Mark 13:14–14:31

¹⁴“The day is coming when you will see the sacrilegious object that causes desecration^* standing where he^* should not be.” (Reader, pay attention!) “Then those in Judea must flee to the hills. ¹⁵A person out on the deck of a roof must not go down into the house to pack. ¹⁶A person out in the field must not return even to get a coat. ¹⁷How terrible it will be for pregnant women and for nursing mothers in those days. ¹⁸And pray that your flight will not be in winter. ¹⁹For there will be greater anguish in those days than at any time since God created the world. And it will never be so great again. ²⁰In fact, unless the Lord shortens that time of calamity, not a single person will survive. But for the sake of his chosen ones he has shortened those days.

²¹“Then if anyone tells you, ‘Look, here is the Messiah,’ or ‘There he is,’ don’t believe it. ²²For false messiahs and false prophets will rise up and perform signs and wonders so as to deceive, if possible, even God’s chosen ones. ²³Watch out! I have warned you about this ahead of time!

²⁴“At that time, after the anguish of those days,

the sun will be darkened,

the moon will give no light,

²⁵the stars will fall from the sky,

and the powers in the heavens will be shaken.

²⁶Then everyone will see the Son of Man^* coming on the clouds with great power and glory. ²⁷And he will send out his angels to gather his chosen ones from all over the world^*—from the farthest ends of the earth and heaven.

²⁸“Now learn a lesson from the fig tree. When its branches bud and its leaves begin to sprout, you know that summer is near. ²⁹In the same way, when you see all these things taking place, you can know that his return is very near, right at the door. ³⁰I tell you the truth, this generation^* will not pass from the scene before all these things take place. ³¹Heaven and earth will disappear, but my words will never disappear.

³²“However, no one knows the day or hour when these things will happen, not even the angels in heaven or the Son himself. Only the Father knows. ³³And since you don’t know when that time will come, be on guard! Stay alert^*!

³⁴“The coming of the Son of Man can be illustrated by the story of a man going on a long trip. When he left home, he gave each of his slaves instructions about the work they were to do, and he told the gatekeeper to watch for his return. ³⁵You, too, must keep watch! For you don’t know when the master of the household will return—in the evening, at midnight, before dawn, or at daybreak. ³⁶Don’t let him find you sleeping when he arrives without warning. ³⁷I say to you what I say to everyone: Watch for him!”

Chapter 14

Jesus Anointed at Bethany

It was now two days before Passover and the Festival of Unleavened Bread. The leading priests and the teachers of religious law were still looking for an opportunity to capture Jesus secretly and kill him. ²“But not during the Passover celebration,” they agreed, “or the people may riot.”

³Meanwhile, Jesus was in Bethany at the home of Simon, a man who had previously had leprosy. While he was eating, a woman came in with a beautiful alabaster jar of expensive perfume made from essence of nard. She broke open the jar and poured the perfume over his head.

⁴Some of those at the table were indignant. “Why waste such expensive perfume?” they asked. ⁵“It could have been sold for a year’s wages and the money given to the poor!” So they scolded her harshly.

⁶But Jesus replied, “Leave her alone. Why criticize her for doing such a good thing to me? ⁷You will always have the poor among you, and you can help them whenever you want to. But you will not always have me. ⁸She has done what she could and has anointed my body for burial ahead of time. ⁹I tell you the truth, wherever the Good News is preached throughout the world, this woman’s deed will be remembered and discussed.”

Judas Agrees to Betray Jesus

¹⁰Then Judas Iscariot, one of the twelve disciples, went to the leading priests to arrange to betray Jesus to them. ¹¹They were delighted when they heard why he had come, and they promised to give him money. So he began looking for an opportunity to betray Jesus.

The Last Supper

¹²On the first day of the Festival of Unleavened Bread, when the Passover lamb is sacrificed, Jesus’ disciples asked him, “Where do you want us to go to prepare the Passover meal for you?”

¹³So Jesus sent two of them into Jerusalem with these instructions: “As you go into the city, a man carrying a pitcher of water will meet you. Follow him. ¹⁴At the house he enters, say to the owner, ‘The Teacher asks: Where is the guest room where I can eat the Passover meal with my disciples?’ ¹⁵He will take you upstairs to a large room that is already set up. That is where you should prepare our meal.” ¹⁶So the two disciples went into the city and found everything just as Jesus had said, and they prepared the Passover meal there.

¹⁷In the evening Jesus arrived with the Twelve. ¹⁸As they were at the table eating, Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, one of you eating with me here will betray me.”

¹⁹Greatly distressed, each one asked in turn, “Am I the one?”

²⁰He replied, “It is one of you twelve who is eating from this bowl with me. ²¹For the Son of Man^* must die, as the Scriptures declared long ago. But how terrible it will be for the one who betrays him. It would be far better for that man if he had never been born!”

²²As they were eating, Jesus took some bread and blessed it. Then he broke it in pieces and gave it to the disciples, saying, “Take it, for this is my body.”

²³And he took a cup of wine and gave thanks to God for it. He gave it to them, and they all drank from it. ²⁴And he said to them, “This is my blood, which confirms the covenant^* between God and his people. It is poured out as a sacrifice for many. ²⁵I tell you the truth, I will not drink wine again until the day I drink it new in the Kingdom of God.”

²⁶Then they sang a hymn and went out to the Mount of Olives.

Jesus Predicts Peter’s Denial

²⁷On the way, Jesus told them, “All of you will desert me. For the Scriptures say,

‘God will strike^* the Shepherd,

and the sheep will be scattered.’

²⁸But after I am raised from the dead, I will go ahead of you to Galilee and meet you there.”

²⁹Peter said to him, “Even if everyone else deserts you, I never will.”

³⁰Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, Peter—this very night, before the rooster crows twice, you will deny three times that you even know me.”

³¹“No!” Peter declared emphatically. “Even if I have to die with you, I will never deny you!” And all the others vowed the same.