Matthew 26:17–56

The Passover Meal

^17aNow 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?”

¹⁸And 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.” ’ ”

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

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

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

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

²³And 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.”

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

The Lord’s Supper

^26aNow 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.”

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

²⁸for ^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.”

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

³¹Then 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.”

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

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

³⁵Peter ^*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

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

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

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

³⁹And 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.”

⁴⁰And 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.”

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

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

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

⁴⁵Then 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

^47aAnd 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.

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

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

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

⁵¹And 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.

⁵²Then 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?”

⁵⁵At 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.