Matthew 26–27

The Plot to Kill Jesus

26When Jesus had finished all these sayings, he said to his disciples, ^2m“You know that after two days ⁿthe Passover is coming, and ^othe Son of Man ^pwill be delivered up to be crucified.”

^3qThen the chief priests and the elders of the people gathered in ^rthe palace of the high priest, whose name was ^sCaiaphas, ^4tand plotted together in order to arrest Jesus by stealth and kill him. ⁵But they said, “Not during the feast, ^ulest there be an uproar among the people.”

Jesus Anointed at Bethany

^6vNow when Jesus was at ^wBethany in the house of Simon the leper,^{1 7}a woman came up to him with an alabaster flask of very expensive ointment, and she poured it on his head as he reclined at table. ⁸And when the disciples saw it, they were indignant, saying, “Why this waste? ⁹For this could have been sold for a large sum and ^xgiven to the poor.” ¹⁰But ^yJesus, aware of this, said to them, “Why do you trouble the woman? For she has done a beautiful thing to me. ¹¹For ^zyou always have the poor with you, but ^ayou will not always have me. ¹²In pouring this ointment on my body, she has done it ^bto prepare me for burial. ¹³Truly, I say to you, wherever ^cthis gospel is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will also be told ^din memory of her.”

Judas to Betray Jesus

^14eThen one of the twelve, whose name was ^fJudas Iscariot, went to the chief priests ¹⁵and said, “What will you give me if I deliver him over to you?” And they ^gpaid him ^hthirty pieces of silver. ¹⁶And from that moment he sought an opportunity ⁱto betray him.

The Passover with the Disciples

^17jNow on ^kthe first day of Unleavened Bread the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Where will you have us prepare for you to eat the Passover?” ¹⁸He said, “Go into the city to a certain man and say to him, ^l‘The Teacher says, ^mMy time is at hand. I will keep the Passover at your house with my disciples.’ ” ¹⁹And the disciples did as Jesus had directed them, and they prepared the Passover.

²⁰ⁿWhen it was evening, he reclined at table with the twelve.^{2 21}And as they were eating, ^ohe said, “Truly, I say to you, one of you will betray me.” ²²And they were very sorrowful and began to say to him one after another, “Is it I, Lord?” ²³He answered, ^p“He who has dipped his hand in the dish with me will betray me. ²⁴The Son of Man goes ^qas it is written of him, but ^rwoe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! ^sIt would have been better for that man if he had not been born.” ²⁵Judas, who would betray him, answered, “Is it I, ^tRabbi?” He said to him, ^u“You have said so.”

Institution of the Lord’s Supper

^26vNow as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and ^wafter blessing it broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat; ^xthis is my body.” ²⁷And he took a cup, and when he ^yhad given thanks he gave it to them, saying, “Drink of it, all of you, ²⁸for ^xthis is my ^zblood of the³ covenant, which is poured out for ^amany ^bfor the forgiveness of sins. ²⁹I tell you I will not drink again of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you ^cin my Father’s kingdom.”

Jesus Foretells Peter’s Denial

^30dAnd when they had sung a hymn, ^ethey went out to ^fthe Mount of Olives. ³¹Then Jesus said to them, “You will all fall away because of me this night. For it is written, ‘I will ^gstrike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.’ ³²But after I am raised up, ^hI will go before you to Galilee.” ³³ⁱPeter answered him, “Though they all fall away because of you, I will never fall away.” ^34jJesus said to him, “Truly, I tell you, this very night, ^kbefore the rooster crows, you will deny me three times.” ^35lPeter said to him, “Even if I must die with you, I will not deny you!” And all the disciples said the same.

Jesus Prays in Gethsemane

^36mThen Jesus went with them ^eto a place called Gethsemane, and he said to his disciples, “Sit here, while I go over there and pray.” ³⁷And taking with him ⁿPeter and ^othe two sons of Zebedee, he began to be sorrowful and troubled. ³⁸Then he said to them, ^p“My soul is very sorrowful, even to death; remain here, and ^qwatch⁴ with me.” ³⁹And going a little farther he fell on his face ^rand prayed, saying, “My Father, if it be possible, let ^sthis cup pass from me; ^tnevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.” ⁴⁰And he came to the disciples and found them sleeping. And he said to Peter, “So, could you not watch with me one hour? ^41qWatch and ^upray that you ^vmay not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” ⁴²Again, for the second time, he went away and prayed, “My Father, if this cannot pass unless I drink it, ^wyour will be done.” ⁴³And again he came and found them sleeping, for ^xtheir eyes were heavy. ⁴⁴So, leaving them again, he went away and prayed for ^ythe third time, saying the same words again. ⁴⁵Then he came to the disciples and said to them, “Sleep and take your rest later on.⁵ See, ^zthe hour is at hand, and ^athe Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. ⁴⁶Rise, let us be going; see, my betrayer is at hand.”

Betrayal and Arrest of Jesus

^47bWhile he was still speaking, ^cJudas came, one of the twelve, and with him a great crowd with swords and clubs, from the chief priests and the elders of the people. ⁴⁸Now the betrayer had given them a sign, saying, “The one I will kiss is the man; seize him.” ⁴⁹And he came up to Jesus at once and said, “Greetings, ^dRabbi!” And he kissed him. ⁵⁰Jesus said to him, ^e“Friend, ^fdo what you came to do.”⁶ Then they came up and laid hands on Jesus and seized him. ⁵¹And behold, one of those who were with Jesus stretched out his hand and drew his ^gsword and struck the servant⁷ of the high priest and cut off his ear. ⁵²Then Jesus said to him, “Put your sword back into its place. For ^hall who take the sword will perish by the sword. ⁵³ⁱDo you think that I cannot appeal to my Father, and he will at once send me ^jmore than twelve ^klegions of angels? ^54lBut how then should the Scriptures be fulfilled, that it must be so?” ⁵⁵At that hour Jesus said to the crowds, “Have you come out as against a robber, with swords and clubs to capture me? Day after day ^mI sat in the temple ⁿteaching, and you did not seize me. ⁵⁶But ^lall this has taken place that the Scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled.” ^oThen all the disciples left him and fled.

Jesus Before Caiaphas and the Council

^57pThen ^qthose who had seized Jesus led him to ^rCaiaphas the high priest, where the scribes and the elders had gathered. ⁵⁸And ^sPeter was following him at a distance, as far as ^rthe courtyard of the high priest, and going inside he sat with ^tthe guards to see the end. ⁵⁹Now the chief priests and the whole council^{8 u}were seeking false testimony against Jesus that they might put him to death, ⁶⁰but they found none, ^vthough many false witnesses came forward. At last ^wtwo came forward ⁶¹and said, “This man said, ^x‘I am able to ^ydestroy the temple of God, and to rebuild it in three days.’ ” ⁶²And the high priest stood up and said, “Have you no answer to make? What is it that these men testify against you?”^{9 63z}But Jesus remained silent. ^aAnd the high priest said to him, ^b“I adjure you by ^cthe living God, ^dtell us if you are ^ethe Christ, ^fthe Son of God.” ⁶⁴Jesus said to him, ^g“You have said so. But I tell you, from now on ^hyou will see the Son of Man ⁱseated at the right hand of Power and ^hcoming on the clouds of heaven.” ⁶⁵Then the high priest ^jtore his robes and said, ^k“He has uttered blasphemy. What further witnesses do we need? You have now heard his blasphemy. ⁶⁶What is your judgment?” They answered, ^l“He deserves death.” ⁶⁷Then ^mthey spit in his face ⁿand ^ostruck him. And some slapped him, ⁶⁸saying, “Prophesy to us, you ^pChrist! Who is it that struck you?”

Peter Denies Jesus

^69qNow Peter was sitting outside ^rin the courtyard. And a servant girl came up to him and said, “You also were with Jesus the Galilean.” ⁷⁰But he denied it before them all, saying, “I do not know what you mean.” ⁷¹And when he went out to the entrance, another servant girl saw him, and she said to the bystanders, “This man was with Jesus ^sof Nazareth.” 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, “Certainly you too are one of them, for ^tyour accent betrays you.” ⁷⁴Then he began to invoke a curse on himself and to swear, “I do not know the man.” And immediately the rooster crowed. ⁷⁵And Peter remembered the saying of Jesus, ^u“Before the rooster crows, you will ^vdeny me three times.” And he went out and wept bitterly.

Jesus Delivered to Pilate

27^wWhen morning came, all the chief priests and the elders of the people ^xtook counsel against Jesus to put him to death. ²And they bound him and ^yled him away and ^zdelivered him over to ^aPilate the governor.

Judas Hangs Himself

³Then when ^bJudas, his betrayer, saw that Jesus¹ was condemned, ^che changed his mind and brought back ^dthe thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and the elders, ⁴saying, “I have sinned by betraying innocent blood.” They said, “What is that to us? ^eSee to it yourself.” ⁵And throwing down the pieces of silver into the temple, ^fhe departed, and he went and hanged himself. ⁶But the chief priests, taking the pieces of silver, said, “It is not lawful to put them into ^gthe treasury, since it is blood money.” ⁷So they took counsel and bought with them the potter’s field as a burial place for strangers. ⁸Therefore ^hthat field has been called the Field of Blood ⁱto this day. ^9jThen was fulfilled what had been spoken by the prophet Jeremiah, saying, ^k“And they took the thirty pieces of silver, the price of him on whom a price had been set by some of the sons of Israel, ¹⁰and they gave them for the potter’s field, as the Lord directed me.”

Jesus Before Pilate

^11lNow Jesus stood before the governor, and the governor asked him, “Are you ^mthe King of the Jews?” Jesus said, ⁿ“You have said…