Mar 14 | NASB1995 | STEP | Now the Passover and Unleavened Bread were two days away ; and the chief priests and the scribes were seeking how to seize Him by stealth and kill Him ;

1 ^aNow ^bthe Passover and Unleavened Bread were two days away; and the chief priests and the scribes ^cwere seeking how to seize Him by stealth and kill Him; 2 for they were saying, “Not during the festival, otherwise there might be a riot of the people.”

3 ^dWhile He was in ^eBethany at the home of Simon the leper, and reclining at the table, there came a woman with an alabaster vial of very ^fcostly perfume of pure ^{▼▼ An aromatic oil extracted from an East Indian plant}nard; and she broke the vial 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 ^{▼▼ The denarius was equivalent to a day’s wages}denarii, and the money given to the poor.” And they were scolding her. 6 But Jesus said, “Let her alone; why do you bother her? She has done a good deed to Me. 7 “For you always have ⁱthe 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; ^jshe has anointed My body beforehand for the burial. 9 “Truly I say to you, ^kwherever the gospel is preached in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be spoken of in memory of her.”

10 ^lThen Judas Iscariot, ^mwho was one of the twelve, went off to the chief priests in order to ^{▼▼ Or hand Him over}betray Him to them. 11 They were glad when they heard this, and promised to give him money. And he began seeking how to betray Him at an opportune time.

The Last Passover

12 ^oOn the first day of ^pUnleavened Bread, when ^{▼▼ Lit they were sacrificing}the Passover lamb was being ^rsacrificed, 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 ^sguest 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 The disciples went out and came to the city, and found it just as He had told them; and they prepared the Passover.

17 ^tWhen it was evening He came with the twelve. 18 As they were reclining at the table and eating, Jesus said, “Truly I say to you that one of you will ^{▼▼ Or deliver Me over}betray Me— ^{▼▼ Or the one}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, ^{▼▼ Or the one}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 ^{▼▼ Or through}by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been good ^{▼▼ Lit for him if that man had not been born}for that man if he had not been born.”

The Lord’s Supper

22 ^zWhile they were eating, He took some bread, and ^{▼▼ Lit having blessed}after a ^abblessing 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 ^acblood of the ^adcovenant, 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 ^aeAfter singing a hymn, they went out to ^afthe Mount of Olives.

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

Jesus in Gethsemane

32 ^ao 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 ^{▼▼ Or Jacob}James and John, and began to be very ^aqdistressed and troubled. 34 And He said to them, ^ar“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, ^asthe hour might ^{▼▼ Lit pass from Him}pass Him by. 36 And He was saying, ^au“Abba! Father! All things are possible for You; remove this cup from Me; ^avyet not what I will, but what You will.” 37 And He came and found them sleeping, and said to Peter, “Simon, are you asleep? Could you not keep watch for one hour? 38 ^aw“Keep watching and praying that you may not come into temptation; the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.” 39 Again He went away and prayed, saying the same ^{▼▼ Lit word}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, ^{▼▼ Or Keep on sleeping therefore}“Are you still sleeping and resting? It is enough; ^azthe hour has come; behold, the Son of Man is being ^{▼▼ Or delivered}betrayed into the hands of sinners. 42 “Get up, let us be going; behold, the one who betrays Me is at hand!”

Betrayal and Arrest

43 ^bbImmediately while He was still speaking, Judas, one of the twelve, came up ^{▼▼ Lit and with him}accompanied by 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 ^{▼▼ Lit safely}under guard.” 45 After coming, Judas immediately went to Him, saying, ^be“Rabbi!” and kissed Him. 46 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 ^{▼▼ Lit took off}cut off his ear. 48 And Jesus 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 ^bgin the temple teaching, and you did not seize Me; but this has taken place to fulfill the Scriptures.” 50 And they all left Him and fled.

51 A young man was following Him, wearing nothing but a linen sheet over his naked body; and they seized him. 52 But he ^{▼▼ Lit left behind}pulled free of the linen sheet and escaped naked.

Jesus before His Accusers

53 ^biThey led Jesus away to the high priest; and all the chief priests and the elders and the scribes gathered together. 54 Peter had followed Him at a distance, ^bjright into ^bkthe courtyard of the high priest; and he was sitting with the ^{▼▼ Or servants}officers and ^bmwarming himself at the ^{▼▼ Lit light}fire. 55 Now the chief priests and the whole ^{▼▼ Or Sanhedrin
,} ^bpCouncil kept trying 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 Some stood up and began to give false testimony against Him, saying, 58 “We heard Him say, ‘ ^bqI will destroy this ^{▼▼ Or sanctuary}temple made with hands, and in three days I will build another made without hands.’” 59 Not even in this respect was their testimony consistent. 60 The high priest stood up and came forward and questioned Jesus, saying, “Do You not answer? ^{▼▼ Or what do these testify?}What is it that these men are testifying against You?” 61 ^btBut He kept silent and did not answer. ^buAgain the high priest was questioning Him, and ^{▼▼ Lit says}saying to Him, “Are You ^{▼▼ I.e. the Messiah}the Christ, the Son of the Blessed One?” 62 And Jesus said, “I am; and you shall see ^bx the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of Power, and ^by coming with the clouds of heaven.” 63 ^bzTearing his clothes, the high priest said, “What further need do we have of witnesses? 64 “You have heard the ^cablasphemy; how does it seem to you?” And they all condemned Him to be deserving of death. 65 Some began to ^cbspit at Him, and ^{▼▼ Or cover over His face
,} ^cdto blindfold Him, and to beat Him with their fists, and to say to Him, ^ce“Prophesy!” And the officers ^{▼▼ Or treated}received Him with ^{▼▼ Or blows with rods}slaps in the face.

Peter’s Denials

66 ^chAs Peter was below in ^cithe courtyard, one of the servant-girls of the high priest came, 67 and seeing Peter ^cjwarming himself, she looked at him and said, “You also were with Jesus the ^ckNazarene.” 68 But he denied it, saying, “I neither know nor understand what you are talking about.” And he ^clwent out onto the ^{▼▼ Or forecourt, gateway}porch. ^{▼▼ Later mss add and a rooster crowed} 69 The servant-girl saw him, and began once more to say to the bystanders, “This is one of them!” 70 But again ^cohe denied it. And after a little while the bystanders were again saying to Peter, “Surely you are one of them, ^cpfor you are a Galilean too.” 71 But he began to ^{▼▼ Or put himself under a curse}curse and swear, “I do not know this man you are talking about!” 72 Immediately a rooster crowed a second time. And Peter remembered how Jesus had made the remark to him, “Before ^cra rooster crows twice, you will deny Me three times.” ^{▼▼ Or Thinking of this, he began weeping or Rushing out, he began weeping}And he began to weep.