26 1After Jesus finished saying all these things, he said to his followers, 2"You know that the day after tomorrow is Passovera. On that day the Son of Manb will be handed over to his enemies to be killed on a cross."3Then the leading priests and the older Jewish leaders had a meeting at the palace where the high priestc lived. The high priest's name was Caiaphas. 4In the meeting they tried to find a way to arrest and kill Jesus without anyone knowing what they were doing. They planned to arrest Jesus and kill him. 5They said, "We cannot arrest Jesus during Passover. We don't want the people to become angry and cause a riot." 8The followers saw the woman do this and were upset at her. They said, "Why waste that perfume? 9It could be sold for a lot of money, and the money could be given to those who are poor." 10But Jesus knew what happened. He said, "Why are you bothering this woman? She did a very good thing for me. 11You will always have the poor with youf. But you will not always have me. 12This woman poured perfume on my body. She did this to prepare me for burial after I die. 13The Good Newsg will be told to people all over the world. And I can assure you that everywhere the Good News is told, the story of what this woman did will also be told, and people will remember her." 18Jesus answered, "Go into the city. Go to a man I know. Tell him that the Teacher says, 'The chosen time is near. I will have the Passover meal with my followers at your house.'" 19They obeyed and did what Jesus told them to do. They prepared the Passover meal. 20In the evening Jesus was at the table with the twelve followers. 21They were all eating. Then Jesus said, "Believe me when I say that one of you twelve here will hand me over to my enemies." 22The followers were very sad to hear this. Each one said, "Lord, surely I am not the one!" 23Jesus answered, "One who has dipped his bread in the same bowl with me will be the one to hand me over. 24The Son of Man will sufferb what the Scripturesi say will happen to him. But it will be very bad for the one who hands over the Son of Man to be killed. It would be better for him if he had never been born." 25Then Judas, the very one who would hand him over, said to Jesus, "Teacher, surely I am not the one you are talking about, am I?" Jesus answered, "Yes, it is you." 27Then he took a cup of wine, thanked God for it, and gave it to them. He said, "Each one of you drink some of it. 28This wine is my blood, which will be poured out to forgive the sins of many and begin the new agreementj from God to his people. 29I want you to know, I will not drink this wine again until that day when we are together in my Father's kingdomk and the wine is new. Then I will drink it again with you." 30They all sang a song and then went out to the Mount of Olivesl.
33Peter answered, "All the other followers may lose their faith in you. But my faith will never be shaken." 34Jesus answered, "The truth is, tonight you will say you don't know me. You will deny me three times before the rooster crows." 35But Peter answered, "I will never say I don't know you! I will even die with you!" And all the other followers said the same thing. 39Then Jesus went on a little farther away from them. He fell to the ground and prayed, "My Father, if it is possible, don't make me drink from this cupn. But do what you want, not what I want." 40Then he went back to his followers and found them sleeping. He said to Peter, "Could you men not stay awake with me for one hour? 41Stay awake and pray for strength against temptation. Your spirit wants to do what is right, but your body is weak." 42Then Jesus went away a second time and prayed, "My Father, if I must do thiso and it is not possible for me to escape it, then I pray that what you want will be done." 43Then he went back to the followers. Again he found them sleeping. They could not stay awake. 44So he left them and went away one more time and prayed. This third time he prayed, he said the same thing. 45Then Jesus went back to the followers and said, "Are you still sleeping and resting? The time has come for the Son of Manb to be handed over to the control of sinful men. 46Stand up! We must go. Here comes the one who will hand me over." 50Jesus answered, "Friend, do the thing you came to do." Then the men came and grabbed Jesus and arrested him. 51When that happened, one of the followers with Jesus grabbed his sword and pulled it out. He swung it at the servant of the high priestc and cut off his ear. 52Jesus said to the man, "Put your sword back in its place. People who use swords will be killed with swords. 53Surely you know I could ask my Father and he would give me more than twelve armies of angels. 54But it must happen this way to show the truth of what the Scripturesi said." 55Then Jesus said to the crowd, "Why do you come to get me with swords and clubs as if I were a criminal. Every day I sat in the Templer area teaching. You did not arrest me there. 56But all these things have happened to show the full meaning of what the prophetss wrote." Then all of Jesus' followers left him and ran away. 59The leading priests and the high council tried to find something against Jesus so that they could kill him. They tried to find people to lie and say that Jesus had done wrong. 60Many people came and told lies about him. But the council could find no real reason to kill him. Then two people came 61and said, "This mant said, 'I can destroy the Templer of God and build it again in three days.'" 62Then the high priest stood up and said to Jesus, "Don't you have anything to say about these charges against you? Are they telling the truth?" 63But Jesus said nothing. Again the high priest said to Jesus, "You are now under oathu. I command you by the power of the living God to tell us the truth. Tell us, are you the Messiahv, the Son of God?" 64Jesus answered, "Yes, that's right. But I tell you, in the future you will see the Son of Manb sitting at the right side of God. And you will see the Son of Manb coming on the clouds of heaven." 65When the high priest heard this, he tore his clothes in anger. He said, "This man has said things that insult God! We don't need any more witnesses. You all heard his insulting words. 66What do you think?" The Jewish leaders answered, "He is guilty, and he must die." 67Then some there spit in Jesus' face, and they hit him with their fists. Others slapped him. 68They said, "Show us that you are a prophets, Messiah! Tell us who hit you!" 70But Peter told everyone there that this was not true. "I don't know what you are talking about," he said. 71Then he left the yard. At the gate another girl saw him and said to the people there, "This man was with Jesus of Nazareth." 72Again, Peter said he was never with Jesus. He said, "I swear to God I don't know the man!" 73A short time later those standing there went to Peter and said, "We know you are one of them. It's clear from the way you talk." 74Then Peter began to curse. He said, "I swear to God, I don't know the man!" As soon as he said this, a rooster crowed. 75Then he remembered what Jesus had told him: "Before the rooster crows, you will say three times that you don't know me." Then Peter went outside and cried bitterly. aPassover A very important holy day for the people of Israel and their descendants. They ate a special meal on this day every year to remember that God made them free from slavery in Egypt in the time of Moses. The name may come from the word in Ex. 12:13, 23, 27 that means “to pass over” or “to protect.” bSon of Man The name that Jesus most often used for himself. The phrase in Hebrew or Aramaic means “human being” or “mankind,” but in Dan. 7:13-14 it is used of a future savior and king, and this was later understood to be the Messiah, the one God would send to save his people. chigh priest The most important priest and leader of the Israelites or the Jews, God’s people under the “old agreement.” Under the “new agreement” the high priest for God’s people is Jesus Christ. Read Heb. 7:11-8:13. dleper A person who has leprosy. See “leprosy.” ealabaster A beautiful kind of stone that can be carved. f26:11 You will … with you See Deut. 15:11. gGood News In the Gospels this is usually the news about the coming of God’s kingdom (see above) or its representative Jesus the Messiah. In other places it is, more specifically, the news or message of God’s grace - that he has made a way through Jesus Christ for people to be made right with him and enjoy his blessings now and forever. hFestival of Unleavened Bread An important and holy week for the people of Israel and their descendants. In the time of the Old Testament it began the day after Passover, but by New Testament times the two festivals had become one. To prepare for it, the people threw out all their yeast and ate only bread without yeast for seven days.” iScripture Part of the Scriptures or “Holy Writings” - the Old Testament. jagreement A contract or agreement from God to his people. The agreement that God gave his people at Mount Sinai, based on the Law of Moses, became the most important for the Israelites or Jews. It replaced or renewed all other agreements, such as that given earlier to Abraham. In the New Testament it is referred to as the “old” or “first” agreement. After Jesus Christ came and offered his life as payment for the sins of all people, God was able to offer a “new” and “better” agreement based on Christ’s sacrifice. kkingdom See “God’s kingdom.” lMount of Olives A hill east of the city of Jerusalem from which a person could see the Temple area. mZechariah 13:7 n26:39 cup A symbol of suffering. Jesus used the idea of drinking from a cup to mean accepting the suffering he would face in the terrible events that were soon to come. o26:42 do this Literally, “drink this,” referring to the “cup,” the symbol of suffering in verse 39. papostle A follower of Jesus chosen to represent him in a special way. During his earthly ministry, Jesus named twelve men as apostles. They had the specific responsibility and authority to represent him and proclaim his message throughout the world. Later, he appeared to Paul and gave him a similar commission, especially to non-Jewish people. Barnabas, Paul’s missionary companion, and James, the brother of Jesus, are also called apostles, as well as several others in the New Testament. Some of these occurrences of the word, however, have the more general sense of “messenger” or “representative.” q26:48 Judas Literally, “the one who handed him over.” rTemple The permanent building in Jerusalem that replaced the portable “Holy Tent” that was used by the Israelites from the time of their wandering in the desert to the reign of King Solomon, when the first Temple was built. Like the Holy Tent, the Temple was the center of Israelite worship, although provision was made for it to be “a house of prayer for all nations” (Isa. 56:7). sprophet A person who speaks a message from God. Many of the books in the Old Testament are messages spoken or written by “the prophets,” who were some of those God chose to speak for him. God often used dreams or visions to tell or show his prophets what they should say. t26:61 This man That is, Jesus. His enemies avoided saying his name. uoath A strong declaration that one will tell the truth or keep a promise, often using the name of God or something else known to be real or important. It may include a wish to be punished if the promise is not kept. vMessiah A Hebrew word that has the same meaning as the Greek word Christ (see “Christ”). It was a title for the kings of God’s people in the Old Testament and for the special king God promised to send as a “savior” to defeat evil and establish the reign of God. Many prophets made it clear that this new kingdom would be eternal; that is, not only would the promised Messiah bring about a time of justice and right living among God’s people here on earth, but also his kingdom would extend beyond this world to life forever with God. However, most Jews of the first century expected the Messiah to be a political ruler here on earth who would defeat the other nations and return the nation of Israel to a position of great glory and power. But God intended his Messiah to establish a new “Israel,” an eternal kingdom that would bless all the nations. |