Matthew26

¹When Jesus had finished all these sayings , he said to his disciples ,

²You know that after two days the Passover is coming , and the Son of Man will be delivered up to be crucified .

³Then the chief priests and the elders of the people gathered in the palace of the high priest , whose name was Caiaphas ,

⁴and plotted together in order to arrest Jesus by stealth and kill him.

⁵But they said , Not during the feast , lest there be an uproar among the people .

⁶Now when Jesus was at Bethany in the house of Simon the leper ,

⁷a woman came up to him with an alabaster flask of very expensive ointment , and she poured it on his head as he reclined at table.

⁸And when the disciples saw it, they were indignant , saying , Why this waste ?

⁹For this could have been sold for a large sum and given to the poor .

¹⁰But Jesus , aware of this, said to them , Why do you trouble the woman ? For she has done a beautiful thing to me .

¹¹For you always have the poor with you , but you will not always have me .

¹²In pouring this ointment on my body , she has done it to prepare me for burial .

¹³Truly , I say to you , wherever this gospel is proclaimed in the whole world , what she has done will also be told in memory of her .

¹⁴Then one of the twelve , whose name was Judas Iscariot , went to the chief priests

¹⁵and said , What will you give me if I deliver him over to you ? And they paid him thirty pieces of silver .

¹⁶And from that moment he sought an opportunity to betray him .

¹⁷Now on the first day of Unleavened Bread the disciples came to Jesus , saying , Where will you have us prepare for you to eat the Passover ?

¹⁸He said , Go into the city to a certain man and say to him , The Teacher says , My time is at hand . I will keep the Passover at your house with my disciples .

¹⁹And the disciples did as Jesus had directed them , and they prepared the Passover .

²⁰When it was evening , he reclined at table with the twelve .

²¹And as they were eating , he said , Truly , I say to you , one of you will betray me .

²²And they were very sorrowful and began to say to him one after another , Is it I , Lord ?

²³He answered , He who has dipped his hand in the dish with me will betray me .

²⁴The Son of Man goes as it is written of him , 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 .

²⁵Judas , who would betray him , answered , Is it I , Rabbi ? He said to him , You have said so.

²⁶Now as they were eating , Jesus took bread , and after blessing it broke it and gave it to the disciples , and said , Take , eat ; this is my body .

²⁷And he took a cup , and when he had given thanks he gave it to them , saying , Drink of it , all of you,

²⁸for this is my blood of the covenant , which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins .

²⁹I tell you I will not drink again of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom .

³⁰And when they had sung a hymn , they went out to the Mount of Olives .

³¹Then Jesus said to them , You will all fall away because of me this night . For it is written , I will strike the shepherd , and the sheep of the flock will be scattered .

³²But after I am raised up , I will go before you to Galilee .

³³Peter answered him , Though they all fall away because of you , I will never fall away .

³⁴Jesus said to him , Truly , I tell you , this very night , before the rooster crows , you will deny me three times .

³⁵Peter said to him , Even if I must die with you , I will not deny you ! And all the disciples said the same .

³⁶Then Jesus went with them to a place called Gethsemane , and he said to his disciples , Sit here , while I go over there and pray .

³⁷And taking with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee , he began to be sorrowful and troubled .

³⁸Then he said to them , My soul is very sorrowful , even to death ; remain here , and watch with me .

³⁹And going a little farther he fell on his face and prayed , saying , My Father , if it be possible , let this cup pass from me ; nevertheless , not as I will , but as you will.

⁴⁰And he came to the disciples and found them sleeping . And he said to Peter , So , could you not watch with me one hour ?

⁴¹Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation . The spirit indeed is willing , but the flesh is weak .

⁴²Again , for the second time , he went away and prayed , My Father , if this cannot pass unless I drink it , your will be done .

⁴³And again he came and found them sleeping , for their eyes were heavy .

⁴⁴So , leaving them again , he went away and prayed for the third time , saying the same words again .

⁴⁵Then he came to the disciples and said to them , Sleep and take your rest later on . See , the hour is at hand , and the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners .

⁴⁶Rise , let us be going ; see , my betrayer is at hand .

⁴⁷While he was still speaking , Judas came , one of the twelve , and with him a great crowd with swords and clubs , from the chief priests and the elders of the people .

⁴⁸Now the betrayer had given them a sign , saying , The one I will kiss is the man ; seize him .

⁴⁹And he came up to Jesus at once and said , Greetings , Rabbi ! And he kissed him .

⁵⁰Jesus said to him , Friend , do what you came to do. Then they came up and laid hands on Jesus and seized him .

⁵¹And behold , one of those who were with Jesus stretched out his hand and drew his sword and struck the servant of the high priest and cut off his ear .

⁵²Then Jesus said to him , Put your sword back into its place . For all who take the sword will perish by the sword .

⁵³Do you think that I cannot appeal to my Father , and he will at once send me more than twelve legions of angels ?

⁵⁴But how then should the Scriptures be fulfilled , that it must be so ?

⁵⁵At that hour Jesus said to the crowds , Have you come out as against a robber , with swords and clubs to capture me ? Day after day I sat in the temple teaching , and you did not seize me .

⁵⁶But all this has taken place that the Scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled . Then all the disciples left him and fled .

⁵⁷Then those who had seized Jesus led him to Caiaphas the high priest , where the scribes and the elders had gathered .

⁵⁸And Peter was following him at a distance , as far as the courtyard of the high priest , and going inside he sat with the guards to see the end .

⁵⁹Now the chief priests and the whole council were seeking false testimony against Jesus that they might put him to death ,

⁶⁰but they found none , though many false witnesses came forward . At last two came forward

⁶¹and said , This man said , I am able to destroy the temple of God , and to rebuild it in three days .

⁶²And the high priest stood up and said , Have you no answer to make ? What is it that these men testify against you ?

⁶³But Jesus remained silent . And the high priest said to him , I adjure you by the living God , tell us if you are the Christ , the Son of God .

⁶⁴Jesus said to him , You have said so. But I tell you , from now on you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power and coming on the clouds of heaven .

⁶⁵Then the high priest tore his robes and said , He has uttered blasphemy . What further witnesses do we need ? You have now heard his blasphemy .

⁶⁶What is your judgment ? They answered , He deserves death .

⁶⁷Then they spit in his face and struck him . And some slapped him,

⁶⁸saying , Prophesy to us , you Christ ! Who is it that struck you ?

⁶⁹Now Peter was sitting outside in the courtyard . And a servant girl came up to him and said , You also were with Jesus the Galilean .

⁷⁰But he denied it before them all , saying , I do not know what you mean .

⁷¹And when he went out to the entrance , another servant girl saw him , and she said to the bystanders , This man was with Jesus of Nazareth .

⁷²And again he denied it with an oath : I do not know the man .

⁷³After a little while the bystanders came up and said to Peter , Certainly you too are one of them , for your accent betrays you .

⁷⁴Then he began to invoke a curse on himself and to swear , I do not know the man . And immediately the rooster crowed .

⁷⁵And Peter remembered the saying of Jesus , Before the rooster crows , you will deny me three times . And he went out and wept bitterly .