Matthew 26

CHAPTER 26

The Plot to Kill Jesus

1 1aNow it happened that when Jesus had finished all these words, He said to His disciples,

2 “aYou know that after two days bthe Passover is coming, and the Son of Man is to be cdelivered over for crucifixion.”

3 aThen the chief priests and the elders of the people were gathered together in bthe court of the high priest, named cCaiaphas;

4 and they aplotted together to seize Jesus by stealth and kill Him.

5 But they were saying, “Not during the festival, alest a riot occur among the people.”

The Costly Perfume

6 aNow when Jesus was in bBethany, at the home of Simon the leper,

7 aa woman came to Him with an alabaster jar of very costly perfume, and she poured it on His head as He reclined at the table.

8 But when the disciples saw this, they were indignant, saying, “Why this waste?

9 “For this perfume might have been sold for a high price and the money given to the poor.”

10 But Jesus, aware of this, said to them, “Why do you bother the woman? For she has done a good work to Me.

11 “For you always have athe poor with you; but you do not always have Me.

12 “For when she poured this perfume on My body, she did it ato prepare Me for burial.

13 “Truly I say to you, awherever this gospel is proclaimed in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be spoken of in memory of her.”

Judas Looks to Betray Jesus

14 aThen one of the twelve, named bJudas Iscariot, went to the chief priests

15 and said, “What are you willing to give me 1to adeliver Him to you?” And bthey weighed out 2thirty pieces of silver to him.

16 And from then on he began looking for a good opportunity to 1betray 2Jesus.

The Passover Meal

17 aNow on the first day of bUnleavened Bread the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Where do You want us to prepare for You to eat the Passover?”

18 And He said, “Go into the city to aa certain man, and say to him, ‘The Teacher says, “bMy time is near; I am keeping the Passover at your house with My disciples.” ’ ”

19 And the disciples did as Jesus had directed them; and they prepared the Passover.

20 aNow when evening came, Jesus was reclining at the table with the twelve disciples.

21 And as they were eating, He said, “aTruly I say to you that one of you will betray Me.”

22 And being deeply grieved, they 1each one began to say to Him, “Surely not I, Lord?”

23 And He answered and said, “aHe who dipped his hand with Me in the bowl is the one who will betray Me.

24 “The Son of Man is going, ajust as it is written of Him; but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! bIt would have been good 1for that man if he had not been born.”

25 And aJudas, who was betraying Him, answered and said, “Surely not I, bRabbi?” Jesus *said to him, “cYou yourself said it.”

The Lord’s Supper

26 aNow while they were eating, Jesus took some bread, and 1bafter a blessing, He broke it. And giving it to the disciples, He said, “Take, eat; this is My body.”

27 And when He had taken a cup and given thanks, He gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you;

28 for athis is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for bmany for forgiveness of sins.

29 “But I say to you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in My Father’s kingdom.”

30 aAnd after singing a hymn, they went out to bthe Mount of Olives.

31 Then Jesus *said to them, “You will all 1afall away because of Me this night, for it is written, ‘bI will strike down the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock shall be cscattered.’

32 “But after I have been raised, aI will go ahead of you to Galilee.”

33 But Peter answered and said to Him, “Even though all may 1fall away because of You, I will never fall away.”

34 Jesus said to him, “aTruly I say to you that bthis very night, before a rooster crows, you will deny Me three times.”

35 Peter *said to Him, “aEven if I have to die with You, I will not deny You.” All the disciples said the same thing too.

Jesus Prays in Gethsemane

36 aThen Jesus *came with them to a place called bGethsemane, and *said to His disciples, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.”

37 And He took with Him aPeter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be grieved and distressed.

38 Then He *said to them, “aMy soul is deeply grieved, to the point of death; remain here and bkeep watch with Me.”

39 And He went a little beyond them, and fell on His face and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it is possible, let athis cup pass from Me; byet not as I will, but as You will.”

40 And He *came to the disciples and *found them sleeping, and *said to Peter, “So, you men could not akeep watch with Me for one hour?

41 “aKeep watching and praying that you may not enter into temptation; bthe spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

42 He went away again a second time and prayed, saying, “My Father, if this acannot pass away unless I drink it, bYour will be done.”

43 And again He came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were heavy.

44 And He left them again, and went away and prayed a third time, saying the same thing once more.

45 Then He *came to the disciples and *said to them, “1Are you still sleeping and resting? Behold, athe hour is at hand and the Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of sinners.

46 “Get up, let us go; behold, the one who betrays Me is at hand!”

The Betrayal and Arrest of Jesus

47 aAnd while He was still speaking, behold, bJudas, one of the twelve, came up, and with him was a large crowd with swords and clubs, who came from the chief priests and elders of the people.

48 Now he who was betraying Him gave them a sign, saying, “Whomever I kiss, He is the one; seize Him.”

49 And immediately Judas went to Jesus and said, “Greetings, aRabbi!” and kissed Him.

50 And Jesus said to him, “aFriend, do what you have come for.” Then they came and laid hands on Jesus and seized Him.

51 And behold, aone of those who were with Jesus stretched out his hand and drew out his bsword and struck the cslave of the high priest and 1cut off his ear.

52 Then Jesus *said to him, “Put your sword back into its place; for aall those who take up the sword shall perish by the sword.

53 “Or do you think that I cannot appeal to My Father, and He will at once put at My disposal more than twelve 1alegions of bangels?

54 “Therefore, how will athe Scriptures be fulfilled, which say that it must happen this way?”

55 At that time Jesus said to the crowds, “Have you come out with swords and clubs to arrest Me as you would against a robber? aEvery day I used to sit in the temple teaching and you did not seize Me.

56 “But all this has taken place in order that athe Scriptures of the prophets would be fulfilled.” Then all the disciples left Him and fled.

Jesus Before Caiaphas

57 aNow those who had seized Jesus led Him away to bCaiaphas, the high priest, where the scribes and the elders were gathered together.

58 But aPeter was following Him at a distance as far as the bcourtyard of the high priest, and entered in, and sat down with the 1cofficers to see the outcome.

59 Now the chief priests and the whole aSanhedrin kept trying to obtain false testimony against Jesus, so that they might put Him to death.

60 And they did not find any, even though many false witnesses came forward. But later on atwo came forward,

61 and said, “This man stated, ‘aI am able to destroy the 1sanctuary of God and to rebuild it 2in three days.’”

62 And the high priest stood up and said to Him, “Do You not answer? What are these men testifying against You?”

63 But aJesus kept silent. bAnd the high priest said to Him, “cI put You under oath by dthe living God, that You tell us whether You are the 1Christ, ethe Son of God.”

64 Jesus *said to him, “aYou yourself said it; nevertheless I tell you, 1hereafter you will see bthe Son of Man sitting at the right hand of Power and ccoming on the clouds of heaven.”

65 Then the high priest atore his garments and said, “He has blasphemed! What further need do we have of witnesses? Behold, you have now heard the blasphemy;

66 what do you think?” They answered and said, “aHe deserves death!”

67 aThen they bspat in His face and beat Him with their fists; and others 1slapped Him,

68 and said, “aProphesy to us, O 1Christ; who is the one who hit You?”

Peter’s Denials

69 aNow Peter was sitting outside in the bcourtyard, and a servant-girl came to him and said, “You too were with Jesus the Galilean.”

70 But he denied it before them all, saying, “I do not know what you are talking about.”

71 And when he had gone out to the gateway, another servant-girl saw him and *said to those who were there, “This man was with Jesus of Nazareth.”

72 And again he denied it with an oath, “I do not know the man.”

73 A little later the bystanders came up and said to Peter, “Surely you too are one of them; afor even the way you talk 1gives you away.”

74 Then he began to curse and swear, “I do not know the man!” And immediately a rooster crowed.

75 And Peter remembered the word which Jesus had said, “aBefore a rooster crows, you will deny Me three times.” And he went out and cried bitterly.