Matthew 26:1–29

The Plot to Kill Jesus

^1aWhen 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 ^chanded over for crucifixion.”

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

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

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

The Precious Ointment

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

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

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

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

¹⁰But Jesus, aware of this, said to them, “Why do you bother the woman? For she has done a good deed 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 preached in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be spoken of in memory of her.”

Judas’s Bargain

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

¹⁵and said, “What are you willing to give me ¹to ^2abetray Him to you?” And ^bthey weighed out thirty ³pieces of silver to him.

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

^17aNow on the first day of ^bUnleavened Bread the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “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 to keep the Passover at your house with My disciples.” ’ ”

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

The Last Passover

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

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

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

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

²⁴“The Son of Man is to go, ^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, said, “Surely it is not I, ^bRabbi?” Jesus said to him, “^cYou have said it yourself.”

The Lord’s Supper Instituted

^26aWhile they were eating, Jesus took some bread, and ^1bafter a blessing, He broke it and gave it to the disciples, and 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.”