Mark 13–14

13TH CHAPTER

Jesus Teaches Disciples on the Mount of Olives—Matthew 24:1–35; Luke 21:5–33

¹As Jesus was going out of the temple courtyard, one of his disciples said to him, “Teacher, look at these huge stones and these beautiful buildings!” 

²Jesus said to him, “Do you see these large buildings? Not one of these stones will be left on top of another. Each one will be torn down.” 

³As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives facing the temple buildings, Peter, James, John, and Andrew asked him privately, ⁴“Tell us, when will this happen? What will be the sign when all this will come to an end?” 

⁵Jesus answered them, “Be careful not to let anyone deceive you. ⁶Many will come using my name. They will say, ‘I am he,’ and they will deceive many people. 

⁷“When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, don’t be alarmed! These things must happen, but they don’t mean that the end has come. ⁸Nation will fight against nation and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes and famines in various places. These are only the beginning pains ⸤of the end⸥. 

⁹“Be on your guard! People will hand you over to the Jewish courts and whip you in their synagogues. You will stand in front of governors and kings to testify to them because of me. ¹⁰But first, the Good News must be spread to all nations. ¹¹When they take you away to hand you over to the authorities, don’t worry ahead of time about what you will say. Instead, say whatever is given to you to say when the time comes. Indeed, you are not the one who will be speaking, but the Holy Spirit will. 

¹²“Brother will hand over brother to death; a father will hand over his child. Children will rebel against their parents and kill them. ¹³Everyone will hate you because you are committed to me. But the person who endures to the end will be saved. 

¹⁴“When you see the disgusting thing that will cause destruction standing where it should not (let the reader take note), those of you in Judea should flee to the mountains. ¹⁵Those who are on the roof should not come down to get anything out of their houses. ¹⁶Those who are in the field should not turn back to get their coats. 

¹⁷“How horrible it will be for the women who are pregnant or who are nursing babies in those days. ¹⁸Pray that it will not be in winter. ¹⁹It will be a time of misery that has not happened from the beginning of God’s creation until now, and will certainly never happen again. ²⁰If the Lord does not reduce that time, no one will be saved. But those days will be reduced because of those whom God has chosen. 

²¹“At that time don’t believe anyone who tells you, ‘Here is the Messiah!’ or ‘There he is!’ ²²False messiahs and false prophets will appear. They will work miraculous signs and do wonderful things to deceive, if possible, those whom God has chosen. ²³Be on your guard! I have told you everything before it happens. 

²⁴“Now, after the misery of those days, the sun will turn dark, the moon will not give light, ²⁵the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the universe will be shaken. 

²⁶“Then people will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory. ²⁷He will send out his angels, and from every direction under the sky, they will gather those whom God has chosen. 

²⁸“Learn from the story of the fig tree. When its branch becomes tender and it sprouts leaves, you know summer is near. ²⁹In the same way, when you see these things happen, you know that he is near, at the door. 

³⁰“I can guarantee this truth: This generation will not disappear until all these things take place. ³¹The earth and the heavens will disappear, but my words will never disappear. 

No One Knows When the Earth and the Heavens Will Disappear

³²“No one knows when that day or hour will come. Even the angels in heaven and the Son don’t know. Only the Father knows. ³³Be careful! Watch! You don’t know the exact time. ³⁴It is like a man who went on a trip. As he left home, he put his servants in charge. He assigned work to each one and ordered the guard to be alert. ³⁵Therefore, be alert, because you don’t know when the owner of the house will return. It could be in the evening or at midnight or at dawn or in the morning. ³⁶Make sure he doesn’t come suddenly and find you asleep. ³⁷I’m telling everyone what I’m telling you: ‘Be alert!’ ” 

14TH CHAPTER

The Plot to Kill Jesus—Matthew 26:1–5; Luke 22:1–2; John 11:45–57

¹It was two days before the Passover and the Festival of Unleavened Bread. The chief priests and the experts in Moses’ Teachings were looking for some underhanded way to arrest Jesus and to kill him. ²However, they said, “We shouldn’t arrest him during the festival, or else there will be a riot among the people.” 

A Woman Prepares Jesus’ Body for the Tomb—Matthew 26:6–13; John 12:1–8

³Jesus was in Bethany at the home of Simon, a man who had suffered from a skin disease. While Jesus was sitting there, a woman went to him. She had a bottle of very expensive perfume made from pure nard. She opened the bottle and poured the perfume on his head. 

⁴Some who were there were irritated and said to one another, “Why was the perfume wasted like this? ⁵This perfume could have been sold for a high price, and the money could have been given to the poor.” So they said some very unkind things to her. 

⁶Jesus said, “Leave her alone! Why are you bothering her? She has done a beautiful thing for me. ⁷You will always have the poor with you and can help them whenever you want. But you will not always have me with you. ⁸She did what she could. She came to pour perfume on my body before it is placed in a tomb. ⁹I can guarantee this truth: Wherever the Good News is spoken in the world, what she has done will also be told in memory of her.” 

Judas Plans to Betray Jesus—Matthew 26:14–16; Luke 22:3–6

¹⁰Judas Iscariot, one of the twelve apostles, went to the chief priests to betray Jesus. ¹¹They were pleased to hear what Judas had to say and promised to give him money. So he kept looking for a chance to betray Jesus. 

Preparations for the Passover—Matthew 26:17–20; Luke 22:7–17

¹²Killing the Passover lamb was customary on the first day of the Festival of Unleavened Bread. The disciples asked Jesus, “Where do you want us to prepare the Passover meal for you?” 

¹³He sent two of his disciples and told them, “Go into the city. You will meet a man carrying a jug of water. Follow him. ¹⁴When he goes into a house, tell the owner that the teacher asks, ‘Where is my room where I can eat the Passover meal with my disciples?’ ¹⁵He will take you upstairs and show you a large room. The room will be completely furnished. Get everything ready for us there.” 

¹⁶The disciples left. They went into the city and found everything as Jesus had told them. So they prepared the Passover. 

¹⁷When evening came, Jesus arrived with the twelve apostles. 

Jesus Knows Who Will Betray Him—Matthew 26:21–25; Luke 22:21–23; John 13:21–30

¹⁸While they were at the table eating, Jesus said, “I can guarantee this truth: One of you is going to betray me, one who is eating with me!” 

¹⁹Feeling hurt, they asked him one by one, “You don’t mean me, do you?” 

²⁰He said to them, “It’s one of you twelve, someone dipping his hand into the bowl with me. ²¹The Son of Man is going to die as the Scriptures say he will. But how horrible it will be for that person who betrays the Son of Man! It would have been better for that person if he had never been born.” 

The Lord’s Supper—Matthew 26:26–30; Luke 22:19–20

²²While they were eating, Jesus took bread and blessed it. He broke the bread, gave it to them, and said, “Take this. This is my body.” 

²³Then he took a cup, spoke a prayer of thanksgiving, and gave the cup to them. They all drank from it. ²⁴He said to them, “This is my blood, the blood of the promise.^aIt is poured out for many people. 

²⁵“I can guarantee this truth: I won’t drink this wine again until that day when I drink new wine in God’s kingdom.” 

²⁶After they sang a hymn, they went to the Mount of Olives. 

Jesus Predicts Peter’s Denial—Matthew 26:31–35; Luke 22:31–34; John 13:36–38

²⁷Then Jesus said to them, “All of you will abandon me. Scripture says, 

‘I will strike the shepherd, 

and the sheep will be scattered.’ 

²⁸“But after I am brought back to life, I will go to Galilee ahead of you.” 

²⁹Peter said to him, “Even if everyone else abandons you, I won’t.” 

³⁰Jesus said to Peter, “I can guarantee this truth: Tonight, before a rooster crows twice, you will say three times that you don’t know me.” 

³¹But Peter said very strongly, “Even if I have to die with you, I will never say that I don’t know you.” All the other disciples said the same thing. 

Jesus Prays in the Garden of Gethsemane—Matthew 26:36–46; Luke 22:39–46

³²Then they came to a place called Gethsemane. He said to his disciples, “Stay here while I pray.” 

³³He took Peter, James, and John with him and began to feel distressed and anguished. ³⁴He said to them, “My anguish is so great that I feel as if I’m dying. Wait here, and stay awake.” 

³⁵After walking a little farther, he fell to the ground and prayed that if it were possible he might not have to suffer what was ahead of him. ³⁶He said, “Abba!^bFather! You can do anything. Take this cup ⸤of suffering⸥ away from me. But let your will be done rather than mine.” 

³⁷He went back and found them asleep. He said to Peter, “Simon, are you sleeping? Couldn’t you stay awake for one hour? ³⁸Stay awake, and pray that you won’t be tempted. You want to do what’s right, but you’re weak.” 

³⁹He went away again and prayed the same prayer as before. ⁴⁰He found them asleep because they couldn’t keep their eyes open. They didn’t even know what they should say to him. 

⁴¹He came back a third time and said to them, “You might as well sleep now. It’s all over.^cThe time has come for the Son of Man to be handed over to sinners. ⁴²Get up! Let’s go! The one who is betraying me is near.” 

Jesus Is Arrested—Matthew 26:47–56; Luke 22:47–54a; John 18:1–14

⁴³Just then, while Jesus…