Mattityahu (Mat) 26
26
1When Yeshua had finished speaking, he said to his talmidim, 2“As you know, Pesach is two days away, and the Son of Man will be handed over to be nailed to the execution-stake.”
3Then the head cohanim and the elders of the people gathered in the palace of Kayafa the cohen hagadol. 4They made plans to arrest Yeshua surreptitiously and have him put to death; 5but they said, “Not during the festival, or the people will riot.”
6Yeshua was in Beit-Anyah, at the home of Shim‘on, the man who had had tzara’at. 7A woman who had an alabaster jar filled with very expensive perfume approached Yeshua while he was eating and began pouring it on his head. 8When the talmidim saw it, they became very angry. “Why this waste?” they asked. 9“This could have been sold for a lot of money and given to the poor.” 10But Yeshua, aware of what was going on, said to them, “Why are you bothering this woman? She has done a beautiful thing for me. 11The poor you will always have with you, but you will not always have me. 12She poured this perfume on me to prepare my body for burial. 13Yes! I tell you that throughout the whole world, wherever this Good News is proclaimed, what she has done will be told in her memory.”
14Then one of the Twelve, the one called Y’hudah from K’riot, went to the head cohanim 15and said, “What are you willing to give me if I turn Yeshua over to you?” They counted out thirty silver coins and gave them to Y’hudah. 16From then on he looked for a good opportunity to betray him.
17On the first day for matzah, the talmidim came to Yeshua and asked, “Where do you want us to prepare your Seder?” 18“Go into the city, to so-and-so,” he replied, “and tell him that the Rabbi says, ‘My time is near, my talmidim and I are celebrating Pesach at your house.’” 19The talmidim did as Yeshua directed and prepared the Seder.
20When evening came, Yeshua reclined with the twelve talmidim; 21and as they were eating, he said, “Yes, I tell you that one of you is going to betray me.” 22They became terribly upset and began asking him, one after the other, “Lord, you don’t mean me, do you?” 23He answered, “The one who dips his matzah in the dish with me is the one who will betray me. 24The Son of Man will die just as the Tanakh says he will; but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been better for him had he never been born!” 25Y’hudah, the one who was betraying him, then asked, “Surely, Rabbi, you don’t mean me?” He answered, “The words are yours.”
26While they were eating, Yeshua took a piece of matzah, made the b’rakhah, broke it, gave it to the talmidim and said, “Take! Eat! This is my body!” 27Also he took a cup of wine, made the b’rakhah, and gave it to them, saying, “All of you, drink from it! 28For this is my blood, which ratifies the New Covenant, my blood shed on behalf of many, so that they may have their sins forgiven. 29I tell you, I will not drink this ‘fruit of the vine’ again until the day I drink new wine with you in my Father’s Kingdom.”
30After singing the Hallel, they went out to the Mount of Olives. 31Yeshua then said to them, “Tonight you will all lose faith in me, as the Tanakh says, ‘I will strike the shepherd dead, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.’ 32But after I have been raised, I will go ahead of you into the Galil.” 33“I will never lose faith in you,” Kefa answered, “even if everyone else does.” 34Yeshua said to him, “Yes! I tell you that tonight before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times!” 35“Even if I must die with you,” Kefa replied, “I will never disown you!” And all the talmidim said the same thing.
36Then Yeshua went with his talmidim to a place called Gat-Sh’manim and said to them, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.” 37He took with him Kefa and Zavdai’s two sons. Grief and anguish came over him, 38and he said to them, “My heart is so filled with sadness that I could die! Remain here and stay awake with me.” 39Going on a little farther, he fell on his face, praying, “My Father, if possible, let this cup pass from me! Yet — not what I want, but what you want!” 40He returned to the talmidim and found them sleeping. He said to Kefa, “Were you so weak that you couldn’t stay awake with me for even an hour? 41Stay awake, and pray that you will not be put to the test — the spirit indeed is eager, but human nature is weak.”
42A second time he went off and prayed. “My Father, if this cup cannot pass away unless I drink it, let what you want be done.” 43Again he returned and found them sleeping, their eyes were so heavy.
44Leaving them again, he went off and prayed a third time, saying the same words. 45Then he came to the talmidim and said, “For now, go on sleeping, take your rest. . . . Look! The time has come for the Son of Man to be betrayed into the hands of sinners. 46Get up! Let’s go! Here comes my betrayer!”
47While Yeshua was still speaking, Y’hudah (one of the Twelve!) came, and with him a large crowd carrying swords and clubs, from the head cohanim and elders of the people. 48The betrayer had arranged to give them a signal: “The man I kiss is the one you want — grab him!” 49He went straight up to Yeshua, said, “Shalom, Rabbi!” and kissed him. 50Yeshua said to him, “Friend, do what you came to do.” Then they moved forward, laid hold of Yeshua and arrested him.
51At that, one of the men with Yeshua reached for his sword, drew it out and struck at the servant of the cohen hagadol, cutting off his ear. 52Yeshua said to him, “Put your sword back where it belongs, for everyone who uses the sword will die by the sword. 53Don’t you know that I can ask my Father, and he will instantly provide more than a dozen armies of angels to help me? 54But if I did that, how could the passages in the Tanakh be fulfilled that say it has to happen this way?”
55Then Yeshua addressed the crowd: “So you came out to take me with swords and clubs, the way you would the leader of a rebellion? Every day I sat in the Temple court, teaching; and you didn’t seize me then. 56But all this has happened so that what the prophets wrote may be fulfilled.” Then the talmidim all deserted him and ran away.
57Those who had seized Yeshua led him off to Kayafa the cohen hagadol, where the Torah-teachers and elders were assembled. 58Kefa followed him at a distance as far as the courtyard of the cohen hagadol; then he went inside and sat down with the guards to see what the outcome would be.
59The head cohanim and the whole Sanhedrin looked for some false evidence against Yeshua, so that they might put him to death. 60But they didn’t find any, even though many liars came forward to give testimony. At last, however, two people came forward and said, 61“This man said, ‘I can tear down God’s Temple and build it again in three days.’” 62The cohen hagadol stood up and said, “Have you nothing to say to the accusation these men are making?” 63Yeshua remained silent. The cohen hagadol said to him, “I put you under oath! By the living God, tell us if you are the Mashiach, the Son of God!” 64Yeshua said to him, “The words are your own. But I tell you that one day you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of HaG’vurah and coming on the clouds of heaven.” 65At this, the cohen hagadol tore his robes. “Blasphemy!” he said. “Why do we still need witnesses? You heard him blaspheme! 66What is your verdict?” “Guilty,” they answered. “He deserves death!” 67Then they spit in his face and pounded him with their fists; and those who were beating him 68said, “Now, you ‘Messiah,’ ‘prophesy’ to us: who hit you that time?”
69Kefa was sitting outside in the courtyard when a servant girl came up to him. “You too were with Yeshua from the Galil,” she said. 70But he denied it in front of everyone — “I don’t know what you’re talking about!” 71He went out onto the porch, and another girl saw him and said to the people there, “This man was with Yeshua of Natzeret.” 72Again he denied it, swearing, “I don’t know the man!” 73After a little while, the bystanders approached Kefa and said, “You must be one of them — your accent gives you away.” 74This time he began to invoke a curse on himself as he swore, “I do not know the man!” — and immediately a rooster crowed. 75Kefa remembered what Yeshua had said, “Before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times”; and he went outside and cried bitterly.
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Mattityahu (Mat) 26: CJB
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Learn More About Complete Jewish BibleMatthew 26
26
Anointed for Burial
1-2When Jesus finished saying these things, he told his disciples, “You know that Passover comes in two days. That’s when the Son of Man will be betrayed and handed over for crucifixion.”
3-5At that very moment, the party of high priests and religious leaders was meeting in the chambers of the Chief Priest named Caiaphas, conspiring to seize Jesus by stealth and kill him. They agreed that it should not be done during Passover Week. “We don’t want a riot on our hands,” they said.
6-9When Jesus was at Bethany, a guest of Simon the Leper, a woman came up to him as he was eating dinner and anointed him with a bottle of very expensive perfume. When the disciples saw what was happening, they were furious. “That’s criminal! This could have been sold for a lot and the money handed out to the poor.”
10-13When Jesus realized what was going on, he intervened. “Why are you giving this woman a hard time? She has just done something wonderfully significant for me. You will have the poor with you every day for the rest of your lives, but not me. When she poured this perfume on my body, what she really did was anoint me for burial. You can be sure that wherever in the whole world the Message is preached, what she has just done is going to be remembered and admired.”
14-16That is when one of the Twelve, the one named Judas Iscariot, went to the cabal of high priests and said, “What will you give me if I hand him over to you?” They settled on thirty silver pieces. He began looking for just the right moment to hand him over.
The Traitor
17On the first of the Days of Unleavened Bread, the disciples came to Jesus and said, “Where do you want us to prepare your Passover meal?”
18-19He said, “Enter the city. Go up to a certain man and say, ‘The Teacher says, My time is near. I and my disciples plan to celebrate the Passover meal at your house.’” The disciples followed Jesus’ instructions to the letter, and prepared the Passover meal.
20-21After sunset, he and the Twelve were sitting around the table. During the meal, he said, “I have something hard but important to say to you: One of you is going to hand me over to the conspirators.”
22They were stunned, and then began to ask, one after another, “It isn’t me, is it, Master?”
23-24Jesus answered, “The one who hands me over is someone I eat with daily, one who passes me food at the table. In one sense the Son of Man is entering into a way of treachery well-marked by the Scriptures—no surprises here. In another sense that man who turns him in, turns traitor to the Son of Man—better never to have been born than do this!”
25Then Judas, already turned traitor, said, “It isn’t me, is it, Rabbi?”
Jesus said, “Don’t play games with me, Judas.”
The Bread and the Cup
26-29During the meal, Jesus took and blessed the bread, broke it, and gave it to his disciples:
Take, eat.
This is my body.
Taking the cup and thanking God, he gave it to them:
Drink this, all of you.
This is my blood,
God’s new covenant poured out for many people
for the forgiveness of sins.
“I’ll not be drinking wine from this cup again until that new day when I’ll drink with you in the kingdom of my Father.”
30They sang a hymn and went directly to Mount Olives.
Gethsemane
31-32Then Jesus told them, “Before the night’s over, you’re going to fall to pieces because of what happens to me. There is a Scripture that says,
I’ll strike the shepherd;
dazed and confused, the sheep will be scattered.
But after I am raised up, I, your Shepherd, will go ahead of you, leading the way to Galilee.”
33Peter broke in, “Even if everyone else falls to pieces on account of you, I won’t.”
34“Don’t be so sure,” Jesus said. “This very night, before the rooster crows up the dawn, you will deny me three times.”
35Peter protested, “Even if I had to die with you, I would never deny you.” All the others said the same thing.
36-38Then Jesus went with them to a garden called Gethsemane and told his disciples, “Stay here while I go over there and pray.” Taking along Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, he plunged into an agonizing sorrow. Then he said, “This sorrow is crushing my life out. Stay here and keep vigil with me.”
39Going a little ahead, he fell on his face, praying, “My Father, if there is any way, get me out of this. But please, not what I want. You, what do you want?”
40-41When he came back to his disciples, he found them sound asleep. He said to Peter, “Can’t you stick it out with me a single hour? Stay alert; be in prayer so you don’t wander into temptation without even knowing you’re in danger. There is a part of you that is eager, ready for anything in God. But there’s another part that’s as lazy as an old dog sleeping by the fire.”
42He then left them a second time. Again he prayed, “My Father, if there is no other way than this, drinking this cup to the dregs, I’m ready. Do it your way.”
43-44When he came back, he again found them sound asleep. They simply couldn’t keep their eyes open. This time he let them sleep on, and went back a third time to pray, going over the same ground one last time.
45-46When he came back the next time, he said, “Are you going to sleep on and make a night of it? My time is up, the Son of Man is about to be handed over to the hands of sinners. Get up! Let’s get going! My betrayer is here.”
With Swords and Clubs
47-49The words were barely out of his mouth when Judas (the one from the Twelve) showed up, and with him a gang from the high priests and religious leaders brandishing swords and clubs. The betrayer had worked out a sign with them: “The one I kiss, that’s the one—seize him.” He went straight to Jesus, greeted him, “How are you, Rabbi?” and kissed him.
50-51Jesus said, “Friend, why this charade?”
Then they came on him—grabbed him and roughed him up. One of those with Jesus pulled his sword and, taking a swing at the Chief Priest’s servant, cut off his ear.
52-54Jesus said, “Put your sword back where it belongs. All who use swords are destroyed by swords. Don’t you realize that I am able right now to call to my Father, and twelve companies—more, if I want them—of fighting angels would be here, battle-ready? But if I did that, how would the Scriptures come true that say this is the way it has to be?”
55-56Then Jesus addressed the mob: “What is this—coming out after me with swords and clubs as if I were a dangerous criminal? Day after day I have been sitting in the Temple teaching, and you never so much as lifted a hand against me. You’ve done it this way to confirm and fulfill the prophetic writings.”
Then all the disciples cut and ran.
False Charges
57-58The gang that had seized Jesus led him before Caiaphas the Chief Priest, where the religion scholars and leaders had assembled. Peter followed at a safe distance until they got to the Chief Priest’s courtyard. Then he slipped in and mingled with the servants, watching to see how things would turn out.
59-60a The high priests, conspiring with the Jewish Council, tried to cook up charges against Jesus in order to sentence him to death. But even though many stepped up, making up one false accusation after another, nothing was believable.
60b-61 Finally two men came forward with this: “He said, ‘I can tear down this Temple of God and after three days rebuild it.’”
62The Chief Priest stood up and said, “What do you have to say to the accusation?”
63Jesus kept silent.
Then the Chief Priest said, “I command you by the authority of the living God to say if you are the Messiah, the Son of God.”
64Jesus was curt: “You yourself said it. And that’s not all. Soon you’ll see it for yourself:
The Son of Man seated at the right hand of the Mighty One,
Arriving on the clouds of heaven.”
65-66At that, the Chief Priest lost his temper, ripping his robes, yelling, “He blasphemed! Why do we need witnesses to accuse him? You all heard him blaspheme! Are you going to stand for such blasphemy?”
They all said, “Death! That seals his death sentence.”
67-68Then they were spitting in his face and knocking him around. They jeered as they slapped him: “Prophesy, Messiah: Who hit you that time?”
Denial in the Courtyard
69All this time, Peter was sitting out in the courtyard. One servant girl came up to him and said, “You were with Jesus the Galilean.”
70In front of everybody there, he denied it. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
71As he moved over toward the gate, someone else said to the people there, “This man was with Jesus the Nazarene.”
72Again he denied it, salting his denial with an oath: “I swear, I never laid eyes on the man.”
73Shortly after that, some bystanders approached Peter. “You’ve got to be one of them. Your accent gives you away.”
74-75Then he got really nervous and swore. “I don’t know the man!”
Just then a rooster crowed. Peter remembered what Jesus had said: “Before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times.” He went out and cried and cried and cried.
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THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson. All rights reserved. Used by permission of NavPress. Represented by Tyndale House Publishers.