Journey Through God's Word

¹When Jesus had finished this discourse, He said to His disciples,

²"You know that the Passover is coming in two days, and the Son of Man is to be betrayed and handed over for crucifixion."

³Then the chief priests and the elders of the people gathered in the courtyard of the [elegant home of the Jewish] high priest, whose name was Caiaphas,

⁴and plotted together to arrest Jesus by stealth and kill Him.

⁵But they said, "It must not be during the festival (Passover), otherwise there might be a riot among the people."

⁶Now when Jesus was [back] in Bethany, at the home of Simon the leper,

⁷a woman came to Him with an alabaster vial of very expensive perfume and she poured it on Jesus' head as He reclined at the table.

⁸But when the disciples saw it they were indignant and angry, saying, "Why all this waste [of money]?

⁹For this perfume might have been sold at a high price and the money given to the poor."

¹⁰But Jesus, aware [of the malice] of this [remark], said to them, "Why are you bothering the woman? She has done a good thing to Me.

¹¹For you always have the poor with you; but you will not always have Me.

¹²When she poured this perfume on My body, she did it to prepare Me for burial.

¹³I assure you and most solemnly say to you, wherever this gospel [of salvation] is preached in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be told in memory of her [for her act of love and devotion]."

¹⁴Then one of the twelve [disciples], who was called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests

¹⁵and said, "What are you willing to give me if I hand Jesus over to you?" And they weighed out thirty pieces of silver.

¹⁶And from that moment Judas began looking for an opportune time to betray Jesus.

¹⁷Now on the first day of Unleavened Bread (Passover Week) the disciples came to Jesus and asked, "Where do You want us to prepare for You to eat the Passover?"

¹⁸He said, "Go into the city to a certain man, and say to him, 'The Teacher says, "My time [to suffer and atone for sin] is near; I am to keep the Passover at your house with My disciples."'"

¹⁹[Accordingly] the disciples did as Jesus had directed them, and they prepared the Passover.

²⁰When evening came, Jesus was reclining at the table with the twelve disciples.

²¹And as they were eating, He said, "I assure you and most solemnly say to you that one of you will betray Me."

²²Being deeply grieved and extremely distressed, each one of them began to say to Him, "Surely not I, Lord?"

²³Jesus answered, "He who has dipped his hand in the bowl with Me [as apretense of friendship] will betray Me.

²⁴The Son of Man is to go [to the cross], just as it is written [in Scripture] of Him; but woe (judgment is coming) to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been good for that man if he had never been born."

²⁵And Judas, the betrayer, said, "Surely it is not I, Rabbi?" Jesus said to him, " You have said it yourself."

²⁶Now as they were eating Jesus took bread, and after blessing it, He broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, "Take, eat; this is My body."

²⁷And when He had taken a cup and given thanks, He gave it to them, saying, "Drink from it, all of you;

²⁸for this is My blood of the [new and better] covenant, which [ratifies the agreement and] is being poured out for many [as asubstitutionary atonement] for the forgiveness of sins.

²⁹But I say to you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in My Father's kingdom."

³⁰After singing a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.

³¹Then Jesus said to them, "You will all fall away because of Me this night [disillusioned about Me, confused, and some even ashamed of Me], for it is written [in the Scriptures], 'I will strike the Shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.'

³²But after I am raised [to life], I will go ahead of you [leading the way] to Galilee."

³³Peter replied to Him, "Though they all fall away because of You [and doubt and disown You], I will never fall away!"

³⁴Jesus said to him, "I assure you and most solemnly say to you, this night, before a rooster crows, you will [completely] deny Me three times."

³⁵Peter said to Jesus, "Even if I have to die with You, I will not deny You!" And all the disciples said the same thing.

³⁶Then Jesus came with them to a place called Gethsemane (olive-press), and He told His disciples, "Sit here while I go over there and pray."

³⁷And taking with Him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee [James and John], He began to be grieved and greatly distressed.

³⁸Then He said to them, "My soul is deeply grieved, so that I am almost dying of sorrow. Stay here and stay awake and keep watch with Me."

³⁹And after going a little farther, He fell face down and prayed, saying, "My Father, if it is possible [that is, consistent with Your will], let this cup pass from Me; yet not as I will, but as You will."

⁴⁰And He came to the disciples and found them sleeping, and said to Peter, "So, you men could not stay awake and keep watch with Me for one hour?

⁴¹Keep actively watching and praying that you may not come into temptation; the spirit is willing, but the body is weak."

⁴²He went away a second time and prayed, saying, "My Father, if this cannot pass away unless I drink it, Your will be done."

⁴³Again He came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were heavy.

⁴⁴So, leaving them again, He went away and prayed for the third time, saying the same words once more.

⁴⁵Then He returned to the disciples and said to them, "Are you still sleeping and resting? Listen, the hour [of My sacrifice] is at hand and the Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of sinners [whose way and nature is to oppose God].

⁴⁶Get up, let us go. Look, My betrayer is near!"

⁴⁷As Jesus was still speaking, Judas [Iscariot], one of the twelve [disciples], came up accompanied by a large crowd with swords and clubs, [who came as representatives] from the chief priests and elders of the people.

⁴⁸Now the betrayer had given them a sign, saying, "Whomever I kiss, He is the one; seize Him."

⁴⁹Immediately Judas went to Jesus and said, "Greetings (rejoice), Rabbi!" And he kissed Him [in a deliberate act of betrayal].

⁵⁰Jesus said to Judas, "Friend, do what you came for." Then they came and seized Jesus and arrested Him.

⁵¹And one of those who were with Jesus reached out and drew his sword, and struck [Malchus] the slave of the high priest and cut off his ear.

⁵²Then Jesus said to him, "Put your sword back in its place; for all those who habitually draw the sword will die by the sword.

⁵³Do you think that I cannot appeal to My Father, and He will immediately provide Me with more than twelve legions of angels?

⁵⁴How then will the Scriptures be fulfilled, that it must happen this way?"

⁵⁵At that moment Jesus said to the crowds, "Have you come out with swords and clubs to arrest Me as you would against a robber? Day after day I used to sit in the porches and courts of the temple teaching, and you did not arrest Me.

⁵⁶But all this has taken place so that the Scriptures of the prophets would be fulfilled." Then all the disciples deserted Him and fled.

⁵⁷Those who had seized Jesus led Him away to Caiaphas, the high priest, where the scribes and the elders (Sanhedrin, Jewish High Court) had gathered [ illegally] together.

⁵⁸But Peter followed Him at a distance as far as the courtyard of the [elegant home of the Jewish] high priest, and went inside, and sat with the guards to see the outcome.

⁵⁹Now the chief priests and the whole Council (Sanhedrin, Jewish High Court) tried to get false witnesses to testify against Jesus, so that they might [have a reason to] put Him to death.

⁶⁰They found none, even though many false witnesses came forward. At last two came forward,

⁶¹and testified, "This man said, ' I am able to tear down the temple of God and rebuild it in three days.'"

⁶²The high priest stood up and said to Jesus, "Have You no answer to give? What is it that these men are testifying against You?"

⁶³But Jesus kept silent. And the high priest said to Him, "I call on You to swear a binding oath by the living God, that you tell us whether You are the Christ, the Son of God."

⁶⁴Jesus said to him, "You have [in fact] said it; but more than that I tell you [regardless of what you do with Me now], in the future you will see [Me revealed as] the Son of Man seated at theright hand of Power, and coming on the clouds of heaven."

⁶⁵Then the high priest tore his robes [in mock horror] and exclaimed, "He has blasphemed [by making Himself God's equal]! What further need have we of witnesses or evidence? See, you have now heard the blasphemy.

⁶⁶What do you think?" They answered, " He deserves to be put to death."

⁶⁷Then they spat in His face and struck Him with their fists; and some slapped Him,

⁶⁸saying, " Prophesy to us, You Christ (Messiah, Anointed); who was it that struck You?"

⁶⁹Now Peter was sitting outside in the courtyard, and a servant-girl came up to him and said, "You too were with Jesus the Galilean."

⁷⁰But he denied it before them all, saying, "I do not know what you are talking about."

⁷¹And when he had gone out to the gateway, another servant-girl saw him and she said to the bystanders, "This man was with Jesus the Nazarene."

⁷²And again he denied it with an oath, "I do not know the man."

⁷³After a little while the bystanders came up and said to Peter, "Surely you are one of them too; for even your [Galilean] accent gives you away."

⁷⁴Then he began to curse [that is, to invoke God's judgment on himself] and swear [an oath], "I do not know the man!" And at that moment a rooster crowed.

⁷⁵And Peter remembered the [prophetic] words of Jesus, when He had said, "Before a rooster crows, you will deny Me three times." And he went outside and wept bitterly [in repentance].

¹When it was morning, all the chief priests and the elders of the people (Sanhedrin, Jewish High Court) conferred together against Jesus, [plotting how] to put Him to death [since under Roman rule they had no power to execute anyone];

²so they bound Him, and led Him away and handed Him over to Pilate the governor [of Judea, who had the authority to condemn prisoners to death].

³When Judas, His betrayer, saw that Jesus was condemned, he was gripped with remorse and returned the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and the elders,

⁴saying, "I have sinned by betraying innocent blood." They replied, "What is that to us? See to that yourself!"

⁵And throwing the pieces of silver into the temple sanctuary, he left; and went away and hanged himself.

⁶The chief priests, picking up the pieces of silver, said, "It is not lawful to put these in the treasury [of the temple], because it is the price of blood."

⁷So after consultation they used the money to buy the Potter's Field as a burial place for strangers.

⁸Therefore that piece of ground has been called the Field of Blood to this day.

⁹Then the words spoken by Jeremiah the prophet were fulfilled: "And they took the thirty pieces of silver, the price of Him on whom a price had been set by the sons of Israel;

¹⁰and they gave them for the Potter's Field, as the Lord directed me."

¹¹Now Jesus stood before [Pilate] the governor, and the governor asked Him, "Are you the King of the Jews?" [In affirmation] Jesus said to him, "It is as you say."

¹²But when the charges were brought against Him by the chief priests and elders, He did not answer.

¹³Then Pilate said to Him, "Do You not hear how many things they are testifying against You?"

¹⁴But Jesus did not reply to him, not even to a single accusation, so that the governor was greatly astonished.

¹⁵Now at the feast [of the Passover] the governor was in the habit of setting free any one prisoner whom the people chose.

¹⁶And at that time they were holding a notorious prisoner [guilty of insurrection and murder], called Barabbas.

¹⁷So when they had assembled [for this purpose], Pilate said to them, "Whom do you want me to set free for you? Barabbas, or Jesus who is called Christ?"

¹⁸For Pilate knew that it was because of jealousy that the chief priests and elders had handed Jesus over to him.

¹⁹While he was seated on the judgment seat, his wife sent him a message, saying, "Have nothing to do with that righteous and innocent Man; for last night I suffered greatly in a dream because of Him."

²⁰But the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowds to ask for Barabbas and to put Jesus to death.

²¹The governor said to them, "Which of the two do you wish me to set free for you?" And they said, "Barabbas."

²²Pilate said to them, "Then what shall I do with Jesus who is called Christ?" They all replied, "Let Him be crucified!"

²³And he said, "Why, what has He done that is evil?" But they continued shouting all the louder, "Let Him be crucified!"

²⁴So when Pilate saw that he was getting nowhere, but rather that a riot was breaking out, he took water and washed his hands [to ceremonially cleanse himself of guilt] in the presence of the crowd, saying, "I am innocent of this [righteous] Man's blood; see to that yourselves."

²⁵And all the people answered, "Let [the responsibility for] His blood be on us and on our children!"

²⁶So he set Barabbas free for them; but after having Jesus severely whipped (scourged), he handed Him over to be crucified.

²⁷Then the governor's soldiers took Jesus into the Praetorium, and they gathered the whole Roman cohort around Him.

²⁸They stripped him and put a scarlet robe on Him [as a king's robe].

²⁹And after twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on His head, and put a reed in His right hand [as a scepter]. Kneeling before Him, they ridiculed Him, saying, "Hail (rejoice), King of the Jews!"

³⁰They spat on Him, and took the reed and struck Him repeatedly on the head.

³¹After they finished ridiculing Him, they stripped Him of the scarlet robe and put His own clothes on Him, and led Him away to crucify Him.

³²Now as they were coming out, they found a man of Cyrene named Simon, whom they forced into service to carry the cross of Jesus.

³³And when they came to a place called Golgotha, which means Place of a Skull,

³⁴they offered Him wine mixed with gall (myrrh, a bitter-tasting narcotic) to drink; but after tasting it, He refused to drink it.

³⁵And when they had crucified Him, they divided His clothes among them by casting lots.

³⁶Then sitting down there, they began to keep watch over Him [to guard against any rescue attempt].

³⁷And above His head they put the accusation against Him which read, " THIS IS JESUS THE KING OF THE JEWS."

³⁸At the same time two robbers were crucified with Jesus, one on the right and one on the left.

³⁹Those who passed by were hurling abuse at Him and jeering at Him, wagging their heads [in scorn and ridicule],

⁴⁰and they said [tauntingly], "You who would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save Yourself [from death]! If You are the Son of God, come down from the cross."

⁴¹In the same way the chief priests also, along with the scribes and elders, mocked Him, saying,

⁴²"He saved others [from death]; He cannot save Himself. He is the King of Israel; let Him now come down from the cross, and we will believe in Him and acknowledge Him.

⁴³He trusts in God; let God rescue Him now, if He delights in Him; for He said, 'I am the Son of God.'"

⁴⁴The robbers who had been crucified with Him also began to insult Him in the same way.

⁴⁵Now from the sixth hour (noon) there was darkness over all the land until the ninth hour (3:00 p.m.).

⁴⁶About the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud [agonized] voice, "Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?" that is, "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?"

⁴⁷When some of the bystanders there heard it, they began saying, "This man is calling for Elijah."

⁴⁸Immediately one of them ran, and took a sponge, soaked it with sour wine and put it on a reed, and gave Him a drink.

⁴⁹But the rest said, "Let us see whether Elijah will come to save Him [from death]."

⁵⁰And Jesus cried out again with a loud [agonized] voice, and gave up His spirit [voluntarily, sovereignly dismissing and releasing His spirit from His body in submission to His Father's plan].

⁵¹And [at once] the veil [of the Holy of Holies] of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; the earth shook and the rocks were split apart.

⁵²The tombs were opened, and many bodies of the saints (God's people) who had fallen asleep [in death] were raised [to life];

⁵³and coming out of the tombs after His resurrection, they entered the holy city (Jerusalem) and appeared to many people.

⁵⁴Now the centurion, and those who were with him keeping guard over Jesus, when they saw the earthquake and the things that were happening, they were terribly frightened and filled with awe, and said, "Truly this was the Son of God!"

⁵⁵There were also many women there looking on from a distance, who had accompanied Jesus from Galilee, ministering to Him.

⁵⁶Among them was Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and [Salome] the mother of Zebedee's sons [James and John].

⁵⁷When it was evening, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who was also a disciple of Jesus.

⁵⁸He went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus [so that he might bury Him], and Pilate ordered that it be given to him.

⁵⁹And Joseph took the body and wrapped it in a clean linen cloth (burial wrapping),

⁶⁰and laid it in his own new tomb, which he had cut in the rock; and he rolled a large stone over the entrance of the tomb and went away.

⁶¹And Mary Magdalene was there, and the other Mary, sitting opposite the tomb.

⁶²The next day, that is, the day after the [day of] preparation [for the Sabbath], the chief priests and the Pharisees assembled before Pilate,

⁶³and said, "Sir, we have remembered that when He was still alive that deceiver said, 'After three days I will rise [from the dead].'

⁶⁴Therefore, give orders to have the tomb made secure and safeguarded until the third day, otherwise His disciples may come and steal Him away and tell the people, 'He has risen from the dead,' and the last deception [the reporting of His resurrection] will be worse than the first [the reporting that He is the Messiah]."

⁶⁵Pilate said to them, "You have a guard [of soldiers]; go [with them], make the tomb as secure as you know how."

⁶⁶So they went and made the tomb secure, and along with [stationing] a guard of soldiers [to be on watch] they set a seal on the stone.

¹Now after the Sabbath, near dawn of the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb.

²And a great earthquake had occurred, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled away the stone [from the opening of the tomb], and sat on it.

³The angel's appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were as white as snow.

⁴The guards shook, paralyzed with fear [at the sight] of him and became like dead men [pale and immobile].

⁵But the angel said to the women, "Do not be afraid; for I know that you are looking for Jesus who has been crucified.

⁶He is not here, for He has risen, just as He said [He would]. Come! See the place where He was lying.

⁷Then go quickly and tell His disciples that He has risen from the dead; and behold, He is going ahead of you into Galilee [as He promised]. There you will see Him; behold, I have told you."

⁸So the women left the tomb quickly with fear and great joy, and ran to tell [the good news to] the disciples.

⁹And as they went, suddenly, Jesus met them, saying, "Rejoice!" And they went to Him and took hold of His feet [in homage] and worshiped Him [as the Messiah].

¹⁰Then Jesus said to them, "Do not be afraid; go and tell My brothers to leave for Galilee, and there they will see Me [just as I promised]."

¹¹While they were on their way, some of the [Roman] guards went into the city and reported to the chief priests everything that had happened.

¹²And when the chief priests had gathered with the elders and had consulted together [to develop a plan of deception], they gave a sufficient sum of money [as a bribe] to the soldiers,

¹³and said, "You say this, 'His disciples came at night and stole Him while we were sleeping.'

¹⁴And if the governor (Pilate) hears about it, we will calm him down and keep you out of trouble."

¹⁵So they took the money [they were paid for lying] and did as they were instructed; and this [fabricated] story was widely spread among the Jews, and is to the present day.

¹⁶Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain which Jesus had designated.

¹⁷And when they saw Him, they worshiped Him; but some doubted [that it was really He].

¹⁸Jesus came up and said to them, "All authority (all power of absolute rule) in heaven and on earth has been given to Me.

¹⁹Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations [help the people to learn of Me, believe in Me, and obey My words], baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,

²⁰teaching them to observe everything that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always [remaining with you perpetually—regardless of circumstance, and on every occasion], even to the end of the age."