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The time was near for the Festival of Unleavened Bread, which is called the Passover.
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The chief priests and the teachers of the Law were afraid of the people, and so they were trying to find a way of putting Jesus to death secretly.
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Then Satan entered into Judas, called Iscariot, who was one of the twelve disciples.
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So Judas went off and spoke with the chief priests and the officers of the Temple guard about how he could betray Jesus to them.
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They were pleased and offered to pay him money.
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Judas agreed to it and started looking for a good chance to hand Jesus over to them without the people knowing about it.
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The day came during the Festival of Unleavened Bread when the lambs for the Passover meal were to be killed.
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Jesus sent Peter and John with these instructions: "Go and get the Passover meal ready for us to eat."
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"Where do you want us to get it ready?" they asked him.
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He answered, "As you go into the city, a man carrying a jar of water will meet you. Follow him into the house that he enters,
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and say to the owner of the house: 'The Teacher says to you, Where is the room where my disciples and I will eat the Passover meal?'
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He will show you a large furnished room upstairs, where you will get everything ready."
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They went off and found everything just as Jesus had told them, and they prepared the Passover meal.
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When the hour came, Jesus took his place at the table with the apostles.
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He said to them, "I have wanted so much to eat this Passover meal with you before I suffer!
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For I tell you, I will never eat it until it is given its full meaning in the Kingdom of God."
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Then Jesus took a cup, gave thanks to God, and said, "Take this and share it among yourselves.
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I tell you that from now on I will not drink this wine until the Kingdom of God comes."
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Then he took a piece of bread, gave thanks to God, broke it, and gave it to them, saying, "This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in memory of me."
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In the same way, he gave them the cup after the supper, saying, "This cup is God's new covenant sealed with my blood, which is poured out for you.
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"But, look! The one who betrays me is here at the table with me!
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The Son of Man will die as God has decided, but how terrible for that man who betrays him!"
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Then they began to ask among themselves which one of them it could be who was going to do this.
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An argument broke out among the disciples as to which one of them should be thought of as the greatest.
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Jesus said to them, "The kings of the pagans have power over their people, and the rulers claim the title 'Friends of the People.'
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But this is not the way it is with you; rather, the greatest one among you must be like the youngest, and the leader must be like the servant.
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Who is greater, the one who sits down to eat or the one who serves? The one who sits down, of course. But I am among you as one who serves.
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"You have stayed with me all through my trials;
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and just as my Father has given me the right to rule, so I will give you the same right.
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You will eat and drink at my table in my Kingdom, and you will sit on thrones to rule over the twelve tribes of Israel.
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"Simon, Simon! Listen! Satan has received permission to test all of you, to separate the good from the bad, as a farmer separates the wheat from the chaff.
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But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith will not fail. And when you turn back to me, you must strengthen your brothers."
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Peter answered, "Lord, I am ready to go to prison with you and to die with you!"
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"I tell you, Peter," Jesus said, "the rooster will not crow tonight until you have said three times that you do not know me."
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Then Jesus asked his disciples, "When I sent you out that time without purse, bag, or shoes, did you lack anything?" "Not a thing," they answered.
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"But now," Jesus said, "whoever has a purse or a bag must take it; and whoever does not have a sword must sell his coat and buy one.
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For I tell you that the scripture which says, 'He shared the fate of criminals,' must come true about me, because what was written about me is coming true."
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The disciples said, "Look! Here are two swords, Lord!" "That is enough!" he replied.
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Jesus left the city and went, as he usually did, to the Mount of Olives; and the disciples went with him.
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When he arrived at the place, he said to them, "Pray that you will not fall into temptation."
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Then he went off from them about the distance of a stone's throw and knelt down and prayed.
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"Father," he said, "if you will, take this cup of suffering away from me. Not my will, however, but your will be done."
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An angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him.
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In great anguish he prayed even more fervently; his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground.
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Rising from his prayer, he went back to the disciples and found them asleep, worn out by their grief.
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He said to them, "Why are you sleeping? Get up and pray that you will not fall into temptation."
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Jesus was still speaking when a crowd arrived, led by Judas, one of the twelve disciples. He came up to Jesus to kiss him.
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But Jesus said, "Judas, is it with a kiss that you betray the Son of Man?"
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When the disciples who were with Jesus saw what was going to happen, they asked, "Shall we use our swords, Lord?"
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And one of them struck the High Priest's slave and cut off his right ear.
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But Jesus said, "Enough of this!" He touched the man's ear and healed him.
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Then Jesus said to the chief priests and the officers of the Temple guard and the elders who had come there to get him, "Did you have to come with swords and clubs, as though I were an outlaw?
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I was with you in the Temple every day, and you did not try to arrest me. But this is your hour to act, when the power of darkness rules."
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They arrested Jesus and took him away into the house of the High Priest; and Peter followed at a distance.
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A fire had been lit in the center of the courtyard, and Peter joined those who were sitting around it.
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When one of the servant women saw him sitting there at the fire, she looked straight at him and said, "This man too was with Jesus!"
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But Peter denied it, "Woman, I don't even know him!"
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After a little while a man noticed Peter and said, "You are one of them, too!" But Peter answered, "Man, I am not!"
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And about an hour later another man insisted strongly, "There isn't any doubt that this man was with Jesus, because he also is a Galilean!"
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But Peter answered, "Man, I don't know what you are talking about!" At once, while he was still speaking, a rooster crowed.
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The Lord turned around and looked straight at Peter, and Peter remembered that the Lord had said to him, "Before the rooster crows tonight, you will say three times that you do not know me."
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Peter went out and wept bitterly.
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The men who were guarding Jesus made fun of him and beat him.
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They blindfolded him and asked him, "Who hit you? Guess!"
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And they said many other insulting things to him.
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When day came, the elders, the chief priests, and the teachers of the Law met together, and Jesus was brought before the Council.
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"Tell us," they said, "are you the Messiah?" He answered, "If I tell you, you will not believe me;
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and if I ask you a question, you will not answer.
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But from now on the Son of Man will be seated at the right side of Almighty God."
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They all said, "Are you, then, the Son of God?" He answered them, "You say that I am."
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And they said, "We don't need any witnesses! We ourselves have heard what he said!"
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The whole group rose up and took Jesus before Pilate,
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where they began to accuse him: "We caught this man misleading our people, telling them not to pay taxes to the Emperor and claiming that he himself is the Messiah, a king."
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Pilate asked him, "Are you the king of the Jews?" "So you say," answered Jesus.
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Then Pilate said to the chief priests and the crowds, "I find no reason to condemn this man."
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But they insisted even more strongly, "With his teaching he is starting a riot among the people all through Judea. He began in Galilee and now has come here."
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When Pilate heard this, he asked, "Is this man a Galilean?"
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When he learned that Jesus was from the region ruled by Herod, he sent him to Herod, who was also in Jerusalem at that time.
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Herod was very pleased when he saw Jesus, because he had heard about him and had been wanting to see him for a long time. He was hoping to see Jesus perform some miracle.
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So Herod asked Jesus many questions, but Jesus made no answer.
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The chief priests and the teachers of the Law stepped forward and made strong accusations against Jesus.
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Herod and his soldiers made fun of Jesus and treated him with contempt; then they put a fine robe on him and sent him back to Pilate.
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On that very day Herod and Pilate became friends; before this they had been enemies.
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Pilate called together the chief priests, the leaders, and the people,
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and said to them, "You brought this man to me and said that he was misleading the people. Now, I have examined him here in your presence, and I have not found him guilty of any of the crimes you accuse him of.
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Nor did Herod find him guilty, for he sent him back to us. There is nothing this man has done to deserve death.
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So I will have him whipped and let him go."
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The whole crowd cried out, "Kill him! Set Barabbas free for us!"
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(Barabbas had been put in prison for a riot that had taken place in the city, and for murder.)
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Pilate wanted to set Jesus free, so he appealed to the crowd again.
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But they shouted back, "Crucify him! Crucify him!"
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Pilate said to them the third time, "But what crime has he committed? I cannot find anything he has done to deserve death! I will have him whipped and set him free."
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But they kept on shouting at the top of their voices that Jesus should be crucified, and finally their shouting succeeded.
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So Pilate passed the sentence on Jesus that they were asking for.
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He set free the man they wanted, the one who had been put in prison for riot and murder, and he handed Jesus over for them to do as they wished.
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The soldiers led Jesus away, and as they were going, they met a man from Cyrene named Simon who was coming into the city from the country. They seized him, put the cross on him, and made him carry it behind Jesus.
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A large crowd of people followed him; among them were some women who were weeping and wailing for him.
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Jesus turned to them and said, "Women of Jerusalem! Don't cry for me, but for yourselves and your children.
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For the days are coming when people will say, 'How lucky are the women who never had children, who never bore babies, who never nursed them!'
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That will be the time when people will say to the mountains, 'Fall on us!' and to the hills, 'Hide us!'
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For if such things as these are done when the wood is green, what will happen when it is dry?"
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Two other men, both of them criminals, were also led out to be put to death with Jesus.
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When they came to the place called "The Skull," they crucified Jesus there, and the two criminals, one on his right and the other on his left.
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Jesus said, "Forgive them, Father! They don't know what they are doing." They divided his clothes among themselves by throwing dice.
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The people stood there watching while the Jewish leaders made fun of him: "He saved others; let him save himself if he is the Messiah whom God has chosen!"
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The soldiers also made fun of him: they came up to him and offered him cheap wine,
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and said, "Save yourself if you are the king of the Jews!"
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Above him were written these words: "This is the King of the Jews."
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One of the criminals hanging there hurled insults at him: "Aren't you the Messiah? Save yourself and us!"
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The other one, however, rebuked him, saying, "Don't you fear God? You received the same sentence he did.
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Ours, however, is only right, because we are getting what we deserve for what we did; but he has done no wrong."
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And he said to Jesus, "Remember me, Jesus, when you come as King!"
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Jesus said to him, "I promise you that today you will be in Paradise with me."
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It was about twelve o'clock when the sun stopped shining and darkness covered the whole country until three o'clock; and the curtain hanging in the Temple was torn in two.
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Jesus cried out in a loud voice, "Father! In your hands I place my spirit!" He said this and died.
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The army officer saw what had happened, and he praised God, saying, "Certainly he was a good man!"
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When the people who had gathered there to watch the spectacle saw what happened, they all went back home, beating their breasts in sorrow.
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All those who knew Jesus personally, including the women who had followed him from Galilee, stood at a distance to watch.
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There was a man named Joseph from Arimathea, a town in Judea. He was a good and honorable man, who was waiting for the coming of the Kingdom of God. Although he was a member of the Council, he had not agreed with their decision and action.
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He went into the presence of Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus.
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Then he took the body down, wrapped it in a linen sheet, and placed it in a tomb which had been dug out of solid rock and which had never been used.
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It was Friday, and the Sabbath was about to begin.
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The women who had followed Jesus from Galilee went with Joseph and saw the tomb and how Jesus' body was placed in it.
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Then they went back home and prepared the spices and perfumes for the body. On the Sabbath they rested, as the Law commanded.
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Very early on Sunday morning the women went to the tomb, carrying the spices they had prepared.
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They found the stone rolled away from the entrance to the tomb,
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so they went in; but they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus.
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They stood there puzzled about this, when suddenly two men in bright shining clothes stood by them.
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Full of fear, the women bowed down to the ground, as the men said to them, "Why are you looking among the dead for one who is alive?
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He is not here; he has been raised. Remember what he said to you while he was in Galilee:
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'The Son of Man must be handed over to sinners, be crucified, and three days later rise to life.' "
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Then the women remembered his words,
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returned from the tomb, and told all these things to the eleven disciples and all the rest.
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The women were Mary Magdalene, Joanna, and Mary the mother of James; they and the other women with them told these things to the apostles.
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But the apostles thought that what the women said was nonsense, and they did not believe them.
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But Peter got up and ran to the tomb; he bent down and saw the grave cloths but nothing else. Then he went back home amazed at what had happened.
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On that same day two of Jesus' followers were going to a village named Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem,
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and they were talking to each other about all the things that had happened.
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As they talked and discussed, Jesus himself drew near and walked along with them;
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they saw him, but somehow did not recognize him.
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Jesus said to them, "What are you talking about to each other, as you walk along?" They stood still, with sad faces.
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One of them, named Cleopas, asked him, "Are you the only visitor in Jerusalem who doesn't know the things that have been happening there these last few days?"
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"What things?" he asked. "The things that happened to Jesus of Nazareth," they answered. "This man was a prophet and was considered by God and by all the people to be powerful in everything he said and did.
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Our chief priests and rulers handed him over to be sentenced to death, and he was crucified.
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And we had hoped that he would be the one who was going to set Israel free! Besides all that, this is now the third day since it happened.
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Some of the women of our group surprised us; they went at dawn to the tomb,
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but could not find his body. They came back saying they had seen a vision of angels who told them that he is alive.
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Some of our group went to the tomb and found it exactly as the women had said, but they did not see him."
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Then Jesus said to them, "How foolish you are, how slow you are to believe everything the prophets said!
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Was it not necessary for the Messiah to suffer these things and then to enter his glory?"
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And Jesus explained to them what was said about himself in all the Scriptures, beginning with the books of Moses and the writings of all the prophets.
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As they came near the village to which they were going, Jesus acted as if he were going farther;
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but they held him back, saying, "Stay with us; the day is almost over and it is getting dark." So he went in to stay with them.
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He sat down to eat with them, took the bread, and said the blessing; then he broke the bread and gave it to them.
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Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him, but he disappeared from their sight.
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They said to each other, "Wasn't it like a fire burning in us when he talked to us on the road and explained the Scriptures to us?"
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They got up at once and went back to Jerusalem, where they found the eleven disciples gathered together with the others
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and saying, "The Lord is risen indeed! He has appeared to Simon!"
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The two then explained to them what had happened on the road, and how they had recognized the Lord when he broke the bread.
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While the two were telling them this, suddenly the Lord himself stood among them and said to them, "Peace be with you."
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They were terrified, thinking that they were seeing a ghost.
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But he said to them, "Why are you alarmed? Why are these doubts coming up in your minds?
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Look at my hands and my feet, and see that it is I myself. Feel me, and you will know, for a ghost doesn't have flesh and bones, as you can see I have."
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He said this and showed them his hands and his feet.
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They still could not believe, they were so full of joy and wonder; so he asked them, "Do you have anything here to eat?"
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They gave him a piece of cooked fish,
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which he took and ate in their presence.
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Then he said to them, "These are the very things I told you about while I was still with you: everything written about me in the Law of Moses, the writings of the prophets, and the Psalms had to come true."
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Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures,
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and said to them, "This is what is written: the Messiah must suffer and must rise from death three days later,
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and in his name the message about repentance and the forgiveness of sins must be preached to all nations, beginning in Jerusalem.
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You are witnesses of these things.
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And I myself will send upon you what my Father has promised. But you must wait in the city until the power from above comes down upon you."
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Then he led them out of the city as far as Bethany, where he raised his hands and blessed them.
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As he was blessing them, he departed from them and was taken up into heaven.
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They worshiped him and went back into Jerusalem, filled with great joy,
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and spent all their time in the Temple giving thanks to God.
