1 NOW THE FESTIVAL of Unleavened Bread, known as Passover, was approaching, 2 and the chief priests and the doctors of the law were trying to devise some means of doing away with him; for they were afraid of the people.
3 Then Satan entered into Judas Iscariot, who was one of the Twelve; 4 and Judas went to the chief priests and officers of the temple police to discuss ways and s means of putting Jesus into their power. 5 They were greatly pleased and undertook to pay him a sum of money. 6 He agreed, and began to look out for an opportunity to betray him to them without collecting a crowd.
7 Then came the day of Unleavened Bread, on which the Passover victim had to be slaughtered, 8 and Jesus sent Peter and John with these instructions: 'Go and prepare for our Passover supper.' 9 'Where would you like us to make the preparations?' they asked. 10 He replied, 'As soon as you set foot in the city a man will meet you carrying a jar of water. Follow him into the house that he enters 11 and give this message to the householder: "The Master says, 'Where is the room in which I may eat the Passover with my disciples ?'" 12 He will show you a large room upstairs all set out: make the preparations there.' 13 They went and found everything as he had said. So they prepared for Passover.
14 When the time came he took his place at table, and the apostles with him; and he said to them, 15 'How I have longed to eat this Passover with you before my death! 16 For I tell you, never again shall I eat it until the time when it finds its fulfilment in the kingdom of God.'
17 Then he took a cup, and after giving thanks he said, 'Take this and share it among yourselves; 18 for I tell you, from this moment I shall drink from the fruit of the vine no more until the time when the kingdom of God comes.' 19 And he took bread, gave thanks, and broke it; and he gave it to them, with the words: 'This is my body.'
[Some manuscripts add, in whole or in part, and with various arrangements, the following: 'which is given for you; do this as a memorial of me.' 20 In the same way he took the cup after supper, and said, 'This cup, poured out for you, is the new covenant sealed by my blood.']
21 'But mark this - my betrayer is here, his hand with mine on the table. 22 For the Son of Man is going his appointed way; but alas for that man by whom he is betrayed!' 23 At this they began to ask among themselves which of them it could possibly be who was to do this thing.
24 Then a jealous dispute broke out: who among them should rank highest? 25 But he said, 'In the world, kings lord it over their subjects; and those in authority are called their country's "Benefactors". 26 Not so with you: on the contrary, the highest among you must bear himself like the youngest, the chief of you like a servant. 27 For who is greater - the one who sits at table or the servant who waits on him? Surely the one who sits at table. Yet here am I among you like a servant.
28 'You are the men who have stood firmly by me in my times of trial; 29 and now I vest in you the kingship which my Father vested in me; 30 you shall eat and drink at my table in my kingdom and sit on thrones as judges of the twelve tribes of Israel.
31 'Simon, Simon, take heed: Satan has been given leave to sift all of you like wheat; 32 but for you I have prayed that your faith may not fail; and when you have come to yourself, you must lend strength to your brothers.' 33 'Lord,' he replied, 'I am ready to go with you to prison and death.' 34 Jesus said, 'I tell you, Peter, the cock will not crow tonight until you have three times over denied that you know me.'
35 He said to them, 'When I sent you out barefoot without purse or pack, were you ever short of anything?' 'No', they answered. 36 'It is different now,' he said; 'whoever has a purse had better take it with him, and his pack too; and if he has no sword, let him sell his cloak to buy one. 37 For Scripture says, "And he was counted among the outlaws", and these words, I tell you, must find fulfilment in me; indeed, all that is written of me is being fulfilled.' 38 'Look, Lord,' they said, 'we have two swords here.' 'Enough, enough!' he replied.
39 THEN HE WENT OUT and made his way as usual to the Mount of Olives, accompanied by the disciples. 40 When he reached the place he said to them, 'Pray that you may be spared the hour of testing.' 41 He himself withdrew from them about a stone's throw, knelt down, and began to pray: 42 'Father, if it be thy will, take this cup away from me. Yet not my will but thine be done.'
43 And now there appeared to him an angel from heaven bringing him strength, 44 and in anguish of spirit he prayed the more urgently; and his sweat was like clots of blood falling to the ground. 45 When he rose from prayer and came to the disciples he found them asleep, worn out by grief. 46 'Why are you sleeping?' he said. 'Rise and pray that you may be spared the test.'
47 WHILE HE WAS STILL SPEAKING a Crowd appeared with the man called Judas, one of the Twelve, at their head. 48 He came up to Jesus to kiss him; but Jesus said, 'Judas, would you betray the Son of Man with a kiss?'
49 When his followers saw what was coming, they said, 'Lord, shall we use our swords?' 50 And one of them struck at the High Priest's servant, cutting off his right ear. 51 But Jesus answered, 'Let them have their way.' Then he touched the man's ear and healed him.
52 Turning to the chief priests, the officers of the temple police, and the elders, who had come to seize him, he said, 'Do you take me for a bandit, that you have come out with swords and cudgels to arrest me? 53 Day after day, when I was in the temple with you, you kept your hands off me. But this is your moment - the hour when darkness reigns.'
54 Then they arrested him and led him away. They brought him to the High Priest's house, and Peter followed at a distance. 55 They lit a fire in the middle of the courtyard and sat round it, and Peter sat among them. 56 A serving-maid who saw him sitting in the firelight stared at him and said, 'This man was with him too.' 57 But he denied it: 'Woman,' he said, 'I do not know him.' 58 A little later someone else noticed him and said, 'You also are one of them.' 59 But Peter said to him, 'No, I am not.' About an hour passed and another spoke more strongly still: 'Of course this fellow was with him. He must have been; he is a Galilean.' 60 But Peter said, 'Man, I do not know what you are talking about.' At that moment, while he was still speaking, a cock crew; 61 and the Lord turned and looked straight at Peter. And Peter remembered the Lord's words, 'Tonight before the cock crows you will disown me three times.'
62 Some manuscripts add: He went outside, and wept bitterly, (as in Matthew 26. 75).
63 The men who were guarding Jesus mocked at him. 64 They beat him, they blindfolded him, and they kept asking him, 'Now, prophet, who hit you? Tell us that.' 65 And so they went on heaping insults upon him.
66 WHEN DAY BROKE, the elders of the nation, chief priests, and doctors of the law assembled, and he was brought before their Council. 67 'Tell us,' they said, 'are you the Messiah?' 'If I tell you,' he replied, 'you I will not believe me; 68 and if I ask questions, you will not answer. 69 But from now on, the Son of Man will be seated at the right hand of Almighty God.' 70 'You are the Son of God, then?' they all said, and he replied, 71 'It is you who say I am.' They said, 'Need we call further witnesses? We have heard it ourselves from his own lips.'
1 With that the whole assembly rose, and they brought him before Pilate. 2 They opened the case against him by saying, 'We found this man subverting our nation, opposing the payment of taxes to Caesar, and claiming to be Messiah, a king.' 3 Pilate asked him, 'Are you the king of the Jews?' He replied, 'The words are yours.' 4 Pilate then said to the chief priests and the crowd, 'I find no case for this man to answer.' 5 But they insisted: 'His teaching is causing disaffection among the people all through Judaea. It started from Galilee and has spread as far as this city.'
6 When Pilate heard this, he asked if the man was a Galilean, 7 and on learning that he belonged to Herod's jurisdiction he remitted the case to him, for Herod was also in Jerusalem at that time. 8 When Herod saw Jesus he was greatly pleased; having heard about him, he had long been wanting to see him, and had been hoping to see some miracle performed by him. 9 He questioned him at some length without getting any reply; 10 but the chief priests and lawyers appeared and pressed the case against him vigorously. 11 Then Herod and his troops treated him with contempt and ridicule, and sent him back to Pilate dressed in a gorgeous robe. 12 That same day Herod and Pilate became friends: till then there had been a standing feud between them.
13 Pilate now called together the chief priests, councillors, and people, 14 and said to them, 'You brought this man before me on a charge of subversion. But, as you see, I have myself examined him in your presence and found nothing in him to support your charges. 15 No is more did Herod, for he has referred him back to us. Clearly he has done nothing to deserve death. 16 I therefore propose to let him off with a flogging.' 17 Some manuscripts read: At festival time he was obliged to release one person for them; 18 and now ... 18 But there is was a general outcry, 'Away with him! Give us Barabbas.' 19 (This man had been put in prison for a rising that had taken place in the city, and for murder.) 20 Pilate addressed them again, in his desire to release Jesus, 21 but they shouted back, 'Crucify him, crucify him!' 22 For the third time he spoke to them: 'Why, what wrong has he done? I have not found him guilty of any capital offence. I will therefore let him off with a flogging.' 23 But they insisted on their demand, shouting that Jesus should be crucified. Their shouts prevailed 24 and Pilate decided that they should have their way. 25 He released the man they asked for, the man who had been put in prison for insurrection and murder, and gave Jesus up to their will.
26 AS THEY LED HIM AWAY to execution they seized upon a man called Simon, from Cyrene, on his way in from the country, put the cross on his back, and made him walk behind Jesus carrying it.
27 Great numbers of people followed, many women among them, who mourned and lamented over him. 28 Jesus turned to them and said, 'Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me; no, weep for yourselves and your children. 29 For the days are surely coming when they will say, "Happy are the barren, the wombs that never bore a child, the breasts that never fed one." 30 Then they will start saying to the mountains, "Fall on us", and to the hills, "Cover us." 31 For if these things are done when the wood is green, what will happen when it is dry?'
32 There were two others with him, criminals who were being led away to execution; 33 and when they reached the place called The Skull, they crucified him there, and the criminals with him, one on his right and the other on his left. 34 Jesus said, 'Father, forgive them; they do not know what they are doing.'
They divided his clothes among them by casting lots. 35 The people stood looking on, and their rulers jeered at him: 'He saved others: now let him save himself, if this is God's Anointed, his Chosen.' 36 The soldiers joined in the mockery and came forward offering him their sour wine. 37 'If you are the king of the Jews,' they said, 'save yourself.' 38 There was an inscription above his head which ran: 'This is the king of the Jews.'
39 One of the criminals who hung there with him taunted him: 'Are not you the Messiah? Save yourself, and us.' 40 But the other answered sharply, 'Have you no fear of God? You are under the same sentence as he. 41 For us it is plain justice; we are paying the price for our misdeeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.' 42 And he said, 'Jesus, remember me when you come to your throne.' 43 He answered, 'I tell you this: today you shall be with me in Paradise.'
44 By now it was about midday and there came a darkness over the whole land, which lasted until three in the afternoon; the sun was in eclipse. 45 And the curtain of the temple was torn in two. 46 Then Jesus gave a loud cry and said, 'Father, into thy hands I commit my spirit'; and with these words he died. 47 The centurion saw it all, and gave praise to God. 'Beyond all doubt', he said, 'this man was innocent.'
48 The crowd who had assembled for the spectacle, when they saw what had happened, went home beating their breasts.
49 HIS FRIENDS had all been standing at a distance; the women who had accompanied him from Galilee stood with them and watched it all.
50 Now there was a man called Joseph, a member of so the Council, a good, upright man, 51 who had dissented from their policy and the action they had taken. He came from the Jewish town of Arimathaea, and he was one who looked forward to the kingdom of God. 52 This man now approached Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. 53 Taking it down from the cross, he wrapped it in a linen sheet, and laid it in a tomb cut out of the rock, in which no one had been laid before. 54 It was Friday, and the Sabbath was about to begin.
55 The women who had accompanied him from Galilee followed; they took note of the tomb and observed how his body was laid. 56 Then they went home and prepared spices and perfumes; and on the Sabbath they rested in obedience to the commandment.
10 The women were Mary of Magdala, Joanna, and Mary the mother of James, and they, with the other women, told the apostles. 11 But the story appeared to them to be nonsense, and they would not believe them." 12 Some manuscripts add: Peter, however, got up and ran to the tomb, and, peering in, saw the wrappings and nothing more; and he went home amazed at what had happened.
13 THAT SAME DAY two of them were on their way to a village called Emmaus, which lay about seven miles from Jerusalem, 14 and they were talking together about all these happenings. 15 As they talked and discussed it with one another, Jesus himself came up and walked along with them; 16 but something held their eyes from seeing who it was. 17 He asked them, 'What is it you are debating as you walk?' They halted, their is faces full of gloom, 18 and one, called Cleopas, answered, 'Are you the only person staying in Jerusalem not to know what has happened there in the last few days?' 19 'What do you mean?' he said. 'All this about Jesus of Nazareth,' they replied, 'a prophet powerful in speech and action before God and the whole people; 20 how our chief priests and rulers handed him over to be sentenced to death, and crucified him. 21 But we had been hoping that he was the man to liberate Israel. What is more, this is the third day since it happened, 22 and now some women of our company have astounded us: they went early to the tomb, 23 but failed to find his body, and returned with a story that they had seen a vision of angels who told them he was alive. 24 So some of our people went to the tomb and found things just as the women had said; but him they did not see.'
25 'How dull you are!' he answered. 'How slow to believe all that the prophets said! 26 Was the Messiah not bound to suffer thus before entering upon his glory?' 27 Then he began with Moses and all the prophets, and explained to them the passages which referred to himself in every part of the scriptures.
28 By this time they had reached the village to which they were going, and he made as if to continue his journey, 29 but they pressed him: 'Stay with us, for evening draws on, and the day is almost over.' So he went in to stay with them. 30 And when he had sat down with them at table, he took bread and said the blessing; he broke the bread, and offered it to them. 31 Then their eyes were opened, and they recognized him; and he vanished from their sight. 32 They said to one another, 'Did we not feel our hearts on fire as he talked with us on the road and explained the scriptures to us?'
33 Without a moment's delay they set out and returned to Jerusalem. There they found that the Eleven and the rest of the company had assembled, 34 and were saying, 'It is true: the Lord has risen; he has appeared to Simon.' 35 Then they gave their account of the events of their journey and told how he had been recognized by them at the breaking of the bread.
36 As they were talking about all this, there he was, standing among them. 37 Startled and terrified, they thought they were seeing a ghost. 38 But he said, 'Why are you so perturbed? Why do questionings arise in your minds? 39 Look at my hands and feet. It is I myself. Touch me and see; no ghost has flesh and bones as you can see that I have.'" 40 Some manuscripts insert: After saying this he showed them his hands and feet. - Some manuscripts add: and was carried up into heaven. 41 They were still unconvinced, still wondering, for it seemed too good to be true. So he asked them, 'Have you anything here to eat?' 42 They offered him a piece of fish they had cooked, 43 which he took and ate before their eyes.
44 And he said to them, 'This is what I meant by saying, while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and in the prophets and psalms was bound to be fulfilled.' 45 Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures. 46 'This', he said, 'is what is written: that the Messiah is to suffer death and to rise from the dead on the third day, 47 and that in his name repentance bringing the forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed to all nations. Begin from Jerusalem: 48 it is you who are the witnesses to all this. 49 And mark this: I am sending upon you my Father's promised gift; so stay here in this city until you are armed with the power from above.'
50 Then he led them out as far as Bethany, and blessed them with uplifted hands; 51 and in the act of blessing he parted from them. 52 And they returned to Jerusalem with great joy, 53 and spent all their time in the temple praising God.