Mat 26 | HCSB | STEP | When Jesus had finished saying all this , He told His disciples ,

1 When Jesus had finished saying all this, ^a He told His disciples, 2 “You know ^{▼▼Or Know (as a command)} that the ^{▼▼Passover: The Israelite festival celebrated on the fourteenth day of the first month in the early spring. It was a celebration of the deliverance of the Israelites from Egypt, commemorating the final plague on Egypt when the firstborn were killed.}Passover takes place after two days, and the ^{▼▼Son of Man: The most frequent title Jesus used for Himself; Dn 7:13}Son of Man will be handed over to be crucified.” ^e

3 Then the ^{▼▼chief priest(s): A group of Jewish temple officers that included the highpriest, captain of the temple, temple overseers, and treasurers}chief priests ^{▼▼Other mss add and the scribes} and the elders of the people assembled in the palace of the high priest, who was called Caiaphas, ^h 4 and they conspired to arrest Jesus in a treacherous way and kill Him. ⁱ 5 “Not during the festival,” they said, “so there won’t be rioting among the people.”

The Anointing at Bethany

6 While Jesus was in Bethany at the house of Simon, ^j a man who had a serious skin disease, 7 a woman approached Him with an alabaster jar of very expensive fragrant oil. She poured it on His head as He was reclining at the table. 8 When the disciples ^k saw it, they were indignant. “Why this waste?” they asked. 9 “This might have been sold for a great deal and given to the poor.”

10 But Jesus, aware of this, said to them, “Why are you bothering this woman? She has done a noble thing for Me. 11 You always have the poor with you, but you do not always have Me. ^l 12 By pouring this fragrant oil on My body, she has prepared Me for burial. 13 ^{▼▼I assure you: This is a phrase used only by Jesus to testify to the certainty and importance of His words; in Mt, Mk and Lk it is literally Amen, I say to you, and in Jn it is literally Amen, amen, I say to you.}I assure you: Wherever this gospel ⁿ is proclaimed in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be told in memory of her.”

14 Then ^o one of the Twelve – the man called Judas Iscariot – went to the chief priests ^p 15 and said, “What are you willing to give me if I hand Him over to you?” So they weighed out 30 pieces of silver for him. ^q 16 And from that time he started looking for a good opportunity to betray Him.

Betrayal at the Passover

17 On the first day of ^{▼▼Unleavened Bread: A seven-day festival celebrated in conjunction with the Passover; Ex 12:1-20}Unleavened Bread ^s the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Where do You want us to prepare the Passover so You may eat it?”

18 “Go into the city to a certain man,” He said, “and tell him, ‘The Teacher says: My time is near; I am celebrating the Passover at your place ^{▼▼Lit Passover with you} with My disciples.’” ^u 19 So the disciples did as Jesus had directed them and prepared the Passover. 20 When evening came, He was reclining at the table with the Twelve. 21 While they were eating, He said, “I assure you: One of you will betray Me.” ^v

22 Deeply distressed, each one began to say to Him, “Surely not I, Lord?”

23 He replied, “The one who dipped his hand with Me in the bowl – he will betray Me. 24 The Son of Man will go just as it is written about Him, ^w but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been better for that man if he had not been born.”

25 Then Judas, His betrayer, replied, “Surely not I, ^{▼▼Rabbi: The Hebrew word Rabbi means my great one; it is used of a recognized teacher of the Scriptures.}Rabbi?” ^y“You have said it,” He told him.

The First Lord’s Supper

26 As they were eating, ^z Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it, gave it to the disciples, ^aa and said, “Take and eat it; this is My body.” ^ab 27 Then He took a cup, and after giving thanks, He gave it to them and said, “Drink from it, all of you. 28 For this is My blood that establishes the covenant; ^{▼▼Other mss read new covenant} it is shed for many for the forgiveness of sins. ^ad 29 But I tell you, from this moment I will not drink of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it in a new way ^{▼▼Or drink new wine; lit drink it new} in My Father’s kingdom ^af with you.” 30 After singing psalms, ^ag they went out to the ^{▼▼Mount of Olives: A mountain east of Jerusalem, across the Kidron Valley}Mount of Olives. ^ai

Peter’s Denial Predicted

31 Then Jesus said to them, “Tonight all of you will run away ^{▼▼Or stumble} because of Me, for it is written:

I will strike the shepherd,
and the sheep of the flock will be scattered. ^{ak
,} ^al

32 But after I have been resurrected, I will go ahead of you to Galilee.” ^am

33 Peter told Him, “Even if everyone runs away because of You, I will never run away!”

34 “I assure you,” Jesus said to him, “tonight, before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times!” ^an

35 “Even if I have to die with You,” Peter told Him, “I will never deny You!” And all the disciples said the same thing.

The Prayer in the Garden

36 Then Jesus came with them to a place called Gethsemane, ^{▼▼A garden east of Jerusalem at the base of the Mount of Olives; Gethsemane = olive oil press
,} ^ap and He told the disciples, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.” 37 Taking along Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, He began to be sorrowful and deeply distressed. ^aq 38 Then He said to them, “My soul is swallowed up in sorrow ^{▼▼Or I am deeply grieved, or I am overwhelmed by sorrow; Ps 42:6,11; 43:5} – to the point of death. ^{▼▼Lit unto death} Remain here and stay awake with Me.” ^at 39 Going a little farther, ^{▼▼Other mss read Drawing nearer} He fell facedown and prayed, “My Father! If it is possible, let this cup pass from Me. Yet not as I will, but as You will.” ^av

40 Then He came to the disciples and found them sleeping. He asked Peter, “So, couldn’t you ^{▼▼= all 3 disciples because the verb in Gk is pl} stay awake with Me one hour? 41 Stay awake and pray, so that you won’t enter into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

42 Again, a second time, He went away and prayed, “My Father, if this ^{▼▼Other mss add cup} cannot pass ^{▼▼Other mss add from Me} unless I drink it, Your will be done.” ^az 43 And He came again and found them sleeping, because they could not keep their eyes open. ^{▼▼Lit because their eyes were weighed down}

44 After leaving them, He went away again and prayed a third time, saying the same thing once more. 45 Then He came to the disciples and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting? ^{▼▼Or Sleep on now and take your rest.} Look, the time is near. The Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of sinners. ^bc 46 Get up; let’s go! See, My betrayer is near.”

The Judas Kiss

47 While He was still speaking, Judas, one of the Twelve, suddenly arrived. ^bd A large mob, with swords and clubs, was with him from the chief priests and elders of the people. 48 His betrayer had given them a sign: “The One I kiss, He’s the One; arrest Him!” 49 So he went right up to Jesus and said, “Greetings, Rabbi!” and kissed Him.

50 “Friend,” ^be Jesus asked him, “why have you come?” ^{▼▼Or Jesus told him, “do what you have come for.” (as a statement)}Then they came up, took hold of Jesus, and arrested Him. 51 At that moment one of those with Jesus reached out his hand and drew his sword. He struck the high priest’s ^{▼▼slave: The strong Greek word doulos cannot be accurately translated in English by "servant" or "bond servant"; the HCSB translates this word as "slave," not out of insensitivity to the legitimate concerns of modern English speakers, but out of a commitment to accurately convey the brutal reality of the Roman empire's inhumane institution as well as the ownership called for by Christ.}slave and cut off his ear. ^bh

52 Then Jesus told him, “Put your sword back in its place because all who take up a sword will perish by a sword. ^bi 53 Or do you think that I cannot call on My Father, and He will provide Me at once with more than 12 legions ^{▼▼A Roman legion contained up to 6,000 soldiers.} of angels? ^bk 54 How, then, would the Scriptures be fulfilled ^bl that say it must happen this way?”

55 At that time Jesus said to the crowds, “Have you come out with swords and clubs, as if I were a criminal, ^{▼▼Lit as against a criminal} to capture Me? Every day I used to sit, teaching in the ^{▼▼temple complex: In the Jerusalem temple, the complex included the sanctuary (the holy place and the holy of holies), at least 4 courtyards (for priests, Jewish men, Jewish women, and Gentiles), numerous gates, and several covered walkways.}temple complex, and you didn’t arrest Me. ^bo 56 But all this has happened so that the prophetic Scriptures ^{▼▼Or the Scriptures of the prophets
,} ^bq would be fulfilled.” Then all the disciples ^br deserted Him and ran away.

Jesus Faces the Sanhedrin

57 Those ^bs who had arrested Jesus led Him away to Caiaphas ^bt the high priest, where the ^{▼▼scribe(s): A professional group in Judaism that copied the law of Moses and interpreted it, especially in legal cases}scribes and the elders had convened. 58 Meanwhile, Peter was following Him at a distance right to the high priest’s courtyard. ^{▼▼Or high priest’s palace} He went in and was sitting with the temple police ^{▼▼Or the officers, or the servants} to see the outcome. ^{▼▼Lit end
,} ^by

59 The chief priests and the whole ^{▼▼Sanhedrin: The supreme council of Judaism with 70 members, patterned after Moses' 70 elders}Sanhedrin were looking for false testimony against Jesus so they could put Him to death. ^ca 60 But they could not find any, even though many false witnesses ^cb came forward. ^{▼▼Other mss add they found none} Finally, two ^{▼▼Other mss add false witnesses} who came forward 61 stated, “This man said, ‘I can demolish God’s sanctuary ^ce and rebuild it in three days.’”

62 The high priest then stood up and said to Him, “Don’t You have an answer to what these men are testifying against You?” 63 But ^cf Jesus kept silent. ^cg Then the high priest said to Him, “By the living God I place You under oath: ^ch tell us if You are the ^{▼▼Messiah: Or the Christ; the Greek word Christos means "the anointed one".}Messiah, the Son of God!” ^cj

64 “You have said it,” ^{▼▼Or That is true, an affirmative oath; Mt 27:11; Mk 15:2} Jesus told him. “But I tell you, in the future ^{▼▼Lit you, from now} you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of the Power and coming on the clouds of heaven.” ^{cm
,} ^cn

65 Then the high priest tore his robes and said, “He has blasphemed! ^co Why do we still need witnesses? Look, now you’ve heard the blasphemy! ^cp 66 What is your decision?” ^{▼▼Lit What does it seem to you?}They answered, “He deserves death!” ^cr 67 Then they spit in His face ^cs and beat Him; others slapped Him 68 and said, “Prophesy to us, Messiah! Who hit You?” ^ct

Peter Denies His Lord

69 Now Peter was sitting outside in the courtyard. ^cu A servant approached him and she said, “You were with Jesus the Galilean too.”

70 But he denied it in front of everyone: “I don’t know what you’re talking about!”

71 When he had gone out to the gateway, another woman saw him and told those who were there, “This man was with Jesus the ^{▼▼Nazarene: A person from Nazareth; growing up in Nazareth was an aspect of the Messiah's humble beginnings; Jn 1:46.}Nazarene!” ^cw

72 And again he denied it with an oath, ^cx “I don’t know the man!”

73 After a little while those standing there approached and said to Peter, “You certainly are one of them, since even your accent ^{▼▼Or speech} gives you away.”

74 Then he started to curse ^{▼▼To call down curses on himself if what he said weren’t true} and to swear with an oath, “I do not know the man!” Immediately a rooster crowed, 75 and Peter remembered the words Jesus had spoken, “Before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times.” ^da And he went outside and wept bitterly.