1 And when they had approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, ² saying to them, “Go into the village opposite you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied there and a colt with her; untie them and bring them to Me. ³ And if anyone says anything to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord has need of them,’ and immediately he will send them.” ⁴ And this ^[a]took place in order that what was spoken through the prophet would be fulfilled, saying,

⁶ And the disciples went and did just as Jesus had instructed them, ⁷ and brought the donkey and the colt, and laid their garments on them; and He sat on ^[b]the garments. ⁸ And most of the crowd spread their garments in the road, and others were cutting branches from the trees and spreading them in the road. ⁹ And the crowds going ahead of Him, and those who followed, were crying out, saying,

¹⁰ And when He had entered Jerusalem, all the city was stirred, saying, “Who is this?” ¹¹ And the crowds were saying, “This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth in Galilee.”

[...]

¹⁷ And He left them and went out of the city to Bethany, and spent the night there.

 

Footnotes

1. Matthew 21:4 Lit has happened
2. Matthew 21:7 Lit them
3. Matthew 21:9 In OT, Yahweh, cf. Ps 118:26

Day 3 - Jesus goes back to Jerusalem from Bethany teaches some parables; Pharisees and the Herodians try to trap Jesus

²⁰ And seeing this, the disciples marveled, saying, “How did the fig tree wither all at once?” ²¹ And Jesus answered and said to them, “Truly I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and cast into the sea,’ it will happen. ²² And all things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive.”

The Authority of Jesus Challenged

²³ And when He entered the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to Him while He was teaching, and said, “By what authority are You doing these things, and who gave You this authority?” ²⁴ And Jesus answered and said to them, “I will also ask you one ^[e]thing, which if you tell Me, I will also tell you by what authority I do these things. ²⁵ The baptism of John was from what source, from heaven or from men?” And they began reasoning among themselves, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ He will say to us, ‘Then why did you not believe him?’ ²⁶ But if we say, ‘From men,’ we fear the crowd; for they all regard John as a prophet.” ²⁷ And they answered Jesus and said, “We do not know.” He also said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.

Parable of Two Sons

²⁸ “But what do you think? A man had two sons, and he came to the first and said, ‘Son, go work today in the vineyard.’ ²⁹ And he answered and said, ‘I will not’; but afterward he regretted it and went. ³⁰ And the man came to the second and said the same thing; and he answered and said, ‘I will, sir’; but he did not go. ³¹ Which of the two did the will of his father?” They *said, “The first.” Jesus *said to them, “Truly I say to you that the tax collectors and prostitutes ^[f]will get into the kingdom of God before you. ³² For John came to you in the way of righteousness and you did not believe him; but the tax collectors and prostitutes did believe him; and you, seeing this, did not even regret afterward so as to believe him.

Parable of the Vine-Growers

³³ “Listen to another parable. There was a ^[g]landowner who planted a vineyard and put a wall around it and dug a wine press in it, and built a tower, and rented it out to ^[h]vine-growers and went on a journey. ³⁴ Now when the ^[i]harvest time approached, he sent his slaves to the vine-growers to receive his fruit. ³⁵ And the vine-growers took his slaves and beat one, and killed another, and stoned a third. ³⁶ Again he sent another group of slaves larger than the first; and they did the same thing to them. ³⁷ But afterward he sent his son to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ ³⁸ But when the vine-growers saw the son, they said among themselves, ‘This is the heir; come, let us kill him and seize his inheritance.’ ³⁹ And they took him, and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. ⁴⁰ Therefore when the ^[j]owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those vine-growers?” ⁴¹ They *said to Him, “He will bring those wretches to a wretched end, and will rent out the vineyard to other vine-growers who will pay him the proceeds at the proper seasons.”

⁴² Jesus *said to them, “Did you never read in the Scriptures,

⁴³ Therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a nation, producing the fruit of it. ⁴⁴ And he who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; but on whomever it falls, it will scatter him like dust.”

⁴⁵ And when the chief priests and the Pharisees heard His parables, they understood that He *was speaking about them. ⁴⁶ And although they were seeking to seize Him, they feared the crowds, because they were regarding Him to be a prophet.

The Scribes and Pharisees Denounced

23 Then Jesus spoke to the crowds and to His disciples, ² saying: “The scribes and the Pharisees have seated themselves in the chair of Moses; ³ therefore all that they tell you, do and keep, but do not do according to their deeds; for they say things and do not do them. ⁴ And they tie up heavy burdens and lay them on men’s shoulders, but they themselves are unwilling to move them with so much as a finger. ⁵ But they do all their deeds to be noticed by men; for they broaden their ^[a]phylacteries and lengthen the tassels of their garments. ⁶ And they love the place of honor at banquets and the best seats in the synagogues, ⁷ and respectful greetings in the marketplaces, and being called Rabbi by men. ⁸ But do not be called Rabbi; for One is your Teacher, and you are all brothers. ⁹ And do not call anyone on earth your father; for One is your Father, He who is in heaven. ¹⁰ Do not be called instructors; for One is your Instructor, that is, Christ. ¹¹ But the greatest among you shall be your servant. ¹² And whoever exalts himself shall be humbled; and whoever humbles himself shall be exalted.

Woes to the Scribes and Pharisees

¹³ “But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you shut off the kingdom of heaven ^[b]from ^[c]people; for you do not enter in yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in. ^14 [d][Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you devour widows’ houses, and for a pretense you make long prayers; therefore you will receive greater condemnation.]

¹⁵ “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you travel around on sea and land to make one ^[e]proselyte; and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of ^[f]hell as yourselves.

¹⁶ “Woe to you, blind guides, who say, ‘Whoever swears by the ^[g]sanctuary, that is nothing; but whoever swears by the gold of the ^[h]sanctuary is obligated.’ ¹⁷ You fools and blind men! For which is ^[i]more important, the gold or the sanctuary that sanctified the gold? ¹⁸ And, ‘Whoever swears by the altar, that is nothing, but whoever swears by the ^[j]offering on it, he is obligated.’ ¹⁹ You blind men, which is ^[k]more important, the ^[l]offering, or the altar that sanctifies the ^[m]offering? ²⁰ Therefore, ^[n]whoever swears by the altar, swears both by ^[o]the altar and by everything on it. ²¹ And ^[p]whoever swears by the sanctuary, swears both by the ^[q]sanctuary and by Him who dwells within it. ²² And ^[r]whoever swears by heaven, swears both by the throne of God and by Him who sits upon it.

²³ “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and ^[s]cumin, and have neglected the weightier provisions of the Law: justice and mercy and faithfulness; but these are the things you should have done without neglecting the others. ²⁴ You blind guides, who strain out a gnat but swallow a camel!

²⁵ “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside they are full ^[t]of robbery and self-indulgence. ²⁶ You blind Pharisee, first clean the inside of the cup and of the dish, so that the outside of it may become clean also.

²⁷ “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which on the outside appear beautiful, but inside they are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness. ²⁸ In this way, you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.

²⁹ “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the monuments of the righteous, ³⁰ and say, ‘If we had been living in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partners with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’ ³¹ So you bear witness against yourselves, that you are ^[u]sons of those who murdered the prophets. ³² Fill up, then, the measure of the guilt of your fathers. ³³ You serpents, you brood of vipers, how ^[v]will you escape the ^[w]sentence of ^[x]hell?

³⁴ “On account of this, behold, I am sending you prophets and wise men and scribes; some of them you will kill and crucify, and some of them you will flog in your synagogues, and persecute from city to city, ³⁵ so that upon you may fall the guilt of all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the sanctuary and the altar. ³⁶ Truly I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation.

Lament over Jerusalem

³⁷ “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, the way a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you did not want it. ³⁸ Behold, your house is being left to you desolate! ³⁹ For I say to you, from now on you will not see Me until you say, ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the ^[y]Lord!’”

Signs of Christ’s Return

24 And coming out from the temple, Jesus was going along, and His disciples came up to point out the temple buildings to Him. ² And He answered and said to them, “Do you not see all these things? Truly I say to you, not one stone here will be left upon another, which will not be torn down.”

³ Now as He was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things happen, and what will be the sign of Your coming and of the ^[a]end of the age?”

⁴ And Jesus answered and said to them, “See to it that no one deceives you. ⁵ For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the ^[b]Christ,’ and will deceive many. ⁶ And you are going to hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, for those things must take place, but that is not yet the end. ⁷ For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and in various places there will be famines and earthquakes. ⁸ But all these things are merely the beginning of birth pains.

⁹ “Then they will deliver you to tribulation, and will kill you, and you will be hated by all nations because of My name. ¹⁰ And at that time many will ^[c]fall away and will ^[d]betray one another and hate one another. ¹¹ Many false prophets will arise and will deceive many. ¹² And because lawlessness is multiplied, ^[e]most people’s love will grow cold. ¹³ But the one who endures to the end, he will be saved. ¹⁴ And this gospel of the kingdom shall be proclaimed in the whole ^[f]world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.

Abomination of Desolation and the Tribulation

¹⁵ “Therefore when you see the abomination of desolation which was spoken of through Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand), ¹⁶ then those who are in Judea must flee to the mountains. ^17 [g]Whoever is on the housetop must not go down to get the things out that are in his house. ¹⁸ And ^[h]whoever is in the field must not turn back to get his garment. ¹⁹ But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days! ²⁰ But pray that your flight will not be in the winter, or on a Sabbath. ²¹ For then there will be a great tribulation, such as has not occurred since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever will. ²² And unless those days had been cut short, no ^[i]life would have been saved; but for the sake of the ^[j]elect those days will be cut short. ²³ Then if anyone says to you, ‘Behold, here is the ^[k]Christ,’ or ‘^[l]There He is,’ do not believe him. ²⁴ For false christs and false prophets will arise and will ^[m]show great ^[n]signs and wonders, so as to deceive, if possible, even the ^[o]elect. ²⁵ Behold, I have told you in advance. ²⁶ Therefore, if they say to you, ‘Behold, He is in the wilderness,’ do not go out, or, ‘Behold, He is in the inner rooms,’ do not believe them. ²⁷ For just as the lightning comes from the east and appears even to the west, so will the coming of the Son of Man be. ²⁸ Wherever the corpse is, there the ^[p]vultures will gather.

The Coming of the Son of Man

²⁹ “But immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from ^[q]the sky, and the powers of ^[r]the heavens will be shaken. ³⁰ And then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory. ³¹ And He will send forth His angels with a great trumpet and they will gather together His ^[s]elect from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the ^[t]other.

The Parable of the Fig Tree

³² “Now learn the parable from the fig tree: when its branch has already become tender and puts forth its leaves, you know that summer is near; ³³ so, you too, when you see all these things, ^[u]recognize that ^[v]He is near, right at the ^[w]door. ³⁴ Truly I say to you, this ^[x]generation will not pass away until all these things take place. ³⁵ Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away.

³⁶ “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone. ³⁷ For just as the days of Noah were, so the coming of the Son of Man will be. ³⁸ For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, ³⁹ and they did not ^[y]understand until the flood came and took them all away; so will the coming of the Son of Man be. ⁴⁰ Then there will be two in the field; one ^[z]will be taken, and one ^[aa]will be left. ⁴¹ Two women will be grinding grain at the ^[ab]mill; one ^[ac]will be taken and one ^[ad]will be left.

Be Ready for His Coming

⁴² “Therefore stay awake, for you do not know which day your Lord is coming. ⁴³ But ^[ae]be sure of this, that if the head of the house had known at what time of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have allowed his house to be ^[af]broken into. ⁴⁴ For this reason you also must be ready; for the Son of Man is coming at an hour when you do not think He will.

⁴⁵ “Who then is the faithful and prudent slave whom his ^[ag]master put in charge of his household to give them their food at the proper time? ⁴⁶ Blessed is that slave whom his ^[ah]master finds so doing when he comes. ⁴⁷ Truly I say to you that he will put him in charge of all his possessions. ⁴⁸ But if that evil slave says in his heart, ‘My ^[ai]master ^[aj]is not coming for a long time,’ ⁴⁹ and begins to beat his fellow slaves and eat and drink with drunkards; ⁵⁰ the ^[ak]master of that slave will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour which he does not know, ⁵¹ and will ^[al]cut him in pieces and ^[am]assign him a place with the hypocrites; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Parable of Ten Virgins

25 “Then the kingdom of heaven may be compared to ten virgins, who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. ² Now five of them were foolish, and five were prudent. ³ For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them, ⁴ but the prudent took oil in flasks along with their lamps. ⁵ Now while the bridegroom was delaying, they all got drowsy and began to sleep. ⁶ But at midnight there was a shout, ‘Behold, the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.’ ⁷ Then all those virgins rose and trimmed their lamps. ⁸ And the foolish said to the prudent, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ ⁹ But the prudent answered, saying, ‘No, there will not be enough for us and you too; go instead to the dealers and buy some for yourselves.’ ¹⁰ And while they were going away to make the purchase, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding feast; and the door was shut. ¹¹ And later the other virgins also *came, saying, ‘Lord, lord, open up for us.’ ¹² But he answered and said, ‘Truly I say to you, I do not know you.’ ¹³ Therefore, stay awake, for you do not know the day nor the hour.

Parable of the Talents

¹⁴ “For it is just like a man about to go on a journey, who called his own slaves and handed over his possessions to them. ¹⁵ And to one he gave five ^[a]talents, to another, two, and to another, one, each according to his own ability; and he went on his journey. ¹⁶ Immediately the one who had received the five talents went and traded with them, and gained five more talents. ¹⁷ In the same manner the one who had received the two talents gained two more. ¹⁸ But he who received the one talent went away, and dug a hole in the ground and hid his ^[b]master’s money.

¹⁹ “Now after a long time the master of those slaves *came and *settled accounts with them. ²⁰ And the one who had received the five talents came up and brought five more talents, saying, ‘Master, you handed five talents over to me. See, I have gained five more talents.’ ²¹ His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful slave. You were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your ^[c]master.’

²² “Also the one who had received the two talents came up and said, ‘Master, you handed two talents over to me. See, I have gained two more talents.’ ²³ His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful slave. You were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.’

²⁴ “And the one also who had received the one talent came up and said, ‘Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow and gathering where you scattered no seed. ²⁵ And I was afraid, and went away and hid your talent in the ground. See, you have what is yours.’

²⁶ “But his master answered and said to him, ‘You wicked, lazy slave, you knew that I reap where I did not sow and gather where I scattered no seed. ²⁷ Therefore, you ought to have put my money ^[d]in the bank, and on my arrival I would have received my money back with interest. ²⁸ Therefore take away the talent from him, and give it to the one who has the ten talents.’

²⁹ “For to everyone who has, more shall be given, and he will have an abundance; but from the one who does not have, even what he does have shall be taken away. ³⁰ And throw out the worthless slave into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

The Final Judgment

³¹ “But when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne. ³² And all the nations will be gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats; ³³ and He will put the sheep on His right, and the goats on the left.

³⁴ “Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom, which has been prepared for you from the foundation of the world. ³⁵ For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; ³⁶ naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.’ ³⁷ Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You something to drink? ³⁸ And when did we see You a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You? ³⁹ And when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ ⁴⁰ And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.’

⁴¹ “Then He will also say to those on His left, ‘Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels; ⁴² for I was hungry, and you gave Me nothing to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me nothing to drink; ⁴³ I was a stranger, and you did not invite Me in; naked, and you did not clothe Me; sick, and in prison, and you did not visit Me.’ ⁴⁴ Then they themselves also will answer, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not ^[e]take care of You?’ ⁴⁵ Then He will answer them, saying, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’ ⁴⁶ And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”

 

The Triumphal Entry

11 And as they *approached Jerusalem, at Bethphage and Bethany, near the Mount of Olives, He *sent two of His disciples, ² and *said to them, “Go into the village opposite you, and immediately as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, on which no one yet has ever sat; untie it and bring it here. ³ And if anyone says to you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ you say, ‘The Lord has need of it’; and immediately he ^[a]will send it back here.” ⁴ And they went away and found a colt tied at the door, outside in the street; and they *untied it. ⁵ And some of the bystanders were saying to them, “What are you doing, untying the colt?” ⁶ And they spoke to them just as Jesus had told them, and they gave them permission. ⁷ And they *brought the colt to Jesus and put their garments on it; and He sat on it. ⁸ And many spread their garments in the road, and others spread leafy branches, having cut them from the fields. ⁹ And those who went in front and those who followed were shouting:

¹¹ And Jesus entered Jerusalem and came into the temple; and after looking around at everything, He left for Bethany with the twelve, since it was already late.

The Barren Fig Tree

¹² And on the next day, when they had left Bethany, He became hungry. ¹³ And seeing at a distance a fig tree that had leaves, He went to see if perhaps He would find anything on it; and when He came to it, He found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs. ¹⁴ And He answered and said to it, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again!” And His disciples were listening.

Jesus Drives Merchants from the Temple

¹⁵ Then they *came to Jerusalem. And He entered the temple and began to drive out those who were buying and selling in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who were selling ^[c]doves; ¹⁶ and He was not permitting anyone to carry ^[d]merchandise through the temple. ¹⁷ And He began to teach and say to them, “Is it not written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations’? But you have made it a robbers’ ^[e]den.” ¹⁸ And the chief priests and the scribes heard this, and began seeking how to destroy Him; for they were afraid of Him, for the whole crowd was astonished at His teaching.

¹⁹ And when evening came, ^[f]they were going out of the city.

²⁰ And as they were passing by in the morning, they saw the fig tree withered from the roots. ²¹ And being reminded, Peter *said to Him, “Rabbi, look, the fig tree which You cursed has withered.” ²² And Jesus answered and *said to them, “Have faith in God. ²³ Truly I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says ^[g]is going to happen, it will be granted him. ²⁴ For this reason I say to you, all things for which you pray and ask, believe that you have received them, and they will be granted to you. ²⁵ And whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father who is in heaven will also forgive you your transgressions. ^26 [h][But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father who is in heaven forgive your transgressions.”]

The Authority of Jesus Challenged

²⁷ Then they *came again to Jerusalem. And as He was walking in the temple, the chief priests and the scribes and the elders *came to Him, ²⁸ and began saying to Him, “By what authority are You doing these things, or who gave You this authority to do these things?” ²⁹ And Jesus said to them, “I will ask you one question, and you answer Me, and then I will tell you by what authority I do these things. ³⁰ Was the baptism of John from heaven, or from men? Answer Me.” ³¹ And they began reasoning among themselves, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ He will say, ‘Then why did you not believe him?’ ³² But if we say, ‘From men’?”—they were afraid of the crowd, for everyone was regarding John to have been a real prophet. ³³ And answering Jesus, they *said, “We do not know.” And Jesus *said to them, “Neither ^[i]will I tell you by what authority I do these things.”

Parable of the Vine-Growers

12 And He began to speak to them in parables: “A man planted a vineyard and put a ^[a]wall around it, and dug a vat under the wine press and built a tower, and rented it out to ^[b]vine-growers and went on a journey. ² And at the harvest time he sent a slave to the vine-growers, in order to receive some of the fruit of the vineyard from the vine-growers. ³ And they took him, and beat him and sent him away empty-handed. ⁴ And again he sent them another slave, and they wounded him in the head, and treated him shamefully. ⁵ And he sent another, and that one they killed; and so with many others, beating some and killing others. ⁶ He had one more, a beloved son; he sent him last of all to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ ⁷ But those vine-growers said to one another, ‘This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours!’ ⁸ And they took him, and killed him and threw him out of the vineyard. ⁹ What will the ^[c]owner of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy the vine-growers, and will give the vineyard to others. ¹⁰ Have you not even read this Scripture:

¹² And they were seeking to seize Him, and yet they feared the crowd, for they understood that He spoke the parable against them. And so they left Him and went away.

Taxes to Caesar

¹³ Then they *sent some of the Pharisees and Herodians to Him in order to trap Him in a statement. ¹⁴ And they *came and *said to Him, “Teacher, we know that You are truthful and ^[e]defer to no one; for You are not partial to any, but teach the way of God in truth. Is it ^[f]lawful to pay a tax to Caesar, or not? ¹⁵ Shall we pay or shall we not pay?” But He, knowing their hypocrisy, said to them, “Why are you testing Me? Bring Me a ^[g]denarius to look at.” ¹⁶ And they brought one. And He *said to them, “Whose likeness and inscription is this?” And they said to Him, “Caesar’s.” ¹⁷ And Jesus said to them, “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” And they ^[h]were amazed at Him.

The Sadducees and the Resurrection

¹⁸ Then some Sadducees (who say that there is no resurrection) *came to Jesus, and began questioning Him, saying, ¹⁹ “Teacher, Moses wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies and leaves behind a wife and leaves no child, his brother should ^[i]marry the wife and raise up a seed for his brother. ²⁰ There were seven brothers; and the first ^[j]married a wife, and died leaving no ^[k]seed. ²¹ And the second one ^[l]married her, and died leaving behind no seed; and the third likewise; ²² and so ^[m]all seven left no seed. Last of all the woman died also. ²³ In the resurrection, ^[n]when they rise again, whose wife will she be? For ^[o]all seven ^[p]had married her.” ²⁴ Jesus said to them, “Is this not the reason you are mistaken, that you do not ^[q]understand the Scriptures nor the power of God? ²⁵ For when they rise from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven. ²⁶ But ^[r]regarding the fact that the dead are raised, have you not read in the book of Moses, in the passage about the burning bush, how God spoke to him, saying, ‘I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? ²⁷ He is not the God of the dead, but of the living; you are greatly mistaken.”

The Foremost Commandment

²⁸ And when one of the scribes came and heard them arguing, he recognized that He had answered them well and asked Him, “What commandment is the ^[s]foremost of all?” ²⁹ Jesus answered, “The foremost is, ‘Hear, O Israel! The ^[t]Lord our God is one ^[u]Lord; ³⁰ and you shall love the ^[v]Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ ³¹ The second is this, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” ³² And the scribe said to Him, “Right, Teacher; You have truly stated that He is One, and there is no one else besides Him; ³³ and to love Him with all the heart and with all the understanding and with all the strength, and to love one’s neighbor as himself, is much more than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.” ³⁴ And when Jesus saw that he had answered thoughtfully, He said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” After that, no one would dare to ask Him any more questions.

³⁵ And Jesus began to say, as He taught in the temple, “How is it that the scribes say that the ^[w]Christ is the son of David? ³⁶ David himself said ^[x]in the Holy Spirit,

³⁷ David himself calls Him ‘Lord’; so in what sense is He his son?” And the large crowd ^[z]enjoyed listening to Him.

³⁸ And in His teaching He was saying: “Beware of the scribes who want to walk around in long robes, and want respectful greetings in the marketplaces, ³⁹ and best seats in the synagogues and places of honor at banquets, ⁴⁰ who devour widows’ houses, and for appearance’s sake offer long prayers; these will receive greater condemnation.”

The Widow’s Offering

⁴¹ And He sat down opposite the treasury, and began observing how the crowd was putting ^[aa]money into the treasury; and many rich people were putting in large sums. ⁴² And a poor widow came and put in two ^[ab]lepta, which amount to a ^[ac]quadrans. ⁴³ And calling His disciples to Him, He said to them, “Truly I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all those putting money into the treasury; ⁴⁴ for they all put in out of their ^[ad]surplus, but she, out of her poverty, put in all she owned, ^[ae]all she had to live on.”

Signs of Christ’s Return

13 And as He was going out of the temple, one of His disciples *said to Him, “Teacher, behold ^[a]what wonderful stones and ^[b]what wonderful buildings!” ² And Jesus said to him, “Do you see these great buildings? Not one stone will be left upon another which will not be torn down.”

³ And as He was sitting on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter and James and John and Andrew were questioning Him privately, ⁴ “Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the ^[c]sign when all these things are going to be fulfilled?” ⁵ And Jesus began to say to them, “See to it that no one deceives you. ⁶ Many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am He!’ and will mislead many. ⁷ And when you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed; those things must take place; but that is not yet the end. ⁸ For nation will rise up against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; there will be earthquakes in various places; there will also be famines. These things are merely the beginning of birth pains.

⁹ “But see to yourselves; for they will deliver you to the ^[d]courts, and you will be beaten in the synagogues, and you will stand before governors and kings for My sake, as a witness to them. ¹⁰ And the gospel must first be proclaimed to all the nations. ¹¹ And when they lead you away, delivering you up, do not worry beforehand about what you are to say, but say whatever is given to you in that hour; for it is not you who speak, but it is the Holy Spirit. ¹² And brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; and children will rise up against parents and ^[e]have them put to death. ¹³ And you will be hated by all because of My name, but the one who endures to the end, he will be saved.

The Abomination of Desolation and the Tribulation

¹⁴ “But when you see the abomination of desolation standing where it should not be (let the reader understand), then those who are in Judea must flee to the mountains. ¹⁵ And the one who is on the housetop must not go down, or go in to get anything out of his house; ¹⁶ and the one who is in the field must not turn back to get his garment. ¹⁷ But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days! ¹⁸ But pray that it may not happen in the winter. ¹⁹ For those days will be a time of tribulation such as has not occurred since the beginning of the creation which God created until now, and never will. ²⁰ And unless the Lord had shortened those days, no ^[f]life would have been saved; but for the sake of the ^[g]elect, whom He chose, He shortened the days. ²¹ And then if anyone says to you, ‘Behold, here is the ^[h]Christ’; or, ‘Behold, He is there’; do not believe him; ²² for false christs and false prophets will arise, and will show ^[i]signs and wonders, in order to lead astray, if possible, the elect. ²³ But as for you, see! I have told you everything in advance.

The Coming of the Son of Man

²⁴ “But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun will be darkened and the moon will not give its light, ²⁵ and the stars will be falling from heaven, and the powers that are in ^[j]the heavens will be shaken. ²⁶ And then they will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory. ²⁷ And then He will send forth the angels, and will gather together His ^[k]elect from the four winds, from the farthest end of the earth to the farthest end of heaven.

The Parable of the Fig Tree

²⁸ “Now learn the parable from the fig tree: when its branch has already become tender and puts forth its leaves, you know that summer is near. ²⁹ Even so, you too, when you see these things happening, ^[l]recognize that ^[m]He is near, right at the ^[n]door. ³⁰ Truly I say to you, this ^[o]generation will not pass away until all these things take place. ³¹ Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away. ³² But of that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone.

³³ “See to it, keep on the alert; for you do not know when the appointed time ^[p]will come. ³⁴ It is like a man away on a journey, who, leaving his house and giving authority to his slaves—each one his task, also commanded the doorkeeper to stay awake. ³⁵ Therefore, stay awake—for you do not know when the ^[q]master of the house is coming, whether in the evening, at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or in the morning— ³⁶ lest he come suddenly and find you sleeping. ³⁷ And what I say to you I say to all, ‘Stay awake!’”

The Plot to Kill Jesus

26 ^[a]Now it happened that when Jesus had finished all these words, He said to His disciples, ² “You know that after two days the Passover is coming, and the Son of Man is to be delivered over for crucifixion.”

³ Then the chief priests and the elders of the people were gathered together in the court of the high priest, named Caiaphas; ⁴ and they plotted together to seize Jesus by stealth and kill Him. ⁵ But they were saying, “Not during the festival, lest a riot occur among the people.”

Judas Looks to Betray Jesus

¹⁴ Then one of the twelve, named Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests ¹⁵ and said, “What are you willing to give me ^[a]to deliver Him to you?” And they weighed out ^[b]thirty pieces of silver to him. ¹⁶ And from then on he began looking for a good opportunity to ^[c]betray ^[d]Jesus.

The Plot to Kill Jesus

14 Now the Passover and Unleavened Bread were two days away; and the chief priests and the scribes were seeking how, after seizing Him in secret, they might kill Him; ² for they were saying, “Not during the festival, lest there be a riot of the people.”

 

¹⁰ Then Judas Iscariot, who was one of the twelve, went away to the chief priests in order to ^[a]betray Him to them. ¹¹ And when they heard this, they were glad and promised to give him money. And he began seeking how to betray Him at an opportune time.

The Plot to Kill Jesus

22 Now the Feast of Unleavened Bread, which is called the Passover, was drawing near. ² And the chief priests and the scribes were seeking how they might put Him to death; for they were afraid of the people.

³ And Satan entered into Judas who was called Iscariot, who ^[a]belonged to the number of the twelve. ⁴ And he went away and discussed with the chief priests and officers how he might betray Him to them. ⁵ And they were glad and agreed to give him money. ⁶ So he consented, and began seeking a good opportunity to betray Him to them ^[b]apart from the crowd.

³⁷ But though He had done so many ^[a]signs before them, they still were not believing in Him, ³⁸ so that the word of Isaiah the prophet might be fulfilled, which he spoke: “^[b]Lord, who has believed our report? And to whom has the arm of the ^[c]Lord been revealed?” ³⁹ For this reason they could not believe, for Isaiah said again, ⁴⁰ “He has blinded their eyes and He hardened their heart, lest they see with their eyes and understand with their heart, and return and I heal them.” ⁴¹ These things Isaiah said because he saw His glory, and he spoke about Him. ⁴² Nevertheless many even of the rulers believed in Him, but because of the Pharisees they were not confessing Him, for fear that they would be put out of the synagogue; ⁴³ for they loved the glory of men rather than the glory of God.

⁴⁴ And Jesus cried out and said, “He who believes in Me, does not believe in Me but in Him who sent Me. ⁴⁵ And he who sees Me sees the One who sent Me. ⁴⁶ I have come as Light into the world, so that everyone who believes in Me will not remain in darkness. ⁴⁷ And if anyone hears My words and does not keep them, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world, but to save the world. ⁴⁸ He who rejects Me and does not receive My words, has one who judges him; the word I spoke is what will judge him on the last day. ⁴⁹ For I did not speak from Myself, but the Father Himself who sent Me has given Me a commandment—what to say and what to speak. ⁵⁰ And I know that His commandment is eternal life; therefore the things I speak, I speak just as the Father has told Me.”

 

The Passover Meal

¹⁷ Now on the first day of Unleavened Bread the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Where do You want us to prepare for You to eat the Passover?” ¹⁸ And He said, “Go into the city to a certain man, and say to him, ‘The Teacher says, “My time is near; I am keeping the Passover at your house with My disciples.”’” ¹⁹ And the disciples did as Jesus had directed them; and they prepared the Passover.

The Passover Meal

¹² And on the first day of Unleavened Bread, when ^[a]the Passover lamb was being sacrificed, His disciples *said to Him, “Where do You want us to go and prepare for You to eat the Passover?” ¹³ And He *sent two of His disciples and *said to them, “Go into the city, and a man will meet you carrying a pitcher of water; follow him; ¹⁴ and wherever he enters, say to the owner of the house, ‘The Teacher says, “Where is My guest room in which I may eat the Passover with My disciples?”’ ¹⁵ And he himself will show you a large upper room furnished and ready; prepare for us there.” ¹⁶ And the disciples went out and came to the city, and found it just as He had told them; and they prepared the Passover.

²⁰ Now when evening came, Jesus was reclining at the table with the twelve disciples. ²¹ And as they were eating, He said, “Truly I say to you that one of you will betray Me.” ²² And being deeply grieved, they ^[f]each one began to say to Him, “Surely not I, Lord?” ²³ And He answered and said, “He who dipped his hand with Me in the bowl is the one who will betray Me. ²⁴ The Son of Man is going, just as it is written of Him; but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been good ^[g]for that man if he had not been born.” ²⁵ And Judas, who was betraying Him, answered and said, “Surely not I, Rabbi?” Jesus *said to him, “You yourself said it.”

The Lord’s Supper

²⁶ Now while they were eating, Jesus took some bread, and ^[h]after a blessing, He broke it. And giving it to the disciples, He said, “Take, eat; this is My body.” ²⁷ And when He had taken a cup and given thanks, He gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you; ²⁸ for this is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for forgiveness of sins. ²⁹ But I say to you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in My Father’s kingdom.”

³⁰ And after singing a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.

³¹ Then Jesus *said to them, “You will all ^[i]fall away because of Me this night, for it is written, ‘I will strike down the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock shall be scattered.’ ³² But after I have been raised, I will go ahead of you to Galilee.” ³³ But Peter answered and said to Him, “Even though all may ^[j]fall away because of You, I will never fall away.” ³⁴ Jesus said to him, “Truly I say to you that this very night, before a rooster crows, you will deny Me three times.” ³⁵ Peter *said to Him, “Even if I have to die with You, I will not deny You.” All the disciples said the same thing too.

Jesus Prays in Gethsemane

³⁶ Then Jesus *came with them to a place called Gethsemane, and *said to His disciples, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.” ³⁷ And He took with Him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be grieved and distressed. ³⁸ Then He *said to them, “My soul is deeply grieved, to the point of death; remain here and keep watch with Me.”

³⁹ And He went a little beyond them, and fell on His face and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; yet not as I will, but as You will.” ⁴⁰ And He *came to the disciples and *found them sleeping, and *said to Peter, “So, you men could not keep watch with Me for one hour? ⁴¹ Keep watching and praying that you may not enter into temptation; the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

⁴² He went away again a second time and prayed, saying, “My Father, if this cannot pass away unless I drink it, Your will be done.” ⁴³ And again He came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were heavy. ⁴⁴ And He left them again, and went away and prayed a third time, saying the same thing once more. ⁴⁵ Then He *came to the disciples and *said to them, “^[k]Are you still sleeping and resting? Behold, the hour is at hand and the Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of sinners. ⁴⁶ Get up, let us go; behold, the one who betrays Me is at hand!”

The Betrayal and Arrest of Jesus

⁴⁷ And while He was still speaking, behold, Judas, one of the twelve, came up, and with him was a large crowd with swords and clubs, who came from the chief priests and elders of the people. ⁴⁸ Now he who was betraying Him gave them a sign, saying, “Whomever I kiss, He is the one; seize Him.” ⁴⁹ And immediately Judas went to Jesus and said, “Greetings, Rabbi!” and kissed Him. ⁵⁰ And Jesus said to him, “Friend, do what you have come for.” Then they came and laid hands on Jesus and seized Him.

⁵¹ And behold, one of those who were with Jesus stretched out his hand and drew out his sword and struck the slave of the high priest and ^[l]cut off his ear. ⁵² Then Jesus *said to him, “Put your sword back into its place; for all those who take up the sword shall perish by the sword. ⁵³ Or do you think that I cannot appeal to My Father, and He will at once put at My disposal more than twelve ^[m]legions of angels? ⁵⁴ Therefore, how will the Scriptures be fulfilled, which say that it must happen this way?”

⁵⁵ At that time Jesus said to the crowds, “Have you come out with swords and clubs to arrest Me as you would against a robber? Every day I used to sit in the temple teaching and you did not seize Me. ⁵⁶ But all this has taken place in order that the Scriptures of the prophets would be fulfilled.” Then all the disciples left Him and fled.

Jesus Before Caiaphas

⁵⁷ Now those who had seized Jesus led Him away to Caiaphas, the high priest, where the scribes and the elders were gathered together. ⁵⁸ But Peter was following Him at a distance as far as the courtyard of the high priest, and entered in, and sat down with the ^[n]officers to see the outcome.

⁵⁹ Now the chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin kept trying to obtain false testimony against Jesus, so that they might put Him to death. ⁶⁰ And they did not find any, even though many false witnesses came forward. But later on two came forward, ⁶¹ and said, “This man stated, ‘I am able to destroy the ^[o]sanctuary of God and to rebuild it ^[p]in three days.’” ⁶² And the high priest stood up and said to Him, “Do You not answer? What are these men testifying against You?” ⁶³ But Jesus kept silent. And the high priest said to Him, “I put You under oath by the living God, that You tell us whether You are the ^[q]Christ, the Son of God.” ⁶⁴ Jesus *said to him, “You yourself said it; nevertheless I tell you, ^[r]hereafter you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of Power and coming on the clouds of heaven.”

⁶⁵ Then the high priest tore his garments and said, “He has blasphemed! What further need do we have of witnesses? Behold, you have now heard the blasphemy; ⁶⁶ what do you think?” They answered and said, “He deserves death!”

⁶⁷ Then they spat in His face and beat Him with their fists; and others ^[s]slapped Him, ⁶⁸ and said, “Prophesy to us, O ^[t]Christ; who is the one who hit You?”

Peter’s Denials

⁶⁹ Now Peter was sitting outside in the courtyard, and a servant-girl came to him and said, “You too were with Jesus the Galilean.” ⁷⁰ But he denied it before them all, saying, “I do not know what you are talking about.” ⁷¹ And when he had gone out to the gateway, another servant-girl saw him and *said to those who were there, “This man was with Jesus of Nazareth.” ⁷² And again he denied it with an oath, “I do not know the man.” ⁷³ A little later the bystanders came up and said to Peter, “Surely you too are one of them; for even the way you talk ^[u]gives you away.” ⁷⁴ Then he began to curse and swear, “I do not know the man!” And immediately a rooster crowed. ⁷⁵ And Peter remembered the word which Jesus had said, “Before a rooster crows, you will deny Me three times.” And he went out and cried bitterly.

27 Now when morning came, all the chief priests and the elders of the people took counsel together against Jesus to put Him to death; ² and they bound Him, and led Him away and delivered Him to Pilate the governor.

Jesus Before Pilate

¹¹ Now Jesus stood before the governor, and the governor questioned Him, saying, “Are You the King of the Jews?” And Jesus said to him, “You yourself say it.” ¹² And while He was being accused by the chief priests and elders, He did not answer. ¹³ Then Pilate *said to Him, “Do You not hear how many things they testify against You?” ¹⁴ And He did not answer him with regard to even a single ^[g]charge, so the governor marveled greatly.

¹⁵ Now at the feast the governor was accustomed to release for the crowd any one prisoner whom they wanted. ¹⁶ And at that time they were holding a notorious prisoner, called Barabbas. ¹⁷ So when the people gathered together, Pilate said to them, “Whom do you want me to release for you? ^[h]Barabbas, or Jesus who is called ^[i]Christ?” ¹⁸ For he knew that because of envy they had delivered Him over.

¹⁹ Now while he was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent him a message, saying, “Have nothing to do with that righteous Man; for ^[j]last night I suffered greatly in a dream because of Him.” ²⁰ But the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowds to ask for Barabbas and to put Jesus to death. ²¹ But the governor answered and said to them, “Which of the two do you want me to release for you?” And they said, “Barabbas.” ²² Pilate *said to them, “Then, what shall I do with Jesus who is called ^[k]Christ?” They all *said, “Let Him be crucified!” ²³ And he said, “Why, what evil did He do?” But they were crying out all the more, saying, “Let Him be crucified!”

²⁴ Now when Pilate saw that he was accomplishing nothing, but rather that a riot was starting, he took water and washed his hands in front of the crowd, saying, “I am innocent of this man’s blood; see to that yourselves.” ²⁵ And all the people answered and said, “His blood be on us and on our children!” ²⁶ Then he released Barabbas ^[l]for them; but after having Jesus scourged, he delivered Him over to be crucified.

¹⁷ And when it was evening He *came with the twelve. ¹⁸ And as they were reclining at the table and eating, Jesus said, “Truly I say to you that one of you will ^[e]betray Me—the one who is eating with Me.” ¹⁹ They began to be grieved and to say to Him one by one, “Surely not I?” ²⁰ And He said to them, “It is one of the twelve, the one who dips with Me in the bowl. ²¹ For the Son of Man is to go just as it is written of Him; but woe to that man ^[f]by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been good ^[g]for that man if he had not been born.”

The Lord’s Supper

²² And while they were eating, He took some bread, and ^[h]after a blessing, He broke it, and gave it to them, and said, “Take it; this is My body.” ²³ And when He had taken a cup and given thanks, He gave it to them, and they all drank from it. ²⁴ And He said to them, “This is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many. ²⁵ Truly I say to you, I will never again drink of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.”

²⁶ And after singing a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.

²⁷ And Jesus *said to them, “You will all ^[i]fall away, because it is written, ‘I will strike down the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered.’ ²⁸ But after I have been raised, I will go ahead of you to Galilee.” ²⁹ But Peter said to Him, “Even though all may ^[j]fall away, yet I will not.” ³⁰ And Jesus *said to him, “Truly I say to you, that today, this very night, before a rooster crows twice, you yourself will deny Me three times.” ³¹ But Peter kept saying insistently, “If I have to die with You, I will not deny You!” And they all were saying the same thing also.

Jesus Prays in Gethsemane

³² Then they *came to a place named Gethsemane; and He *said to His disciples, “Sit here until I have prayed.” ³³ And He *took with Him Peter and James and John, and began to be very distressed and troubled. ³⁴ And He *said to them, “My soul is deeply grieved to the point of death; remain here and keep watch.” ³⁵ And He went a little beyond them, and fell to the ground and began to pray that if it were possible, the hour might pass from Him. ³⁶ And He was saying, “Abba! Father! All things are possible for You; remove this cup from Me; yet not what I will, but what You will.” ³⁷ And He *came and *found them sleeping, and *said to Peter, “Simon, are you sleeping? Could you not keep watch for one hour? ³⁸ Keep watching and praying that you may not come into temptation; the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.” ³⁹ And again He went away and prayed, saying the same ^[k]words. ⁴⁰ And again He came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were very heavy; and they did not know what to answer Him. ⁴¹ And He *came the third time, and *said to them, “^[l]Are you still sleeping and resting? It is enough; the hour has come; behold, the Son of Man is being ^[m]betrayed into the hands of sinners. ⁴² Get up, let us go; behold, the one who betrays Me is at hand!”

The Betrayal and Arrest of Jesus

⁴³ And immediately while He was still speaking, Judas, one of the twelve, *came up, and with him was a crowd with swords and clubs, who were from the chief priests and the scribes and the elders. ⁴⁴ Now he who was betraying Him had given them a signal, saying, “Whomever I kiss, He is the one; seize Him and lead Him away ^[n]under guard.” ⁴⁵ And after coming, Judas, having immediately gone to Him, *said, “Rabbi!” and kissed Him. ⁴⁶ And they laid hands on Him and seized Him. ⁴⁷ But one of those who stood by drew his sword, and struck the slave of the high priest and ^[o]cut off his ear. ⁴⁸ And Jesus answered and said to them, “Have you come out with swords and clubs to arrest Me, as you would against a robber? ⁴⁹ Every day I was with you in the temple teaching, and you did not seize Me; but this has taken place in order that the Scriptures would be fulfilled.” ⁵⁰ And they all left Him and fled.

⁵¹ And a young man was following Him, wearing nothing but a linen sheet over his naked body; and they *seized him. ⁵² But he ^[p]pulled free of the linen sheet and escaped naked.

Jesus Before His Accusers

⁵³ Then they led Jesus away to the high priest; and all the chief priests and the elders and the scribes *gathered together. ⁵⁴ And Peter followed Him at a distance, right into the courtyard of the high priest; and he was sitting with the ^[q]officers and warming himself at the ^[r]fire. ⁵⁵ Now the chief priests and the whole ^[s]Sanhedrin were seeking to obtain testimony against Jesus to put Him to death, and they were not finding any. ⁵⁶ For many were giving false testimony against Him, but their testimony was not consistent. ⁵⁷ And some, standing up, were giving false testimony against Him, saying, ⁵⁸ “We ourselves heard Him say, ‘I will destroy this ^[t]sanctuary made with hands, and in three days I will build another made without hands.’” ⁵⁹ And not even in this way was their testimony consistent. ⁶⁰ And the high priest stood up in their midst and questioned Jesus, saying, “You answer nothing? What are these men testifying against You?” ⁶¹ But He kept silent and did not answer. Again the high priest was questioning Him and *said to Him, “Are You the ^[u]Christ, the Son of the Blessed One?” ⁶² And Jesus said, “I am; and you shall see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven.” ⁶³ And tearing his tunics, the high priest *said, “What further need do we have of witnesses? ⁶⁴ You have heard the blasphemy; how does it seem to you?” And they all condemned Him to be deserving of death. ⁶⁵ And some began to spit at Him, and ^[v]to blindfold Him, and to beat Him with their fists, and to say to Him, “Prophesy!” And the officers ^[w]received Him with ^[x]slaps in the face.

Jesus Before Pilate

15 And early in the morning the chief priests with the elders and scribes and the whole Sanhedrin, immediately held council; and binding Jesus, led Him away and delivered Him to Pilate. ² And Pilate questioned Him, “Are You the King of the Jews?” And He answered him and *said, “You yourself say it.” ³ And the chief priests began to accuse Him of many things. ⁴ Then Pilate was questioning Him again, saying, “Do You not answer? See how many accusations they bring against You!” ⁵ But Jesus made no further answer; so Pilate marveled.

⁶ Now at the feast he used to release for them any one prisoner whom they requested. ⁷ And the man named Barabbas had been imprisoned with the insurrectionists who had committed murder in the insurrection. ⁸ And the crowd went up and began asking him to do as he had been accustomed to do for them. ⁹ And Pilate answered them, saying, “Do you want me to release for you the King of the Jews?” ¹⁰ For he was aware that the chief priests had delivered Him over because of envy. ¹¹ But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to ask him to release Barabbas for them instead. ¹² And answering again, Pilate was saying to them, “Then what shall I do with Him whom you call the King of the Jews?” ¹³ And they shouted again, “Crucify Him!” ¹⁴ But Pilate was saying to them, “Why? What evil did He do?” But they shouted all the more, “Crucify Him!” ¹⁵ And wishing to satisfy the crowd, Pilate released Barabbas for them, and after having Jesus scourged, he delivered Him over to be crucified.

Jesus Is Mocked

¹⁶ So the soldiers took Him away into the ^[a]palace (that is, the ^[b]Praetorium), and they *called together the whole Roman ^[c]cohort. ¹⁷ And they *dressed Him up in purple, and after twisting a crown of thorns, they *put it on Him; ¹⁸ and they began to greet Him, “Hail, King of the Jews!” ¹⁹ And they kept beating His head with a ^[d]reed, and spitting on Him; and kneeling, they were bowing down before Him. ²⁰ And after they had mocked Him, they took the purple robe off Him and put His own garments on Him. And they *led Him out to crucify Him.

²¹ And they *pressed into service a passer-by coming from the countryside, Simon of Cyrene (the father of Alexander and Rufus), to carry His cross.

The Crucifixion

²² Then they *brought Him to the place Golgotha, which is translated, Place of a Skull. ²³ And they tried to give Him wine mixed with myrrh; but He did not take it. ²⁴ And they *crucified Him, and *divided up His garments among themselves, casting ^[e]lots for them to decide who should take what. ²⁵ Now it was the ^[f]third hour, and they crucified Him. ²⁶ And the inscription of the charge against Him ^[g]read, “THE KING OF THE JEWS.”

²⁷ And they *crucified two robbers with Him, one on His right and one on His left. ^28 [h][And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “And He was numbered with transgressors.”] ²⁹ And those passing by were blaspheming Him, shaking their heads, and saying, “Ha! You who are going to destroy the ^[i]sanctuary and rebuild it in three days, ³⁰ save Yourself by coming down from the cross!” ³¹ In the same way, mocking Him to one another, the chief priests also, along with the scribes, were saying, “He saved others; ^[j]He cannot save Himself. ³² Let this ^[k]Christ, the King of Israel, now come down from the cross, so that we may see and believe!” Those who were crucified with Him were also insulting Him.

³³ And when the ^[l]sixth hour came, darkness ^[m]fell over the whole land until the ^[n]ninth hour. ³⁴ And at the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?” which is translated, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” ³⁵ And when some of the bystanders heard it, they began saying, “Look, He is calling for Elijah.” ³⁶ And someone ran and filled a sponge with sour wine, put it on a reed, and gave Him a drink, saying, “^[o]Let us see whether Elijah will come to take Him down.” ³⁷ And Jesus, uttering a loud cry, breathed His last. ³⁸ And the veil of the sanctuary was torn in two from top to bottom. ³⁹ And when the centurion, who was standing ^[p]right in front of Him, saw ^[q]the way He breathed His last, he said, “Truly this man was God’s Son!”

⁴⁰ And there were also some women looking on from a distance, among whom were Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James the ^[r]Less and Joses, and Salome, ⁴¹ who, when He was in Galilee, were following Him and ^[s]serving Him; and there were many other women who came up with Him to Jerusalem.

Jesus Is Buried

⁴² And when evening had already come, because it was ^[t]Preparation day, that is, the day before the Sabbath, ⁴³ Joseph of Arimathea came, a prominent ^[u]Council member, who himself was waiting for the kingdom of God; and he gathered up courage and went in before Pilate, and asked for the body of Jesus. ⁴⁴ And Pilate wondered if He had died by this time, and summoning the centurion, he questioned him as to whether He already died. ⁴⁵ And ascertaining this from the centurion, he granted the body to Joseph. ⁴⁶ And when Joseph had bought a linen cloth and took Him down, he wrapped Him in the linen cloth and laid Him in a tomb which had been hewn out in the rock. And he rolled a stone against the entrance of the tomb. ⁴⁷ And Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses were looking on to see where He had been laid

The Lord’s Supper

¹⁴ And when the hour had come, He reclined at the table, and the apostles with Him. ¹⁵ And He said to them, “I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer; ¹⁶ for I say to you, I shall never again eat it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.” ¹⁷ And when He had taken a cup and given thanks, He said, “Take this and share it among yourselves. ¹⁸ For I say to you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine from now on until the kingdom of God comes.” ¹⁹ And when He had taken some bread and given thanks, He broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is My body which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of Me.” ²⁰ And in the same way He took the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup which is poured out for you is the new covenant in My blood. ²¹ But behold, the hand of the one betraying Me is with Me on the table. ²² For indeed, the Son of Man is going as it has been determined; but woe to that man by whom He is betrayed!” ²³ And they began to argue among themselves which one of them it might be who was going to do this thing.

Who Is Greatest?

²⁴ And there arose also a dispute among them as to which one of them was regarded to be greatest. ²⁵ And He said to them, “The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those who have authority over them are called ‘Benefactors.’ ²⁶ But not so with you; rather the one who is the greatest among you must become like the youngest, and the leader like the servant. ²⁷ For 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 the one who serves.

²⁸ “Now you are those who have stood by Me in My trials, ²⁹ and I grant you a kingdom, just as My Father granted one to Me, ³⁰ that you may eat and drink at My table in My kingdom, and you will sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel.

³¹ “Simon, Simon, behold, Satan has ^[c]demanded to sift all of you like wheat. ³² But I have prayed earnestly for you, that your faith may not fail; and you, once you have returned, strengthen your brothers.” ³³ But he said to Him, “Lord, with You I am ready to go both to prison and to death!” ³⁴ And He said, “I say to you, Peter, the rooster will not crow today until you have denied three times that you know Me.”

³⁵ And He said to them, “When I sent you out without money belt and bag and sandals, did you lack anything?” They said, “Not a thing.” ³⁶ And He said to them, “But now, ^[d]whoever has a money belt is to take it along, likewise also a bag, and ^[e]whoever has no sword should sell his garment and buy one. ³⁷ For I tell you that this which is written must be ^[f]completed in Me, ‘And He was numbered with transgressors’; for that which refers to Me has its ^[g]completion.” ³⁸ And they said, “Lord, look, here are two swords.” And He said to them, “It is enough.”

Jesus Prays in Gethsemane

³⁹ And He came out and went as was His custom to the Mount of Olives; and the disciples also followed Him. ⁴⁰ Now when He arrived at the place, He said to them, “Pray that you may not enter into temptation.” ⁴¹ And He withdrew from them about a stone’s throw, and He knelt down and began to pray, ⁴² saying, “Father, if You are willing, remove this cup from Me, yet not My will, but Yours be done.” ^43 [h]Now an angel from heaven appeared to Him, strengthening Him. ⁴⁴ And being in agony He was praying very fervently, and His sweat became like drops of blood, falling down upon the ground. ⁴⁵ And when He rose from prayer, He came to the disciples and found them sleeping from sorrow, ⁴⁶ and said to them, “Why are you sleeping? Rise up and pray that you may not enter into temptation.”

The Betrayal and Arrest of Jesus

⁴⁷ While He was still speaking, behold, a crowd came, and the one called Judas, one of the twelve, was coming ahead of them, and he approached Jesus to kiss Him. ⁴⁸ But Jesus said to him, “Judas, are you betraying the Son of Man with a kiss?” ⁴⁹ And when those around Him saw what was going to happen, they said, “Lord, shall we strike with the sword?” ⁵⁰ And one of them struck the slave of the high priest and cut off his right ear. ⁵¹ But Jesus answered and said, “^[i]Stop! No more of this.” And He touched his ear and healed him. ⁵² Then Jesus said to the chief priests and officers of the temple and elders who had come against Him, “Have you come out with swords and clubs as against a robber? ⁵³ While I was with you daily in the temple, you did not stretch out your hands against Me, but ^[j]this hour and the authority of darkness are yours.”

⁵⁴ Now having arrested Him, they led Him away and brought Him to the house of the high priest, but Peter was following at a distance. ⁵⁵ And after they had kindled a fire in the middle of the courtyard and had sat down together, Peter was sitting among them. ⁵⁶ And a servant-girl, seeing him as he sat in the firelight and looking intently at him, said, “This man was with Him too.” ⁵⁷ But he denied it, saying, “Woman, I do not know Him.” ⁵⁸ A little later, another saw him and said, “You are one of them too!” But Peter said, “Man, I am not!” ⁵⁹ And after about an hour had passed, another man began to insist, saying, “Certainly this man was with Him too, for he also is a Galilean.” ⁶⁰ But Peter said, “Man, I do not know what you are talking about.” Immediately, while he was still speaking, a rooster crowed. ⁶¹ And the Lord turned and looked at Peter. And Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how He had told him, “Before a rooster crows today, you will deny Me three times.” ⁶² And he went out and cried bitterly.

⁶³ Now the men who were holding ^[k]Jesus in custody were mocking Him while they beat Him, ⁶⁴ and they blindfolded Him and were asking Him, saying, “Prophesy, who is the one who hit You?” ⁶⁵ And they were saying many other things against Him, blaspheming.

Jesus Before the Sanhedrin

⁶⁶ And as the day came, the ^[l]Sanhedrin of elders of the people assembled, both chief priests and scribes, and they led Him away to their ^[m]Sanhedrin, saying, ⁶⁷ “If You are the ^[n]Christ, tell us.” But He said to them, “If I tell you, you will not believe, ⁶⁸ and if I ask a question, you will not answer. ⁶⁹ But from now on the Son of Man will be seated at the right hand of the power of ^[o]God.” ⁷⁰ And they all said, “Are You the Son of God, then?” And He said to them, “You yourselves say that I am.” ⁷¹ Then they said, “What further need do we have of testimony? For we have heard it ourselves from His own mouth.”

Jesus Before Pilate

23 Then their whole assembly rose up and brought Him before Pilate. ² And they began to accuse Him, saying, “We found this man misleading our nation and forbidding to pay taxes to Caesar, and saying that He Himself is ^[a]Christ, a King.” ³ So Pilate asked Him, saying, “Are You the King of the Jews?” And He answered him and said, “You yourself say it.” ⁴ Then Pilate said to the chief priests and the crowds, “I find no guilt in this man.” ⁵ But they kept on insisting, saying, “He stirs up the people, teaching all over Judea, starting from Galilee even as far as this place.”

⁶ Now when Pilate heard this, he asked whether the man was a Galilean. ⁷ And when he learned that He belonged to Herod’s jurisdiction, he sent Him to Herod, who himself also was in Jerusalem in those days.

Jesus Before Herod

⁸ Now when Herod saw Jesus, he rejoiced greatly; for he had wanted to see Him for a long time, because he had been hearing about Him and was hoping to see some ^[b]sign performed by Him. ⁹ And he questioned Him ^[c]at some length, but He answered him nothing. ¹⁰ And the chief priests and the scribes were standing there, vehemently accusing Him. ¹¹ And Herod with his soldiers, after treating Him with contempt and mocking Him, dressed Him in a bright robe and sent Him back to Pilate. ¹² Now Herod and Pilate became friends with one another that very day; for before they had been enemies with each other.

Pilate Grants the Crowd’s Request

¹³ And Pilate summoned the chief priests and the rulers and the people, ¹⁴ and said to them, “You brought this man to me as one who ^[d]incites the people to rebellion, and behold, having examined Him before you, I have found in this man no guilt of what you are accusing Him. ¹⁵ No, nor has Herod, for he sent Him back to us; and behold, nothing deserving death has been done by Him. ¹⁶ Therefore I will punish Him and release Him.” ^17 [e][Now he was obliged to release to them at the feast one prisoner.]

¹⁸ But they cried out all together, saying, “Away with this man, and release for us Barabbas!” ¹⁹ (He had been thrown into prison for an insurrection made in the city and for murder.) ²⁰ But again Pilate addressed them, wanting to release Jesus, ²¹ but they kept on calling out, saying, “Crucify, crucify Him!” ²² And he said to them a third time, “Why, what evil has this man done? I have found in Him no guilt worthy of death; therefore I will punish Him and release Him.” ²³ But they were insistent, with loud voices asking that He be crucified. And their voices were prevailing. ²⁴ And Pilate pronounced sentence that their demand be granted. ²⁵ And he released the man they were asking for who had been thrown into prison for insurrection and murder, but he delivered Jesus to their will.

Simon Carries the Cross

²⁶ And when they led Him away, they took hold of a man, Simon of Cyrene, coming in from the country, and placed on him the cross to carry behind Jesus.

²⁷ And following Him was a large multitude of the people, and of women who were ^[f]mourning and lamenting Him. ²⁸ But Jesus, turning to them, said, “Daughters of Jerusalem, stop crying for Me, but cry for yourselves and for your children. ²⁹ For behold, the days are coming when they will say, ‘Blessed are the barren, and the wombs that never bore, and the breasts that never nursed.’ ³⁰ Then they will begin to say to the mountains, ‘Fall on us,’ and to the hills, ‘Cover us.’ ³¹ For if they do these things ^[g]when the tree is green, what will happen ^[h]when it is dry?”

³² Now two others also, who were criminals, were being led away to be put to death with Him.

The Crucifixion

³³ And when they came to the place called ^[i]The Skull, there they crucified Him and the criminals, one on the right and the other on the left. ^34 [j]But Jesus was saying, “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.” And they cast lots, dividing up His garments among themselves. ³⁵ And the people stood by, looking on. And even the rulers were scoffing at Him, saying, “He saved others; let Him save Himself if this is the ^[k]Christ of God, His Chosen One.” ³⁶ And the soldiers also mocked Him, coming up to Him, offering Him sour wine, ³⁷ and saying, “If You are the King of the Jews, save Yourself!” ³⁸ Now there was also an inscription above Him, “THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS.”

³⁹ And one of the criminals hanging there was blaspheming Him, saying, “Are You not the ^[l]Christ? Save Yourself and us!” ⁴⁰ But the other answered, and rebuking him said, “Do you not even fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? ⁴¹ And we indeed are suffering justly, for we are receiving ^[m]what we deserve for what we have done; but this man has done nothing wrong.” ⁴² And he was saying, “Jesus, remember me when You come ^[n]in Your kingdom!” ⁴³ And He said to him, “Truly I say to you, today you shall be with Me in Paradise.”

⁴⁴ And it was now about ^[o]the sixth hour, and darkness ^[p]fell over the whole land until ^[q]the ninth hour, ^45 [r]because the sun was obscured. And the veil of the ^[s]sanctuary was torn ^[t]in two. ⁴⁶ And Jesus, crying out with a loud voice, said, “Father, into Your hands I commit My spirit.” Having said this, He breathed His last. ⁴⁷ Now when the centurion saw what had happened, he began praising God, saying, “Certainly this man was righteous.” ⁴⁸ And all the crowds who came together for this spectacle, when they observed what had happened, were returning, ^[u]beating their chests. ⁴⁹ And all His acquaintances and the women who accompanied Him from Galilee were standing at a distance, watching these things.

Jesus Is Buried

⁵⁰ And behold, a man named Joseph, who was a Council member, a good and righteous man ⁵¹ (he had not consented to their counsel and action), a man from Arimathea, a city of the Jews, who was waiting for the kingdom of God; ⁵² this man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. ⁵³ And he took it down and wrapped it in a linen cloth, and laid Him in a tomb cut into the rock, where no one had ever lain. ⁵⁴ It was ^[v]Preparation day, and the Sabbath was about to ^[w]begin. ⁵⁵ Now the women, who had come with Him from Galilee, followed and beheld the tomb and how His body was laid. ⁵⁶ Then after they returned, they prepared spices and perfumes.

And on the Sabbath they rested according to the commandment.

The Lord’s Supper

13 Now before the Feast of the Passover, Jesus knowing that His hour had come that He would depart out of this world to the Father, having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them ^[a]to the end. ² And during supper, the devil having already put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon, to betray Him, ³ Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands, and that He had come forth from God and was going back to God, ⁴ *got up from supper, and *laid aside His garments; and taking a towel, He tied it around Himself.

Jesus Washes the Disciples’ Feet

⁵ Then He *poured water into the washbasin, and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel which He had tied around Himself. ⁶ So He *came to Simon Peter. He *said to Him, “Lord, are You going to wash my feet?” ⁷ Jesus answered and said to him, “What I am doing you do not realize now, but you will understand afterwards.” ⁸ Peter *said to Him, “You will never wash my feet—ever!” Jesus answered him, “If I do not wash you, you have no part with Me.” ⁹ Simon Peter *said to Him, “Lord, not only my feet, but also my hands and my head.” ¹⁰ Jesus *said to him, “He who has bathed needs only to wash his feet, but is completely clean; and you are clean, but not all of you.” ¹¹ For He knew the one who was betraying Him; for this reason He said, “Not all of you are clean.”

¹² So when He had washed their feet, and taken His garments and reclined at the table again, He said to them, “Do you know what I have done to you? ¹³ You call Me Teacher and Lord; and ^[b]you are right, for so I am. ¹⁴ If I then, the Lord and the Teacher, washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. ¹⁵ For I gave you an example that you also should do as I did to you. ¹⁶ Truly, truly, I say to you, a slave is not greater than his master, nor is one who is sent greater than the one who sent him. ¹⁷ If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them. ¹⁸ I do not speak about all of you. I know the ones I have chosen; but that the Scripture may be fulfilled, ‘He who eats My bread has lifted up his heel against Me.’ ¹⁹ From now on I am telling you before it occurs, so that when it does occur, you may believe that I am He. ²⁰ Truly, truly, I say to you, he who receives anyone I send receives Me; and he who receives Me receives Him who sent Me.”

Jesus Predicts His Betrayal

²¹ When Jesus had said these things, He became troubled in spirit, and bore witness and said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, that one of you will ^[c]betray Me.” ²² The disciples began looking at one another, perplexed about whom He *spoke. ²³ There was reclining on Jesus’ bosom one of His disciples, whom Jesus loved. ²⁴ So Simon Peter *gestured to him to inquire, “Who is the one of whom He is speaking?” ²⁵ He, leaning back thus on Jesus’ bosom, *said to Him, “Lord, who is it?” ²⁶ Jesus *answered, “He is the one for whom I shall dip the piece of bread and give it to him.” So when He had dipped the piece of bread, He *took and *gave it to Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot. ²⁷ And after the piece of bread, Satan then entered into him. Therefore Jesus *said to him, “What you do, do quickly.”

³⁶ Simon Peter *said to Him, “Lord, where are You going?” Jesus answered, “Where I go, you cannot follow Me now; but you will follow later.” ³⁷ Peter *said to Him, “Lord, why can I not follow You right now? I will lay down my life for You.” ³⁸ Jesus *answered, “Will you lay down your life for Me? Truly, truly, I say to you, a rooster will not crow until you deny Me three times.

I Am the Way, the Truth, and the Life

14 “Do not let your heart be troubled; ^[a]believe in God, believe also in Me. ² In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. ³ And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also. ⁴ And you know the way where I am going.” ⁵ Thomas *said to Him, “Lord, we do not know where You are going. How do we know the way?” ⁶ Jesus *said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father but through Me.

Oneness with the Father

⁷ If you have come to know Me, you will know My Father also; from now on you know Him, and have seen Him.”

⁸ Philip *said to Him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.” ⁹ Jesus *said to him, “Have I been with you all so long and have you not come to know Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? ¹⁰ Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father is in Me? The words that I say to you I do not speak from Myself, but the Father abiding in Me does His works. ¹¹ Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me; otherwise believe because of the works themselves. ¹² Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do, he will do also; and greater works than these he will do because I go to the Father. ¹³ Whatever you ask in My name, this will I do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. ¹⁴ If you ask Me anything in My name, I will do it.

¹⁵ “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.

Jesus Promises the Holy Spirit

¹⁶ And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another ^[b]Advocate, that He may be with you forever; ¹⁷ the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him. You know Him because He abides with you and will be in you.

¹⁸ “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. ^19 [c]After a little while the world will no longer see Me, but you will see Me; because I live, you will live also. ²⁰ On that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you. ²¹ He who has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me; and he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and will disclose Myself to him.” ²² Judas (not Iscariot) *said to Him, “Lord, what then has happened that You are going to disclose Yourself to us and not to the world?” ²³ Jesus answered and said to him, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our dwelling with him. ²⁴ He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine, but the Father’s who sent Me.

²⁵ “These things I have spoken to you while abiding with you. ²⁶ But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you. ²⁷ Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful. ²⁸ You heard that I said to you, ‘I go away, and I will come to you.’ If you loved Me, you would have rejoiced because I go to the Father, for the Father is greater than I. ²⁹ And now I have told you before it happens, so that when it happens, you may believe. ³⁰ I will not speak much more with you, for the ruler of the world is coming, and he has nothing in Me; ³¹ but so that the world may know that I love the Father, ^[d]I do exactly as the Father commanded Me. Get up, let us go from here.

I Am the True Vine

15 “I am the true vine, and My Father is the vine-grower. ² Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit, He ^[a]cleans it so that it may bear more fruit. ³ You are already ^[b]clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. ⁴ Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit from itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me. ⁵ I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing. ⁶ If anyone does not abide in Me, he is thrown away as a branch and dries up; and they gather them, and cast them into the fire and they are burned. ⁷ If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. ⁸ My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit, and so ^[c]prove to be My disciples. ⁹ Just as the Father has loved Me, I have also loved you; abide in My love. ¹⁰ If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love; just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love. ¹¹ These things I have spoken to you so that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete.

Jesus’ Commandment Is Love

¹² “This is My commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you. ¹³ Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends. ¹⁴ You are My friends if you do what I command you. ¹⁵ No longer do I call you slaves, for the slave does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I have heard from My Father I have made known to you. ¹⁶ You did not choose Me but I chose you, and appointed you that you would go and bear fruit, and that your fruit would abide, so that whatever you ask of the Father in My name He may give to you. ¹⁷ This I command you, that you love one another.

If the World Hates You

¹⁸ “If the world hates you, ^[d]know that it has hated Me before it hated you. ¹⁹ If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, because of this the world hates you. ²⁰ Remember the word that I said to you, ‘A slave is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you; if they kept My word, they will keep yours also. ²¹ But all these things they will do to you for My name’s sake, because they do not know the One who sent Me. ²² If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have ^[e]sin, but now they have no excuse for their sin. ²³ He who hates Me hates My Father also. ²⁴ If I had not done among them the works which no one else did, they would not have ^[f]sin; but now they have both seen and hated Me and My Father as well. ²⁵ But this happened to fulfill the word that is written in their Law, ‘They hated Me without cause.’

²⁶ “When the ^[g]Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will bear witness about Me, ^27 [h]and you will bear witness also, because you have been with Me from the beginning.

Jesus’ Warning

16 “These things I have spoken to you so that you may be kept from stumbling. ² They will put you out of the synagogue, but an hour is coming for everyone who kills you to think that he is offering service to God. ³ These things they will do because they did not know the Father or Me. ⁴ But these things I have spoken to you, so that when their hour comes, you ^[a]may remember that I told you of them. These things I did not say to you at the beginning, because I was with you.

The Spirit Is Promised Again

⁵ “But now I am going to Him who sent Me; and none of you asks Me, ‘Where are You going?’ ⁶ But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart. ⁷ But I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the ^[b]Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you. ⁸ And He, when He comes, will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment; ⁹ concerning sin, because they do not believe in Me; ¹⁰ and concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father and you no longer see Me; ¹¹ and concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world has been judged.

¹² “I still have many more things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. ¹³ But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak from Himself, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come. ¹⁴ He will glorify Me, for He will take of Mine and will disclose it to you. ¹⁵ All things that the Father has are Mine; therefore I said that He takes of Mine and will disclose it to you.

Sorrow Turned to Joy

¹⁶ “A little while, and you will no longer see Me; and again a little while, and you will see Me.” ¹⁷ Some of His disciples then said to one another, “What is this He is telling us, ‘A little while, and you will not see Me; and again a little while, and you will see Me’; and, ‘because I go to the Father’?” ¹⁸ So they were saying, “What is this that He says, ‘A little while’? We do not know what He is talking about.” ¹⁹ Jesus knew that they were wishing to question Him, and He said to them, “Are you deliberating together about this, that I said, ‘A little while, and you will not see Me, and again a little while, and you will see Me’? ²⁰ Truly, truly, I say to you, that you will cry and lament, but the world will rejoice; you will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will be turned into joy. ²¹ Whenever a woman is in labor she has sorrow, because her hour has come; but when she gives birth to the child, she no longer remembers the suffering because of the joy that a ^[c]child has been born into the world. ²² Therefore you too have sorrow now; but I will see you again, and your heart will rejoice, and no one will take your joy away from you.

I Have Overcome the World

²³ And on that day you will not question Me about anything. Truly, truly, I say to you, if you ask the Father for anything in My name, He will give it to you. ²⁴ Until now you have asked for nothing in My name; ask and you will receive, so that your joy may be made complete.

²⁵ “These things I have spoken to you in figures of speech; an hour is coming when I will no longer speak to you in figures of speech, but will tell you openly of the Father. ²⁶ On that day you will ask in My name, and I do not say to you that I will request of the Father on your behalf; ²⁷ for the Father Himself loves you, because you have loved Me and have believed that I came forth from the Father. ²⁸ I came forth from the Father and have come into the world; I am leaving the world again and going to the Father.”

²⁹ His disciples *said, “Behold, now You are speaking openly and are not ^[d]using a figure of speech. ³⁰ Now we know that You know all things, and have no need for anyone to question You; by this we believe that You came from God.” ³¹ Jesus answered them, “Do you now believe? ³² Behold, an hour is coming, and has already come, for you to be scattered, each to his own home, and to leave Me alone; and yet I am not alone, because the Father is with Me. ³³ These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.”

The High Priestly Prayer

17 Jesus spoke these things; and lifting up His eyes to heaven, He said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify Your Son, that the Son may glorify You, ² even as You gave Him authority over all flesh, that to ^[a]all whom You have given Him, He may give eternal life. ³ And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent. ⁴ I glorified You on the earth, ^[b]having finished the work which You have given Me to do. ⁵ Now, Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was.

Jesus Prays for His Disciples

⁶ “I have manifested Your name to the men whom You gave Me out of the world; they were Yours and You gave them to Me, and they have kept Your word. ⁷ Now they have come to know that everything You have given Me is from You; ⁸ for the words which You gave Me I have given to them; and they received them and truly understood that I came forth from You, and they believed that You sent Me. ⁹ I ask on their behalf; I do not ask on behalf of the world but of those whom You have given Me; for they are Yours; ¹⁰ and all things that are Mine are Yours, and Yours are Mine; and I have been glorified in them. ¹¹ And I am no longer in the world; and yet they themselves are in the world, and I come to You. Holy Father, keep them in Your name, the name which You have given Me, that they may be one even as We are. ¹² While I was with them, I was keeping them in Your name which You have given Me; and I guarded them and not one of them perished but the ^[c]son of perdition, so that the Scripture would be fulfilled. ¹³ But now I come to You; and these things I speak in the world so that they may have My joy made full in themselves. ¹⁴ I have given them Your word; and the world has hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. ¹⁵ I do not ask You to take them out of the world, but to keep them ^[d]from ^[e]the evil one. ¹⁶ They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. ¹⁷ Sanctify them by the truth; Your word is truth. ¹⁸ As You sent Me into the world, I also sent them into the world. ¹⁹ For their sake I sanctify Myself, that they themselves also may be sanctified in truth.

²⁰ “I do not ask on behalf of these alone, but for those also who believe in Me through their word; ²¹ that they may all be one; even as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may ^[f]believe that You sent Me. ²² The glory which You have given Me I have given to them, that they may be one, just as We are one; ²³ I in them and You in Me, that they may be ^[g]perfected ^[h]in unity, so that the world may ^[i]know that You sent Me, and loved them, even as You have loved Me. ²⁴ Father, I desire that they also, whom You have given Me, be with Me where I am, so that they may see My glory which You have given Me, for You loved Me before the foundation of the world.

²⁵ “O righteous Father, ^[j]although the world has not known You, yet I have known You; and these have known that You sent Me; ²⁶ and I have made Your name known to them, and will make it known, so that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them.”

Jesus Betrayed and Arrested

18 When Jesus had spoken these words, He went forth with His disciples to the other side of the Kidron Valley, where there was a garden, into which He entered ^[a]with His disciples. ² Now Judas also, who was ^[b]betraying Him, knew the place, for Jesus had often gathered there with His disciples. ³ Judas then, having received the Roman ^[c]cohort and officers from the chief priests and the Pharisees, *came there with lanterns and torches and weapons. ⁴ So Jesus, knowing all the things that were coming upon Him, went forth and *said to them, “Whom do you seek?” ⁵ They answered Him, “Jesus the Nazarene.” He *said to them, “I am He.” And Judas also, who was betraying Him, was standing with them. ⁶ So when He said to them, “I am He,” they drew back and fell to the ground. ⁷ Therefore He again asked them, “Whom do you seek?” And they said, “Jesus the Nazarene.” ⁸ Jesus answered, “I told you that I am He; so if you seek Me, let these go their way,” ⁹ in order that the word which He spoke would be fulfilled, “Of those whom You have given Me, I lost not one.” ¹⁰ Simon Peter then, having a sword, drew it and struck the high priest’s slave, and cut off his right ear; and the slave’s name was Malchus. ¹¹ So Jesus said to Peter, “Put the sword into the sheath; the cup which the Father has given Me, shall I not drink it?”

Jesus Before the Priests; Peter Denies Jesus

¹² So the Roman ^[d]cohort and the ^[e]commander and the officers of the Jews, arrested Jesus and bound Him, ¹³ and led Him to Annas first; for he was father-in-law of Caiaphas, who was high priest that year.

¹⁷ Then the servant-girl who kept the door *said to Peter, “Are you not also one of this man’s disciples?” He *said, “I am not.”

¹⁹ The high priest then questioned Jesus about His disciples, and about His teaching. ²⁰ Jesus answered him, “I have spoken openly to the world; I always taught in ^[f]synagogues and in the temple, where all the Jews come together; and I spoke nothing in secret. ²¹ Why do you question Me? Question those who have heard what I spoke to them; behold, they know what I said.” ²² And when He had said this, one of the officers standing nearby gave Jesus a slap, saying, “Is that the way You answer the high priest?” ²³ Jesus answered him, “If I have spoken wrongly, bear witness of the wrong; but if rightly, why do you strike Me?” ²⁴ So Annas sent Him bound to Caiaphas the high priest.

²⁵ Now Simon Peter was standing and warming himself. So they said to him, “You are not also one of His disciples, are you?” He denied it, and said, “I am not.” ²⁶ One of the slaves of the high priest, being a relative of the one whose ear Peter cut off, *said, “Did I not see you in the garden with Him?” ²⁷ Peter then denied it again, and immediately a rooster crowed.

Jesus Before Pilate

²⁸ Then they *led Jesus from Caiaphas into the ^[g]Praetorium, and it was early; and they themselves did not enter into the ^[h]Praetorium so that they would not be defiled, but might eat the Passover. ²⁹ Therefore Pilate went out to them and *said, “What accusation do you bring against this man?” ³⁰ They answered and said to him, “If this man were not an evildoer, we would not have delivered Him to you.” ³¹ So Pilate said to them, “Take Him yourselves, and judge Him according to your law.” The Jews said to him, “It is not lawful for us to put anyone to death,” ³² in order that the word of Jesus which He spoke would be fulfilled, signifying by what kind of death He was about to die.

³³ Therefore Pilate entered again into the Praetorium, and summoned Jesus and said to Him, “Are You the King of the Jews?” ³⁴ Jesus answered, “Are you saying this from yourself, or did others tell you about Me?” ³⁵ Pilate answered, “Am I a Jew? Your own nation and the chief priests delivered You to me; what did You do?” ³⁶ Jesus answered, “My kingdom ^[i]is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, then My servants would be fighting so that I would not be delivered over to the Jews; but as it is, My kingdom is not ^[j]from here.” ³⁷ Therefore Pilate said to Him, “So You are a king?” Jesus answered, “You yourself said I am a king. For this I have been born, and for this I have come into the world, to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice.” ³⁸ Pilate *said to Him, “What is truth?”

And when he had said this, he went out again to the Jews and *said to them, “I find no guilt in Him.

Jesus Flogged and Rejected as King

19 Pilate then took Jesus and ^[a]flogged Him. ² And when the soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns, they put it on His head, and put a purple ^[b]robe on Him; ³ and they were coming to Him and saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” and were giving Him slaps in the face. ⁴ And Pilate came out again and *said to them, “Behold, I am bringing Him out to you so that you may know that I find no guilt in Him.” ⁵ Jesus then came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple ^[c]robe. Pilate *said to them, “Behold, the man!” ⁶ So when the chief priests and the officers saw Him, they cried out saying, “Crucify, crucify!” Pilate *said to them, “Take Him yourselves and crucify Him, for I find no guilt in Him.” ⁷ The Jews answered him, “We have a law, and by that law He ought to die because He made Himself out to be the Son of God.”

⁸ Therefore when Pilate heard this statement, he became more afraid; ⁹ and he entered into the ^[d]Praetorium again and *said to Jesus, “Where are You from?” But Jesus gave him no answer. ¹⁰ So Pilate *said to Him, “You do not speak to me? Do You not know that I have authority to release You, and I have authority to crucify You?” ¹¹ Jesus answered, “You would have no authority ^[e]over Me, unless it had been given you from above; for this reason he who delivered Me to you has the greater sin.” ¹² As a result of this Pilate kept seeking to release Him, but the Jews cried out saying, “If you release this man, you are no friend of Caesar; everyone who makes himself to be a king ^[f]opposes Caesar.”

¹³ Therefore when Pilate heard these words, he brought Jesus out, and sat down on the judgment seat at a place called ^[g]The Stone Pavement, but in ^[h]Hebrew, Gabbatha. ¹⁴ Now it was the day of ^[i]Preparation for the Passover; it was about the ^[j]sixth hour. And he *said to the Jews, “Behold, your King!” ¹⁵ So they cried out, “Away with Him! Away with Him! Crucify Him!” Pilate *said to them, “Shall I crucify your King?” The chief priests answered, “We have no king but Caesar.”

The Crucifixion

¹⁶ So he then delivered Him over to them to be crucified.

¹⁷ They took Jesus, therefore, and He went out, ^[k]bearing His own cross, to the place called the Place of a Skull, which is called in ^[l]Hebrew, Golgotha. ¹⁸ There they crucified Him, and with Him two other men, one on either side, and Jesus in between. ¹⁹ And Pilate also wrote an inscription and put it on the cross. It was written, “JESUS THE NAZARENE, THE KING OF THE JEWS.” ²⁰ Therefore many of the Jews read this inscription, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city; and it was written in ^[m]Hebrew, Latin, and in Greek. ²¹ So the chief priests of the Jews were saying to Pilate, “Do not write, ‘The King of the Jews;’ but that He said, ‘I am King of the Jews.’” ²² Pilate answered, “What I have written I have written.”

²³ Then the soldiers, when they had crucified Jesus, took His garments and made four parts, a part to each soldier and also His ^[n]tunic; now that tunic was seamless, woven in one piece from the top. ²⁴ So they said to one another, “Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it, to decide whose it shall be;” this was in order that the Scripture would be fulfilled: “They divided My garments among them, and for My clothing they cast ^[o]lots.” ²⁵ Therefore the soldiers did these things.

But standing by the cross of Jesus were His mother, and His mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. ²⁶ When Jesus then saw His mother, and the disciple whom He loved standing nearby, He *said to His mother, “Woman, behold, your son!” ²⁷ Then He *said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother!” From that hour the disciple took her into his home.

Scripture Fulfilled—It Is Finished

²⁸ After this, Jesus, knowing that all things had already been finished, in order ^[p]to finish the Scripture, *said, “I am thirsty.” ²⁹ A jar full of sour wine was standing there; so they put a sponge full of the sour wine upon a branch of hyssop and brought it up to His mouth. ³⁰ Therefore when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, “It is finished!” And bowing His head, He gave up His spirit.

³¹ Then the Jews, because it was the day of Preparation, so that the bodies would not remain on the cross on the Sabbath (^[q]for that Sabbath was a high day), asked Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away. ³² So the soldiers came, and broke the legs of the first man and of the other who was crucified with Him; ³³ but coming to Jesus, when they saw that He was already dead, they did not break His legs. ³⁴ But one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately blood and water came out. ³⁵ And he who has seen has borne witness, and his witness is true; and he knows that he is telling the truth, so that you also may believe. ³⁶ For these things came to pass in order that the Scripture would be fulfilled, “Not a bone of Him shall be ^[r]broken.” ³⁷ And again another Scripture says, “They shall look on Him whom they pierced.”

Jesus Is Buried

³⁸ Now after these things Joseph of Arimathea, being a disciple of Jesus, but secretly because of his fear of the Jews, asked Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus; and Pilate granted permission. So he came and took away His body. ³⁹ And Nicodemus, who had first come to Him by night, also came, bringing a ^[s]mixture of myrrh and aloes, weighing about ^[t]one hundred litras. ⁴⁰ So they took the body of Jesus and bound it in linen wrappings with the spices, as is the burial custom of the Jews. ⁴¹ Now in the place where He was crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb in which no one had yet been laid. ⁴² Therefore because of the Jewish day of Preparation, since the tomb was nearby, they laid Jesus there.

⁶² Now on the next day, ^[a]the day after the ^[b]Preparation, the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered together with Pilate, ⁶³ and said, “Sir, we remember that when He was still alive that deceiver said, ‘After three days I am to rise again.’ ⁶⁴ Therefore, order for the grave to be made secure until the third day, lest His disciples come and steal Him away and say to the people, ‘He has risen from the dead,’ and the last deception will be worse than the first.” ⁶⁵ Pilate said to them, “You have a guard; go, make it as secure as you know how.” ⁶⁶ And they went and made the grave secure, and along with the guard they set a seal on the stone.

Easter - The Lord has RISEN! He has RISEN INDEED!