Bible in 90 Days Plan

¹When Herod Antipas, the ruler of Galilee, heard about Jesus,

²he said to his advisers, “This must be John the Baptist raised from the dead! That is why he can do such miracles.”

³For Herod had arrested and imprisoned John as a favor to his wife Herodias (the former wife of Herod’s brother Philip).

⁴John had been telling Herod, “It is against God’s law for you to marry her.”

⁵Herod wanted to kill John, but he was afraid of a riot, because all the people believed John was a prophet.

⁶But at a birthday party for Herod, Herodias’s daughter performed a dance that greatly pleased him,

⁷so he promised with a vow to give her anything she wanted.

⁸At her mother’s urging, the girl said, “I want the head of John the Baptist on a tray!”

⁹Then the king regretted what he had said; but because of the vow he had made in front of his guests, he issued the necessary orders.

¹⁰So John was beheaded in the prison,

¹¹and his head was brought on a tray and given to the girl, who took it to her mother.

¹²Later, John’s disciples came for his body and buried it. Then they went and told Jesus what had happened.

¹³As soon as Jesus heard the news, he left in a boat to a remote area to be alone. But the crowds heard where he was headed and followed on foot from many towns.

¹⁴Jesus saw the huge crowd as he stepped from the boat, and he had compassion on them and healed their sick.

¹⁵That evening the disciples came to him and said, “This is a remote place, and it’s already getting late. Send the crowds away so they can go to the villages and buy food for themselves.”

¹⁶But Jesus said, “That isn’t necessary — you feed them.”

¹⁷“But we have only five loaves of bread and two fish!” they answered.

¹⁸“Bring them here,” he said.

¹⁹Then he told the people to sit down on the grass. Jesus took the five loaves and two fish, looked up toward heaven, and blessed them. Then, breaking the loaves into pieces, he gave the bread to the disciples, who distributed it to the people.

²⁰They all ate as much as they wanted, and afterward, the disciples picked up twelve baskets of leftovers.

²¹About 5,000 men were fed that day, in addition to all the women and children!

²²Immediately after this, Jesus insisted that his disciples get back into the boat and cross to the other side of the lake, while he sent the people home.

²³After sending them home, he went up into the hills by himself to pray. Night fell while he was there alone.

²⁴Meanwhile, the disciples were in trouble far away from land, for a strong wind had risen, and they were fighting heavy waves.

²⁵About three o’clock in the morning Jesus came toward them, walking on the water.

²⁶When the disciples saw him walking on the water, they were terrified. In their fear, they cried out, “It’s a ghost!”

²⁷But Jesus spoke to them at once. “Don’t be afraid,” he said. “Take courage. I am here! ”

²⁸Then Peter called to him, “Lord, if it’s really you, tell me to come to you, walking on the water.”

²⁹“Yes, come,” Jesus said. So Peter went over the side of the boat and walked on the water toward Jesus.

³⁰But when he saw the strong wind and the waves, he was terrified and began to sink. “Save me, Lord!” he shouted.

³¹Jesus immediately reached out and grabbed him. “You have so little faith,” Jesus said. “Why did you doubt me?”

³²When they climbed back into the boat, the wind stopped.

³³Then the disciples worshiped him. “You really are the Son of God!” they exclaimed.

³⁴After they had crossed the lake, they landed at Gennesaret.

³⁵When the people recognized Jesus, the news of his arrival spread quickly throughout the whole area, and soon people were bringing all their sick to be healed.

³⁶They begged him to let the sick touch at least the fringe of his robe, and all who touched him were healed.

¹Some Pharisees and teachers of religious law now arrived from Jerusalem to see Jesus. They asked him,

²“Why do your disciples disobey our age-old tradition? For they ignore our tradition of ceremonial hand washing before they eat.”

³Jesus replied, “And why do you, by your traditions, violate the direct commandments of God?

⁴For instance, God says, ‘Honor your father and mother,’ and ‘Anyone who speaks disrespectfully of father or mother must be put to death.’

⁵But you say it is all right for people to say to their parents, ‘Sorry, I can’t help you. For I have vowed to give to God what I would have given to you.’

⁶In this way, you say they don’t need to honor their parents. And so you cancel the word of God for the sake of your own tradition.

⁷You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you, for he wrote,

⁸‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.

⁹Their worship is a farce, for they teach man-made ideas as commands from God.’ ”

¹⁰Then Jesus called to the crowd to come and hear. “Listen,” he said, “and try to understand.

¹¹It’s not what goes into your mouth that defiles you; you are defiled by the words that come out of your mouth.”

¹²Then the disciples came to him and asked, “Do you realize you offended the Pharisees by what you just said?”

¹³Jesus replied, “Every plant not planted by my heavenly Father will be uprooted,

¹⁴so ignore them. They are blind guides leading the blind, and if one blind person guides another, they will both fall into a ditch.”

¹⁵Then Peter said to Jesus, “Explain to us the parable that says people aren’t defiled by what they eat.”

¹⁶“Don’t you understand yet?” Jesus asked.

¹⁷“Anything you eat passes through the stomach and then goes into the sewer.

¹⁸But the words you speak come from the heart — that’s what defiles you.

¹⁹For from the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, all sexual immorality, theft, lying, and slander.

²⁰These are what defile you. Eating with unwashed hands will never defile you.”

²¹Then Jesus left Galilee and went north to the region of Tyre and Sidon.

²²A Gentile woman who lived there came to him, pleading, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David! For my daughter is possessed by a demon that torments her severely.”

²³But Jesus gave her no reply, not even a word. Then his disciples urged him to send her away. “Tell her to go away,” they said. “She is bothering us with all her begging.”

²⁴Then Jesus said to the woman, “I was sent only to help God’s lost sheep — the people of Israel.”

²⁵But she came and worshiped him, pleading again, “Lord, help me!”

²⁶Jesus responded, “It isn’t right to take food from the children and throw it to the dogs.”

²⁷She replied, “That’s true, Lord, but even dogs are allowed to eat the scraps that fall beneath their masters’ table.”

²⁸“Dear woman,” Jesus said to her, “your faith is great. Your request is granted.” And her daughter was instantly healed.

²⁹Jesus returned to the Sea of Galilee and climbed a hill and sat down.

³⁰A vast crowd brought to him people who were lame, blind, crippled, those who couldn’t speak, and many others. They laid them before Jesus, and he healed them all.

³¹The crowd was amazed! Those who hadn’t been able to speak were talking, the crippled were made well, the lame were walking, and the blind could see again! And they praised the God of Israel.

³²Then Jesus called his disciples and told them, “I feel sorry for these people. They have been here with me for three days, and they have nothing left to eat. I don’t want to send them away hungry, or they will faint along the way.”

³³The disciples replied, “Where would we get enough food here in the wilderness for such a huge crowd?”

³⁴Jesus asked, “How much bread do you have?” They replied, “Seven loaves, and a few small fish.”

³⁵So Jesus told all the people to sit down on the ground.

³⁶Then he took the seven loaves and the fish, thanked God for them, and broke them into pieces. He gave them to the disciples, who distributed the food to the crowd.

³⁷They all ate as much as they wanted. Afterward, the disciples picked up seven large baskets of leftover food.

³⁸There were 4,000 men who were fed that day, in addition to all the women and children.

³⁹Then Jesus sent the people home, and he got into a boat and crossed over to the region of Magadan.

¹One day the Pharisees and Sadducees came to test Jesus, demanding that he show them a miraculous sign from heaven to prove his authority.

²He replied, “You know the saying, ‘Red sky at night means fair weather tomorrow;

³red sky in the morning means foul weather all day.’ You know how to interpret the weather signs in the sky, but you don’t know how to interpret the signs of the times!

⁴Only an evil, adulterous generation would demand a miraculous sign, but the only sign I will give them is the sign of the prophet Jonah. ” Then Jesus left them and went away.

⁵Later, after they crossed to the other side of the lake, the disciples discovered they had forgotten to bring any bread.

⁶“Watch out!” Jesus warned them. “Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.”

⁷At this they began to argue with each other because they hadn’t brought any bread.

⁸Jesus knew what they were saying, so he said, “You have so little faith! Why are you arguing with each other about having no bread?

⁹Don’t you understand even yet? Don’t you remember the 5,000 I fed with five loaves, and the baskets of leftovers you picked up?

¹⁰Or the 4,000 I fed with seven loaves, and the large baskets of leftovers you picked up?

¹¹Why can’t you understand that I’m not talking about bread? So again I say, ‘Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.’”

¹²Then at last they understood that he wasn’t speaking about the yeast in bread, but about the deceptive teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.

¹³When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?”

¹⁴“Well,” they replied, “some say John the Baptist, some say Elijah, and others say Jeremiah or one of the other prophets.”

¹⁵Then he asked them, “But who do you say I am?”

¹⁶Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”

¹⁷Jesus replied, “You are blessed, Simon son of John, because my Father in heaven has revealed this to you. You did not learn this from any human being.

¹⁸Now I say to you that you are Peter (which means ‘rock’), and upon this rock I will build my church, and all the powers of hell will not conquer it.

¹⁹And I will give you the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven. Whatever you forbid on earth will be forbidden in heaven, and whatever you permit on earth will be permitted in heaven.”

²⁰Then he sternly warned the disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah.

²¹From then on Jesus began to tell his disciples plainly that it was necessary for him to go to Jerusalem, and that he would suffer many terrible things at the hands of the elders, the leading priests, and the teachers of religious law. He would be killed, but on the third day he would be raised from the dead.

²²But Peter took him aside and began to reprimand him for saying such things. “Heaven forbid, Lord,” he said. “This will never happen to you!”

²³Jesus turned to Peter and said, “Get away from me, Satan! You are a dangerous trap to me. You are seeing things merely from a human point of view, not from God’s.”

²⁴Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow me.

²⁵If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it.

²⁶And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul? Is anything worth more than your soul?

²⁷For the Son of Man will come with his angels in the glory of his Father and will judge all people according to their deeds.

²⁸And I tell you the truth, some standing here right now will not die before they see the Son of Man coming in his Kingdom.”

¹Six days later Jesus took Peter and the two brothers, James and John, and led them up a high mountain to be alone.

²As the men watched, Jesus’ appearance was transformed so that his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as light.

³Suddenly, Moses and Elijah appeared and began talking with Jesus.

⁴Peter exclaimed, “Lord, it’s wonderful for us to be here! If you want, I’ll make three shelters as memorials — one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.”

⁵But even as he spoke, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my dearly loved Son, who brings me great joy. Listen to him.”

⁶The disciples were terrified and fell face down on the ground.

⁷Then Jesus came over and touched them. “Get up,” he said. “Don’t be afraid.”

⁸And when they looked up, Moses and Elijah were gone, and they saw only Jesus.

⁹As they went back down the mountain, Jesus commanded them, “Don’t tell anyone what you have seen until the Son of Man has been raised from the dead.”

¹⁰Then his disciples asked him, “Why do the teachers of religious law insist that Elijah must return before the Messiah comes? ”

¹¹Jesus replied, “Elijah is indeed coming first to get everything ready.

¹²But I tell you, Elijah has already come, but he wasn’t recognized, and they chose to abuse him. And in the same way they will also make the Son of Man suffer.”

¹³Then the disciples realized he was talking about John the Baptist.

¹⁴At the foot of the mountain, a large crowd was waiting for them. A man came and knelt before Jesus and said,

¹⁵“Lord, have mercy on my son. He has seizures and suffers terribly. He often falls into the fire or into the water.

¹⁶So I brought him to your disciples, but they couldn’t heal him.”

¹⁷Jesus said, “You faithless and corrupt people! How long must I be with you? How long must I put up with you? Bring the boy here to me.”

¹⁸Then Jesus rebuked the demon in the boy, and it left him. From that moment the boy was well.

¹⁹Afterward the disciples asked Jesus privately, “Why couldn’t we cast out that demon?”

²⁰“You don’t have enough faith,” Jesus told them. “I tell you the truth, if you had faith even as small as a mustard seed, you could say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it would move. Nothing would be impossible. ”

²¹

²²After they gathered again in Galilee, Jesus told them, “The Son of Man is going to be betrayed into the hands of his enemies.

²³He will be killed, but on the third day he will be raised from the dead.” And the disciples were filled with grief.

²⁴On their arrival in Capernaum, the collectors of the Temple tax came to Peter and asked him, “Doesn’t your teacher pay the Temple tax?”

²⁵“Yes, he does,” Peter replied. Then he went into the house. But before he had a chance to speak, Jesus asked him, “What do you think, Peter? Do kings tax their own people or the people they have conquered? ”

²⁶“They tax the people they have conquered,” Peter replied. “Well, then,” Jesus said, “the citizens are free!

²⁷However, we don’t want to offend them, so go down to the lake and throw in a line. Open the mouth of the first fish you catch, and you will find a large silver coin. Take it and pay the tax for both of us.”

¹About that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who is greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven?”

²Jesus called a little child to him and put the child among them.

³Then he said, “I tell you the truth, unless you turn from your sins and become like little children, you will never get into the Kingdom of Heaven.

⁴So anyone who becomes as humble as this little child is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven.

⁵“And anyone who welcomes a little child like this on my behalf is welcoming me.

⁶But if you cause one of these little ones who trusts in me to fall into sin, it would be better for you to have a large millstone tied around your neck and be drowned in the depths of the sea.

⁷“What sorrow awaits the world, because it tempts people to sin. Temptations are inevitable, but what sorrow awaits the person who does the tempting.

⁸So if your hand or foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It’s better to enter eternal life with only one hand or one foot than to be thrown into eternal fire with both of your hands and feet.

⁹And if your eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It’s better to enter eternal life with only one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into the fire of hell.

¹⁰“Beware that you don’t look down on any of these little ones. For I tell you that in heaven their angels are always in the presence of my heavenly Father.

¹¹

¹²“If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them wanders away, what will he do? Won’t he leave the ninety-nine others on the hills and go out to search for the one that is lost?

¹³And if he finds it, I tell you the truth, he will rejoice over it more than over the ninety-nine that didn’t wander away!

¹⁴In the same way, it is not my heavenly Father’s will that even one of these little ones should perish.

¹⁵“If another believer sins against you, go privately and point out the offense. If the other person listens and confesses it, you have won that person back.

¹⁶But if you are unsuccessful, take one or two others with you and go back again, so that everything you say may be confirmed by two or three witnesses.

¹⁷If the person still refuses to listen, take your case to the church. Then if he or she won’t accept the church’s decision, treat that person as a pagan or a corrupt tax collector.

¹⁸“I tell you the truth, whatever you forbid on earth will be forbidden in heaven, and whatever you permit on earth will be permitted in heaven.

¹⁹“I also tell you this: If two of you agree here on earth concerning anything you ask, my Father in heaven will do it for you.

²⁰For where two or three gather together as my followers, I am there among them.”

²¹Then Peter came to him and asked, “Lord, how often should I forgive someone who sins against me? Seven times?”

²²“No, not seven times,” Jesus replied, “but seventy times seven!

²³“Therefore, the Kingdom of Heaven can be compared to a king who decided to bring his accounts up to date with servants who had borrowed money from him.

²⁴In the process, one of his debtors was brought in who owed him millions of dollars.

²⁵He couldn’t pay, so his master ordered that he be sold — along with his wife, his children, and everything he owned — to pay the debt.

²⁶“But the man fell down before his master and begged him, ‘Please, be patient with me, and I will pay it all.’

²⁷Then his master was filled with pity for him, and he released him and forgave his debt.

²⁸“But when the man left the king, he went to a fellow servant who owed him a few thousand dollars. He grabbed him by the throat and demanded instant payment.

²⁹“His fellow servant fell down before him and begged for a little more time. ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay it,’ he pleaded.

³⁰But his creditor wouldn’t wait. He had the man arrested and put in prison until the debt could be paid in full.

³¹“When some of the other servants saw this, they were very upset. They went to the king and told him everything that had happened.

³²Then the king called in the man he had forgiven and said, ‘You evil servant! I forgave you that tremendous debt because you pleaded with me.

³³Shouldn’t you have mercy on your fellow servant, just as I had mercy on you?’

³⁴Then the angry king sent the man to prison to be tortured until he had paid his entire debt.

³⁵“That’s what my heavenly Father will do to you if you refuse to forgive your brothers and sisters from your heart.”

¹When Jesus had finished saying these things, he left Galilee and went down to the region of Judea east of the Jordan River.

²Large crowds followed him there, and he healed their sick.

³Some Pharisees came and tried to trap him with this question: “Should a man be allowed to divorce his wife for just any reason?”

⁴“Haven’t you read the Scriptures?” Jesus replied. “They record that from the beginning ‘God made them male and female.’ ”

⁵And he said, “‘This explains why a man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one.’

⁶Since they are no longer two but one, let no one split apart what God has joined together.”

⁷“Then why did Moses say in the law that a man could give his wife a written notice of divorce and send her away?” they asked.

⁸Jesus replied, “Moses permitted divorce only as a concession to your hard hearts, but it was not what God had originally intended.

⁹And I tell you this, whoever divorces his wife and marries someone else commits adultery — unless his wife has been unfaithful. ”

¹⁰Jesus’ disciples then said to him, “If this is the case, it is better not to marry!”

¹¹“Not everyone can accept this statement,” Jesus said. “Only those whom God helps.

¹²Some are born as eunuchs, some have been made eunuchs by others, and some choose not to marry for the sake of the Kingdom of Heaven. Let anyone accept this who can.”

¹³One day some parents brought their children to Jesus so he could lay his hands on them and pray for them. But the disciples scolded the parents for bothering him.

¹⁴But Jesus said, “Let the children come to me. Don’t stop them! For the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to those who are like these children.”

¹⁵And he placed his hands on their heads and blessed them before he left.

¹⁶Someone came to Jesus with this question: “Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life?”

¹⁷“Why ask me about what is good?” Jesus replied. “There is only One who is good. But to answer your question — if you want to receive eternal life, keep the commandments.”

¹⁸“Which ones?” the man asked. And Jesus replied: “‘You must not murder. You must not commit adultery. You must not steal. You must not testify falsely.

¹⁹Honor your father and mother. Love your neighbor as yourself.’ ”

²⁰“I’ve obeyed all these commandments,” the young man replied. “What else must I do?”

²¹Jesus told him, “If you want to be perfect, go and sell all your possessions and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”

²²But when the young man heard this, he went away sad, for he had many possessions.

²³Then Jesus said to his disciples, “I tell you the truth, it is very hard for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of Heaven.

²⁴I’ll say it again — it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of God!”

²⁵The disciples were astounded. “Then who in the world can be saved?” they asked.

²⁶Jesus looked at them intently and said, “Humanly speaking, it is impossible. But with God everything is possible.”

²⁷Then Peter said to him, “We’ve given up everything to follow you. What will we get?”

²⁸Jesus replied, “I assure you that when the world is made new and the Son of Man sits upon his glorious throne, you who have been my followers will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.

²⁹And everyone who has given up houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or property, for my sake, will receive a hundred times as much in return and will inherit eternal life.

³⁰But many who are the greatest now will be least important then, and those who seem least important now will be the greatest then.

¹“For the Kingdom of Heaven is like the landowner who went out early one morning to hire workers for his vineyard.

²He agreed to pay the normal daily wage and sent them out to work.

³“At nine o’clock in the morning he was passing through the marketplace and saw some people standing around doing nothing.

⁴So he hired them, telling them he would pay them whatever was right at the end of the day.

⁵So they went to work in the vineyard. At noon and again at three o’clock he did the same thing.

⁶“At five o’clock that afternoon he was in town again and saw some more people standing around. He asked them, ‘Why haven’t you been working today?’

⁷“They replied, ‘Because no one hired us.’ “The landowner told them, ‘Then go out and join the others in my vineyard.’

⁸“That evening he told the foreman to call the workers in and pay them, beginning with the last workers first.

⁹When those hired at five o’clock were paid, each received a full day’s wage.

¹⁰When those hired first came to get their pay, they assumed they would receive more. But they, too, were paid a day’s wage.

¹¹When they received their pay, they protested to the owner,

¹²‘Those people worked only one hour, and yet you’ve paid them just as much as you paid us who worked all day in the scorching heat.’

¹³“He answered one of them, ‘Friend, I haven’t been unfair! Didn’t you agree to work all day for the usual wage?

¹⁴Take your money and go. I wanted to pay this last worker the same as you.

¹⁵Is it against the law for me to do what I want with my money? Should you be jealous because I am kind to others?’

¹⁶“So those who are last now will be first then, and those who are first will be last.”

¹⁷As Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, he took the twelve disciples aside privately and told them what was going to happen to him.

¹⁸“Listen,” he said, “we’re going up to Jerusalem, where the Son of Man will be betrayed to the leading priests and the teachers of religious law. They will sentence him to die.

¹⁹Then they will hand him over to the Romans to be mocked, flogged with a whip, and crucified. But on the third day he will be raised from the dead.”

²⁰Then the mother of James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to Jesus with her sons. She knelt respectfully to ask a favor.

²¹“What is your request?” he asked. She replied, “In your Kingdom, please let my two sons sit in places of honor next to you, one on your right and the other on your left.”

²²But Jesus answered by saying to them, “You don’t know what you are asking! Are you able to drink from the bitter cup of suffering I am about to drink?” “Oh yes,” they replied, “we are able!”

²³Jesus told them, “You will indeed drink from my bitter cup. But I have no right to say who will sit on my right or my left. My Father has prepared those places for the ones he has chosen.”

²⁴When the ten other disciples heard what James and John had asked, they were indignant.

²⁵But Jesus called them together and said, “You know that the rulers in this world lord it over their people, and officials flaunt their authority over those under them.

²⁶But among you it will be different. Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be your servant,

²⁷and whoever wants to be first among you must become your slave.

²⁸For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

²⁹As Jesus and the disciples left the town of Jericho, a large crowd followed behind.

³⁰Two blind men were sitting beside the road. When they heard that Jesus was coming that way, they began shouting, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!”

³¹“Be quiet!” the crowd yelled at them. But they only shouted louder, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!”

³²When Jesus heard them, he stopped and called, “What do you want me to do for you?”

³³“Lord,” they said, “we want to see!”

³⁴Jesus felt sorry for them and touched their eyes. Instantly they could see! Then they followed him.

¹As Jesus and the disciples approached Jerusalem, they came to the town of Bethphage on the Mount of Olives. Jesus sent two of them on ahead.

²“Go into the village over there,” he said. “As soon as you enter it, you will see a donkey tied there, with its colt beside it. Untie them and bring them to me.

³If anyone asks what you are doing, just say, ‘The Lord needs them,’ and he will immediately let you take them.”

⁴This took place to fulfill the prophecy that said,

⁵“Tell the people of Jerusalem, ‘Look, your King is coming to you. He is humble, riding on a donkey — riding on a donkey’s colt.’”

⁶The two disciples did as Jesus commanded.

⁷They brought the donkey and the colt to him and threw their garments over the colt, and he sat on it.

⁸Most of the crowd spread their garments on the road ahead of him, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road.

⁹Jesus was in the center of the procession, and the people all around him were shouting, “Praise God for the Son of David! Blessings on the one who comes in the name of the LORD! Praise God in highest heaven!”

¹⁰The entire city of Jerusalem was in an uproar as he entered. “Who is this?” they asked.

¹¹And the crowds replied, “It’s Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee.”

¹²Jesus entered the Temple and began to drive out all the people buying and selling animals for sacrifice. He knocked over the tables of the money changers and the chairs of those selling doves.

¹³He said to them, “The Scriptures declare, ‘My Temple will be called a house of prayer,’ but you have turned it into a den of thieves!”

¹⁴The blind and the lame came to him in the Temple, and he healed them.

¹⁵The leading priests and the teachers of religious law saw these wonderful miracles and heard even the children in the Temple shouting, “Praise God for the Son of David.” But the leaders were indignant.

¹⁶They asked Jesus, “Do you hear what these children are saying?” “Yes,” Jesus replied. “Haven’t you ever read the Scriptures? For they say, ‘You have taught children and infants to give you praise.’ ”

¹⁷Then he returned to Bethany, where he stayed overnight.

¹⁸In the morning, as Jesus was returning to Jerusalem, he was hungry,

¹⁹and he noticed a fig tree beside the road. He went over to see if there were any figs, but there were only leaves. Then he said to it, “May you never bear fruit again!” And immediately the fig tree withered up.

²⁰The disciples were amazed when they saw this and asked, “How did the fig tree wither so quickly?”

²¹Then Jesus told them, “I tell you the truth, if you have faith and don’t doubt, you can do things like this and much more. You can even say to this mountain, ‘May you be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ and it will happen.

²²You can pray for anything, and if you have faith, you will receive it.”

²³When Jesus returned to the Temple and began teaching, the leading priests and elders came up to him. They demanded, “By what authority are you doing all these things? Who gave you the right?”

²⁴“I’ll tell you by what authority I do these things if you answer one question,” Jesus replied.

²⁵“Did John’s authority to baptize come from heaven, or was it merely human?” They talked it over among themselves. “If we say it was from heaven, he will ask us why we didn’t believe John.

²⁶But if we say it was merely human, we’ll be mobbed because the people believe John was a prophet.”

²⁷So they finally replied, “We don’t know.” And Jesus responded, “Then I won’t tell you by what authority I do these things.

²⁸“But what do you think about this? A man with two sons told the older boy, ‘Son, go out and work in the vineyard today.’

²⁹The son answered, ‘No, I won’t go,’ but later he changed his mind and went anyway.

³⁰Then the father told the other son, ‘You go,’ and he said, ‘Yes, sir, I will.’ But he didn’t go.

³¹“Which of the two obeyed his father?” They replied, “The first.” Then Jesus explained his meaning: “I tell you the truth, corrupt tax collectors and prostitutes will get into the Kingdom of God before you do.

³²For John the Baptist came and showed you the right way to live, but you didn’t believe him, while tax collectors and prostitutes did. And even when you saw this happening, you refused to believe him and repent of your sins.

³³“Now listen to another story. A certain landowner planted a vineyard, built a wall around it, dug a pit for pressing out the grape juice, and built a lookout tower. Then he leased the vineyard to tenant farmers and moved to another country.

³⁴At the time of the grape harvest, he sent his servants to collect his share of the crop.

³⁵But the farmers grabbed his servants, beat one, killed one, and stoned another.

³⁶So the landowner sent a larger group of his servants to collect for him, but the results were the same.

³⁷“Finally, the owner sent his son, thinking, ‘Surely they will respect my son.’

³⁸“But when the tenant farmers saw his son coming, they said to one another, ‘Here comes the heir to this estate. Come on, let’s kill him and get the estate for ourselves!’

³⁹So they grabbed him, dragged him out of the vineyard, and murdered him.

⁴⁰“When the owner of the vineyard returns,” Jesus asked, “what do you think he will do to those farmers?”

⁴¹The religious leaders replied, “He will put the wicked men to a horrible death and lease the vineyard to others who will give him his share of the crop after each harvest.”

⁴²Then Jesus asked them, “Didn’t you ever read this in the Scriptures? ‘The stone that the builders rejected has now become the cornerstone. This is the LORD’s doing, and it is wonderful to see.’

⁴³I tell you, the Kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a nation that will produce the proper fruit.

⁴⁴Anyone who stumbles over that stone will be broken to pieces, and it will crush anyone it falls on. ”

⁴⁵When the leading priests and Pharisees heard this parable, they realized he was telling the story against them — they were the wicked farmers.

⁴⁶They wanted to arrest him, but they were afraid of the crowds, who considered Jesus to be a prophet.

¹Jesus also told them other parables. He said,

²“The Kingdom of Heaven can be illustrated by the story of a king who prepared a great wedding feast for his son.

³When the banquet was ready, he sent his servants to notify those who were invited. But they all refused to come!

⁴“So he sent other servants to tell them, ‘The feast has been prepared. The bulls and fattened cattle have been killed, and everything is ready. Come to the banquet!’

⁵But the guests he had invited ignored them and went their own way, one to his farm, another to his business.

⁶Others seized his messengers and insulted them and killed them.

⁷“The king was furious, and he sent out his army to destroy the murderers and burn their town.

⁸And he said to his servants, ‘The wedding feast is ready, and the guests I invited aren’t worthy of the honor.

⁹Now go out to the street corners and invite everyone you see.’

¹⁰So the servants brought in everyone they could find, good and bad alike, and the banquet hall was filled with guests.

¹¹“But when the king came in to meet the guests, he noticed a man who wasn’t wearing the proper clothes for a wedding.

¹²‘Friend,’ he asked, ‘how is it that you are here without wedding clothes?’ But the man had no reply.

¹³Then the king said to his aides, ‘Bind his hands and feet and throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

¹⁴“For many are called, but few are chosen.”

¹⁵Then the Pharisees met together to plot how to trap Jesus into saying something for which he could be arrested.

¹⁶They sent some of their disciples, along with the supporters of Herod, to meet with him. “Teacher,” they said, “we know how honest you are. You teach the way of God truthfully. You are impartial and don’t play favorites.

¹⁷Now tell us what you think about this: Is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not?”

¹⁸But Jesus knew their evil motives. “You hypocrites!” he said. “Why are you trying to trap me?

¹⁹Here, show me the coin used for the tax.” When they handed him a Roman coin,

²⁰he asked, “Whose picture and title are stamped on it?”

²¹“Caesar’s,” they replied. “Well, then,” he said, “give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar, and give to God what belongs to God.”

²²His reply amazed them, and they went away.

²³That same day Jesus was approached by some Sadducees — religious leaders who say there is no resurrection from the dead. They posed this question:

²⁴“Teacher, Moses said, ‘If a man dies without children, his brother should marry the widow and have a child who will carry on the brother’s name.’

²⁵Well, suppose there were seven brothers. The oldest one married and then died without children, so his brother married the widow.

²⁶But the second brother also died, and the third brother married her. This continued with all seven of them.

²⁷Last of all, the woman also died.

²⁸So tell us, whose wife will she be in the resurrection? For all seven were married to her.”

²⁹Jesus replied, “Your mistake is that you don’t know the Scriptures, and you don’t know the power of God.

³⁰For when the dead rise, they will neither marry nor be given in marriage. In this respect they will be like the angels in heaven.

³¹“But now, as to whether there will be a resurrection of the dead — haven’t you ever read about this in the Scriptures? Long after Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob had died, God said,

³²‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’ So he is the God of the living, not the dead.”

³³When the crowds heard him, they were astounded at his teaching.

³⁴But when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees with his reply, they met together to question him again.

³⁵One of them, an expert in religious law, tried to trap him with this question:

³⁶“Teacher, which is the most important commandment in the law of Moses?”

³⁷Jesus replied, “‘You must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’

³⁸This is the first and greatest commandment.

³⁹A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’

⁴⁰The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.”

⁴¹Then, surrounded by the Pharisees, Jesus asked them a question:

⁴²“What do you think about the Messiah? Whose son is he?” They replied, “He is the son of David.”

⁴³Jesus responded, “Then why does David, speaking under the inspiration of the Spirit, call the Messiah ‘my Lord’? For David said,

⁴⁴‘The LORD said to my Lord, Sit in the place of honor at my right hand until I humble your enemies beneath your feet.’

⁴⁵Since David called the Messiah ‘my Lord,’ how can the Messiah be his son?”

⁴⁶No one could answer him. And after that, no one dared to ask him any more questions.

¹Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples,

²“The teachers of religious law and the Pharisees are the official interpreters of the law of Moses.

³So practice and obey whatever they tell you, but don’t follow their example. For they don’t practice what they teach.

⁴They crush people with unbearable religious demands and never lift a finger to ease the burden.

⁵“Everything they do is for show. On their arms they wear extra wide prayer boxes with Scripture verses inside, and they wear robes with extra long tassels.

⁶And they love to sit at the head table at banquets and in the seats of honor in the synagogues.

⁷They love to receive respectful greetings as they walk in the marketplaces, and to be called ‘Rabbi.’

⁸“Don’t let anyone call you ‘Rabbi,’ for you have only one teacher, and all of you are equal as brothers and sisters.

⁹And don’t address anyone here on earth as ‘Father,’ for only God in heaven is your Father.

¹⁰And don’t let anyone call you ‘Teacher,’ for you have only one teacher, the Messiah.

¹¹The greatest among you must be a servant.

¹²But those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.

¹³“What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you shut the door of the Kingdom of Heaven in people’s faces. You won’t go in yourselves, and you don’t let others enter either.

¹⁴

¹⁵“What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you cross land and sea to make one convert, and then you turn that person into twice the child of hell you yourselves are!

¹⁶“Blind guides! What sorrow awaits you! For you say that it means nothing to swear ‘by God’s Temple,’ but that it is binding to swear ‘by the gold in the Temple.’

¹⁷Blind fools! Which is more important — the gold or the Temple that makes the gold sacred?

¹⁸And you say that to swear ‘by the altar’ is not binding, but to swear ‘by the gifts on the altar’ is binding.

¹⁹How blind! For which is more important — the gift on the altar or the altar that makes the gift sacred?

²⁰When you swear ‘by the altar,’ you are swearing by it and by everything on it.

²¹And when you swear ‘by the Temple,’ you are swearing by it and by God, who lives in it.

²²And when you swear ‘by heaven,’ you are swearing by the throne of God and by God, who sits on the throne.

²³“What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you are careful to tithe even the tiniest income from your herb gardens, but you ignore the more important aspects of the law — justice, mercy, and faith. You should tithe, yes, but do not neglect the more important things.

²⁴Blind guides! You strain your water so you won’t accidentally swallow a gnat, but you swallow a camel!

²⁵“What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you are so careful to clean the outside of the cup and the dish, but inside you are filthy — full of greed and self-indulgence!

²⁶You blind Pharisee! First wash the inside of the cup and the dish, and then the outside will become clean, too.

²⁷“What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs — beautiful on the outside but filled on the inside with dead people’s bones and all sorts of impurity.

²⁸Outwardly you look like righteous people, but inwardly your hearts are filled with hypocrisy and lawlessness.

²⁹“What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you build tombs for the prophets your ancestors killed, and you decorate the monuments of the godly people your ancestors destroyed.

³⁰Then you say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our ancestors, we would never have joined them in killing the prophets.’

³¹“But in saying that, you testify against yourselves that you are indeed the descendants of those who murdered the prophets.

³²Go ahead and finish what your ancestors started.

³³Snakes! Sons of vipers! How will you escape the judgment of hell?

³⁴“Therefore, I am sending you prophets and wise men and teachers of religious law. But you will kill some by crucifixion, and you will flog others with whips in your synagogues, chasing them from city to city.

³⁵As a result, you will be held responsible for the murder of all godly people of all time — from the murder of righteous Abel to the murder of Zechariah son of Berekiah, whom you killed in the Temple between the sanctuary and the altar.

³⁶I tell you the truth, this judgment will fall on this very generation.

³⁷“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones God’s messengers! How often I have wanted to gather your children together as a hen protects her chicks beneath her wings, but you wouldn’t let me.

³⁸And now, look, your house is abandoned and desolate.

³⁹For I tell you this, you will never see me again until you say, ‘Blessings on the one who comes in the name of the LORD!’ ”

¹As Jesus was leaving the Temple grounds, his disciples pointed out to him the various Temple buildings.

²But he responded, “Do you see all these buildings? I tell you the truth, they will be completely demolished. Not one stone will be left on top of another!”

³Later, Jesus sat on the Mount of Olives. His disciples came to him privately and said, “Tell us, when will all this happen? What sign will signal your return and the end of the world? ”

⁴Jesus told them, “Don’t let anyone mislead you,

⁵for many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah.’ They will deceive many.

⁶And you will hear of wars and threats of wars, but don’t panic. Yes, these things must take place, but the end won’t follow immediately.

⁷Nation will go to war against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in many parts of the world.

⁸But all this is only the first of the birth pains, with more to come.

⁹“Then you will be arrested, persecuted, and killed. You will be hated all over the world because you are my followers.

¹⁰And many will turn away from me and betray and hate each other.

¹¹And many false prophets will appear and will deceive many people.

¹²Sin will be rampant everywhere, and the love of many will grow cold.

¹³But the one who endures to the end will be saved.

¹⁴And the Good News about the Kingdom will be preached throughout the whole world, so that all nations will hear it; and then the end will come.

¹⁵“The day is coming when you will see what Daniel the prophet spoke about — the sacrilegious object that causes desecration standing in the Holy Place.” (Reader, pay attention!)

¹⁶“Then those in Judea must flee to the hills.

¹⁷A person out on the deck of a roof must not go down into the house to pack.

¹⁸A person out in the field must not return even to get a coat.

¹⁹How terrible it will be for pregnant women and for nursing mothers in those days.

²⁰And pray that your flight will not be in winter or on the Sabbath.

²¹For there will be greater anguish than at any time since the world began. And it will never be so great again.

²²In fact, unless that time of calamity is shortened, not a single person will survive. But it will be shortened for the sake of God’s chosen ones.

²³“Then if anyone tells you, ‘Look, here is the Messiah,’ or ‘There he is,’ don’t believe it.

²⁴For false messiahs and false prophets will rise up and perform great signs and wonders so as to deceive, if possible, even God’s chosen ones.

²⁵See, I have warned you about this ahead of time.

²⁶“So if someone tells you, ‘Look, the Messiah is out in the desert,’ don’t bother to go and look. Or, ‘Look, he is hiding here,’ don’t believe it!

²⁷For as the lightning flashes in the east and shines to the west, so it will be when the Son of Man comes.

²⁸Just as the gathering of vultures shows there is a carcass nearby, so these signs indicate that the end is near.

²⁹“Immediately after the anguish of those days, the sun will be darkened, the moon will give no light, the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken.

³⁰And then at last, the sign that the Son of Man is coming will appear in the heavens, and there will be deep mourning among all the peoples of the earth. And they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.

³¹And he will send out his angels with the mighty blast of a trumpet, and they will gather his chosen ones from all over the world — from the farthest ends of the earth and heaven.

³²“Now learn a lesson from the fig tree. When its branches bud and its leaves begin to sprout, you know that summer is near.

³³In the same way, when you see all these things, you can know his return is very near, right at the door.

³⁴I tell you the truth, this generation will not pass from the scene until all these things take place.

³⁵Heaven and earth will disappear, but my words will never disappear.

³⁶“However, no one knows the day or hour when these things will happen, not even the angels in heaven or the Son himself. Only the Father knows.

³⁷“When the Son of Man returns, it will be like it was in Noah’s day.

³⁸In those days before the flood, the people were enjoying banquets and parties and weddings right up to the time Noah entered his boat.

³⁹People didn’t realize what was going to happen until the flood came and swept them all away. That is the way it will be when the Son of Man comes.

⁴⁰“Two men will be working together in the field; one will be taken, the other left.

⁴¹Two women will be grinding flour at the mill; one will be taken, the other left.

⁴²“So you, too, must keep watch! For you don’t know what day your Lord is coming.

⁴³Understand this: If a homeowner knew exactly when a burglar was coming, he would keep watch and not permit his house to be broken into.

⁴⁴You also must be ready all the time, for the Son of Man will come when least expected.

⁴⁵“A faithful, sensible servant is one to whom the master can give the responsibility of managing his other household servants and feeding them.

⁴⁶If the master returns and finds that the servant has done a good job, there will be a reward.

⁴⁷I tell you the truth, the master will put that servant in charge of all he owns.

⁴⁸But what if the servant is evil and thinks, ‘My master won’t be back for a while,’

⁴⁹and he begins beating the other servants, partying, and getting drunk?

⁵⁰The master will return unannounced and unexpected,

⁵¹and he will cut the servant to pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

¹“Then the Kingdom of Heaven will be like ten bridesmaids who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom.

²Five of them were foolish, and five were wise.

³The five who were foolish didn’t take enough olive oil for their lamps,

⁴but the other five were wise enough to take along extra oil.

⁵When the bridegroom was delayed, they all became drowsy and fell asleep.

⁶“At midnight they were roused by the shout, ‘Look, the bridegroom is coming! Come out and meet him!’

⁷“All the bridesmaids got up and prepared their lamps.

⁸Then the five foolish ones asked the others, ‘Please give us some of your oil because our lamps are going out.’

⁹“But the others replied, ‘We don’t have enough for all of us. Go to a shop and buy some for yourselves.’

¹⁰“But while they were gone to buy oil, the bridegroom came. Then those who were ready went in with him to the marriage feast, and the door was locked.

¹¹Later, when the other five bridesmaids returned, they stood outside, calling, ‘Lord! Lord! Open the door for us!’

¹²“But he called back, ‘Believe me, I don’t know you!’

¹³“So you, too, must keep watch! For you do not know the day or hour of my return.

¹⁴“Again, the Kingdom of Heaven can be illustrated by the story of a man going on a long trip. He called together his servants and entrusted his money to them while he was gone.

¹⁵He gave five bags of silver to one, two bags of silver to another, and one bag of silver to the last — dividing it in proportion to their abilities. He then left on his trip.

¹⁶“The servant who received the five bags of silver began to invest the money and earned five more.

¹⁷The servant with two bags of silver also went to work and earned two more.

¹⁸But the servant who received the one bag of silver dug a hole in the ground and hid the master’s money.

¹⁹“After a long time their master returned from his trip and called them to give an account of how they had used his money.

²⁰The servant to whom he had entrusted the five bags of silver came forward with five more and said, ‘Master, you gave me five bags of silver to invest, and I have earned five more.’

²¹“The master was full of praise. ‘Well done, my good and faithful servant. You have been faithful in handling this small amount, so now I will give you many more responsibilities. Let’s celebrate together! ’

²²“The servant who had received the two bags of silver came forward and said, ‘Master, you gave me two bags of silver to invest, and I have earned two more.’

²³“The master said, ‘Well done, my good and faithful servant. You have been faithful in handling this small amount, so now I will give you many more responsibilities. Let’s celebrate together!’

²⁴“Then the servant with the one bag of silver came and said, ‘Master, I knew you were a harsh man, harvesting crops you didn’t plant and gathering crops you didn’t cultivate.

²⁵I was afraid I would lose your money, so I hid it in the earth. Look, here is your money back.’

²⁶“But the master replied, ‘You wicked and lazy servant! If you knew I harvested crops I didn’t plant and gathered crops I didn’t cultivate,

²⁷why didn’t you deposit my money in the bank? At least I could have gotten some interest on it.’

²⁸“Then he ordered, ‘Take the money from this servant, and give it to the one with the ten bags of silver.

²⁹To those who use well what they are given, even more will be given, and they will have an abundance. But from those who do nothing, even what little they have will be taken away.

³⁰Now throw this useless servant into outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

³¹“But when the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit upon his glorious throne.

³²All the nations will be gathered in his presence, and he will separate the people as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.

³³He will place the sheep at his right hand and the goats at his left.

³⁴“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the creation of the world.

³⁵For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home.

³⁶I was naked, and you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me.’

³⁷“Then these righteous ones will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry and feed you? Or thirsty and give you something to drink?

³⁸Or a stranger and show you hospitality? Or naked and give you clothing?

³⁹When did we ever see you sick or in prison and visit you?’

⁴⁰“And the King will say, ‘I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!’

⁴¹“Then the King will turn to those on the left and say, ‘Away with you, you cursed ones, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his demons.

⁴²For I was hungry, and you didn’t feed me. I was thirsty, and you didn’t give me a drink.

⁴³I was a stranger, and you didn’t invite me into your home. I was naked, and you didn’t give me clothing. I was sick and in prison, and you didn’t visit me.’

⁴⁴“Then they will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and not help you?’

⁴⁵“And he will answer, ‘I tell you the truth, when you refused to help the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were refusing to help me.’

⁴⁶“And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous will go into eternal life.”

¹When Jesus had finished saying all these things, he said to his disciples,

²“As you know, Passover begins in two days, and the Son of Man will be handed over to be crucified.”

³At that same time the leading priests and elders were meeting at the residence of Caiaphas, the high priest,

⁴plotting how to capture Jesus secretly and kill him.

⁵“But not during the Passover celebration,” they agreed, “or the people may riot.”

⁶Meanwhile, Jesus was in Bethany at the home of Simon, a man who had previously had leprosy.

⁷While he was eating, a woman came in with a beautiful alabaster jar of expensive perfume and poured it over his head.

⁸The disciples were indignant when they saw this. “What a waste!” they said.

⁹“It could have been sold for a high price and the money given to the poor.”

¹⁰But Jesus, aware of this, replied, “Why criticize this woman for doing such a good thing to me?

¹¹You will always have the poor among you, but you will not always have me.

¹²She has poured this perfume on me to prepare my body for burial.

¹³I tell you the truth, wherever the Good News is preached throughout the world, this woman’s deed will be remembered and discussed.”

¹⁴Then Judas Iscariot, one of the twelve disciples, went to the leading priests

¹⁵and asked, “How much will you pay me to betray Jesus to you?” And they gave him thirty pieces of silver.

¹⁶From that time on, Judas began looking for an opportunity to betray Jesus.

¹⁷On the first day of the Festival of Unleavened Bread, the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Where do you want us to prepare the Passover meal for you?”

¹⁸“As you go into the city,” he told them, “you will see a certain man. Tell him, ‘The Teacher says: My time has come, and I will eat the Passover meal with my disciples at your house.’”

¹⁹So the disciples did as Jesus told them and prepared the Passover meal there.

²⁰When it was evening, Jesus sat down at the table with the Twelve.

²¹While they were eating, he said, “I tell you the truth, one of you will betray me.”

²²Greatly distressed, each one asked in turn, “Am I the one, Lord?”

²³He replied, “One of you who has just eaten from this bowl with me will betray me.

²⁴For the Son of Man must die, as the Scriptures declared long ago. But how terrible it will be for the one who betrays him. It would be far better for that man if he had never been born!”

²⁵Judas, the one who would betray him, also asked, “Rabbi, am I the one?” And Jesus told him, “You have said it.”

²⁶As they were eating, Jesus took some bread and blessed it. Then he broke it in pieces and gave it to the disciples, saying, “Take this and eat it, for this is my body.”

²⁷And he took a cup of wine and gave thanks to God for it. He gave it to them and said, “Each of you drink from it,

²⁸for this is my blood, which confirms the covenant between God and his people. It is poured out as a sacrifice to forgive the sins of many.

²⁹Mark my words — I will not drink wine again until the day I drink it new with you in my Father’s Kingdom.”

³⁰Then they sang a hymn and went out to the Mount of Olives.

³¹On the way, Jesus told them, “Tonight all of you will desert me. For the Scriptures say, ‘God will strike the Shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.’

³²But after I have been raised from the dead, I will go ahead of you to Galilee and meet you there.”

³³Peter declared, “Even if everyone else deserts you, I will never desert you.”

³⁴Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, Peter — this very night, before the rooster crows, you will deny three times that you even know me.”

³⁵“No!” Peter insisted. “Even if I have to die with you, I will never deny you!” And all the other disciples vowed the same.

³⁶Then Jesus went with them to the olive grove called Gethsemane, and he said, “Sit here while I go over there to pray.”

³⁷He took Peter and Zebedee’s two sons, James and John, and he became anguished and distressed.

³⁸He told them, “My soul is crushed with grief to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.”

³⁹He went on a little farther and bowed with his face to the ground, praying, “My Father! If it is possible, let this cup of suffering be taken away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.”

⁴⁰Then he returned to the disciples and found them asleep. He said to Peter, “Couldn’t you watch with me even one hour?

⁴¹Keep watch and pray, so that you will not give in to temptation. For the spirit is willing, but the body is weak!”

⁴²Then Jesus left them a second time and prayed, “My Father! If this cup cannot be taken away unless I drink it, your will be done.”

⁴³When he returned to them again, he found them sleeping, for they couldn’t keep their eyes open.

⁴⁴So he went to pray a third time, saying the same things again.

⁴⁵Then he came to the disciples and said, “Go ahead and sleep. Have your rest. But look — the time has come. The Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners.

⁴⁶Up, let’s be going. Look, my betrayer is here!”

⁴⁷And even as Jesus said this, Judas, one of the twelve disciples, arrived with a crowd of men armed with swords and clubs. They had been sent by the leading priests and elders of the people.

⁴⁸The traitor, Judas, had given them a prearranged signal: “You will know which one to arrest when I greet him with a kiss.”

⁴⁹So Judas came straight to Jesus. “Greetings, Rabbi!” he exclaimed and gave him the kiss.

⁵⁰Jesus said, “My friend, go ahead and do what you have come for.” Then the others grabbed Jesus and arrested him.

⁵¹But one of the men with Jesus pulled out his sword and struck the high priest’s slave, slashing off his ear.

⁵²“Put away your sword,” Jesus told him. “Those who use the sword will die by the sword.

⁵³Don’t you realize that I could ask my Father for thousands of angels to protect us, and he would send them instantly?

⁵⁴But if I did, how would the Scriptures be fulfilled that describe what must happen now?”

⁵⁵Then Jesus said to the crowd, “Am I some dangerous revolutionary, that you come with swords and clubs to arrest me? Why didn’t you arrest me in the Temple? I was there teaching every day.

⁵⁶But this is all happening to fulfill the words of the prophets as recorded in the Scriptures.” At that point, all the disciples deserted him and fled.

⁵⁷Then the people who had arrested Jesus led him to the home of Caiaphas, the high priest, where the teachers of religious law and the elders had gathered.

⁵⁸Meanwhile, Peter followed him at a distance and came to the high priest’s courtyard. He went in and sat with the guards and waited to see how it would all end.

⁵⁹Inside, the leading priests and the entire high council were trying to find witnesses who would lie about Jesus, so they could put him to death.

⁶⁰But even though they found many who agreed to give false witness, they could not use anyone’s testimony. Finally, two men came forward

⁶¹who declared, “This man said, ‘I am able to destroy the Temple of God and rebuild it in three days.’”

⁶²Then the high priest stood up and said to Jesus, “Well, aren’t you going to answer these charges? What do you have to say for yourself?”

⁶³But Jesus remained silent. Then the high priest said to him, “I demand in the name of the living God — tell us if you are the Messiah, the Son of God.”

⁶⁴Jesus replied, “You have said it. And in the future you will see the Son of Man seated in the place of power at God’s right hand and coming on the clouds of heaven.”

⁶⁵Then the high priest tore his clothing to show his horror and said, “Blasphemy! Why do we need other witnesses? You have all heard his blasphemy.

⁶⁶What is your verdict?” “Guilty!” they shouted. “He deserves to die!”

⁶⁷Then they began to spit in Jesus’ face and beat him with their fists. And some slapped him,

⁶⁸jeering, “Prophesy to us, you Messiah! Who hit you that time?”

⁶⁹Meanwhile, Peter was sitting outside in the courtyard. A servant girl came over and said to him, “You were one of those with Jesus the Galilean.”

⁷⁰But Peter denied it in front of everyone. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he said.

⁷¹Later, out by the gate, another servant girl noticed him and said to those standing around, “This man was with Jesus of Nazareth. ”

⁷²Again Peter denied it, this time with an oath. “I don’t even know the man,” he said.

⁷³A little later some of the other bystanders came over to Peter and said, “You must be one of them; we can tell by your Galilean accent.”

⁷⁴Peter swore, “A curse on me if I’m lying — I don’t know the man!” And immediately the rooster crowed.

⁷⁵Suddenly, Jesus’ words flashed through Peter’s mind: “Before the rooster crows, you will deny three times that you even know me.” And he went away, weeping bitterly.