Galilean’ written all over you.”
71-72Now Peter got really nervous and swore, “I never laid eyes on this man you’re talking about.” Just then the rooster crowed a second time. Peter remembered how Jesus had said, “Before a rooster crows twice, you’ll deny me three times.” He collapsed in tears.
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THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson. All rights reserved. Used by permission of NavPress. Represented by Tyndale House Publishers.