Mar 14 | HCSB | STEP | After two days it was the Passover and the Festival of Unleavened Bread . The chief priests and the scribes were looking for a treacherous way to arrest and kill Him .

1 After ^a two days it was 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 ^c and the Festival ^d of ^{▼▼Unleavened Bread: A seven-day festival celebrated in conjunction with the Passover; Ex 12:1-20}Unleavened Bread. ^f The ^{▼▼chief priest(s): A group of Jewish temple officers that included the highpriest, captain of the temple, temple overseers, and treasurers}chief priests and the ^{▼▼scribe(s): A professional group in Judaism that copied the law of Moses and interpreted it, especially in legal cases}scribes ⁱ were looking for a treacherous ^j way to arrest and kill Him. ^k 2 “Not during the festival,” they said, “or there may be rioting among the people.”

The Anointing at Bethany

3 While ^l He was in Bethany ^m at the house of Simon who had a serious skin disease, ⁿ as He was reclining at the table, ^o a woman came with an alabaster jar of pure and expensive fragrant oil of nard. She broke the jar and poured it on His head. ^p 4 But some were expressing indignation to one another: “Why has this fragrant oil been wasted? 5 For this oil might have been sold for more than 300 ^{▼▼denarius: A small silver Roman coin, which was equal to a day's wage for a common laborer}denarii ^r and given to the poor.” ^s And they began to scold her.

6 Then Jesus said, “Leave her alone. Why are you bothering her? She has done a noble thing ^t for Me. 7 You always have the poor ^u with you, and you can do what is good for them whenever you want, but you do not always have Me. ^v 8 She has done what she could; she has anointed My body ^w in advance for burial. ^x 9 ^{▼▼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: ^z Wherever the gospel ^aa is proclaimed in the whole world, ^ab what this woman has done will also be told in memory of her.”

10 Then ^ac Judas Iscariot, ^ad one of the Twelve, ^ae went to the chief priests ^af to hand Him over ^ag to them. 11 And when they heard this, they were glad and promised to give him silver. ^{▼▼Or money; in Mt 26:15 it is specified as 30 pieces of silver; see Zch 11:12-13
,} ^ai So he started looking for a good opportunity to betray ^aj Him.

Preparation for Passover

12 On ^ak the first day of Unleavened Bread, when they sacrifice the Passover lamb, ^al His disciples ^am asked Him, “Where do You want us to go and prepare the Passover so You may eat it?”

13 So He sent two of His disciples and told them, “Go into the city, and a man carrying a water jug will meet you. Follow him. 14 Wherever he enters, tell the owner of the house, ‘The Teacher ^an says, “Where is the guest room for Me to eat the Passover with My disciples?”’ 15 He will show you a large room upstairs, furnished and ready. Make the preparations for us there.” 16 So the disciples ^ao went out, entered the city, and found it just as He had told them, and they prepared the Passover.

Betrayal at the Passover

17 When ^ap evening came, He arrived with the Twelve. ^aq 18 While they were reclining and eating, Jesus said, “I assure you: One of you will betray Me – one who is eating with Me!”

19 They began to be distressed and to say to Him one by one, “Surely not I?”

20 He said to them, “It is one of the Twelve – the one who is dipping bread with Me in the bowl. 21 For the ^{▼▼Son of Man: The most frequent title Jesus used for Himself; Dn 7:13}Son of Man ^as will go just as it is written ^at about Him, ^au but woe ^av 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.”

The First Lord’s Supper

22 As ^aw they were eating, He took bread, ^ax blessed and broke ^ay it, gave it to them, ^az and said, “Take it; ^{▼▼Other mss add eat;} this is My body.” ^bb

23 Then He took a cup, and after giving thanks, ^bc He gave it to them, and so they all drank from it. 24 He said to them, “This is My blood that establishes the covenant; ^{▼▼Other mss read the new covenant
,} ^be it is shed ^bf for many. ^bg 25 I assure you: ^bh I will no longer drink of the fruit of the vine ^bi until that day when I drink it in a new ^bj way ^{▼▼Or drink new wine; lit drink it new} in the kingdom of God.” ^bl 26 After singing psalms, ^bm they went out to the ^{▼▼Mount of Olives: A mountain east of Jerusalem, across the Kidron Valley}Mount of Olives. ^bo

Peter’s Denial Predicted

27 Then ^bp Jesus said to them, “All of you will run away, ^{▼▼Other mss add because of Me this night
,} ^{▼▼Or stumble} because it is written: ^bs

I will strike the shepherd,
and the sheep ^bt will be scattered. ^{bu
,} ^bv

28 But after I have been resurrected, ^bw I will go ahead of you to Galilee.” ^bx

29 Peter ^by told Him, “Even if everyone runs away, I will certainly not!”

30 “I assure you,” Jesus said to him, “today, this very night, before the rooster crows twice, you will deny Me three times!” ^bz

31 But he kept insisting, “If I have to die with You, I will never deny You!” And they all said the same thing.

The Prayer in the Garden

32 Then ^ca they came to a place named Gethsemane, and He told His disciples, ^cb “Sit here while I pray.” ^cc 33 He took Peter, ^cd James, ^ce and John ^cf with Him, and He began to be deeply distressed and horrified. 34 Then He said to them, “My soul is swallowed up in sorrow ^{▼▼Or I am deeply grieved} – to the point of death. Remain here and stay awake.” ^ch 35 Then He went a little farther, fell to the ground, and began to pray that if it were possible, the hour ^ci might pass from Him. 36 And He said, “ ^{▼▼Abba: The Aramaic word for "father"}Abba, ^ck Father! ^cl All things are possible ^cm for You. Take this cup ^cn away from Me. Nevertheless, not what I will, but what You will.”

37 Then He came and found them sleeping. “Simon, ^co are you sleeping?” He asked Peter. ^cp “Couldn’t you stay awake one hour? 38 Stay awake and pray ^cq so that you won’t enter into temptation. ^cr The spirit ^cs is willing, but the flesh ^ct is weak.”

39 Once again He went away and prayed, saying the same thing. 40 And He came again and found them sleeping, because they could not keep their eyes open. ^{▼▼Lit because their eyes were weighed down} They did not know what to say to Him. ^cv 41 Then He came a third time and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting? Enough! The time has come. Look, the Son of Man ^cw is being betrayed into the hands of sinners. ^cx 42 Get up; ^cy let’s go! See – My betrayer is near.”

The Judas Kiss

43 While ^cz He was still speaking, Judas, ^da one of the Twelve, ^db suddenly arrived. With him was a mob, with swords and clubs, from the chief priests, the scribes, ^dc and the elders. ^dd 44 His betrayer had given them a signal. “The One I kiss,” he said, “He’s the One; arrest Him and take Him away under guard.” 45 So when he came, he went right up to Him and said, “ ^{▼▼Rabbi: The Hebrew word Rabbi means my great one; it is used of a recognized teacher of the Scriptures.}Rabbi!” ^df – and kissed Him. 46 Then they took hold of Him and arrested Him. 47 And one of those who stood by drew his sword, 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.

48 But Jesus said to them, “Have you come out with swords and clubs, as though I were a criminal, ^{▼▼Lit as against a criminal} to capture Me? 49 Every day I was among you, 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, ^dj and you didn’t arrest Me. But the Scriptures ^dk must be fulfilled.” ^dl 50 Then they all deserted Him and ran away. ^dm

51 Now a certain young man, ^{▼▼Perhaps John Mark who later wrote this Gospel} having a linen cloth wrapped around his naked body, was following Him. They caught hold of him, 52 but he left the linen cloth behind and ran away naked. ^do

Jesus Faces the Sanhedrin

53 They ^dp led Jesus away to the high priest, ^dq and all the chief priests, the elders, and the scribes ^dr convened. ^ds 54 Peter ^dt followed Him at a distance, right into the high priest’s courtyard. He was sitting with the temple police, ^{▼▼Or the officers; lit the servants
,} ^dv warming himself by the fire. ^{▼▼Lit light}

55 The chief priests and the whole ^{▼▼Sanhedrin: The supreme council of Judaism with 70 members, patterned after Moses' 70 elders}Sanhedrin ^dy were looking for testimony against Jesus to put Him to death, ^dz but they could find none. 56 For many were giving false testimony ^ea against Him, but the testimonies did not agree. 57 Some stood up and were giving false testimony against Him, stating, 58 “We heard Him say, ‘I will demolish this sanctuary made by human hands, ^eb and in three days I will build another not made by hands.’” 59 Yet their testimony did not agree ^ec even on this.

60 Then the high priest stood up before them all and questioned Jesus, “Don’t You have an answer to what these men are testifying against You?” 61 But He kept silent and did not answer anything. ^ed Again the high priest questioned Him, “Are You the ^{▼▼Messiah: Or the Christ; the Greek word Christos means "the anointed one".}Messiah, ^ef the Son ^eg of the Blessed ^eh One?”

62 “I am,” ^ei said Jesus, “and all of you ^{▼▼Lit and you} will see the Son of Man ^ek seated at the right hand ^el of the Power and coming with the clouds ^em of heaven.” ^{en
,} ^eo

63 Then the high priest ^ep tore his robes ^eq and said, “Why do we still need witnesses? ^er 64 You have heard the blasphemy! ^es What is your decision?” ^{▼▼Lit How does it appear to you?}And they all condemned Him to be deserving of death. ^eu 65 Then some began to spit on Him, to blindfold Him, and to beat Him, saying, “Prophesy!” ^ev The temple police ^ew also took Him and slapped Him.

Peter Denies His Lord

66 While ^ex Peter ^ey was in the courtyard below, one of the high priest’s servants came. 67 When she saw Peter warming himself, she looked at him and said, “You also were with that ^{▼▼Nazarene: A person from Nazareth; growing up in Nazareth was an aspect of the Messiah's humble beginnings; Jn 1:46.}Nazarene, ^fa Jesus.”

68 But he denied it: “I don’t know or understand what you’re talking about!” Then he went out to the entryway, and a rooster crowed. ^{▼▼Other mss omit and a rooster crowed}

69 When the servant saw him again she began to tell those standing nearby, “This man is one of them!”

70 But again he denied it. After a little while those standing there said to Peter again, “You certainly are one of them, since you’re also a Galilean!” ^{▼▼Other mss add and your speech shows it
,} ^fd

71 Then he started to curse ^{▼▼To call down curses on himself if what he said weren’t true} and to swear with an oath, ^ff “I don’t know this man you’re talking about!”

72 Immediately a rooster crowed a second time, ^fg and Peter remembered when Jesus had spoken the word to him, “Before the rooster crows twice, you will deny Me three times.” When he thought about it, he began to weep. ^{▼▼Or he burst into tears, or he broke down}