Matthew 26

The Religious Leaders Plot to Kill Jesus

Mark 14:1, 2; Luke 22:1, 2

26Now it came to pass, when Jesus had finished all these sayings, that He said to His disciples, ^2a“You know that after two days is the Passover, and the Son of Man will be delivered up to be crucified.”

^3bThen the chief priests, ¹the scribes, and the elders of the people assembled at the palace of the high priest, who was called Caiaphas, ⁴and ^cplotted to take Jesus by ²trickery and kill Him. ⁵But they said, “Not during the feast, lest there be an uproar among the ^dpeople.”

Mary Anoints Jesus for Burial

Mark 14:3–9; John 12:2–8

⁶And when Jesus was in ^eBethany at the house of Simon the leper, ⁷a woman came to Him having an alabaster flask of very costly fragrant oil, and she poured it on His head as He sat at the table. ^8fBut when His disciples saw it, they were indignant, saying, “Why this waste? ⁹For this fragrant oil might have been sold for much and given to the poor.”

¹⁰But when Jesus was aware of it, He said to them, “Why do you trouble the woman? For she has done a good work for Me. ^11gFor you have the poor with you always, but ^hMe you do not have always. ¹²For in pouring this fragrant oil on My body, she did it for My ⁱburial. ¹³Assuredly, I say to you, wherever this gospel is preached in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be told as a memorial to her.”

Judas Agrees to Betray Jesus

Mark 14:10, 11; Luke 22:3–6

^14jThen one of the twelve, called ^kJudas Iscariot, went to the chief priests ¹⁵and said, ^l“What are you willing to give me if I deliver Him to you?” And they counted out to him thirty pieces of silver. ¹⁶So from that time he sought opportunity to betray Him.

The Passover is Prepared

Mark 14:12–16; Luke 22:7–13

^17mNow on the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread the disciples came to Jesus, saying to Him, “Where do You want us to prepare for You to eat the Passover?”

¹⁸And He said, “Go into the city to a certain man, and say to him, ‘The Teacher says, ⁿ“My time is at hand; I will keep the Passover at your house with My disciples.” ’ ”

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

The Passover is Celebrated

Mark 14:17–21; Luke 22:14, 21–23; John 13:21, 22

^20oWhen evening had come, He sat down with the twelve. ²¹Now as they were eating, He said, “Assuredly, I say to you, one of you will ^pbetray Me.”

²²And they were exceedingly sorrowful, and each of them began to say to Him, “Lord, is it I?”

²³He answered and said, ^q“He who dipped his hand with Me in the dish will betray Me. ²⁴The Son of Man indeed goes just ^ras it is written of Him, but ^swoe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! ^tIt would have been good for that man if he had not been born.”

²⁵Then Judas, who was betraying Him, answered and said, “Rabbi, is it I?”

He said to him, “You have said it.”

The Lord’s Supper is Instituted

Mark 14:22–25; Luke 22:19, 20; 1 Cor. 11:23–26

^26uAnd as they were eating, ^vJesus took bread, ³blessed and broke it, and gave it to the disciples and said, “Take, eat; ^wthis is My body.”

²⁷Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, ^x“Drink from it, all of you. ²⁸For ^ythis is My blood ^zof the ⁴new covenant, which is shed ^afor many for the ⁵remission of sins. ²⁹But ^bI say to you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on ^cuntil that day when I drink it new with you in My Father’s kingdom.”

Peter’s Denial is Predicted

Mark 14:26–31; Luke 22:34, 39; John 13:37, 38

^30dAnd when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.

³¹Then Jesus said to them, ^e“All of you will ^fbe ⁶made to stumble because of Me this night, for it is written:

^g‘I will strike the Shepherd,

And the sheep of the flock will be scattered.’

³²But after I have been raised, ^hI will go before you to Galilee.”

³³Peter answered and said to Him, “Even if all are ⁷made to stumble because of You, I will never be made to stumble.”

³⁴Jesus said to him, ⁱ“Assuredly, I say to you that this night, before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times.”

³⁵Peter said to Him, “Even if I have to die with You, I will not deny You!”

And so said all the disciples.

Jesus’ Three Prayers

Mark 14:32–42; Luke 22:40–46

^36jThen Jesus came with them to a place called Gethsemane, and said to the disciples, “Sit here while I go and pray over there.” ³⁷And He took with Him Peter and ^kthe two sons of Zebedee, and He began to be sorrowful and deeply distressed. ³⁸Then He said to them, ^l“My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death. Stay here and watch with Me.”

³⁹He went a little farther and fell on His face, and ^mprayed, saying, ⁿ“O My Father, if it is possible, ^olet this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, ^pnot as I will, but as You will.”

⁴⁰Then He came to the disciples and found them sleeping, and said to Peter, “What! Could you not watch with Me one hour? ^41qWatch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. ^rThe spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

⁴²Again, a second time, He went away and prayed, saying, “O My Father, ⁸if this cup cannot pass away from Me unless I drink it, Your will be done.” ⁴³And He came and found them asleep again, for their eyes were heavy.

⁴⁴So He left them, went away again, and prayed the third time, saying the same words. ⁴⁵Then He came to His disciples and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting? Behold, the hour ⁹is at hand, and the Son of Man is being ^sbetrayed into the hands of sinners. ⁴⁶Rise, let us be going. See, My betrayer is at hand.”

Jesus’ Betrayal and Arrest

Mark 14:43–52; Luke 22:47–53; John 18:1–11

⁴⁷And ^twhile He was still speaking, behold, Judas, one of the twelve, with a great multitude with swords and clubs, came from the chief priests and elders of the people.

⁴⁸Now His betrayer had given them a sign, saying, “Whomever I kiss, He is the One; seize Him.” ⁴⁹Immediately he went up to Jesus and said, “Greetings, Rabbi!” ^uand kissed Him.

⁵⁰But Jesus said to him, ^v“Friend, why have you come?”

Then they came and laid hands on Jesus and took Him. ⁵¹And suddenly, ^wone of those who were with Jesus stretched out his hand and drew his sword, struck the servant of the high priest, and cut off his ear.

⁵²But Jesus said to him, “Put your sword in its place, ^xfor all who take the sword will ¹perish by the sword. ⁵³Or do you think that I cannot now pray to My Father, and He will provide Me with ^ymore than twelve legions of angels? ⁵⁴How then could the Scriptures be fulfilled, ^zthat it must happen thus?”

⁵⁵In that hour Jesus said to the multitudes, “Have you come out, as against a robber, with swords and clubs to take Me? I sat daily with you, teaching in the temple, and you did not seize Me. ⁵⁶But all this was done that the ^aScriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled.”

Then ^ball the disciples forsook Him and fled.

Two False Witnesses

Mark 14:53–65; Luke 22:54, 55, 63–65; John 18:12, 18, 24

^57cAnd those who had laid hold of Jesus led Him away to Caiaphas the high priest, where the scribes and the elders were assembled. ⁵⁸But ^dPeter followed Him at a distance to the high priest’s courtyard. And he went in and sat with the servants to see the end.

⁵⁹Now the chief priests, ²the elders, and all the council sought ^efalse testimony against Jesus to put Him to death, ⁶⁰³but found none. Even though ^fmany false witnesses came forward, they found none. But at last ^gtwo ⁴false witnesses came forward ⁶¹and said, “This fellow said, ^h‘I am able to destroy the temple of God and to build it in three days.’ ”

⁶²ⁱAnd the high priest arose and said to Him, “Do You answer nothing? What is it these men testify against You?” ⁶³But ^jJesus kept silent. And the high priest answered and said to Him, ^k“I put You under oath by the living God: Tell us if You are the Christ, the Son of God!”

⁶⁴Jesus said to him, “It is as you said. Nevertheless, I say to you, ^lhereafter you will see the Son of Man ^msitting at the right hand of the Power, and coming on the clouds of heaven.”

⁶⁵ⁿThen the high priest tore his clothes, saying, “He has spoken blasphemy! What further need do we have of witnesses? Look, now you have heard His ^oblasphemy! ⁶⁶What do you think?”

They answered and said, ^p“He is deserving of death.”

^67qThen they spat in His face and beat Him; and ^rothers struck Him with ⁵the palms of their hands, ⁶⁸saying, ^s“Prophesy to us, Christ! Who is the one who struck You?”

Three Denials of Peter

Mark 14:66–72; Luke 22:55–62; John 18:15–18, 25–27

^69tNow Peter sat outside in the courtyard. And a servant girl came to him, saying, “You also were with Jesus of Galilee.”

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

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

⁷²But again he denied with an oath, “I do not know the Man!”

⁷³And a little later those who stood by came up and said to Peter, “Surely you also are one of them, for your ^uspeech betrays you.”

⁷⁴Then ^vhe began to ⁶curse and ⁷swear, saying, “I do not know the Man!”

Immediately a rooster crowed. ⁷⁵And Peter remembered the word of Jesus who had said to him, ^w“Before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times.” So he went out and wept bitterly.