Matthew 26

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 again and found them sleeping, because they could not keep their eyes open. ^x

⁴⁴After leaving them, He went away again and prayed a third time, saying the same thing once more. ⁴⁵Then He came to the disciples and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting? ^yLook, the time is near. The Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of sinners. ^z46Get up; let’s go! See, My betrayer is near.”

The Judas Kiss

⁴⁷While He was still speaking, Judas, one of the Twelve, suddenly arrived. ^aA large mob, with swords and clubs, was with him from the chief priests and elders of the people. ⁴⁸His betrayer had given them a sign: “The One I kiss, He’s the One; arrest Him!” ⁴⁹So he went right up to Jesus and said, “Greetings, Rabbi!” and kissed Him.

⁵⁰“Friend,” ^bJesus asked him, “why have you come?” ^c

Then they came up, took hold of Jesus, and arrested Him. ⁵¹At that moment one of those with Jesus reached out his hand and drew his sword. He struck the high priest’s slave and cut off his ear. ^d

⁵²Then Jesus told him, “Put your sword back in its place because all who take up a sword will perish by a sword. ^e53Or do you think that I cannot call on My Father, and He will provide Me at once with more than 12 legions ^fof angels? ^g54How, then, would the Scriptures be fulfilled ^hthat say it must happen this way?”

⁵⁵At that time Jesus said to the crowds, “Have you come out with swords and clubs, as if I were a criminal, ⁱto capture Me? Every day I used to sit, teaching in the ^•temple complex, and you didn’t arrest Me. ^j56But all this has happened so that the prophetic Scriptures ^klwould be fulfilled.” Then all the disciples ^mdeserted Him and ran away.

Jesus Faces the Sanhedrin

⁵⁷Those ⁿwho had arrested Jesus led Him away to Caiaphas ^othe high priest, where the scribes and the elders had convened. ⁵⁸Meanwhile, Peter was following Him at a distance right to the high priest’s courtyard. ^pHe went in and was sitting with the temple police ^qto see the outcome. ^rs

⁵⁹The chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin were looking for false testimony against Jesus so they could put Him to death. ^t60But they could not find any, even though many false witnesses ^ucame forward. ^vFinally, two ^wwho came forward ⁶¹stated, “This man said, ‘I can demolish God’s sanctuary ^xand rebuild it in three days.’ ”

⁶²The high priest then stood up and said to Him, “Don’t You have an answer to what these men are testifying against You?” ⁶³But ^yJesus kept silent. ^zThen the high priest said to Him, “By the living God I place You under oath: ^atell us if You are the Messiah, the Son of God!” ^b

⁶⁴“You have said it,” ^cJesus told him. “But I tell you, in the future ^dyou will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of the Power and coming on the clouds of heaven.” ^ef

⁶⁵Then the high priest tore his robes and said, “He has blasphemed! ^gWhy do we still need witnesses? Look, now you’ve heard the blasphemy! ^h66What is your decision?” ⁱ

They answered, “He deserves death!” ^j67Then they spit in His face ^kand beat Him; others slapped Him ⁶⁸and said, “Prophesy to us, Messiah! Who hit You?” ^l

Peter Denies His Lord

⁶⁹Now Peter was sitting outside in the courtyard. ^mA servant approached him and she said, “You were with Jesus the Galilean too.”

⁷⁰But he denied it in front of everyone: “I don’t know what you’re talking about!”

⁷¹When he had gone out to the gateway, another woman saw him and told those who were there, “This man was with Jesus the Nazarene!” ⁿ

⁷²And again he denied it with an oath, ^o“I don’t know the man!”

⁷³After a little while those standing there approached and said to Peter, “You certainly are one of them, since even your accent ^pgives you away.”

⁷⁴Then he started to curse ^qand to swear with an oath, “I do not know the man!” Immediately a rooster crowed, ⁷⁵and Peter remembered the words Jesus had spoken, “Before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times.” ^rAnd he went outside and wept bitterly.