Mark 13–14

Destruction of the Temple Predicted

13As ^tHe was going out of the temple complex, ^uone of His disciples said to Him, “Teacher, ^vlook! What massive stones! What impressive buildings!” ^w

²Jesus said to him, “Do you see these great buildings? ^xNot one stone will be left here on another that will not be thrown down!”

Signs of the End of the Age

³While He was sitting on the Mount of Olives ^yacross from the temple complex, ^zPeter, ^aJames, ^bJohn, ^cand Andrew ^dasked Him privately, ⁴“Tell us, when will these things happen? And what will be the sign when all these things are about to take place?”

⁵Then Jesus began by telling them: “Watch out that no one deceives you. ⁶Many will come in My name, ^esaying, ‘I am He,’ ^fand they will deceive ^gmany. ⁷When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, ^hdon’t be alarmed; ⁱthese things must take place, ^jbut the end is not yet. ⁸For nation will rise up against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. ^kThere will be earthquakes in various places, and famines. ^lThese are the beginning ^mof birth pains. ⁿ

Persecutions Predicted

⁹“But you, be on your guard! They will hand you over to sanhedrins, ^opand you will be flogged ^qin the ^•synagogues. ^rYou will stand before governors and kings ^sbecause of Me, ^tas a witness ^uto them. ^v10And the good news ^wxmust first be proclaimed to all nations. ¹¹So when they arrest you and hand you over, don’t worry beforehand what you will say. On the contrary, whatever is given to you in that hour—say it. For it isn’t you speaking, but the Holy Spirit. ¹²Then brother will betray ^ybrother to death, ^zand a father his child. Children will rise up against parents and put them to death. ¹³And you will be hated by everyone because of My name. ^aBut the one who endures to the end will be delivered. ^bc

The Great Tribulation

¹⁴“When you see the abomination that causes desolation ^destanding where it should not” (let the reader understand ^f), “then those in Judea ^gmust flee to the mountains! ¹⁵A man on the housetop must not come down or go in to get anything out of his house. ^h16And a man in the field must not go back to get his clothes. ⁱ¹⁷Woe ^jto pregnant women and nursing mothers in those days! ¹⁸Pray ^kit ^lwon’t happen in winter. ¹⁹For those will be days of tribulation, ^mthe kind that hasn’t been from the beginning ⁿof the world, ^opwhich God created, until now and never will be again! ²⁰Unless the Lord ^qlimited those days, ^rno one would survive. ^sBut He limited those days because of the elect, ^twhom He chose. ^u

²¹“Then if anyone tells you, ‘Look, here is the ^•Messiah! ^vLook—there!’ do not believe it! ²²For false messiahs ^wand false prophets will rise up and will perform signs and wonders ^xto lead astray, if possible, the elect. ²³And you must watch! I have told you everything in advance.

The Coming of the Son of Man

²⁴“But in those days, after that tribulation: ^y

The sun will be darkened,

and the moon will not shed its light;

²⁵the stars ^zwill be falling from the sky,

and the celestial powers will be shaken. ^a

²⁶Then they will see the ^•Son of Man ^bcoming ^cin clouds ^dwith great power ^eand glory. ^f27He will send out the angels ^gand gather His elect ^hfrom the four winds, from the end of the earth to the end of the sky. ⁱ

The Parable of the Fig Tree

²⁸“Learn ^jthis parable ^kfrom the fig ^ltree: As soon as its branch becomes tender and sprouts leaves, you know that summer is near. ^m29In the same way, when you see these things happening, know ⁿthat He ^ois near—at the door! ^30•I assure you: ^pThis generation will certainly not pass away until all these things take place. ³¹Heaven and earth ^qwill pass away, ^rbut My words will never pass away. ^s

No One Knows the Day or Hour

³²“Now concerning that day ^tor hour no one knows—neither the angels ^uin heaven nor the Son ^v—except the Father. ^w33Watch! Be alert! ^xFor you don’t know when the time ^yis coming. ^z34It is like ^aa man on a journey, who left his house, gave authority to his ^•slaves, ^bgave each one his work, and commanded the doorkeeper to be alert. ³⁵Therefore be alert, ^csince you don’t know when the master ^dof the house is coming—whether in the evening or at midnight or at the crowing of the rooster or early in the morning. ³⁶Otherwise, he might come suddenly and find you sleeping. ^e37And what I say to you, I say to everyone: Be alert!”

The Plot to Kill Jesus

14After ^ftwo days it was the Passover ^gand the Festival ^hof Unleavened Bread. ⁱThe chief priests and the scribes ^jwere looking for a treacherous ^kway to arrest and kill Him. ^l2“Not during the festival,” they said, “or there may be rioting among the people.”

The Anointing at Bethany

³While ^mHe was in Bethany ⁿat the house of Simon who had a serious skin disease, ^oas He was reclining at the table, ^pa woman came with an alabaster jar of pure and expensive fragrant oil of nard. She broke the jar and poured it on His head. ^q4But some were expressing indignation to one another: “Why has this fragrant oil been wasted? ⁵For this oil might have been sold for more than 300 denarii ^rand given to the poor.” ^sAnd they began to scold her.

⁶Then Jesus said, “Leave her alone. Why are you bothering her? She has done a noble thing ^tfor Me. ⁷You always have the poor ^uwith you, and you can do what is good for them whenever you want, but you do not always have Me. ^v8She has done what she could; she has anointed My body ^win advance for burial. ^x9•I assure you: ^yWherever the gospel ^zis proclaimed in the whole world, ^awhat this woman has done will also be told in memory of her.”

¹⁰Then ^bJudas Iscariot, ^cone of the Twelve, ^dwent to the chief priests ^eto hand Him over ^fto them. ¹¹And when they heard this, they were glad and promised to give him silver. ^ghSo he started looking for a good opportunity to betray ⁱHim.

Preparation for Passover

¹²On ^jthe first day of Unleavened Bread, when they sacrifice the Passover lamb, ^kHis disciples ^lasked Him, “Where do You want us to go and prepare the Passover so You may eat it?”

¹³So He sent two of His disciples and told them, “Go into the city, and a man carrying a water jug will meet you. Follow him. ¹⁴Wherever he enters, tell the owner of the house, ‘The Teacher ^msays, “Where is the guest room for Me to eat the Passover with My disciples?” ’ ¹⁵He will show you a large room upstairs, furnished and ready. Make the preparations for us there.” ¹⁶So the disciples ⁿwent out, entered the city, and found it just as He had told them, and they prepared the Passover.

Betrayal at the Passover

¹⁷When ^oevening came, He arrived with the Twelve. ^p18While they were reclining and eating, Jesus said, “I assure you: One of you will betray Me—one who is eating with Me!”

¹⁹They began to be distressed and to say to Him one by one, “Surely not I?”

²⁰He said to them, “It is one of the Twelve—the one who is dipping bread with Me in the bowl. ²¹For the ^•Son of Man ^qwill go just as it is written ^rabout Him, ^sbut woe ^tto that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been better for that man if he had not been born.”

The First Lord’s Supper

²²As ^uthey were eating, He took bread, ^vblessed and broke ^wit, gave it to them, ^xand said, “Take it; ^ythis is My body.” ^z

²³Then He took a cup, and after giving thanks, ^aHe gave it to them, and so they all drank from it. ²⁴He said to them, “This is My blood that establishes the covenant; ^bcit is shed ^dfor many. ^e25I assure you: ^fI will no longer drink of the fruit of the vine ^guntil that day when I drink it in a new ^hway ⁱin the kingdom of God.” ^j26After singing psalms, ^kthey went out to the Mount of Olives. ^l

Peter’s Denial Predicted

²⁷Then ^mJesus said to them, “All of you will run away, ^nobecause it is written: ^p

I will strike the shepherd,

and the sheep ^qwill be scattered. ^rs

²⁸But after I have been resurrected, ^tI will go ahead of you to Galilee.” ^u

²⁹Peter ^vtold Him, “Even if everyone runs away, I will certainly not!”

³⁰“I assure you,” Jesus said to him, “today, this very night, before the rooster crows twice, you will deny Me three times!” ^w

³¹But he kept insisting, “If I have to die with You, I will never deny You!” And they all said the same thing.

The Prayer in the Garden

³²Then ^xthey came to a place named Gethsemane, and He told His disciples, ^y“Sit here while I pray.” ^z33He took Peter, ^aJames, ^band John ^cwith Him, and He began to be deeply distressed and horrified. ³⁴Then He said to them, “My soul is swallowed up in sorrow ^d—to the point of death. Remain here and stay awake.” ^e35Then He went a little farther, fell to the ground, and began to pray that if it were possible, the hour ^fmight pass from Him. ³⁶And He said, “Abba, ^gFather! ^hAll things are possible ⁱfor You. Take this cup ^jaway from Me. Nevertheless, not what I will, but what You will.”

³⁷Then He came and found them sleeping. “Simon, ^kare you sleeping?” He asked Peter. ^l“Couldn’t you stay awake one hour? ³⁸Stay awake and pray ^mso that you won’t enter into temptation. ⁿThe spirit ^ois willing, but the flesh ^pis weak.”

³⁹Once again He went away and prayed, saying the same thing. ⁴⁰And He came again and found them sleeping, because they could not keep their eyes open. ^qThey did not know what to say to Him. ^r41Then He came a third time and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting? Enough! The time has come. Look, the Son of Man ^sis being betrayed into the hands of sinners. ^t42Get up; ^ulet’s go! See—My betrayer is near.”

The Judas Kiss

⁴³While ^vHe was still speaking, Judas, ^wone of the Twelve, ^xsuddenly arrived. With him was a mob, with swords and clubs, from the chief priests, the scribes, ^yand the elders. ^z44His betrayer had given them a signal. “The One I kiss,” he said, “He’s the One; arrest Him and take Him away under guard.” ⁴⁵So when he came, he went right up to Him and said, “Rabbi!” ^a—and kissed Him. ⁴⁶Then they took hold of Him and arrested Him. ⁴⁷And one of those who stood by drew his sword, struck the high priest’s slave, and…