Mat 26 | NASB2020 | STEP | When Jesus had finished all these words , He said to His disciples ,

1 ^aWhen Jesus had finished all these words, He said to His disciples, 2 “ ^bYou know that after two days ^cthe Passover is coming, and the Son of Man is to be ^dhanded over for crucifixion.”

3 ^eAt that time the chief priests and the elders of the people were gathered together in ^fthe courtyard of the high priest named ^gCaiaphas; 4 and they ^hplotted together to arrest Jesus covertly and kill Him. 5 But they were saying, “Not during the festival, ⁱotherwise a riot might occur among the people.”

The Precious Ointment

6 ^jNow when Jesus was in ^kBethany, at the home of Simon ^{▼▼I.e., a nickname; the man no doubt was cured}the Leper, 7 ^ma woman came to Him with an alabaster vial of very expensive perfume, and she poured it on His head as He was reclining at the table. 8 But the disciples were indignant when they saw this, and said, “Why this waste? 9 For this perfume could have been sold for a high price and the money given to the poor.” 10 But Jesus, aware of this, said to them, “Why are you bothering the woman? For she has done a good deed for Me. 11 For you always have ⁿthe poor with you; but you do not always have Me. 12 For when she poured this perfume on My body, she did it ^oto prepare Me for burial. 13 Truly I say to you, ^pwherever this gospel is preached in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be told in memory of her.”

Judas’ Bargain

14 ^qThen one of the twelve, named ^rJudas Iscariot, went to the chief priests 15 and said, “What are you willing to give me ^{▼▼Lit and I will}to ^{▼▼Or hand Him over to
,} ^ubetray Him to you?” And ^vthey set out for him thirty ^{▼▼I.e., silver shekels}pieces of silver. 16 And from then on he looked for a good opportunity to ^{▼▼Or hand over}betray ^{▼▼Lit Him}Jesus.

17 ^zNow on the first day of ^{▼▼I.e., Passover week
,} ^abUnleavened Bread the disciples came to Jesus and ^{▼▼Lit said}asked, “Where do You want us to prepare for You to eat the Passover?” 18 And He said, “Go into the city to ^ada certain man, and say to him, ‘The Teacher says, “ ^aeMy time is near; I am keeping the Passover at your house with My disciples.”’” 19 The disciples did as Jesus had directed them; and they prepared the Passover.

The Last Passover

20 ^afNow when evening came, Jesus was reclining at the table with the ^{▼▼One early ms twelve disciples}twelve. 21 And as they were eating, He said, “ ^ahTruly I say to you that one of you will betray Me.” 22 Being deeply grieved, they began saying to Him, each one: “Surely it is not I, Lord?” 23 And He answered, “ ^aiHe who dipped his hand with Me in the bowl is the one who will betray Me. 24 The Son of Man is going away ^ajjust as it is written about Him; but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! ^akIt would have been good ^{▼▼Lit for him if that man had not}for that man if he had not been born.” 25 And ^amJudas, who was betraying Him, said, “Surely it is not I, ^anRabbi?” Jesus *said to him, “ ^aoYou have said it yourself.”

The Lord’s Supper Instituted

26 ^apNow while they were eating, Jesus took some bread, and ^{▼▼Lit having blessed
,} ^arafter a blessing, He broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat; this is My body.” 27 And when He had taken a cup and given thanks, He gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you; 28 for ^asthis is My blood of the covenant, which is being poured out for ^atmany for forgiveness of sins. 29 But I say to you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it with you, new, in My Father’s kingdom.”

30 ^auAnd after singing a ^{▼▼Ps 113-118 were traditionally sung at Passover}hymn, they went out to ^awthe Mount of Olives.

31 Then Jesus *said to them, “You will all ^{▼▼I.e., have a lapse in faith
,} ^ayfall away because of Me this night, for it is written: ‘ ^azI will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be ^bascattered.’ 32 But after I have been raised, ^bbI will go ahead of you to Galilee.” 33 But Peter replied to Him, “Even if they all ^{▼▼I.e., from the faith}fall away because of You, I will never fall away!” 34 Jesus said to him, “ ^bdTruly I say to you that ^bethis very night, before a rooster crows, you will deny Me three times.” 35 Peter *said to Him, “ ^bfEven if I have to die with You, I will not deny You!” All the disciples said the same thing as well.

The Garden of Gethsemane

36 ^bgThen Jesus *came with them to a place called ^{▼▼I.e., oil press
,} ^biGethsemane, and *told His disciples, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.” 37 And He took ^bjPeter and the two sons of Zebedee with Him, and began to be grieved and distressed. 38 Then He *said to them, “ ^bkMy soul is deeply grieved, to the point of death; remain here and ^blkeep watch with Me.”

39 And He went a little beyond them, and fell on His face and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it is possible, let ^bmthis cup pass from Me; ^bnyet not as I will, but as You will.” 40 And He *came to the disciples and *found them sleeping, and He *said to Peter, “So, you men could not ^bokeep watch with Me for one hour? 41 ^bpKeep watching and praying, so that you do not come into temptation; ^bqthe spirit is ^{▼▼Or eager}willing, but the flesh is weak.”

42 He went away again a second time and prayed, saying, “My Father, if this cup ^bscannot pass away unless I drink from it, ^btYour will be done.” 43 Again He came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were heavy. 44 And He left them again, and went away and prayed a third time, saying the same thing once more. 45 Then He *came to the disciples and *said to them, “ ^{▼▼Or Keep on sleeping for the time remaining and}Are you still sleeping and resting? Behold, ^bvthe hour ^{▼▼Or has approached}is at hand and the Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of sinners. 46 Get up, let’s go; behold, the one who is betraying Me is near!”

Jesus’ Betrayal and Arrest

47 ^bxAnd while He was still speaking, behold, ^byJudas, one of the twelve, came ^{▼▼Lit and with him}accompanied by a large crowd with swords and clubs, who came from the chief priests and elders of the people. 48 Now he who was betraying Him gave them a sign previously, saying, “Whomever I kiss, He is the one; arrest Him.” 49 And immediately Judas went up to Jesus and said, “Greetings, ^caRabbi!” and kissed Him. 50 But Jesus said to him, “ ^cbFriend, do what you have come for.” Then they came and laid hands on Jesus and arrested Him.

51 And behold, ^ccone of those who were with Jesus ^{▼▼Lit extended the hand}reached and drew his ^cesword, and struck the ^cfslave of the high priest and ^{▼▼Lit took off}cut off his ear. 52 Then Jesus *said to him, “Put your sword back into its place; for ^chall those who take up the sword will perish by the sword. 53 Or do you think that I cannot appeal to My Father, and He will at once put at My disposal more than twelve ^{▼▼A legion equaled 6,000 troops
,} ^cjlegions of ^ckangels? 54 How then would ^clthe Scriptures be fulfilled, which say that it must happen this way?”

55 At that time Jesus said to the crowds, “Have you come out with swords and clubs to arrest Me as you would against a man inciting a revolt? ^cmEvery day I used to sit within the temple grounds teaching, and you did not arrest Me. 56 But all this has taken place so that ^cnthe Scriptures of the prophets will be fulfilled.” Then all the disciples left Him and fled.

Jesus before Caiaphas

57 ^coThose who had arrested Jesus led Him away to ^cpCaiaphas, the high priest, where the scribes and the elders were gathered together. 58 But ^cqPeter was following Him at a distance, as far as the ^crcourtyard of the high priest, and he came inside and sat down with the ^{▼▼Or servants
,} ^ctofficers to see the outcome.

59 Now the chief priests and the entire ^{▼▼Or Sanhedrin
,} ^cvCouncil kept trying to obtain false testimony against Jesus, so that they might put Him to death. 60 They did not find any, even though many false witnesses came forward. But later on ^cwtwo came forward, 61 and said, “This man stated, ‘ ^cxI am able to destroy the ^{▼▼Or sanctuary}temple of God and to rebuild it ^{▼▼Or after}in three days.’” 62 The high priest stood up and said to Him, “Do You offer no answer for what these men are testifying against You?” 63 But ^daJesus kept silent. ^dbAnd the high priest said to Him, “I ^dcplace You under oath by ^ddthe living God, to tell us whether You are the ^{▼▼I.e., Messiah}Christ, ^dfthe Son of God.” 64 Jesus *said to him, “ ^dgYou have said it yourself. But I tell you, from now on you will see ^dhthe Son of Man sitting at the right hand of power, and ^dicoming on the clouds of heaven.”

65 Then the high priest ^djtore his ^{▼▼Or outer garments}robes and said, “He has blasphemed! What further need do we have of witnesses? See, you have now heard the blasphemy; 66 what do you think?” They answered, “ ^dlHe deserves death!”

67 ^dmThen they ^dnspit in His face and beat Him with their fists; and others ^{▼▼Or possibly beat Him with rods}slapped Him, 68 and said, “ ^dpProphesy to us, You ^{▼▼I.e., Messiah}Christ; who is the one who hit You?”

Peter’s Denials

69 ^drNow Peter was sitting outside in the ^dscourtyard, and a slave woman came to him and said, “You too were with Jesus the Galilean.” 70 But he denied it before them all, saying, “I do not know what you are talking about.” 71 When he had gone out to the gateway, another slave woman saw him and *said to those who were there, “This man was with Jesus of Nazareth.” 72 And again he denied it, with an oath: “I do not know the man.” 73 A little later the bystanders came up and said to Peter, “You really are one of them as well, ^dtsince even the way you talk ^{▼▼Lit makes you evident}gives you away.” 74 Then he began to curse and swear, “I do not know the man!” And immediately a rooster crowed. 75 And Peter remembered the statement that Jesus had ^{▼▼Lit said}made: “ ^dwBefore a rooster crows, you will deny Me three times.” And he went out and wept bitterly.