Matthew 26 — FBV
26Verse 1After Jesus had said all this, he told his disciples,Verse 2“You know that it's Passover in two days time, and the Son of man will be handed over to be crucified.”Verse 3Then the chief priests and the elders of the people gathered in the courtyard of Caiaphas, the high priest.Verse 4There they plotted to arrest Jesus on some deceitful pretext+and kill him.Verse 5But they said, “Let's not do this during the festival so that the people don't riot.”Verse 6While Jesus was staying at Simon the leper's house in Bethany,Verse 7a woman came over to him carrying an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume. She poured it on Jesus' head while he was sitting eating.Verse 8But when the disciples saw what she did, they were upset.“What a terrible waste!” they objected.Verse 9“This perfume could've been sold for a lot of money and given to the poor!”Verse 10Jesus was aware of what was going on and told them, “Why are you upset with this woman? She's done something wonderful for me!Verse 11You'll always have the poor with you,+but you won't always have me.Verse 12By pouring this perfume on my body she's prepared me for burial.Verse 13I tell you the truth: wherever in the world this good news is spread, the story of what this woman has done will also be told in memory of her.”Verse 14Then Judas Iscariot, one of the twelve disciples, went to the chief priestsVerse 15and asked them, “How much will you pay me for betraying Jesus to you?” They paid him thirty silver coins.Verse 16From then on he looked for an opportunity to betray Jesus.Verse 17On the first day of the Festival of Unleavened Bread, the disciples came to Jesus and asked him, “Where do you want us to prepare the Passover meal for you to eat?”Verse 18Jesus told them, “Go into the city and find this particular man, and tell him that the Teacher says, ‘My time is approaching. I'm coming to celebrate the Passover with my disciples at your house.’”Verse 19The disciples did as Jesus told them, and prepared the Passover meal there.Verse 20When evening came he sat down to eat with the Twelve.Verse 21While they were eating he told them, “I tell you the truth: one of you is going to betray me.”Verse 22They were extremely upset. One after the other they asked him, “Lord, it's not me, is it?”Verse 23“The one who's dipped his hand into the dish with me will betray me,” Jesus replied.Verse 24“The Son of man will die just as it was prophesied about him, but what a disaster it will be for the man who betrays the Son of man! It would be better for that man if he'd never been born!”Verse 25Judas, the one who would betray Jesus, asked, “It's not me, is it, Rabbi?” “You said it,” Jesus replied.Verse 26While they were eating, Jesus took some bread and blessed it. Then he broke it and gave pieces to the disciples. “Take and eat this for it is my body,” said Jesus.Verse 27Then he picked up the cup, blessed it, and gave it to them. “Drink from it, all of you,” he told them.Verse 28“For this is my blood of the agreement,+poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.Verse 29However, I tell you, I won't drink this fruit of the vine until the day I drink it new with you in the kingdom of my Father.”Verse 30After they'd sung a song, they left for the Mount of Olives.Verse 31“All of you will abandon me tonight,” Jesus told them. “As Scripture says, ‘I will strike the shepherd, and the flock of sheep will be completely scattered.’+Verse 32But after I have risen, I'll go ahead of you to Galilee.”Verse 33But Peter objected, “Even if everyone else abandons you, I'll never abandon you.”Verse 34“I'm telling you the truth,” Jesus told him, “This very night, before the cock crows, you'll deny me three times.”Verse 35“Even if I have to die with you, I'll never deny you!” Peter insisted. And all the disciples said the same thing.Verse 36Then Jesus went with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane. He told them, “Sit down here while I go over there and pray.”Verse 37He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee with him, and he began to suffer agonizing sorrow and distress.Verse 38Then he said to them, “I am so overwhelmed with sadness that it's killing me. Wait here and keep watch with me.”Verse 39He went a little farther forward, fell facedown, and prayed. “My Father, please, if it's possible, let this cup of suffering be taken from me,” Jesus asked. “Even so, may it not be what I want but what you want.”Verse 40He went back to the disciples and found them asleep. He said to Peter, “What, you couldn't stay awake with me for just one hour?Verse 41Stay awake and pray, so that you don't fall into temptation. Yes, the spirit is willing, but the body is weak.”Verse 42He went away a second time and prayed. “My Father, if this cup cannot be taken from me without me drinking from it, then your will be done,” he said.Verse 43He went back and found them sleeping, for they just couldn't stay awake.+Verse 44So he left them once more, and went off and prayed a third time, repeating the same things.Verse 45Then he returned to the disciples, and told them, “How can you still be sleeping and resting? Look, the time has come. The Son of man is about to be betrayed into the hands of sinners!Verse 46Get up, let's go! Look, the one who's betraying me has arrived.”Verse 47As he said this, Judas, one of the Twelve, arrived with a large mob armed with swords and clubs sent by the chief priests and elders of the people.Verse 48The betrayer had arranged to give them a signal: “The one that I kiss, that's him—arrest him,” he'd told them.Verse 49Judas came up to Jesus immediately, and said, “Hello, Rabbi,” and kissed him.Verse 50“My friend, do what you came to do,”+Jesus said to Judas. So they came and grabbed hold of Jesus, and arrested him.Verse 51One of those who was with Jesus reached for his sword and pulled it out. He struck the high priest's servant, cutting off his ear.Verse 52But Jesus told him, “Put your sword away. Everyone who fights with the sword will die by the sword.Verse 53Don't you think I could ask my Father, and he'd immediately send more than twelve legions of angels?Verse 54But then how could the Scriptures be fulfilled that say it must be like this?”Verse 55Then Jesus told the mob, “Have you come with swords and clubs to arrest me as if I was some kind of dangerous criminal? Every day I sat in the Temple teaching and you didn't arrest me then.Verse 56But all this is happening to fulfill what the prophets wrote.” Then all the disciples abandoned him and ran away.Verse 57Those who'd arrested Jesus took him to the home of Caiaphas, the high priest, where the religious teachers and elders had gathered.Verse 58Peter followed him at a distance, and went into the high priest's courtyard. He sat there with the guards to see how things would end.Verse 59The chief priests and the whole council were trying to find some false evidence against Jesus so they could put him to death.Verse 60But they couldn't find anything, even though many false witnesses came forward. Eventually two came forwardVerse 61and reported, “This man said, ‘I can destroy God's Temple, and rebuild it in three days.’”Verse 62The high priest stood up and asked Jesus, “Have you no answer? What do you have to say in your defense?”Verse 63But Jesus remained silent. The high priest said to Jesus, “In the name of the living God I place you under oath. Tell us if you are the Messiah, the Son of God.”Verse 64“You said it,” Jesus replied. “And I also tell you that in the future you'll see the Son of man sitting at the right hand of the Almighty, and coming on the clouds of heaven.”+Verse 65Then the high priest tore his clothes, and said, “He's speaking blasphemy! Why do we need any witnesses? Look, now you've heard for yourselves his blasphemy!Verse 66What's your verdict?” “Guilty! He deserves to die!” they answered.Verse 67Then they spat in his face and beat him. Some of them slapped him with their hands,Verse 68and said, “Prophesy to us, you ‘Messiah’! Who just hit you?”Verse 69Meanwhile Peter was sitting outside in the courtyard. A servant girl came up to him, and said, “You, you were with Jesus the Galilean!”Verse 70But he denied it in front of everyone. “I don't know what you're talking about,” he said.Verse 71When he went back to the courtyard entrance another servant girl saw him and said to the people there, “This man was with Jesus of Nazareth.”Verse 72Once again he denied it, saying with an oath, “I don't know him.”Verse 73A little while later the people standing there came up to Peter and said, “You definitely are one of them. Your accent gives you away.”Verse 74Then he started to swear: “Curses on me if I'm a liar!+I don't know the man!” Immediately the cock crowed.Verse 75Then Peter remembered what Jesus had told him: “Before the cock crows, three times you will deny knowing me.” He went outside and wept bitterly.