Matthew 26
26
The Plot against Jesus
(Mk 14.1–2; Lk 22.1–2; Jn 11.45–53)
1When Jesus had finished teaching all these things, he said to his disciples, 2#Ex 12.1–27“In two days, as you know, it will be the Passover Festival, and the Son of Man will be handed over to be crucified.”
3Then the chief priests and the elders met together in the palace of Caiaphas, the High Priest, 4and made plans to arrest Jesus secretly and put him to death. 5“We must not do it during the festival,” they said, “or the people will riot.”
Jesus is Anointed at Bethany
(Mk 14.3–9; Jn 12.1–8)
6Jesus was in Bethany at the house of Simon, a man who had suffered from a dreaded skin disease. 7#Lk 7.37–38While Jesus was eating, a woman came to him with an alabaster jar filled with an expensive perfume, which she poured on his head. 8The disciples saw this and became angry. “Why all this waste?” they asked. 9“This perfume could have been sold for a large amount and the money given to the poor!”
10Jesus knew what they were saying, so he said to them, “Why are you bothering this woman? It is a fine and beautiful thing that she has done for me. 11#Deut 15.11You will always have poor people with you, but you will not always have me. 12What she did was to pour this perfume on my body to get me ready for burial. 13Now, I assure you that wherever this gospel is preached all over the world, what she has done will be told in memory of her.”
Judas Agrees to Betray Jesus
(Mk 14.10–11; Lk 22.3–6)
14Then one of the twelve disciples — the one named Judas Iscariot — went to the chief priests 15#Zech 11.12and asked, “What will you give me if I betray Jesus to you?” They counted out thirty silver coins and gave them to him. 16From then on Judas was looking for a good chance to hand Jesus over to them.
Jesus Eats the Passover Meal with his Disciples
(Mk 14.12–21; Lk 22.7–13, 21–23; Jn 13.21–30)
17On the first day of the Festival of Unleavened Bread the disciples came to Jesus and asked him, “Where do you want us to get the Passover meal ready for you?”
18 “Go to a certain man in the city,” he said to them, “and tell him: ‘The Teacher says, My hour has come; my disciples and I will celebrate the Passover at your house.’ ”
19The disciples did as Jesus had told them and prepared the Passover meal.
20When it was evening, Jesus and the twelve disciples sat down to eat. 21During the meal Jesus said, “I tell you, one of you will betray me.”
22The disciples were very upset and began to ask him, one after the other, “Surely, Lord, you don't mean me?”
23 #
Ps 41.9
Jesus answered, “One who dips his bread in the dish with me will betray me. 24The Son of Man will die as the Scriptures say he will, but how terrible for that man who betrays the Son of Man! It would have been better for that man if he had never been born!”
25Judas, the traitor, spoke up. “Surely, Teacher, you don't mean me?” he asked.
Jesus answered, “So you say.”
The Lord's Supper
(Mk 14.22–26; Lk 22.14–20; 1 Cor 11.23–25)
26While they were eating, Jesus took a piece of bread, gave a prayer of thanks, broke it, and gave it to his disciples. “Take and eat it,” he said; “this is my body.”
27Then he took a cup, gave thanks to God, and gave it to them. “Drink it, all of you,” he said; 28#Ex 24.8; Jer 31.31–34“this is my blood, which seals God's covenant, my blood poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. 29I tell you, I will never again drink this wine until the day I drink the new wine with you in my Father's Kingdom.”
30Then they sang a hymn and went out to the Mount of Olives.
Jesus Predicts Peter's Denial
(Mk 14.27–31; Lk 22.31–34; Jn 13.36–38)
31 #
Zech 13.7
Then Jesus said to them, “This very night all of you will run away and leave me, for the scripture says, ‘God will kill the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.’ 32#Mt 28.16But after I am raised to life, I will go to Galilee ahead of you.”
33Peter spoke up and said to Jesus, “I will never leave you, even though all the rest do!”
34Jesus said to Peter, “I tell you that before the cock crows tonight, you will say three times that you do not know me.”
35Peter answered, “I will never say that, even if I have to die with you!”
And all the other disciples said the same thing.
Jesus Prays in Gethsemane
(Mk 14.32–42; Lk 22.39–46)
36Then Jesus went with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to them, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.” 37He took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee. Grief and anguish came over him, 38and he said to them, “The sorrow in my heart is so great that it almost crushes me. Stay here and keep watch with me.”
39He went a little farther on, threw himself face downwards on the ground, and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, take this cup of suffering from me! Yet not what I want, but what you want.”
40Then he returned to the three disciples and found them asleep; and he said to Peter, “How is it that you three were not able to keep watch with me even for one hour? 41Keep watch and pray that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”
42Once more Jesus went away and prayed, “My Father, if this cup of suffering cannot be taken away unless I drink it, your will be done.” 43He returned once more and found the disciples asleep; they could not keep their eyes open.
44Again Jesus left them, went away, and prayed the third time, saying the same words. 45Then he returned to the disciples and said, “Are you still sleeping and resting? Look! The hour has come for the Son of Man to be handed over to the power of sinners. 46Get up, let us go. Look, here is the man who is betraying me!”
The Arrest of Jesus
(Mk 14.43–50; Lk 22.47–53; Jn 18.3–12)
47Jesus was still speaking when Judas, one of the twelve disciples, arrived. With him was a large crowd armed with swords and clubs and sent by the chief priests and the elders. 48The traitor had given the crowd a signal: “The man I kiss is the one you want. Arrest him!”
49Judas went straight to Jesus and said, “Peace be with you, Teacher,” and kissed him.
50Jesus answered, “Be quick about it, friend!”#26.50 Be quick about it, friend!; or Why are you here, friend?
Then they came up, arrested Jesus, and held him tight. 51One of those who were with Jesus drew his sword and struck at the High Priest's slave, cutting off his ear. 52“Put your sword back in its place,” Jesus said to him. “All who take the sword will die by the sword. 53Don't you know that I could call on my Father for help, and at once he would send me more than twelve armies of angels? 54But in that case, how could the Scriptures come true which say that this is what must happen?”
55 #
Lk 19.47; 21.37 Then Jesus spoke to the crowd, “Did you have to come with swords and clubs to capture me, as though I were an outlaw? Every day I sat down and taught in the Temple, and you did not arrest me. 56But all this has happened in order to make what the prophets wrote in the Scriptures come true.”
Then all the disciples left him and ran away.
Jesus Before the Council
(Mk 14.53–65; Lk 22.54–55, 63–71; Jn 18.13–14, 19–24)
57Those who had arrested Jesus took him to the house of Caiaphas, the High Priest, where the teachers of the Law and the elders had gathered together. 58Peter followed from a distance, as far as the courtyard of the High Priest's house. He went into the courtyard and sat down with the guards to see how it would all come out. 59The chief priests and the whole Council tried to find some false evidence against Jesus to put him to death; 60but they could not find any, even though many people came forward and told lies about him. Finally two men stepped up 61#Jn 2.19and said, “This man said, ‘I am able to tear down God's Temple and three days later build it up again.’ ”
62The High Priest stood up and said to Jesus, “Have you no answer to give to this accusation against you?” 63But Jesus kept quiet. Again the High Priest spoke to him, “In the name of the living God I now put you on oath: tell us if you are the Messiah, the Son of God.”
64 #
Dan 7.13
Jesus answered him, “So you say. But I tell all of you: from this time on you will see the Son of Man sitting on the right of the Almighty and coming on the clouds of heaven!”
65 #
Lev 24.16
At this the High Priest tore his clothes and said, “Blasphemy! We don't need any more witnesses! You have just heard his blasphemy! 66What do you think?”
They answered, “He is guilty and must die.”
67 #
Is 50.6
Then they spat in his face and beat him; and those who slapped him 68said, “Prophesy for us, Messiah! Guess who hit you!”
Peter Denies Jesus
(Mk 14.66–72; Lk 22.56–62; Jn 18.15–18, 25–27)
69Peter was sitting outside in the courtyard when one of the High Priest's servant women came to him and said, “You, too, were with Jesus of Galilee.”
70But he denied it in front of them all. “I don't know what you are talking about,” he answered, 71and went on out to the entrance of the courtyard. Another servant woman saw him and said to the men there, “He was with Jesus of Nazareth.”
72Again Peter denied it and answered, “I swear that I don't know that man!”
73After a little while the men standing there came to Peter. “Of course you are one of them,” they said. “After all, the way you speak gives you away!”
74Then Peter said, “I swear that I am telling the truth! May God punish me if I am not! I do not know that man!”
Just then a cock crowed, 75and Peter remembered what Jesus had told him: “Before the cock crows, you will say three times that you do not know me.” He went out and wept bitterly.
Currently Selected:
Matthew 26: GNBUK
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
Good News Bible. Scripture taken from the Good News Bible (r) (Today's English Version Second Edition, UK/British Edition). Copyright © 1992 British & Foreign Bible Society. Used by permission.
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.
Currently Selected:
:
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
MissionAssist 2018