Matthew 26:17–29

Jesus Eats the Passover Meal

¹⁷On the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the followers came to Jesus. They said, “Where do you want us to prepare for you to eat the Passover meal?”

¹⁸Jesus answered, “Go into the city to a certain man and tell him, ‘The Teacher says: “The chosen time is near. I will have the Passover with my followers at your house.” ’ ” ¹⁹The followers did what Jesus told them to do, and they prepared the Passover meal.

²⁰In the evening Jesus was sitting at the table with his twelve followers. ²¹As they were eating, Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, one of you will turn against me.”

²²This made the followers very sad. Each one began to say to Jesus, “Surely, Lord, I am not the one who will turn against you, am I?”

²³Jesus answered, “The man who has dipped his hand with me into the bowl is the one who will turn against me. ²⁴The Son of Man will die, just as the Scriptures say. But how terrible it will be for the person who hands the Son of Man over to be killed. It would be better for him if he had never been born.”

²⁵Then Judas, who would give Jesus to his enemies, said to Jesus, “Teacher, surely I am not the one, am I?”

Jesus answered, “Yes, it is you.”

The Lord’s Supper

²⁶While they were eating, Jesus took some bread and thanked God for it and broke it. Then he gave it to his followers and said, “Take this bread and eat it; this is my body.”

²⁷Then Jesus took a cup and thanked God for it and gave it to the followers. He said, “Every one of you drink this. ²⁸This is my blood which is the new ⁿ agreement that God makes with his people. This blood is poured out for many to forgive their sins. ²⁹I tell you this: I will not drink of this fruit of the vine ⁿ again until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.”