The Plot to Kill Jesus

¹Now the Feast of Unleavened Bread,called the Passover, was approaching,

²and the chief priests and scribes were looking for a way to put Jesus to death, for they feared the people.

Judas Agrees to Betray Jesus

³Then Satan entered Judas Iscariot, who was one of the Twelve.

⁴And Judas went to discuss with the chief priests and temple officers how he might betray Jesus to them.

⁵They were delighted and agreed to give him money.

⁶Judas consented, and began to look for an opportunity to betray Jesus to them in the absence of a crowd.

Preparing the Passover

⁷Then came the day of Unleavened Bread on which the Passover lamb was to be sacrificed.

⁸Jesus sent Peter and John, saying, “Go and make preparations for us to eat the Passover.”

⁹“Where do You want us to prepare it?” they asked.

¹⁰He answered, “When you enter the city, a man carrying a jug of water will meet you. Follow him to the house he enters,

¹¹and say to the owner of that house, ‘The Teacher asks: Where is the guest room, where I may eat the Passover with My disciples?’

¹²And he will show you a large upper room, already furnished. Make preparations there.”

¹³So they went and found it just as Jesus had told them. And they prepared the Passover.

The Last Supper

¹⁴When the hour had come, Jesus reclined at the table with His apostles.

¹⁵And He said to them, “I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before My suffering.

¹⁶For I tell you that I will not eat it again until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.”

¹⁷After taking the cup, He gave thanks and said, “Take this and divide it among yourselves.

¹⁸For I tell you that I will not drink of the fruit of the vine from now on until the kingdom of God comes.”

¹⁹And He took the bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is My body, given for you; do this in remembrance of Me.”

²⁰In the same way, after supper He took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is poured out for you.

²¹Look! The hand of My betrayer is with Mine on the table.

²²Indeed, the Son of Man will go as it has been determined, but woe to that man who betrays Him.”

²³Then they began to question among themselves which of them was going to do this.

Who Is the Greatest?

²⁴A dispute also arose among the disciples as to which of them should be considered the greatest.

²⁵So Jesus declared, “The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those in authority over them call themselves benefactors.

²⁶But you shall not be like them. Instead, the greatest among you should be like the youngest, and the one who leads like the one who serves.

²⁷For who is greater, the one who reclines at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one who reclines? But I am among you as one who serves.

²⁸You are the ones who have stood by Me in My trials.

²⁹And I bestow on you a kingdom, just as My Father has bestowed one on Me,

³⁰so that you may eat and drink at My table in My kingdom and sit on thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.

Jesus Predicts Peter’s Denial

³¹Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift all of you like wheat.

³²But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith will not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.”

³³“Lord,” said Peter, “I am ready to go with You even to prison and to death.”

³⁴But Jesus replied, “I tell you, Peter, the rooster will not crow today until you have denied three times that you know Me.”

³⁵Then Jesus asked them, “When I sent you out without purse or bag or sandals, did you lack anything?”“Nothing,” they answered.

³⁶“Now, however,” He told them, “the one with a purse should take it, and likewise a bag; and the one without a sword should sell his cloak and buy one.

³⁷For I tell you that this Scripture must be fulfilled in Me: ‘And He was numbered with the transgressors.’For what is written about Me is reaching its fulfillment.”

³⁸So they said, “Look, Lord, here are two swords.”“That is enough,” He answered.

Jesus Prays on the Mount of Olives

³⁹Jesus went out as usual to the Mount of Olives, and the disciples followed Him.

⁴⁰When He came to the place, He told them, “Pray that you will not enter into temptation.”

⁴¹And He withdrew about a stone’s throw beyond them, where He knelt down and prayed,

⁴²“Father, if You are willing, take this cup from Me. Yet not My will, but Yours be done.”

⁴³Then an angel from heaven appeared to Him and strengthened Him.

⁴⁴And in His anguish, He prayed more earnestly, and His sweat became like drops of blood falling to the ground.

⁴⁵When Jesus rose from prayer and returned to the disciples, He found them asleep, exhausted from sorrow.

⁴⁶“Why are you sleeping?” He asked. “Get up and pray so that you will not enter into temptation.”

The Betrayal of Jesus

⁴⁷While He was still speaking, a crowd arrived, led by the man called Judas, one of the Twelve. He approached Jesus to kiss Him.

⁴⁸But Jesus asked him, “Judas, are you betraying the Son of Man with a kiss?”

⁴⁹Those around Jesus saw what was about to happen and said, “Lord, should we strike with our swords?”

⁵⁰And one of them struck the servant of the high priest, cutting off his right ear.

⁵¹But Jesus answered, “No more of this!” And He touched the man’s ear and healed him.

⁵²Then Jesus said to the chief priests, temple officers, and elders who had come for Him, “Have you come out with swords and clubs as you would against an outlaw?

⁵³Every day I was with you in the temple courts,and you did not lay a hand on Me. But this hour belongs to you and to the power of darkness.”

Peter Denies Jesus

⁵⁴Then they seized Jesus, led Him away, and took Him into the house of the high priest. And Peter followed at a distance.

⁵⁵When those present had kindled a fire in the middle of the courtyard and sat down together, Peter sat down among them.

⁵⁶A servant girl saw him seated in the firelight and looked intently at him. “This man also was with Him,” she said.

⁵⁷But Peter denied it. “Woman, I do not know Him,” he said.

⁵⁸A short time later, someone else saw him and said, “You also are one of them.”But Peter said, “Man, I am not.”

⁵⁹About an hour later, another man insisted, “Certainly this man was with Him, for he too is a Galilean.”

⁶⁰“Man, I do not know what you are talking about,” Peter replied.And immediately, while he was still speaking, the rooster crowed.

⁶¹And the Lord turned and looked at Peter.Then Peter remembered the word that the Lord had spoken to him: “Before the rooster crows today, you will deny Me three times.”

⁶²And he went outside and wept bitterly.

The Soldiers Mock Jesus

⁶³The men who were holding Jesus began to mock Him and beat Him.

⁶⁴They blindfolded Himand kept demanding, “Prophesy! Who hit You?”

⁶⁵And they said many other blasphemous things against Him.

Jesus before the Sanhedrin

⁶⁶At daybreak the council of the elders of the people, both the chief priests and scribes, met together. They led Jesus into their Sanhedrinand said,

⁶⁷“If You are the Christ, tell us.”Jesus answered, “If I tell you, you will not believe.

⁶⁸And if I ask you a question, you will not answer.

⁶⁹But from now on the Son of Man will be seated at the right hand of the power of God.”

⁷⁰So they all asked, “Are You then the Son of God?”He replied, “You say that I am.”

⁷¹“Why do we need any more testimony?” they declared. “We have heard it for ourselves from His own lips.”

Jesus’ Authority Challenged

¹One day as Jesus was teaching the people in the temple courtsand proclaiming the gospel, the chief priests and scribes, together with the elders, came up to Him.

²“Tell us,” they said, “by what authority are You doing these things, and who gave You this authority?”

³“I will also ask you a question,” Jesus replied. “Tell Me:

⁴John’s baptism—was it from heaven, or from men?”

⁵They deliberated among themselves and said, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ He will ask, ‘Why did you not believe him?’

⁶But if we say, ‘From men,’ all the people will stone us, for they are convinced that John was a prophet.”

⁷So they answered that they did not know where it was from.

⁸And Jesus replied, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.”

The Parable of the Wicked Tenants

⁹Then He proceeded to tell the people this parable: “A man planted a vineyard, rented it out to some tenants, and went away for a long time.

¹⁰At harvest time, he sent a servant to the tenants to collect his share of the fruit of the vineyard. But the tenants beat the servant and sent him away empty-handed.

¹¹So he sent another servant, but they beat him and treated him shamefully, sending him away empty-handed.

¹²Then he sent a third, but they wounded him and threw him out.

¹³‘What shall I do?’ asked the owner of the vineyard. ‘I will send my beloved son. Perhaps they will respect him.’

¹⁴But when the tenants saw the son, they discussed it among themselves and said, ‘This is the heir. Let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’

¹⁵So they threw him out of the vineyard and killed him.What then will the owner of the vineyard do to them?

¹⁶He will come and kill those tenants and give the vineyard to others.”And when the people heard this, they said, “May such a thing never happen!”

¹⁷But Jesus looked directly at them and said, “Then what is the meaning of that which is written:‘The stone the builders rejectedhas become the cornerstone’?

¹⁸Everyone who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces, but he on whom it falls will be crushed.”

Paying Taxes to Caesar

¹⁹When the scribes and chief priests realized that Jesus had spoken this parable against them, they sought to arrest Him that very hour. But they were afraid of the people.

²⁰So they watched Him closely and sent spies who pretended to be sincere. They were hoping to catch Him in His words in order to hand Him over to the rule and authority of the governor.

²¹“Teacher,” they inquired, “we know that You speak and teach correctly. You show no partiality but teach the way of God in accordance with the truth.

²²Is it lawful for us to pay taxes to Caesar or not?”

²³But Jesus saw through their duplicity and said to them,

²⁴“Show Me a denarius.Whose image and inscription are on it?”“Caesar’s,” they answered.

²⁵So Jesus told them, “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.”

²⁶And they were unable to trap Him in His words before the people. And amazed at His answer, they fell silent.

The Sadducees and the Resurrection

²⁷Then some of the Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to question Him.

²⁸“Teacher,” they said, “Moses wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies and leaves a wife but no children, the man is to marry his brother’s widow and raise up offspring for him.

²⁹Now there were seven brothers. The first one married a wife but died childless.

³⁰Then the second

³¹and the third married the widow, and in the same way all seven died, leaving no children.

³²And last of all, the woman died.

³³So then, in the resurrection, whose wife will she be? For all seven were married to her.”

³⁴Jesus answered, “The sons of this age marry and are given in marriage.

³⁵But those who are considered worthy to share in the age to come and in the resurrection from the dead will neither marry nor be given in marriage.

³⁶In fact, they can no longer die, because they are like the angels. And since they are sons of the resurrection, they are sons of God.

³⁷Even Moses demonstrates that the dead are raised, in the passage about the burning bush. For he calls the Lord ‘the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’

³⁸He is not the God of the dead, but of the living, for to Him all are alive.”

³⁹Some of the scribes answered, “Teacher, You have spoken well!”

⁴⁰And they did not dare to question Him any further.

Whose Son Is the Christ?

⁴¹Then Jesus declared, “How can it be said that the Christ is the Son of David?

⁴²For David himself says in the book of Psalms:‘The Lord said to my Lord,“Sit at My right hand

⁴³until I make Your enemiesa footstool for Your feet.”’

⁴⁴Thus David calls Him ‘Lord.’ So how can He be David’s son?”

Beware of the Scribes

⁴⁵In the hearing of all the people, Jesus said to His disciples,

⁴⁶“Beware of the scribes. They like to walk around in long robes, and they love the greetings in the marketplaces, the chief seats in the synagogues, and the places of honor at banquets.

⁴⁷They defraud widows of their houses,and for a show make lengthy prayers. These men will receive greater condemnation.”

The Transfiguration

¹Then Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, there are some standing here who will not taste death before they see the kingdom of God arrive with power.”

²After six days Jesus took with Him Peter, James, and John, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. There He was transfigured before them.

³His clothes became radiantly white, brighter than any launderer on earth could bleach them.

⁴And Elijah and Moses appeared before them, talking with Jesus.

⁵Peter said to Jesus, “Rabbi, it is good for us to be here. Let us put up three shelters—one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.”

⁶For they were all so terrified that Peter did not know what else to say.

⁷Then a cloud appeared and enveloped them, and a voice came from the cloud: “This is My beloved Son. Listen to Him!”

⁸Suddenly, when they looked around, they saw no one with them except Jesus.

⁹As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus admonished them not to tell anyone what they had seen until the Son of Man had risen from the dead.

¹⁰So they kept this matter to themselves, discussing what it meant to rise from the dead.

¹¹And they asked Jesus, “Why do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?”

¹²He replied, “Elijah does indeed come first, and he restores all things. Why then is it written that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected?

¹³But I tell you that Elijah has indeed come, and they have done to him whatever they wished, just as it is written about him.”

The Boy with an Evil Spirit

¹⁴When they returned to the other disciples, they saw a large crowd around them, and scribes arguing with them.

¹⁵As soon as all the people saw Jesus, they were filled with awe and ran to greet Him.

¹⁶“What are you disputing with them?” He asked.

¹⁷Someone in the crowd replied, “Teacher, I brought You my son, who has a spirit that makes him mute.

¹⁸Whenever it seizes him, it throws him to the ground. He foams at the mouth, gnashes his teeth, and becomes rigid.I asked Your disciples to drive it out, but they were unable.”

¹⁹“O unbelieving generation!” Jesus replied. “How long must I remain with you? How long must I put up with you? Bring the boy to Me.”

²⁰So they brought him, and seeing Jesus, the spirit immediately threw the boy into a convulsion. He fell to the ground and rolled around, foaming at the mouth.

²¹Jesus asked the boy’s father, “How long has this been with him?”“From childhood,” he said.

²²“It often throws him into the fire or into the water, trying to kill him. But if You can do anything, have compassion on us and help us.”

²³“If You can?” echoed Jesus. “All things are possible to him who believes!”

²⁴Immediately the boy’s father cried out,“I do believe; help my unbelief!”

²⁵When Jesus saw that a crowd had come running, He rebuked the unclean spirit. “You deaf and mute spirit,” He said, “I command you to come out and never enter him again.”

²⁶After shrieking and convulsing him violently, the spirit came out. The boy became like a corpse, so that many said, “He is dead.”

²⁷But Jesus took him by the hand and helped him to his feet, and he stood up.

²⁸After Jesus had gone into the house, His disciples asked Him privately, “Why couldn’t we drive it out?”

²⁹Jesus answered, “This kind cannot come out, except by prayer.”

The Second Prediction of the Passion

³⁰Going on from there, they passed through Galilee. But Jesus did not want anyone to know,

³¹because He was teaching His disciples. He told them, “The Son of Man will be delivered into the hands of men. They will kill Him, and after three days He will rise.”

³²But they did not understand this statement, and they were afraid to ask Him about it.

The Greatest in the Kingdom

³³Then they came to Capernaum. While Jesus was in the house, He asked them, “What were you discussing on the way?”

³⁴But they were silent, for on the way they had been arguing about which of them was the greatest.

³⁵Sitting down, Jesus called the Twelve and said, “If anyone wants to be first, he must be the last of all and the servant of all.”

³⁶Then He had a little child stand among them. Taking the child in His arms, He said to them,

³⁷“Whoever welcomes one of these little children in My name welcomes Me, and whoever welcomes Me welcomes not only Me, but the One who sent Me.”

³⁸John said to Him, “Teacher, we saw someone else driving out demons in Your name, and we tried to stop him, because he does not accompany us.”

³⁹“Do not stop him,” Jesus replied. “For no one who performs a miracle in My name can turn around and speak evil of Me.

⁴⁰For whoever is not against us is for us.

⁴¹Indeed, if anyone gives you even a cup of water because you bear the name of Christ, truly I tell you, he will never lose his reward.

Temptations and Trespasses

⁴²But if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble, it would be better for him to have a large millstone hung around his neck and to be thrown into the sea.

⁴³If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life crippled than to have two hands and go into hell,into the unquenchable fire.

⁴⁵If your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life lame than to have two feet and be thrown into hell.

⁴⁷And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into hell,

⁴⁸where ‘their worm never dies, and the fire is never quenched.’

Good Salt

⁴⁹For everyone will be salted with fire.

⁵⁰Salt is good, but if the salt loses its saltiness, with what will you season it? Have salt among yourselves, and be at peace with one another.”

Similitudes and Instructions

¹Like snow in summer and rain at harvest,honor does not befit a fool.

²Like a fluttering sparrow or darting swallow,an undeserved curse does not come to rest.

³A whip for the horse, a bridle for the donkey,and a rod for the backs of fools!

⁴Do not answer a fool according to his folly,or you yourself will be like him.

⁵Answer a fool according to his folly,lest he become wise in his own eyes.

⁶Like cutting off one’s own feet or drinking violenceis the sending of a message by the hand of a fool.

⁷Like lame legs hanging limpis a proverb in the mouth of a fool.

⁸Like binding a stone into a slingis the giving of honor to a fool.

⁹Like a thorn that goes into the hand of a drunkardis a proverb in the mouth of a fool.

¹⁰Like an archer who wounds at randomis he who hires a fool or passerby.

¹¹As a dog returns to its vomit,so a fool repeats his folly.

¹²Do you see a man who is wise in his own eyes?There is more hope for a fool than for him.

¹³The slacker says, “A lion is in the road!A fierce lion roams the public square!”

¹⁴As a door turns on its hinges,so the slacker turns on his bed.

¹⁵The slacker buries his hand in the dish;it wearies him to bring it back to his mouth.

¹⁶The slacker is wiser in his own eyesthan seven men who answer discreetly.

¹⁷Like one who grabs a dog by the earsis a passerby who meddles in a quarrel not his own.

¹⁸Like a madman shooting firebrandsand deadly arrows,

¹⁹so is the man who deceives his neighborand says, “I was only joking!”

²⁰Without wood, a fire goes out;without gossip, a conflict ceases.

²¹Like charcoal for embers and wood for fire,so is a quarrelsome man for kindling strife.

²²The words of a gossip are like choice morselsthat go down into the inmost being.

²³Like glaze covering an earthen vesselare burninglips and a wicked heart.

²⁴A hateful man disguises himself with his speech,but he lays up deceit in his heart.

²⁵When he speaks graciously, do not believe him,for seven abominations fill his heart.

²⁶Though his hatred is concealed by deception,his wickedness will be exposed in the assembly.

²⁷He who digs a pit will fall into it,and he who rolls a stone will have it roll back on him.

²⁸A lying tongue hates those it crushes,and a flattering mouth causes ruin.