Matthew 25–27

The Parable of the 10 Virgins

25“Then the kingdom of heaven will be like 10 virgins ^cwho took their lamps and went out to meet the groom. ^d2Five of them were foolish and five were sensible. ^e3When the foolish took their lamps, they didn’t take olive oil with them. ⁴But the sensible ones took oil in their flasks with their lamps. ⁵Since the groom was delayed, they all became drowsy and fell asleep.

⁶“In the middle of the night there was a shout: ‘Here’s the groom! Come out to meet him.’

⁷“Then all those virgins got up and trimmed their lamps. ⁸But the foolish ones said to the sensible ones, ‘Give us some of your oil, because our lamps are going out.’

⁹“The sensible ones answered, ‘No, there won’t be enough for us and for you. Go instead to those who sell, and buy oil for yourselves.’

¹⁰“When they had gone to buy some, the groom arrived. Then those who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet, and the door was shut. ^f

¹¹“Later the rest of the virgins also came and said, ‘Master, master, open up for us!’

¹²“But he replied, ‘^•I assure you: I do not know you!’

¹³“Therefore be alert, because you don’t know either the day or the hour. ^g

The Parable of the Talents

¹⁴“For it is just like a man going on a journey. ^hHe called his own ^•slaves and turned over his possessions to them. ¹⁵To one he gave five talents; ⁱto another, two; and to another, one—to each according to his own ability. Then he went on a journey. ^jImmediately ¹⁶the man who had received five talents went, put them to work, and earned five more. ¹⁷In the same way the man with two earned two more. ¹⁸But the man who had received one talent went off, dug a hole in the ground, and hid his master’s money.

¹⁹“After a long time the master of those slaves came and settled accounts with them. ²⁰The man who had received five talents approached, presented five more talents, and said, ‘Master, you gave me five talents. Look, I’ve earned five more talents.’

²¹“His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful slave! You were faithful over a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Share your master’s joy!’ ^k

²²“Then the man with two talents also approached. He said, ‘Master, you gave me two talents. Look, I’ve earned two more talents.’

²³“His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful slave! You were faithful over a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Share your master’s joy!’

²⁴“Then the man who had received one talent also approached and said, ‘Master, I know you. You’re a difficult man, reaping where you haven’t sown and gathering where you haven’t scattered seed. ^l25So I was afraid and went off and hid your talent in the ground. Look, you have what is yours.’

²⁶“But his master replied to him, ‘You evil, lazy slave! ^mIf you knew that I reap where I haven’t sown and gather where I haven’t scattered, ²⁷then ⁿyou should have deposited my money with the bankers. And when I returned I would have received my money ^oback with interest.

²⁸“ ‘So take the talent from him and give it to the one who has 10 talents. ²⁹For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have more than enough. But from the one who does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him. ^p30And throw this good-for-nothing slave into the outer darkness. ^qIn that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

The Sheep and the Goats

³¹“When the ^•Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels ^rswith Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory. ^t32All the nations ^uvwill be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, just as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. ^w33He will put the sheep on His right and the goats on the left. ³⁴Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by My Father, inherit the kingdom ^xprepared for you from the foundation of the world. ^y

³⁵For I 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 in;

³⁶I was naked and you clothed Me;

I was sick and you took care of Me;

I was in prison and you visited Me.’ ^z

³⁷“Then the righteous will answer Him, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You something to drink? ³⁸When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or without clothes and clothe You? ³⁹When did we see You sick, or in prison, and visit You?’

⁴⁰“And the King will answer them, ‘I assure you: Whatever you did for one of the least of these ^•brothers of Mine, you did for Me.’ ^a41Then He will also say to those on the left, ‘Depart from Me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the Devil and his angels! ^b

⁴²For I 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 in;

I was naked

and you didn’t clothe Me,

sick and in prison

and you didn’t take care of Me.’

⁴⁴“Then they too will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or without clothes, or sick, or in prison, and not help You?’

⁴⁵“Then He will answer them, ‘I assure you: Whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for Me either.’ ^c

⁴⁶“And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.” ^d

The Plot to Kill Jesus

26When Jesus had finished saying all this, ^eHe told His disciples, ²“You know ^fthat the ^•Passover takes place after two days, and the ^•Son of Man will be handed over to be crucified.” ^g

³Then the chief priests ^hand the elders of the people assembled in the palace of the high priest, who was called Caiaphas, ⁱ⁴and they conspired to arrest Jesus in a treacherous way and kill Him. ^j5“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, ^ka man who had a serious skin disease, ⁷a woman approached Him with an alabaster jar of very expensive fragrant oil. She poured it on His head as He was reclining at the table. ⁸When the disciples ^lsaw it, they were indignant. “Why this waste?” they asked. ⁹“This might have been sold for a great deal and given to the poor.”

¹⁰But Jesus, aware of this, 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. ^m12By pouring this fragrant oil on My body, she has prepared Me for burial. ^13•I assure you: Wherever this gospel ⁿis proclaimed in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be told in memory of her.”

¹⁴Then ^oone of the Twelve—the man called Judas Iscariot—went to the chief priests ^p15and said, “What are you willing to give me if I hand Him over to you?” So they weighed out 30 pieces of silver for him. ^q16And from that time he started looking for a good opportunity to betray Him.

Betrayal at the Passover

¹⁷On the first day of Unleavened Bread ^rthe disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Where do You want us to prepare the Passover so You may eat it?”

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 ^swith My disciples.’ ” ^t19So 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, “I assure you: One of you will betray Me.” ^u

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, ^vbut woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been better for that man if he had not been born.”

²⁵Then Judas, His betrayer, replied, “Surely not I, Rabbi?” ^w

“You have said it,” He told him.

The First Lord’s Supper

²⁶As they were eating, ^xJesus took bread, blessed and broke it, gave it to the disciples, ^yand said, “Take and eat it; this is My body.” ^z27Then 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 that establishes the covenant; ^ait is shed for many for the forgiveness of sins. ^b29But I tell you, from this moment I will not drink of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it in a new way ^cin My Father’s kingdom ^dwith you.” ³⁰After singing psalms, ^ethey went out to the Mount of Olives. ^f

Peter’s Denial Predicted

³¹Then Jesus said to them, “Tonight all of you will run away ^gbecause of Me, for it is written:

I will strike the shepherd,

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

³²But after I have been resurrected, I will go ahead of you to Galilee.” ^j

³³Peter told Him, “Even if everyone runs away because of You, I will never run away!”

³⁴“I assure you,” Jesus said to him, “tonight, before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times!” ^k

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, ^lmand 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 deeply distressed. ⁿ³⁸Then He said to them, “My soul is swallowed up in sorrow ^o—to the point of death. ^pRemain here and stay awake with Me.” ^q39Going a little farther, ^rHe 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.” ^s

⁴⁰Then He came to the disciples and found them sleeping. He asked Peter, “So, couldn’t you ^tstay 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 ^ucannot pass ^vunless I drink it, Your will be done.” ^w43And He came…