Matthew 26

THE PLOT TO KILL JESUS

26When Jesus had finished saying all these things,^c he told his disciples, ²“You know^A that the Passover takes place after two days, and the Son of Man will be handed over to be crucified.”^d

³Then the chief priests^B and the elders of the people assembled in the courtyard of the high priest, who was named Caiaphas,^{e 4}and they conspired to arrest Jesus in a treacherous way and kill him.^{f 5}“Not during the festival,” they said, “so there won’t be rioting among the people.”

THE ANOINTING AT BETHANY

⁶While Jesus was in Bethany at the house of Simon^g the leper, ⁷a woman approached him with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume. She poured it on his head as he was reclining at the table. ⁸When the disciples^h saw it, they were indignant. “Why this waste?” they asked. ⁹“This might have been sold for a great deal and given to the poor.”

¹⁰Aware of this, Jesus said to them, “Why are you bothering this woman? She has done a noble thing for me. ¹¹You always have the poor with you, but you do not always have me.^{i 12}By pouring this perfume on my body, she has prepared me for burial. ¹³Truly I tell you, wherever this gospel^j is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will also be told in memory of her.”

¹⁴Then^k one of the Twelve, the man called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests^{l 15}and said, “What are you willing to give me if I hand him over to you?” So they weighed out thirty pieces of silver for him.^{m 16}And from that time he started looking for a good opportunity to betray him.

BETRAYAL AT THE PASSOVER

¹⁷On the first day of Unleavened Breadⁿ the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Where do you want us to make preparations for you to eat the Passover?”

¹⁸“Go into the city to a certain man,” he said, “and tell him, ‘The Teacher says: My time is near; I am celebrating the Passover at your place^A with my disciples.’ ”^{o 19}So the disciples did as Jesus had directed them and prepared the Passover. ²⁰When evening came, he was reclining at the table with the Twelve. ²¹While they were eating, he said, “Truly I tell you, one of you will betray me.”^p

²²Deeply distressed, each one began to say to him, “Surely not I, Lord?”

²³He replied, “The one who dipped his hand with me in the bowl—he will betray me. ²⁴The Son of Man will go just as it is written about him,^q but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been better for him if he had not been born.”

²⁵Judas, his betrayer, replied, “Surely not I, Rabbi?”^r

“You have said it,” he told him.

THE FIRST LORD’S SUPPER

²⁶As they were eating,^s Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it, gave it to the disciples,^t and said, “Take and eat it; this is my body.”^{u 27}Then he took a cup, and after giving thanks, he gave it to them and said, “Drink from it, all of you. ²⁸For this is my blood of the covenant,^B which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.^{v 29}But I tell you, I will not drink from this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.”^{w 30}After singing a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.^x

PETER’S DENIAL PREDICTED

³¹Then Jesus said to them, “Tonight all of you will fall away because of me, for it is written:

I will strike the shepherd,

and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.^Cy

³²But after I have risen, I will go ahead of you to Galilee.”^z

³³Peter told him, “Even if everyone falls away because of you, I will never fall away.”

³⁴“Truly I tell you,” Jesus said to him, “tonight, before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times.”^aa

³⁵“Even if I have to die with you,” Peter told him, “I will never deny you,” and all the disciples said the same thing.

THE PRAYER IN THE GARDEN

³⁶Then Jesus came with them to a place called Gethsemane,^ab and he told the disciples, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.” ³⁷Taking along Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, he began to be sorrowful and troubled.^{a 38}He said to them, “I am deeply grieved^D to the point of death. Remain here and stay awake with me.”^{b 39}Going a little farther,^A he fell facedown and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.”^c

⁴⁰Then he came to the disciples and found them sleeping. He asked Peter, “So, couldn’t you stay awake with me one hour? ⁴¹Stay awake and pray, so that you won’t enter into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

⁴²Again, a second time, he went away and prayed, “My Father, if this^B cannot pass^C unless I drink it, your will be done.”^{d 43}And he came again and found them sleeping, because they could not keep their eyes open.

⁴⁴After leaving them, he went away again and prayed a third time, saying the same thing once more. ⁴⁵Then he came to the disciples and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting? See, the time is near. The Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners.^{e 46}Get up; let’s go. See, my betrayer is near.”

JUDAS’S BETRAYAL OF JESUS

⁴⁷While he was still speaking, Judas, one of the Twelve, suddenly arrived.^f A large mob with swords and clubs was with him from the chief priests and elders of the people. ⁴⁸His betrayer had given them a sign: “The one I kiss, he’s the one; arrest him.” ⁴⁹So immediately he went up to Jesus and said, “Greetings, Rabbi!” and kissed him.

⁵⁰“Friend,”^g Jesus asked him, “why have you come?”^D

Then they came up, took hold of Jesus, and arrested him. ⁵¹At that moment one of those with Jesus reached out his hand and drew his sword. He struck the high priest’s servant and cut off his ear.^h

⁵²Then Jesus told him, “Put your sword back in its place because all who take up the sword will perish by the sword.^{i 53}Or do you think that I cannot call on my Father, and he will provide me here and now with more than twelve legions of angels?^{j 54}How, then, would the Scriptures be fulfilled^k that say it must happen this way?”

⁵⁵At that time Jesus said to the crowds, “Have you come out with swords and clubs, as if I were a criminal,^E to capture me? Every day I used to sit, teaching in the temple, and you didn’t arrest me.^{l 56}But all this has happened so that the writings of the prophets^m would be fulfilled.” Then all the disciplesⁿ deserted him and ran away.

JESUS FACES THE SANHEDRIN

⁵⁷Those^o who had arrested Jesus led him away to Caiaphas^p the high priest, where the scribes and the elders had convened. ⁵⁸Peter was following him at a distance right to the high priest’s courtyard. He went in and was sitting with the servants to see the outcome.^q

⁵⁹The chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin were looking for false testimony against Jesus so that they could put him to death,^{r 60}but they could not find any, even though many false witnesses^s came forward.^F Finally, two^G who came forward ⁶¹stated, “This man said, ‘I can destroy the temple of God^t and rebuild it in three days.’ ”

⁶²The high priest stood up and said to him, “Don’t you have an answer to what these men are testifying against you?” ⁶³But^u Jesus kept silent.^v The high priest said to him, “I charge you under oath^w by the living God: Tell us if you are the Messiah, the Son of God.”^x

⁶⁴“You have said it,” Jesus told him. “But I tell you, in the future^A you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power and coming on the clouds of heaven.”^By

⁶⁵Then the high priest tore his robes and said, “He has blasphemed!^z Why do we still need witnesses? See, now you’ve heard the blasphemy.^{aa 66}What is your decision?”

They answered, “He deserves death!”^{ab 67}Then they spat in his face^ac and beat him; others slapped him ⁶⁸and said, “Prophesy to us, Messiah! Who was it that hit you?”^ad

PETER DENIES HIS LORD

⁶⁹Now Peter was sitting outside in the courtyard.^ae A servant girl approached him and said, “You were with Jesus the Galilean too.”

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

⁷¹When he had gone out to the gateway, another woman saw him and told those who were there, “This man was with Jesus the Nazarene!”^a

⁷²And again he denied it with an oath:^b “I don’t know the man!”

⁷³After a little while those standing there approached and said to Peter, “You really are one of them, since even your accent^C gives you away.”

⁷⁴Then he started to curse and to swear with an oath, “I don’t know the man!” Immediately a rooster crowed, ⁷⁵and Peter remembered the words Jesus had spoken, “Before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times.”^c And he went outside and wept bitterly.