Matthew 21
1 As Jesus and the disciples approached
Jerusalem, they came to the town of Bethphage on the Mount of Olives. Jesus
sent two of them on ahead.
2 “Go into the village over there,” he
said. “As soon as you enter it, you will see a donkey tied there, with its colt
beside it. Untie them and bring them to me.
3 If anyone asks what you are doing, just
say, ‘The Lord needs them,’ and he will immediately let you take them.”
4 This took place to fulfill the prophecy
that said,
5 “Tell the people of Jerusalem, ‘Look,
your King is coming to you. He is humble, riding on a donkey— riding on a donkey’s
colt.’”
6 The two disciples did as Jesus
commanded.
7 They brought the donkey and the colt to
him and threw their garments over the colt, and he sat on it.
8 Most of the crowd spread their garments
on the road ahead of him, and others cut branches from the trees and spread
them on the road.
9 Jesus was in the center of the
procession, and the people all around him were shouting, “Praise God for the
Son of David! Blessings on the one who comes in the name of the LORD ! Praise
God in highest heaven!”
10 The entire city of Jerusalem was in an
uproar as he entered. “Who is this?” they asked.
11 And the crowds replied, “It’s Jesus, the
prophet from Nazareth in Galilee.”
12 Jesus entered the Temple and began to
drive out all the people buying and selling animals for sacrifice. He knocked
over the tables of the money changers and the chairs of those selling doves.
13 He said to them, “The Scriptures
declare, ‘My Temple will be called a house of prayer,’ but you have turned it
into a den of thieves!”
14 The blind and the lame came to him in
the Temple, and he healed them.
15 The leading priests and the teachers of
religious law saw these wonderful miracles and heard even the children in the
Temple shouting, “Praise God for the Son of David.” But the leaders were indignant.
16 They asked Jesus, “Do you hear what
these children are saying?” “Yes,” Jesus replied. “Haven’t you ever read the
Scriptures? For they say, ‘You have taught children and infants to give you
praise.’ ”
17 Then he returned to Bethany, where he stayed
overnight.
18 In the morning, as Jesus was returning
to Jerusalem, he was hungry,
19 and he noticed a fig tree beside the
road. He went over to see if there were any figs, but there were only leaves.
Then he said to it, “May you never bear fruit again!” And immediately the fig
tree withered up.
20 The disciples were amazed when they saw
this and asked, “How did the fig tree wither so quickly?”
21 Then Jesus told them, “I tell you the
truth, if you have faith and don’t doubt, you can do things like this and much
more. You can even say to this mountain, ‘May you be lifted up and thrown into
the sea,’ and it will happen.
22 You can pray for anything, and if you
have faith, you will receive it.”
23 When Jesus returned to the Temple and
began teaching, the leading priests and elders came up to him. They demanded,
“By what authority are you doing all these things? Who gave you the right?”
24 “I’ll tell you by what authority I do
these things if you answer one question,” Jesus replied.
25 “Did John’s authority to baptize come
from heaven, or was it merely human?” They talked it over among themselves. “If
we say it was from heaven, he will ask us why we didn’t believe John.
26 But if we say it was merely human, we’ll
be mobbed because the people believe John was a prophet.”
27 So they finally replied, “We don’t
know.” And Jesus responded, “Then I won’t tell you by what authority I do these
things.
28 “But what do you think about this? A man
with two sons told the older boy, ‘Son, go out and work in the vineyard today.’
29 The son answered, ‘No, I won’t go,’ but
later he changed his mind and went anyway.
30 Then the father told the other son, ‘You
go,’ and he said, ‘Yes, sir, I will.’ But he didn’t go.
31 “Which of the two obeyed his father?”
They replied, “The first.” Then Jesus explained his meaning: “I tell you the
truth, corrupt tax collectors and prostitutes will get into the Kingdom of God
before you do.
32 For John the Baptist came and showed you
the right way to live, but you didn’t believe him, while tax collectors and
prostitutes did. And even when you saw this happening, you refused to believe
him and repent of your sins.
33 “Now listen to another story. A certain
landowner planted a vineyard, built a wall around it, dug a pit for pressing
out the grape juice, and built a lookout tower. Then he leased the vineyard to
tenant farmers and moved to another country.
34 At the time of the grape harvest, he
sent his servants to collect his share of the crop.
35 But the farmers grabbed his servants,
beat one, killed one, and stoned another.
36 So the landowner sent a larger group of
his servants to collect for him, but the results were the same.
37 “Finally, the owner sent his son,
thinking, ‘Surely they will respect my son.’
38 “But when the tenant farmers saw his son
coming, they said to one another, ‘Here comes the heir to this estate. Come on,
let’s kill him and get the estate for ourselves!’
39 So they grabbed him, dragged him out of
the vineyard, and murdered him.
40 “When the owner of the vineyard
returns,” Jesus asked, “what do you think he will do to those farmers?”
41 The religious leaders replied, “He will
put the wicked men to a horrible death and lease the vineyard to others who
will give him his share of the crop after each harvest.”
42 Then Jesus asked them, “Didn’t you ever
read this in the Scriptures? ‘The stone that the builders rejected has now
become the cornerstone. This is the ’s doing, and it is wonderful to see.’
43 I tell you, the Kingdom of God will be
taken away from you and given to a nation that will produce the proper fruit.
44 Anyone who stumbles over that stone will
be broken to pieces, and it will crush anyone it falls on. ”
45 When the leading priests and Pharisees
heard this parable, they realized he was telling the story against them—they
were the wicked farmers.
46 They wanted to arrest him, but they were
afraid of the crowds, who considered Jesus to be a prophet.
Matthew 22
1 Jesus also told them other parables. He
said,
2 “The Kingdom of Heaven can be
illustrated by the story of a king who prepared a great wedding feast for his
son.
3 When the banquet was ready, he sent his
servants to notify those who were invited. But they all refused to come!
4 “So he sent other servants to tell them,
‘The feast has been prepared. The bulls and fattened cattle have been killed,
and everything is ready. Come to the banquet!’
5 But the guests he had invited ignored
them and went their own way, one to his farm, another to his business.
6 Others seized his messengers and
insulted them and killed them.
7 “The king was furious, and he sent out
his army to destroy the murderers and burn their town.
8 And he said to his servants, ‘The
wedding feast is ready, and the guests I invited aren’t worthy of the honor.
9 Now go out to the street corners and
invite everyone you see.’
10 So the servants brought in everyone they
could find, good and bad alike, and the banquet hall was filled with guests.
11 “But when the king came in to meet the
guests, he noticed a man who wasn’t wearing the proper clothes for a wedding.
12 ‘Friend,’ he asked, ‘how is it that you
are here without wedding clothes?’ But the man had no reply.
13 Then the king said to his aides, ‘Bind
his hands and feet and throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be
weeping and gnashing of teeth.’
14 “For many are called, but few are
chosen.”
15 Then the Pharisees met together to plot
how to trap Jesus into saying something for which he could be arrested.
16 They sent some of their disciples, along
with the supporters of Herod, to meet with him. “Teacher,” they said, “we know
how honest you are. You teach the way of God truthfully. You are impartial and
don’t play favorites.
17 Now tell us what you think about this:
Is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not?”
18 But Jesus knew their evil motives. “You
hypocrites!” he said. “Why are you trying to trap me?
19 Here, show me the coin used for the
tax.” When they handed him a Roman coin,
20 he asked, “Whose picture and title are
stamped on it?”
21 “Caesar’s,” they replied. “Well, then,”
he said, “give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar, and give to God what belongs
to God.”
22 His reply amazed them, and they went
away.
23 That same day Jesus was approached by
some Sadducees—religious leaders who say there is no resurrection from the dead.
They posed this question:
24 “Teacher, Moses said, ‘If a man dies
without children, his brother should marry the widow and have a child who will
carry on the brother’s name.’
25 Well, suppose there were seven brothers.
The oldest one married and then died without children, so his brother married
the widow.
26 But the second brother also died, and
the third brother married her. This continued with all seven of them.
27 Last of all, the woman also died.
28 So tell us, whose wife will she be in
the resurrection? For all seven were married to her.”
29 Jesus replied, “Your mistake is that you
don’t know the Scriptures, and you don’t know the power of God.
30 For when the dead rise, they will
neither marry nor be given in marriage. In this respect they will be like the
angels in heaven.
31 “But now, as to whether there will be a
resurrection of the dead—haven’t you ever read about this in the Scriptures?
Long after Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob had died, God said,
32 ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of
Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’ So he is the God of the living, not the dead.”
33 When the crowds heard him, they were
astounded at his teaching.
34 But when the Pharisees heard that he had
silenced the Sadducees with his reply, they met together to question him again.
35 One of them, an expert in religious law,
tried to trap him with this question:
36 “Teacher, which is the most important
commandment in the law of Moses?”
37 Jesus replied, “‘You must love the your
God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’
38 This is the first and greatest
commandment.
39 A second is equally important: ‘Love
your neighbor as yourself.’
40 The entire law and all the demands of
the prophets are based on these two commandments.”
41 Then, surrounded by the Pharisees, Jesus
asked them a question:
42 “What do you think about the Messiah?
Whose son is he?” They replied, “He is the son of David.”
43 Jesus responded, “Then why does David,
speaking under the inspiration of the Spirit, call the Messiah ‘my Lord’? For
David said,
44 ‘The said to my Lord, Sit in the place
of honor at my right hand until I humble your enemies beneath your feet.’
45 Since David called the Messiah ‘my
Lord,’ how can the Messiah be his son?”
46 No one could answer him. And after that,
no one dared to ask him any more questions.
Matthew 23
1 Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his
disciples,
2 “The teachers of religious law and the
Pharisees are the official interpreters of the law of Moses.
3 So practice and obey whatever they tell
you, but don’t follow their example. For they don’t practice what they teach.
4 They crush people with unbearable
religious demands and never lift a finger to ease the burden.
5 “Everything they do is for show. On
their arms they wear extra wide prayer boxes with Scripture verses inside, and
they wear robes with extra long tassels.
6 And they love to sit at the head table
at banquets and in the seats of honor in the synagogues.
7 They love to receive respectful
greetings as they walk in the marketplaces, and to be called ‘Rabbi.’
8 “Don’t let anyone call you ‘Rabbi,’ for
you have only one teacher, and all of you are equal as brothers and sisters.
9 And don’t address anyone here on earth
as ‘Father,’ for only God in heaven is your spiritual Father.
10 And don’t let anyone call you ‘Teacher,’
for you have only one teacher, the Messiah.
11 The greatest among you must be a
servant.
12 But those who exalt themselves will be
humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.
13 “What sorrow awaits you teachers of
religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you shut the door of the
Kingdom of Heaven in people’s faces. You won’t go in yourselves, and you don’t
let others enter either.
14
15 “What sorrow awaits you teachers of
religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you cross land and sea to make
one convert, and then you turn that person into twice the child of hell you
yourselves are!
16 “Blind guides! What sorrow awaits you!
For you say that it means nothing to swear ‘by God’s Temple,’ but that it is
binding to swear ‘by the gold in the Temple.’
17 Blind fools! Which is more important—the
gold or the Temple that makes the gold sacred?
18 And you say that to swear ‘by the altar’
is not binding, but to swear ‘by the gifts on the altar’ is binding.
19 How blind! For which is more
important—the gift on the altar or the altar that makes the gift sacred?
20 When you swear ‘by the altar,’ you are
swearing by it and by everything on it.
21 And when you swear ‘by the Temple,’ you
are swearing by it and by God, who lives in it.
22 And when you swear ‘by heaven,’ you are
swearing by the throne of God and by God, who sits on the throne.
23 “What sorrow awaits you teachers of
religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you are careful to tithe even
the tiniest income from your herb gardens, but you ignore the more important
aspects of the law—justice, mercy, and faith. You should tithe, yes, but do not
neglect the more important things.
24 Blind guides! You strain your water so
you won’t accidentally swallow a gnat, but you swallow a camel!
25 “What sorrow awaits you teachers of
religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you are so careful to clean
the outside of the cup and the dish, but inside you are filthy—full of greed
and self-indulgence!
26 You blind Pharisee! First wash the
inside of the cup and the dish, and then the outside will become clean, too.
27 “What sorrow awaits you teachers of
religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed
tombs—beautiful on the outside but filled on the inside with dead people’s
bones and all sorts of impurity.
28 Outwardly you look like righteous
people, but inwardly your hearts are filled with hypocrisy and lawlessness.
29 “What sorrow awaits you teachers of
religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you build tombs for the
prophets your ancestors killed, and you decorate the monuments of the godly
people your ancestors destroyed.
30 Then you say, ‘If we had lived in the
days of our ancestors, we would never have joined them in killing the
prophets.’
31 “But in saying that, you testify against
yourselves that you are indeed the descendants of those who murdered the
prophets.
32 Go ahead and finish what your ancestors
started.
33 Snakes! Sons of vipers! How will you
escape the judgment of hell?
34 “Therefore, I am sending you prophets
and wise men and teachers of religious law. But you will kill some by
crucifixion, and you will flog others with whips in your synagogues, chasing
them from city to city.
35 As a result, you will be held
responsible for the murder of all godly people of all time—from the murder of
righteous Abel to the murder of Zechariah son of Berekiah, whom you killed in
the Temple between the sanctuary and the altar.
36 I tell you the truth, this judgment will
fall on this very generation.
37 “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city
that kills the prophets and stones God’s messengers! How often I have wanted to
gather your children together as a hen protects her chicks beneath her wings,
but you wouldn’t let me.
38 And now, look, your house is abandoned
and desolate.
39 For I tell you this, you will never see
me again until you say, ‘Blessings on the one who comes in the name of the !’ ”
Matthew 24
1 As Jesus was leaving the Temple grounds,
his disciples pointed out to him the various Temple buildings.
2 But he responded, “Do you see all these
buildings? I tell you the truth, they will be completely demolished. Not one
stone will be left on top of another!”
3 Later, Jesus sat on the Mount of Olives.
His disciples came to him privately and said, “Tell us, when will all this
happen? What sign will signal your return and the end of the world? ”
4 Jesus told them, “Don’t let anyone
mislead you,
5 for many will come in my name, claiming,
‘I am the Messiah.’ They will deceive many.
6 And you will hear of wars and threats of
wars, but don’t panic. Yes, these things must take place, but the end won’t
follow immediately.
7 Nation will go to war against nation,
and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in many
parts of the world.
8 But all this is only the first of the
birth pains, with more to come.
9 “Then you will be arrested, persecuted,
and killed. You will be hated all over the world because you are my followers.
10 And many will turn away from me and
betray and hate each other.
11 And many false prophets will appear and
will deceive many people.
12 Sin will be rampant everywhere, and the
love of many will grow cold.
13 But the one who endures to the end will
be saved.
14 And the Good News about the Kingdom will
be preached throughout the whole world, so that all nations will hear it; and
then the end will come.
15 “The day is coming when you will see
what Daniel the prophet spoke about—the sacrilegious object that causes
desecration standing in the Holy Place.” (Reader, pay attention!)
16 “Then those in Judea must flee to the
hills.
17 A person out on the deck of a roof must
not go down into the house to pack.
18 A person out in the field must not
return even to get a coat.
19 How terrible it will be for pregnant
women and for nursing mothers in those days.
20 And pray that your flight will not be in
winter or on the Sabbath.
21 For there will be greater anguish than
at any time since the world began. And it will never be so great again.
22 In fact, unless that time of calamity is
shortened, not a single person will survive. But it will be shortened for the
sake of God’s chosen ones.
23 “Then if anyone tells you, ‘Look, here
is the Messiah,’ or ‘There he is,’ don’t believe it.
24 For false messiahs and false prophets
will rise up and perform great signs and wonders so as to deceive, if possible,
even God’s chosen ones.
25 See, I have warned you about this ahead
of time.
26 “So if someone tells you, ‘Look, the
Messiah is out in the desert,’ don’t bother to go and look. Or, ‘Look, he is
hiding here,’ don’t believe it!
27 For as the lightning flashes in the east
and shines to the west, so it will be when the Son of Man comes.
28 Just as the gathering of vultures shows
there is a carcass nearby, so these signs indicate that the end is near.
29 “Immediately after the anguish of those
days, the sun will be darkened, the moon will give no light, the stars will
fall from the sky, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken.
30 And then at last, the sign that the Son
of Man is coming will appear in the heavens, and there will be deep mourning
among all the peoples of the earth. And they will see the Son of Man coming on
the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
31 And he will send out his angels with the
mighty blast of a trumpet, and they will gather his chosen ones from all over
the world —from the farthest ends of the earth and heaven.
32 “Now learn a lesson from the fig tree.
When its branches bud and its leaves begin to sprout, you know that summer is
near.
33 In the same way, when you see all these
things, you can know his return is very near, right at the door.
34 I tell you the truth, this generation
will not pass from the scene until all these things take place.
35 Heaven and earth will disappear, but my
words will never disappear.
36 “However, no one knows the day or hour
when these things will happen, not even the angels in heaven or the Son
himself. Only the Father knows.
37 “When the Son of Man returns, it will be
like it was in Noah’s day.
38 In those days before the flood, the
people were enjoying banquets and parties and weddings right up to the time
Noah entered his boat.
39 People didn’t realize what was going to
happen until the flood came and swept them all away. That is the way it will be
when the Son of Man comes.
40 “Two men will be working together in the
field; one will be taken, the other left.
41 Two women will be grinding flour at the
mill; one will be taken, the other left.
42 “So you, too, must keep watch! For you
don’t know what day your Lord is coming.
43 Understand this: If a homeowner knew
exactly when a burglar was coming, he would keep watch and not permit his house
to be broken into.
44 You also must be ready all the time, for
the Son of Man will come when least expected.
45 “A faithful, sensible servant is one to
whom the master can give the responsibility of managing his other household
servants and feeding them.
46 If the master returns and finds that the
servant has done a good job, there will be a reward.
47 I tell you the truth, the master will put
that servant in charge of all he owns.
48 But what if the servant is evil and
thinks, ‘My master won’t be back for a while,’
49 and he begins beating the other
servants, partying, and getting drunk?
50 The master will return unannounced and
unexpected,
51 and he will cut the servant to pieces
and assign him a place with the hypocrites. In that place there will be weeping
and gnashing of teeth.
Matthew 25
1 “Then the Kingdom of Heaven will be like
ten bridesmaids who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom.
2 Five of them were foolish, and five were
wise.
3 The five who were foolish didn’t take
enough olive oil for their lamps,
4 but the other five were wise enough to
take along extra oil.
5 When the bridegroom was delayed, they
all became drowsy and fell asleep.
6 “At midnight they were roused by the
shout, ‘Look, the bridegroom is coming! Come out and meet him!’
7 “All the bridesmaids got up and prepared
their lamps.
8 Then the five foolish ones asked the
others, ‘Please give us some of your oil because our lamps are going out.’
9 “But the others replied, ‘We don’t have
enough for all of us. Go to a shop and buy some for yourselves.’
10 “But while they were gone to buy oil,
the bridegroom came. Then those who were ready went in with him to the marriage
feast, and the door was locked.
11 Later, when the other five bridesmaids
returned, they stood outside, calling, ‘Lord! Lord! Open the door for us!’
12 “But he called back, ‘Believe me, I
don’t know you!’
13 “So you, too, must keep watch! For you
do not know the day or hour of my return.
14 “Again, the Kingdom of Heaven can be
illustrated by the story of a man going on a long trip. He called together his
servants and entrusted his money to them while he was gone.
15 He gave five bags of silver to one, two
bags of silver to another, and one bag of silver to the last—dividing it in
proportion to their abilities. He then left on his trip.
16 “The servant who received the five bags
of silver began to invest the money and earned five more.
17 The servant with two bags of silver also
went to work and earned two more.
18 But the servant who received the one bag
of silver dug a hole in the ground and hid the master’s money.
19 “After a long time their master returned
from his trip and called them to give an account of how they had used his
money.
20 The servant to whom he had entrusted the
five bags of silver came forward with five more and said, ‘Master, you gave me
five bags of silver to invest, and I have earned five more.’
21 “The master was full of praise. ‘Well
done, my good and faithful servant. You have been faithful in handling this
small amount, so now I will give you many more responsibilities. Let’s
celebrate together! ’
22 “The servant who had received the two
bags of silver came forward and said, ‘Master, you gave me two bags of silver
to invest, and I have earned two more.’
23 “The master said, ‘Well done, my good
and faithful servant. You have been faithful in handling this small amount, so
now I will give you many more responsibilities. Let’s celebrate together!’
24 “Then the servant with the one bag of
silver came and said, ‘Master, I knew you were a harsh man, harvesting crops
you didn’t plant and gathering crops you didn’t cultivate.
25 I was afraid I would lose your money, so
I hid it in the earth. Look, here is your money back.’
26 “But the master replied, ‘You wicked and
lazy servant! If you knew I harvested crops I didn’t plant and gathered crops I
didn’t cultivate,
27 why didn’t you deposit my money in the
bank? At least I could have gotten some interest on it.’
28 “Then he ordered, ‘Take the money from
this servant, and give it to the one with the ten bags of silver.
29 To those who use well what they are
given, even more will be given, and they will have an abundance. But from those
who do nothing, even what little they have will be taken away.
30 Now throw this useless servant into
outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’
31 “But when the Son of Man comes in his
glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit upon his glorious throne.
32 All the nations will be gathered in his
presence, and he will separate the people as a shepherd separates the sheep
from the goats.
33 He will place the sheep at his right
hand and the goats at his left.
34 “Then the King will say to those on his
right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared
for you from the creation of the world.
35 For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was
thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into
your home.
36 I was naked, and you gave me clothing. I
was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me.’
37 “Then these righteous ones will reply,
‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry and feed you? Or thirsty and give you
something to drink?
38 Or a stranger and show you hospitality?
Or naked and give you clothing?
39 When did we ever see you sick or in
prison and visit you?’
40 “And the King will say, ‘I tell you the
truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters,
you were doing it to me!’
41 “Then the King will turn to those on the
left and say, ‘Away with you, you cursed ones, into the eternal fire prepared
for the devil and his demons.
42 For I was hungry, and you didn’t feed
me. I was thirsty, and you didn’t give me a drink.
43 I was a stranger, and you didn’t invite
me into your home. I was naked, and you didn’t give me clothing. I was sick and
in prison, and you didn’t visit me.’
44 “Then they will reply, ‘Lord, when did
we ever see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison,
and not help you?’
45 “And he will answer, ‘I tell you the
truth, when you refused to help the least of these my brothers and sisters, you
were refusing to help me.’
46 “And they will go away into eternal
punishment, but the righteous will go into eternal life.”
Matthew 26
1 When Jesus had finished saying all these
things, he said to his disciples,
2 “As you know, Passover begins in two
days, and the Son of Man will be handed over to be crucified.”
3 At that same time the leading priests
and elders were meeting at the residence of Caiaphas, the high priest,
4 plotting how to capture Jesus secretly
and kill him.
5 “But not during the Passover
celebration,” they agreed, “or the people may riot.”
6 Meanwhile, Jesus was in Bethany at the
home of Simon, a man who had previously had leprosy.
7 While he was eating, a woman came in
with a beautiful alabaster jar of expensive perfume and poured it over his
head.
8 The disciples were indignant when they saw
this. “What a waste!” they said.
9 “It could have been sold for a high
price and the money given to the poor.”
10 But Jesus, aware of this, replied, “Why
criticize this woman for doing such a good thing to me?
11 You will always have the poor among you,
but you will not always have me.
12 She has poured this perfume on me to
prepare my body for burial.
13 I tell you the truth, wherever the Good
News is preached throughout the world, this woman’s deed will be remembered and
discussed.”
14 Then Judas Iscariot, one of the twelve
disciples, went to the leading priests
15 and asked, “How much will you pay me to
betray Jesus to you?” And they gave him thirty pieces of silver.
16 From that time on, Judas began looking
for an opportunity to betray Jesus.
17 On the first day of the Festival of
Unleavened Bread, the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Where do you want us
to prepare the Passover meal for you?”
18 “As you go into the city,” he told them,
“you will see a certain man. Tell him, ‘The Teacher says: My time has come, and
I will eat the Passover meal with my disciples at your house.’”
19 So the disciples did as Jesus told them
and prepared the Passover meal there.
20 When it was evening, Jesus sat down at
the table with the Twelve.
21 While they were eating, he said, “I tell
you the truth, one of you will betray me.”
22 Greatly distressed, each one asked in
turn, “Am I the one, Lord?”
23 He replied, “One of you who has just
eaten from this bowl with me will betray me.
24 For the Son of Man must die, as the
Scriptures declared long ago. But how terrible it will be for the one who
betrays him. It would be far better for that man if he had never been born!”
25 Judas, the one who would betray him,
also asked, “Rabbi, am I the one?” And Jesus told him, “You have said it.”
26 As they were eating, Jesus took some
bread and blessed it. Then he broke it in pieces and gave it to the disciples,
saying, “Take this and eat it, for this is my body.”
27 And he took a cup of wine and gave
thanks to God for it. He gave it to them and said, “Each of you drink from it,
28 for this is my blood, which confirms the
covenant between God and his people. It is poured out as a sacrifice to forgive
the sins of many.
29 Mark my words—I will not drink wine
again until the day I drink it new with you in my Father’s Kingdom.”
30 Then they sang a hymn and went out to
the Mount of Olives.
31 On the way, Jesus told them, “Tonight
all of you will desert me. For the Scriptures say, ‘God will strike the
Shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.’
32 But after I have been raised from the
dead, I will go ahead of you to Galilee and meet you there.”
33 Peter declared, “Even if everyone else
deserts you, I will never desert you.”
34 Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth,
Peter—this very night, before the rooster crows, you will deny three times that
you even know me.”
35 “No!” Peter insisted. “Even if I have to
die with you, I will never deny you!” And all the other disciples vowed the
same.
36 Then Jesus went with them to the olive
grove called Gethsemane, and he said, “Sit here while I go over there to pray.”
37 He took Peter and Zebedee’s two sons,
James and John, and he became anguished and distressed.
38 He told them, “My soul is crushed with
grief to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.”
39 He went on a little farther and bowed
with his face to the ground, praying, “My Father! If it is possible, let this
cup of suffering be taken away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not
mine.”
40 Then he returned to the disciples and
found them asleep. He said to Peter, “Couldn’t you watch with me even one hour?
41 Keep watch and pray, so that you will
not give in to temptation. For the spirit is willing, but the body is weak!”
42 Then Jesus left them a second time and
prayed, “My Father! If this cup cannot be taken away unless I drink it, your
will be done.”
43 When he returned to them again, he found
them sleeping, for they couldn’t keep their eyes open.
44 So he went to pray a third time, saying
the same things again.
45 Then he came to the disciples and said,
“Go ahead and sleep. Have your rest. But look—the time has come. The Son of Man
is betrayed into the hands of sinners.
46 Up, let’s be going. Look, my betrayer is
here!”
47 And even as Jesus said this, Judas, one
of the twelve disciples, arrived with a crowd of men armed with swords and
clubs. They had been sent by the leading priests and elders of the people.
48 The traitor, Judas, had given them a
prearranged signal: “You will know which one to arrest when I greet him with a
kiss.”
49 So Judas came straight to Jesus.
“Greetings, Rabbi!” he exclaimed and gave him the kiss.
50 Jesus said, “My friend, go ahead and do
what you have come for.” Then the others grabbed Jesus and arrested him.
51 But one of the men with Jesus pulled out
his sword and struck the high priest’s slave, slashing off his ear.
52 “Put away your sword,” Jesus told him.
“Those who use the sword will die by the sword.
53 Don’t you realize that I could ask my
Father for thousands of angels to protect us, and he would send them instantly?
54 But if I did, how would the Scriptures
be fulfilled that describe what must happen now?”
55 Then Jesus said to the crowd, “Am I some
dangerous revolutionary, that you come with swords and clubs to arrest me? Why
didn’t you arrest me in the Temple? I was there teaching every day.
56 But this is all happening to fulfill the
words of the prophets as recorded in the Scriptures.” At that point, all the
disciples deserted him and fled.
57 Then the people who had arrested Jesus
led him to the home of Caiaphas, the high priest, where the teachers of
religious law and the elders had gathered.
58 Meanwhile, Peter followed him at a
distance and came to the high priest’s courtyard. He went in and sat with the
guards and waited to see how it would all end.
59 Inside, the leading priests and the
entire high council were trying to find witnesses who would lie about Jesus, so
they could put him to death.
60 But even though they found many who
agreed to give false witness, they could not use anyone’s testimony. Finally,
two men came forward
61 who declared, “This man said, ‘I am able
to destroy the Temple of God and rebuild it in three days.’”
62 Then the high priest stood up and said
to Jesus, “Well, aren’t you going to answer these charges? What do you have to
say for yourself?”
63 But Jesus remained silent. Then the high
priest said to him, “I demand in the name of the living God—tell us if you are
the Messiah, the Son of God.”
64 Jesus replied, “You have said it. And in
the future you will see the Son of Man seated in the place of power at God’s
right hand and coming on the clouds of heaven.”
65 Then the high priest tore his clothing
to show his horror and said, “Blasphemy! Why do we need other witnesses? You
have all heard his blasphemy.
66 What is your verdict?” “Guilty!” they
shouted. “He deserves to die!”
67 Then they began to spit in Jesus’ face
and beat him with their fists. And some slapped him,
68 jeering, “Prophesy to us, you Messiah!
Who hit you that time?”
69 Meanwhile, Peter was sitting outside in
the courtyard. A servant girl came over and said to him, “You were one of those
with Jesus the Galilean.”
70 But Peter denied it in front of
everyone. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he said.
71 Later, out by the gate, another servant
girl noticed him and said to those standing around, “This man was with Jesus of
Nazareth. ”
72 Again Peter denied it, this time with an
oath. “I don’t even know the man,” he said.
73 A little later some of the other
bystanders came over to Peter and said, “You must be one of them; we can tell
by your Galilean accent.”
74 Peter swore, “A curse on me if I’m
lying—I don’t know the man!” And immediately the rooster crowed.
75 Suddenly, Jesus’ words flashed through
Peter’s mind: “Before the rooster crows, you will deny three times that you
even know me.” And he went away, weeping bitterly.
Matthew 27
1 Very early in
the morning the leading priests and the elders of the people met again to lay
plans for putting Jesus to death.
2 Then they bound him, led him away, and
took him to Pilate, the Roman governor.
3 When Judas, who had betrayed him,
realized that Jesus had been condemned to die, he was filled with remorse. So
he took the thirty pieces of silver back to the leading priests and the elders.
4 “I have sinned,” he declared, “for I
have betrayed an innocent man.” “What do we care?” they retorted. “That’s your
problem.”
5 Then Judas threw the silver coins down
in the Temple and went out and hanged himself.
6 The leading priests picked up the coins.
“It wouldn’t be right to put this money in the Temple treasury,” they said,
“since it was payment for murder.”
7 After some discussion they finally
decided to buy the potter’s field, and they made it into a cemetery for
foreigners.
8 That is why the field is still called
the Field of Blood.
9 This fulfilled the prophecy of Jeremiah
that says, “They took the thirty pieces of silver— the price at which he was
valued by the people of Israel,
10 and purchased the potter’s field, as the
LORD directed. ”
11 Now Jesus was standing before Pilate,
the Roman governor. “Are you the king of the Jews?” the governor asked him.
Jesus replied, “You have said it.”
12 But when the leading priests and the
elders made their accusations against him, Jesus remained silent.
13 “Don’t you hear all these charges they
are bringing against you?” Pilate demanded.
14 But Jesus made no response to any of the
charges, much to the governor’s surprise.
15 Now it was the governor’s custom each
year during the Passover celebration to release one prisoner to the
crowd—anyone they wanted.
16 This year there was a notorious
prisoner, a man named Barabbas.
17 As the crowds gathered before Pilate’s
house that morning, he asked them, “Which one do you want me to release to
you—Barabbas, or Jesus who is called the Messiah?”
18 (He knew very well that the religious
leaders had arrested Jesus out of envy.)
19 Just then, as Pilate was sitting on the
judgment seat, his wife sent him this message: “Leave that innocent man alone.
I suffered through a terrible nightmare about him last night.”
20 Meanwhile, the leading priests and the
elders persuaded the crowd to ask for Barabbas to be released and for Jesus to
be put to death.
21 So the governor asked again, “Which of
these two do you want me to release to you?” The crowd shouted back,
“Barabbas!”
22 Pilate responded, “Then what should I do
with Jesus who is called the Messiah?” They shouted back, “Crucify him!”
23 “Why?” Pilate demanded. “What crime has
he committed?” But the mob roared even louder, “Crucify him!”
24 Pilate saw that he wasn’t getting
anywhere and that a riot was developing. So he sent for a bowl of water and
washed his hands before the crowd, saying, “I am innocent of this man’s blood.
The responsibility is yours!”
25 And all the people yelled back, “We will
take responsibility for his death—we and our children!”
26 So Pilate released Barabbas to them. He
ordered Jesus flogged with a lead-tipped whip, then turned him over to the
Roman soldiers to be crucified.
27 Some of the governor’s soldiers took
Jesus into their headquarters and called out the entire regiment.
28 They stripped him and put a scarlet robe
on him.
29 They wove thorn branches into a crown
and put it on his head, and they placed a reed stick in his right hand as a
scepter. Then they knelt before him in mockery and taunted, “Hail! King of the
Jews!”
30 And they spit on him and grabbed the
stick and struck him on the head with it.
31 When they were finally tired of mocking
him, they took off the robe and put his own clothes on him again. Then they led
him away to be crucified.
32 Along the way, they came across a man
named Simon, who was from Cyrene, and the soldiers forced him to carry Jesus’
cross.
33 And they went out to a place called
Golgotha (which means “Place of the Skull”).
34 The soldiers gave Jesus wine mixed with
bitter gall, but when he had tasted it, he refused to drink it.
35 After they had nailed him to the cross,
the soldiers gambled for his clothes by throwing dice.
36 Then they sat around and kept guard as
he hung there.
37 A sign was fastened above Jesus’ head,
announcing the charge against him. It read: “This is Jesus, the King of the
Jews.”
38 Two revolutionaries were crucified with
him, one on his right and one on his left.
39 The people passing by shouted abuse,
shaking their heads in mockery.
40 “Look at you now!” they yelled at him.
“You said you were going to destroy the Temple and rebuild it in three days.
Well then, if you are the Son of God, save yourself and come down from the
cross!”
41 The leading priests, the teachers of
religious law, and the elders also mocked Jesus.
42 “He saved others,” they scoffed, “but he
can’t save himself! So he is the King of Israel, is he? Let him come down from
the cross right now, and we will believe in him!
43 He trusted God, so let God rescue him
now if he wants him! For he said, ‘I am the Son of God.’”
44 Even the revolutionaries who were
crucified with him ridiculed him in the same way.
45 At noon, darkness fell across the whole
land until three o’clock.
46 At about three o’clock, Jesus called out
with a loud voice, which means “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?”
47 Some of the bystanders misunderstood and
thought he was calling for the prophet Elijah.
48 One of them ran and filled a sponge with
sour wine, holding it up to him on a reed stick so he could drink.
49 But the rest said, “Wait! Let’s see
whether Elijah comes to save him.”
50 Then Jesus shouted out again, and he
released his spirit.
51 At that moment the curtain in the
sanctuary of the Temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. The earth shook,
rocks split apart,
52 and tombs opened. The bodies of many
godly men and women who had died were raised from the dead.
53 They left the cemetery after Jesus’
resurrection, went into the holy city of Jerusalem, and appeared to many
people.
54 The Roman officer and the other soldiers
at the crucifixion were terrified by the earthquake and all that had happened.
They said, “This man truly was the Son of God!”
55 And many women who had come from Galilee
with Jesus to care for him were watching from a distance.
56 Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary
(the mother of James and Joseph), and the mother of James and John, the sons of
Zebedee.
57 As evening approached, Joseph, a rich
man from Arimathea who had become a follower of Jesus,
58 went to Pilate and asked for Jesus’
body. And Pilate issued an order to release it to him.
59 Joseph took the body and wrapped it in a
long sheet of clean linen cloth.
60 He placed it in his own new tomb, which
had been carved out of the rock. Then he rolled a great stone across the
entrance and left.
61 Both Mary Magdalene and the other Mary
were sitting across from the tomb and watching.
62 The next day, on the Sabbath, the
leading priests and Pharisees went to see Pilate.
63 They told him, “Sir, we remember what
that deceiver once said while he was still alive: ‘After three days I will rise
from the dead.’
64 So we request that you seal the tomb
until the third day. This will prevent his disciples from coming and stealing
his body and then telling everyone he was raised from the dead! If that
happens, we’ll be worse off than we were at first.”
65 Pilate replied, “Take guards and secure
it the best you can.”
66 So they sealed the tomb and posted
guards to protect it.
