Read the Bible

The Plot to Kill Jesus

^1 (C1)Now ^(C2)the Passover and Unleavened Bread were two days away; and the chief priests and the scribes ^(C3)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."

The Costly Perfume

^3 (C1)And while He was in ^(C2)Bethany at the home of Simon the leper, and reclining at the table, there came a woman with an alabaster jar of perfume of very ^(C3)costly pure ^(F1)nard; and she broke the jar and poured it over His head.⁴ But some were indignantly remarking to one another, "Why has this perfume been wasted?⁵ "For this perfume might have been sold for over three hundred ^(F1)denarii and given to the poor." And they were scolding her.⁶ But Jesus said, "Let her alone; why do you bother her? She did a good work to Me.⁷ "For you always have ^(C1)the poor with you, and whenever you wish you can do good to them; but you do not always have Me.⁸ "She has done what she could; ^(C1)she anointed My body beforehand for the burial.⁹ "And truly I say to you, ^(C1)wherever the gospel is proclaimed in the whole world, what this woman did will also be spoken of in memory of her."

^10 (C1)Then Judas Iscariot, ^(C2)who was one of the twelve, went away to the chief priests in order to ^(F1)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 Passover Meal

^12 (C1)And on the first day of ^(C2)Unleavened Bread, when ^(F1)the Passover lamb was being ^(C3)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 ^(C1)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.

^17 (C1)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 ^(F1)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 ^(F1)by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been good ^(F2)for that man if he had not been born."

The Lord's Supper

^22 (C1)And while they were eating, He took some bread, and ^(F1)after a ^(C2)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 ^(C1)blood of the ^(C2)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 (C1)And after singing a hymn, they went out to ^(C2)the Mount of Olives.

^27 (C1)And Jesus ^(*)said to them, "You will all ^(F1)fall away, because it is written, '^(C2)I WILL STRIKE DOWN THE SHEPHERD, AND THE SHEEP SHALL BE SCATTERED.'²⁸ "But after I have been raised, ^(C1)I will go ahead of you to Galilee."²⁹ But Peter said to Him, "Even though all may ^(F1)fall away, yet I will not."³⁰ And Jesus ^(*)said to him, "Truly I say to you, that ^(C1)today, this very night, before ^(C2)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 (C1)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 ^(C1)distressed and troubled.³⁴ And He ^(*)said to them, "^(C1)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, ^(C1)the hour might pass from Him.³⁶ And He was saying, "^(C1)Abba! Father! All things are possible for You; remove this cup from Me; ^(C2)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 "^(C1)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 ^(F1)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, "^(F1)Are you still sleeping and resting? It is enough; ^(C1)the hour has come; behold, the Son of Man is being ^(F2)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 (C1)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 ^(F1)under guard."⁴⁵ And after coming, Judas, having immediately gone to Him, ^(*)said, "^(C1)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 ^(F1)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 ^(C1)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 ^(F1)pulled free of the linen sheet and escaped naked.

Jesus Before His Accusers

^53 (C1)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, ^(C1)right into ^(C2)the courtyard of the high priest; and he was sitting with the ^(F1)officers and ^(C3)warming himself at the ^(F2)fire.⁵⁵ Now the chief priests and the whole ^(F1)(C1)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, '^(C1)I will destroy this ^(F1)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 (C1)But He kept silent and did not answer. ^(C2)Again the high priest was questioning Him and ^(*)said to Him, "Are You the ^(F1)Christ, the Son of the Blessed One?"⁶² And Jesus said, "I am; and you shall see ^(C1)THE SON OF MAN SITTING AT THE RIGHT HAND OF THE POWER, and ^(C2)COMING WITH THE CLOUDS OF HEAVEN."^63 (C1)And tearing his tunics, the high priest ^(*)said, "What further need do we have of witnesses?⁶⁴ "You have heard the ^(C1)blasphemy; how does it seem to you?" And they all condemned Him to be deserving of death.⁶⁵ And some began to ^(C1)spit at Him, and ^(F1)(C2)to blindfold Him, and to beat Him with their fists, and to say to Him, "^(C3)Prophesy!" And the officers ^(F2)received Him with ^(F3)slaps in the face.

Peter's Denials

^66 (C1)And as Peter was below in ^(C2)the courtyard, one of the servant-girls of the high priest ^(*)came,⁶⁷ and seeing Peter ^(C1)warming himself, she looked at him and ^(*)said, "You also were with the ^(C2)Nazarene, Jesus."⁶⁸ But he denied it, saying, "I neither know nor understand what you are talking about." And he ^(C1)went out into the entryway.^(F1)69 And when the servant-girl saw him, she began once more to say to the bystanders, "This is one of them!"⁷⁰ But again ^(C1)he was denying it. And after a little while the bystanders were again saying to Peter, "Surely you are one of them, ^(C2)for you are also a Galilean."⁷¹ But he began to ^(F1)curse and swear, "I do not know this man you are talking about!"⁷² And immediately a rooster crowed a second time. And Peter remembered how Jesus had said the statement to him, "Before ^(C1)a rooster crows twice, you will deny Me three times." ^(F1)And throwing himself down, he began to cry.