Matthew 25–27

25TH CHAPTER

A Story about Ten Bridesmaids

¹“When the end comes, the kingdom of heaven will be like ten bridesmaids. They took their oil lamps and went to meet the groom. ²Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. ³The foolish bridesmaids took their lamps, but they didn’t take any extra oil. ⁴The wise bridesmaids, however, took along extra oil for their lamps. ⁵Since the groom was late, all the bridesmaids became drowsy and fell asleep. 

⁶“At midnight someone shouted, ‘The groom is here! Come to meet him!’ ⁷Then all the bridesmaids woke up and got their lamps ready. 

⁸“The foolish ones said to the wise ones, ‘Give us some of your oil. Our lamps are going out.’ 

⁹“But the wise bridesmaids replied, ‘We can’t do that. There won’t be enough for both of us. Go! Find someone to sell you some oil.’ 

¹⁰“While they were buying oil, the groom arrived. The bridesmaids who were ready went with him into the wedding hall, and the door was shut. 

¹¹“Later the other bridesmaids arrived and said, ‘Sir, sir, open the door for us!’ 

¹²“But he answered them, ‘I don’t even know who you are!’ 

¹³“So stay awake, because you don’t know the day or the hour. 

A Story about Three Servants

¹⁴“The kingdom of heaven is like a man going on a trip. He called his servants and entrusted some money to them. ¹⁵He gave one man ten thousand dollars, another four thousand dollars, and another two thousand dollars. Each was given money based on his ability. Then the man went on his trip. 

¹⁶“The one who received ten thousand dollars invested the money at once and doubled his money. ¹⁷The one who had four thousand dollars did the same and also doubled his money. ¹⁸But the one who received two thousand dollars went off, dug a hole in the ground, and hid his master’s money. 

¹⁹“After a long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them. ²⁰The one who received ten thousand dollars brought the additional ten thousand. He said, ‘Sir, you gave me ten thousand dollars. I’ve doubled the amount.’ 

²¹“His master replied, ‘Good job! You’re a good and faithful servant! You proved that you could be trusted with a small amount. I will put you in charge of a large amount. Come and share your master’s happiness.’ 

²²“The one who received four thousand dollars came and said, ‘Sir, you gave me four thousand dollars. I’ve doubled the amount.’ 

²³“His master replied, ‘Good job! You’re a good and faithful servant! You proved that you could be trusted with a small amount. I will put you in charge of a large amount. Come and share your master’s happiness.’ 

²⁴“Then the one who received two thousand dollars came and said, ‘Sir, I knew that you are a hard person to please. You harvest where you haven’t planted and gather where you haven’t scattered any seeds. ²⁵I was afraid. So I hid your two thousand dollars in the ground. Here’s your money!’ 

²⁶“His master responded, ‘You evil and lazy servant! If you knew that I harvest where I haven’t planted and gather where I haven’t scattered, ²⁷then you should have invested my money with the bankers. When I returned, I would have received my money back with interest. ²⁸Take the two thousand dollars away from him! Give it to the one who has the ten thousand! ²⁹To all who have, more will be given, and they will have more than enough. But everything will be taken away from those who don’t have much. ³⁰Throw this useless servant outside into the darkness. People will cry and be in extreme pain there.’ 

Jesus Will Judge the World

³¹“When the Son of Man comes in his glory and all his angels are with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. ³²The people of every nation will be gathered in front of him. He will separate them as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. ³³He will put the sheep on his right but the goats on his left. 

³⁴“Then the king will say to those on his right, ‘Come, my Father has blessed you! Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the creation of the world. ³⁵I was hungry, and you gave me something to eat. I was thirsty, and you gave me something to drink. I was a stranger, and you took me into your home. ³⁶I needed clothes, and you gave me something to wear. I was sick, and you took care of me. I was in prison, and you visited me.’ 

³⁷“Then the people who have God’s approval will reply to him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you or see you thirsty and give you something to drink? ³⁸When did we see you as a stranger and take you into our homes or see you in need of clothes and give you something to wear? ³⁹When did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ 

⁴⁰“The king will answer them, ‘I can guarantee this truth: Whatever you did for one of my brothers or sisters, no matter how unimportant ⸤they seemed⸥, you did for me.’ 

⁴¹“Then the king will say to those on his left, ‘Get away from me! God has cursed you! Go into everlasting fire that was prepared for the devil and his angels! ⁴²I was hungry, and you gave me nothing to eat. I was thirsty, and you gave me nothing to drink. ⁴³I was a stranger, and you didn’t take me into your homes. I needed clothes, and you didn’t give me anything to wear. I was sick and in prison, and you didn’t take care of me.’ 

⁴⁴“They, too, will ask, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or as a stranger or in need of clothes or sick or in prison and didn’t help you?’ 

⁴⁵“He will answer them, ‘I can guarantee this truth: Whatever you failed to do for one of my brothers or sisters, no matter how unimportant ⸤they seemed⸥, you failed to do for me.’ 

⁴⁶“These people will go away into eternal punishment, but those with God’s approval will go into eternal life.” 

26TH CHAPTER

The Plot to Kill Jesus—Mark 14:1–2; Luke 22:1–6; John 11:45–57

¹When Jesus finished saying all these things, he told his disciples, ²“You know that the Passover will take place in two days. At that time the Son of Man will be handed over to be crucified.” 

³Then the chief priests and the leaders of the people gathered in the palace of the chief priest Caiaphas. ⁴They made plans to arrest Jesus in an underhanded way and to kill him. ⁵But they said, “We shouldn’t arrest him during the festival, or else there may be a riot among the people.” 

A Woman Prepares Jesus’ Body for the Tomb—Mark 14:3–9; John 12:1–8

⁶Jesus was in Bethany in the home of Simon, a man who had suffered from a skin disease. ⁷While Jesus was sitting there, a woman went to him with a bottle of very expensive perfume and poured it on his head. 

⁸The disciples were irritated when they saw this. They asked, “Why did she waste it like this? ⁹It could have been sold for a high price, and the money could have been given to the poor.” 

¹⁰Since Jesus knew what was going on, he said to them, “Why are you bothering this woman? She has done a beautiful thing for me. ¹¹You will always have the poor with you, but you will not always have me with you. ¹²She poured this perfume on my body before it is placed in a tomb. ¹³I can guarantee this truth: Wherever this Good News is spoken in the world, what she has done will also be told in memory of her.” 

Judas Plans to Betray Jesus—Mark 14:10–11; Luke 22:3–6

¹⁴Then one of the twelve apostles, the one named Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests. ¹⁵He asked, “What will you pay me if I hand him over to you?” 

They offered him 30 silver coins. ¹⁶From then on, he looked for a chance to betray Jesus. 

Preparations for the Passover—Mark 14:12–17; Luke 22:7–17

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

¹⁸He said, “Go to a certain man in the city, and tell him that the teacher says, ‘My time is near. I will celebrate the Passover with my disciples at your house.’ ” 

¹⁹The disciples did as Jesus had directed them and prepared the Passover. 

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

Jesus Knows Who Will Betray Him—Mark 14:18–21; Luke 22:21–23; John 13:21–30

²¹While they were eating, he said, “I can guarantee this truth: One of you is going to betray me.” 

²²Feeling deeply hurt, they asked him one by one, “You don’t mean me, do you, Lord?” 

²³Jesus answered, “Someone who has dipped his hand into the bowl with me will betray me. ²⁴The 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.” 

²⁵Then Judas, who betrayed him, asked, “You don’t mean me, do you, Rabbi?” 

“Yes, I do,” Jesus replied. 

The Lord’s Supper—Mark 14:22–26; Luke 22:19–20

²⁶While they were eating, Jesus took bread and blessed it. He broke the bread, gave it to his disciples, and said, “Take this, and eat it. This is my body.” 

²⁷Then he took a cup and spoke a prayer of thanksgiving. He gave it to them and said, “Drink from it, all of you. ²⁸This is my blood, the blood of the promise.^aIt is poured out for many people so that sins are forgiven. 

²⁹“I can guarantee that I won’t drink this wine again until that day when I drink new wine with you in my Father’s kingdom.” 

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

Jesus Predicts Peter’s Denial—Mark 14:27–31; Luke 22:31–34; John 13:36–38

³¹Then Jesus said to them, “All of you will abandon me tonight. Scripture says, 

‘I will strike the shepherd, 

and the sheep in the flock will be scattered.’ 

³²“But after I am brought back to life, I will go to Galilee ahead of you.” 

³³Peter said to him, “Even if everyone else abandons you, I never will.” 

³⁴Jesus replied to Peter, “I can guarantee this truth: Before a rooster crows tonight, you will say three times that you don’t know me.” 

³⁵Peter told him, “Even if I have to die with you, I’ll never say that I don’t know you!” All the other disciples said the same thing. 

Jesus Prays in the Garden of Gethsemane—Mark 14:32–42; Luke 22:39–46

³⁶Then Jesus went with the disciples to a place called Gethsemane. He…