Matthew 26
26
Chapter 26
Those who are against Jesus want to take hold of him
1When Jesus finished saying all these things, he said to his disciples, 2‘You know that after two days it will be the time of the Passover festival. Then those people who are against me will put me into the power of the rulers. They will fix me, the Son of Man, to a cross to kill me.’ #26:2 We can read about the first Passover meal in Exodus 12.
3Then the leaders of the priests and the important Jews met together in the house of the most important priest. His name was Caiaphas. 4They wanted to kill Jesus. But they wanted to take hold of him secretly. So they tried to decide how they could do that. 5They said to each other, ‘We do not want to take hold of him during the Passover festival. If we do that, the people will be angry and they may fight against us.’
A woman pours beautiful oil on Jesus' head
6Then Jesus went to Bethany and he visited Simon at his house. At one time, Simon had had a bad disease of the skin. #26:6 We believe that Jesus had caused Simon to become well again. Now Simon could live in his home in Bethany again.
7While Jesus was eating a meal there, a woman came into the house. She brought a small stone jar with her. The jar contained expensive oil with a very nice smell. #26:7 The oil was called nard and people made it from a plant. The plant grows in the country called India. People kept the oil in a special stone jar. The woman had to break the jar to pour out the oil. She poured the oil over Jesus' head while he sat there.
8Jesus' disciples saw what the woman had done. They became angry and they said, ‘This woman should not have wasted the oil. 9She could have sold it for a lot of money. Then she could have given the money to poor people.’
10Jesus knew what his disciples were saying. So he said to them, ‘Do not cause trouble for her. She has done a good thing to me. 11You will always have poor people with you. But you will not always have me with you. 12She has poured oil over my body. So now I will be ready for people to bury me. 13I tell you this: Everywhere in the world people will speak about this good news. At the same time, they will also tell people about the good thing that this woman has done. And so people will remember her.’
Judas Iscariot promises to sell Jesus for money
14Judas Iscariot was one of Jesus' 12 apostles. He went to see the leaders of the priests 15and he asked them, ‘How much money will you give me if I help you to take hold of Jesus?’ The priests gave Judas 30 silver coins. 16Judas then waited for the right moment to help them to take hold of Jesus.
Jesus eats his last meal with his 12 disciples
17The first day of the festival when the Jews eat flat bread arrived. #26:17 Flat bread is bread that has no yeast in it. Jesus' disciples came to him and they asked him, ‘Where do you want us to prepare the Passover meal for you to eat?’
18Jesus replied, ‘Go to a certain man in the city and say to him, “The teacher says: This is the moment that God has prepared for me. I will eat the Passover meal with my disciples in your house.” ’ 19So Jesus' disciples did what he had told them to do. They went and they prepared the Passover meal.
20When it was evening, Jesus and the 12 apostles sat down to eat the Passover meal together. 21While they were eating, Jesus said, ‘I tell you this: One of you will help the Jewish leaders to take hold of me.’
22They were very sad about what Jesus had said. Each one of them said to Jesus, ‘Lord, surely you do not mean me, do you?’
23Jesus said to them ‘The man who will give me to the rulers is eating from the same dish as I am. #26:23 There was a dish on the table with wet food in it. They all put the end of their bread into this dish and they ate the wet food with the bread. Sometimes a person ate out of the same dish as someone else. This meant that they were good friends. 24The Son of Man must die in the way that the Bible says. But it will be very bad for the man who gives me to my enemies. It would be better for that man if he had not been born.’
25Judas was the one who would give Jesus to the Jewish leaders. But he said to Jesus, ‘Teacher, surely you do not mean me, do you?’ Jesus replied to him, ‘Yes, you have said it.’
26While Jesus and his disciples were eating, he took a loaf of bread. He thanked God for it and then he broke the bread into pieces. He gave some of it to each of them. He said, ‘Take this bread and eat it. This is my body.’
27Then Jesus took a cup. He thanked God for the wine in the cup. Then he gave it to them and he said, ‘All of you should drink some of this wine. 28This is my blood that shows God's promise. When I die, my blood will pour out of my body. In that way God will forgive many people for the wrong things that they have done. That is the promise that God makes because of my death. 29I tell you this. I will not drink wine again until I drink it with you in my Father's kingdom. Then it will be new wine.’ #26:29 Most Christians still meet for special meals to remember what Jesus did for them. They obey Jesus. They eat bread and drink wine together. And they think about when Jesus died for them.
30Then Jesus and his disciples sang a song to praise God. #26:30 People sang a special song about God at the end of a Passover meal. It helped them to remember all that God had done for them. Then they went out to the Mount of Olives.
Jesus tells Peter what will happen
31Then Jesus said to his disciples, ‘Tonight, all of you will turn away from me. It will happen in the way that the Bible says:
God says, “I will kill the shepherd who leads the sheep.
Then all the sheep will run away in different directions.” ’ #26:31 See Zechariah 13:7
32Jesus then said, ‘But after that happens, I will become alive again. Then I will go to Galilee, and you will meet me there.’
33Peter said to Jesus, ‘Even if everyone else runs away, I will not leave you.’
34Jesus replied to Peter, ‘I tell you this: Even tonight, you will say three times that you do not know me. This will happen before the cockerel sings early tomorrow morning.’
35But Peter said to Jesus, ‘I will die with you if I need to. But I will never say that I do not know you.’ All the other disciples said the same thing.
Jesus prays in a garden on the Mount of Olives
36Then Jesus and his disciples arrived at a large garden called Gethsemane. Jesus said to the disciples, ‘Sit here while I go over there to pray.’ 37Then Jesus took Peter and Zebedee's two sons, James and John, with him. He became very sad and upset. 38He said to them, ‘I am very sad. I feel as if I could die because I feel so sad. Wait here with me and stay awake.’
39Jesus went a short way beyond them. He went down with his face on the ground. He prayed, ‘Father, if it is possible, please save me from this time of great pain. But Father, I do not ask you to do what I want. Do what you want to do.’
40Jesus returned to the three disciples. Now they were sleeping. He said to Peter, ‘You men could not stay awake with me for even one hour! 41You must stay awake and pray. God can help you, so that you will not do something wrong. You really want to do the right thing, but your bodies are weak.’
42Jesus went away a second time and he prayed, ‘My Father, if it is not possible to save me from this time of great pain, then I want to obey you. Do what you want for me.’
43Then Jesus returned again to Peter, James and John. He saw that they were sleeping. They could not keep their eyes open. 44So Jesus went away from them again and he prayed a third time. He said the same words to God.
45When he returned to the disciples, he said, ‘You should not still be sleeping and resting. Look! The moment has arrived! Someone will now give me, the Son of Man, to my enemies. 46Stand up, we will go now. Look! The man who will give me to my enemies is here.’
The soldiers take hold of Jesus
47While Jesus was still speaking, Judas arrived. He was one of Jesus' 12 disciples. A crowd also came with him. They were carrying swords and heavy sticks. The leaders of the priests and the important Jews had sent these people with Judas. 48Judas was ready to help the Jewish leaders to take hold of Jesus. Before this, he had told them, ‘I will kiss one of the men. You must take hold of that man.’
49Now Judas went immediately to Jesus. He said, ‘Hello, Teacher.’ Then he kissed Jesus in a friendly way. #26:49 We think that Judas kissed Jesus on the side of his face.
50Jesus said to Judas, ‘My friend, now do what you have come here to do.’
Then the crowd of men came up to Jesus. They took hold of him to lead him away. 51Then one of Jesus' disciples took hold of his sword. He hit the servant of the leader of the priests with it and he cut off the servant's ear.
52Then Jesus said to the disciple, ‘Put your sword back in its place. People who use a sword to kill others will themselves die in the same way. Someone will kill them with a sword. 53You should know that I could ask my Father God to help me. He would immediately send more than 12 large groups of angels to fight for me. 54They would save me. But then the things that God has said in the Bible about this would not happen. So it must happen in this way.’
55At that time, Jesus said to the crowd, ‘You have come out here with swords and heavy sticks to take hold of me. Do you really believe that I am leading people to fight against our country's rulers? No! I was teaching people every day in the yard of the temple. But you did not try to take hold of me then. 56The prophets wrote long ago that all this would happen to me. Now it has become true.’
Then all of Jesus' disciples ran away and left him.
Jesus stands in front of all the important rulers
57Then those men who had taken hold of Jesus took him to Caiaphas's house. Caiaphas was the most important priest. The teachers of God's Law and the important Jews were meeting there together with Caiaphas. #26:57 Caiaphas was the leader of the important Jewish rulers. There were 71 of them. They met together to decide about how to rule the people. They also decided how to punish a bad person. They had a lot of power, but they could not kill a bad person. Only the Roman rulers could do that.
58Peter followed Jesus into the yard of Caiaphas' house. But he did not go near Jesus. He sat down in the yard with the police who worked in the temple. He wanted to see what would happen.
59The leaders of the priests and all the Jewish leaders wanted to punish Jesus with death. So they tried to find some people who would say things against Jesus that were not true. 60Many people did come. And they said things against Jesus that were not true. But still the Jewish leaders could not find a reason to kill Jesus. #26:60 The Jewish leaders wanted a reason to give Jesus over to the Roman rulers. But Jesus had never said anything wrong.
Then two men stood up and they said, 61‘We heard this man say, “I can destroy the temple and in three days I can build it again.” ’
62Then Caiaphas stood up. He said to Jesus, ‘You must reply now to what these men have said against you. Are the things that they say true?’ 63But Jesus did not say anything.
So Caiaphas said to him, ‘I use the authority of the God who lives. You must promise to tell us what is true. Are you the Messiah? Are you the Son of God?’
64‘You have said it,’ Jesus replied. ‘And I tell all of you, soon you will see the Son of Man. He will be sitting in the most important place at the right side of the Most Powerful God. You will also see him coming to earth. He will be riding on the clouds in the sky.’
65Then Caiaphas tore his clothes to show that he was angry. #26:65 Caiaphas tore his coat to show other people that he was very angry. He said, ‘Jesus has spoken bad words against God. We do not need anyone else to speak against him. You have heard him speak bad words against God. 66Do you think that he is guilty?’
They replied, ‘He is guilty and he deserves to die.’
67Then some of them spat into Jesus' face. They also hit him with their fists. 68When they hit him, they said, ‘Messiah! Show us that you are a prophet. Tell us who hit you!’
Peter says three times that he does not know Jesus
69While all these things were happening, Peter was sitting outside in the yard. One of the girls who worked there went to him and she said, ‘You were also a friend of Jesus, the man from Galilee.’
70Peter said in front of everyone who was there, ‘That is not true. I do not know what you are talking about.’
71Peter then went out to the gate, and another servant girl saw him. This girl said to the people who were standing there, ‘This man was a friend of Jesus, the man from Nazareth.’
72Peter answered again very strongly. He said, ‘I promise you, I really do not know that man!’
73After a little time, other people who were standing at the gate spoke to Peter. They said, ‘We are sure that you too are one of that man's friends. We know this because you speak like people who live in Galilee.’
74Peter said to them very strongly, ‘I tell you that I do not know that man. God will surely punish me if this is not true!’
Immediately after Peter said this, the cockerel sang. 75Then Peter remembered that Jesus had said to him, ‘Tonight you will say three times that you do not know me. You will do it before the cockerel sings.’ So Peter went out of the yard. He began to weep a lot because he was very upset.
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Matthew 26: EASY
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MissionAssist 2018
Matthew 26
26
CHAPTER 26
1And it was done, when Jesus had ended all these words, he said to his disciples,
2Ye know, that after two days pask shall be made, and man’s Son shall be betaken to be crucified.
3Then the princes of priests, and the elder men of the people were gathered into the hall of the prince of priests, that was said Caiaphas,
4and made a counsel to hold Jesus with guile, and slay him;
5but they said, Not in the holiday [or in the feast day], lest peradventure noise were made in the people.
6And when Jesus was in Bethany, in the house of Simon the leprous,
7a woman that had a box of alabaster of precious ointment, came to him, and shedded it out on the head of him resting.
8And the disciples seeing had disdain, and said, Whereto is this loss?
9for it might be sold for much [or this might have been sold for much], and be given to poor men.
10But Jesus knew, and said to them, What be ye heavy to this woman? for she hath wrought in me a good work [or she hath wrought a good work in me].
11For ye shall ever[more] have poor men with you, but ye shall not always have me.
12For this woman sending this ointment into my body, did [for] to bury me.
13Truly I say to you, wherever this gospel shall be preached in all the world, it shall be said, that she did this, in mind of him.
14Then one of the twelve, that was called Judas Iscariot, went forth [or went] to the princes of priests,
15and said to them, What will ye give to me, and I shall betake him to you? And they ordained to him thirty pieces of silver.
16And from that time he sought opportunity, to betray him.
17And in the first day of therf loaves the disciples came to Jesus, and said, Where wilt thou [that] we make ready to thee, to eat pask?
18Jesus said, Go ye into the city to a man, and say to him, The master saith, My time is nigh; at thee I make pask with my disciples.
19And the disciples did, as Jesus commanded to them; and they made the pask ready.
20And when the eventide was come, he sat to [or at the] meat, with his twelve disciples.
21And he said to them, as they ate, Truly I say to you, that one of you shall betray me.
22And they full sorry, [or made sorrowful greatly], began each by himself to say, Lord, whether I am he?
23And he answered, and said, He that putteth with me his hand in the platter, shall betray me.
24Forsooth man’s Son goeth, as it is written of him; but woe to that man, by whom man’s Son shall be betrayed; it were good to him, if that man had not been born.
25But Judas that betrayed him, answered, saying, Master, whether I am he? Jesus said to him, Thou hast said.
26And while they supped, Jesus took bread, and blessed [it], and brake, and gave to his disciples, and said, Take ye, and eat; this is my body.
27And he took the cup, and did thankings, and gave to them, and said, Drink ye all thereof;
28this is my blood of the new testament, which shall be shed for many, into remission of sins.
29And I say to you, I shall not drink from this time, of this fruit of the vine, into that day when I shall drink it new with you, in the kingdom of my Father.
30And when the hymn was said, they went out into the mount of Olives.
31Then Jesus said to them, All ye shall suffer cause of stumbling in me, in this night; for it is written, I shall smite the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock shall be scattered.
32But after that I shall rise again, I shall go before you into Galilee.
33Peter answered, and said to him, Though all [men] shall be caused to stumble in thee, I shall never be caused to stumble.
34Jesus said to him, Truly I say to thee, for in this night before the cock crow, thrice thou shalt deny me.
35Peter said to him, Yea, though it behooveth that I die with thee, I shall not deny thee. Also all the disciples said.
36Then Jesus came with them into a town, that is said Gethsemane. And he said to his disciples, Sit ye here, while I go thither, and pray.
37And when he had taken Peter, and two sons of Zebedee, he began to be heavy and sorry [or to be sorrowful and heavy in heart].
38Then he said to them, My soul is sorrowful to the death; abide ye here, and wake ye with me.
39And he went forth a little, and felled down on his face, praying, and saying, My Father, if it is possible, pass this cup from me [or this cup pass from me]; nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.
40And he came to his disciples, and found them sleeping. And he said to Peter, So, whether ye might not one hour wake with me? [or might ye not one hour wake with me?]
41Wake ye, and pray ye, that ye enter not into temptation; for the spirit is ready, but the flesh is sick, [or unstable, or unsteadfast].
42Again the second time he went, and prayed, saying, My Father, if this cup may not pass, but I drink it, thy will be done.
43And again he came, and found them sleeping; for their eyes were heavied.
44And he left them, and went again, and prayed the third time, and said the same word.
45Then he came to his disciples, and said to them, Sleep ye now, and rest ye; lo! the hour hath nighed, and man’s Son shall be betaken [or be betrayed] into the hands of sinners;
46rise ye, go we; lo! he that shall take me, is nigh.
47Yet while he spake, lo! Judas, one of the twelve, came, and with him a great company, with swords and bats [or staves], sent from the princes of priests, and from the elder men of the people.
48And he that betrayed him, gave to them a token, and said, Whomever I shall kiss, he it is; hold ye him.
49And anon he came to Jesus, and said, Hail, Master; and he kissed him.
50And Jesus said to him, Friend, whereto art thou come? Then they came nigh, and laid hands on Jesus, and held him.
51And lo! one of them that were with Jesus, stretched out his hand, and drew out his sword; and he smote the servant of the prince of priests, and cut off his ear.
52Then Jesus said to him, Turn thy sword into his place; for all that take sword, shall perish by sword.
53Whether guessest thou, that I may not pray my Father, and he shall give to me now more than twelve legions of angels?
54How then shall the scriptures be fulfilled? for so it behooveth to be done.
55In that hour Jesus said to the people, As to a thief ye have gone out, with swords and bats [or staves], to take me; day by day I sat among you, and taught in the temple, and ye held me not.
56But all this thing was done, that the scriptures of prophets should be fulfilled. Then all the disciples fled, and left him.
57And they held Jesus, and led him to Caiaphas, the prince of priests, where the scribes and the Pharisees, and the elder men of the people were come together [or where the scribes and the elder men of the people had come together].
58But Peter pursued him afar, into the hall of the prince of priests; and he went in, and sat with the servants, to see the end.
59And the prince of priests, and all the council sought false witnessing against Jesus, that they should [be] take him to death;
60and they found not, when many false witnesses were come. But at the last, two false witnesses came,
61and said, This said, I may destroy the temple of God, and after the third day [or three days] build it again.
62And the prince of priests rose, and said to him, Answerest thou nothing to those things, that these witness against thee?
63But Jesus was still. And the prince of priests said to him, I conjure thee by the living God, that thou say to us, if thou art Christ, the Son of God.
64Jesus said to him, Thou hast said; nevertheless I say to you, hereafter ye shall see man’s Son sitting at the right half of the virtue of God, and coming in the clouds of heaven.
65Then the prince of priests rent his clothes, and said, He hath blasphemed; what yet have we need to witnesses? lo! now ye have heard blasphemy;
66what seemeth to you? And they answered, and said, He is guilty of death.
67Then they spat in his face, and smote him with buffets; and others gave strokes with the palm of their hands in[to] his face,
68and said, Thou Christ, declare [or prophesy] to us, who is he that smote thee?
69And Peter sat without in the hall; and a damsel [or an handmaid] came to him, and said, Thou were with Jesus of Galilee.
70And he denied before all [men], and said, I know not what thou sayest.
71And when he went out at the gate, another damsel [or handmaid] saw him, and said to them that were there, And this was with Jesus of Nazareth.
72And again he denied with an oath, For I knew not the man.
73And a little after, they that stood came, and said to Peter, Truly and thou art [one] of them; for thy speech maketh thee known.
74Then he began to curse and to swear, that he knew not the man. And anon the cock crew.
75And Peter bethought on the word of Jesus, that he had said, Before the cock crow, thrice thou shalt deny me. And he went out, and wept bitterly.
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Wycliffe’s Bible with Modern Spelling ©2017
Wycliffe’s Apocrypha ©2013, 2015
Wycliffe’s Bible © 2012, 2015
Wycliffe’s New Testament ©2001, 2011
Wycliffe’s Old Testament ©2001, 2010