Mat 26 | ESV | STEP | When Jesus had finished all these sayings, he said to his disciples,

1 When Jesus had finished all these sayings, he said to his disciples, 2 ^a“You know that after two days ^bthe Passover is coming, and ^cthe Son of Man ^dwill be delivered up to be crucified.”

3 ^eThen the chief priests and the elders of the people gathered in ^fthe palace of the high priest, whose name was ^gCaiaphas, 4 ^hand plotted together in order to arrest Jesus by stealth and kill him. 5 But they said, “Not during the feast, ⁱlest there be an uproar among the people.”

Jesus Anointed at Bethany

6 ^jNow when Jesus was at ^kBethany in the house of Simon the leper, ^{▼▼Leprosy was a term for several skin diseases; see Leviticus 13} 7 a 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. 8 And when the disciples saw it, they were indignant, saying, “Why this waste? 9 For this could have been sold for a large sum and ^mgiven to the poor.” 10 But ⁿJesus, aware of this, said to them, “Why do you trouble the woman? For she has done a beautiful thing to me. 11 For ^oyou always have the poor with you, but ^pyou will not always have me. 12 In pouring this ointment on my body, she has done it ^qto prepare me for burial. 13 Truly, I say to you, wherever ^rthis gospel is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will also be told ^sin memory of her.”

Judas to Betray Jesus

14 ^tThen one of the twelve, whose name was ^uJudas Iscariot, went to the chief priests 15 and said, “What will you give me if I deliver him over to you?” And they ^vpaid him ^wthirty pieces of silver. 16 And from that moment he sought an opportunity ^xto betray him.

The Passover with the Disciples

17 ^yNow on ^zthe first day of Unleavened Bread the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Where will you have us prepare for you to eat the Passover?” 18 He said, “Go into the city to a certain man and say to him, ^aa‘The Teacher says, ^abMy time is at hand. I will keep the Passover at your house with my disciples.’” 19 And the disciples did as Jesus had directed them, and they prepared the Passover.

20 ^acWhen it was evening, he reclined at table with the twelve. ^{▼▼Some manuscripts add disciples} 21 And as they were eating, ^aehe said, “Truly, I say to you, one of you will betray me.” 22 And they were very sorrowful and began to say to him one after another, “Is it I, Lord?” 23 He answered, ^af“He who has dipped his hand in the dish with me will betray me. 24 The Son of Man goes ^agas it is written of him, but ^ahwoe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! ^aiIt would have been better for that man if he had not been born.” 25 Judas, who would betray him, answered, “Is it I, ^ajRabbi?” He said to him, ^ak“You have said so.”

Institution of the Lord’s Supper

26 ^alNow as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and ^amafter blessing it broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat; ^anthis is my body.” 27 And he took a cup, and when he ^aohad given thanks he gave it to them, saying, “Drink of it, all of you, 28 for ^apthis is my ^aqblood of the ^{▼▼Some manuscripts insert new} covenant, which is poured out for ^asmany ^atfor the forgiveness of sins. 29 I tell you I will not drink again of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you ^auin my Father’s kingdom.”

Jesus Foretells Peter’s Denial

30 ^avAnd when they had sung a hymn, ^awthey went out to ^axthe Mount of Olives. 31 Then Jesus said to them, “You will all fall away because of me this night. For it is written, ‘I will ^aystrike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.’ 32 But after I am raised up, ^azI will go before you to Galilee.” 33 ^baPeter answered him, “Though they all fall away because of you, I will never fall away.” 34 ^bbJesus said to him, “Truly, I tell you, this very night, ^bcbefore the rooster crows, you will deny me three times.” 35 ^bdPeter said to him, “Even if I must die with you, I will not deny you!” And all the disciples said the same.

Jesus Prays in Gethsemane

36 ^beThen Jesus went with them ^bfto a place called Gethsemane, and he said to his disciples, “Sit here, while I go over there and pray.” 37 And taking with him ^bgPeter and ^bhthe two sons of Zebedee, he began to be sorrowful and troubled. 38 Then he said to them, ^bi“My soul is very sorrowful, even to death; remain here, and ^bjwatch ^{▼▼Or keep awake; also verses 40, 41} with me.” 39 And going a little farther he fell on his face ^bland prayed, saying, “My Father, if it be possible, let ^bmthis cup pass from me; ^bnnevertheless, 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, could you not watch with me one hour? 41 ^boWatch and ^bppray that you ^bqmay not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” 42 Again, for the second time, he went away and prayed, “My Father, if this cannot pass unless I drink it, ^bryour will be done.” 43 And again he came and found them sleeping, for ^bstheir eyes were heavy. 44 So, leaving them again, he went away and prayed for ^btthe third time, saying the same words again. 45 Then he came to the disciples and said to them, “Sleep and take your rest later on. ^{▼▼Or Are you still sleeping and taking your rest?} See, ^bvthe hour is at hand, and ^bwthe Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. 46 Rise, let us be going; see, my betrayer is at hand.”

Betrayal and Arrest of Jesus

47 ^bxWhile he was still speaking, ^byJudas 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. 48 Now the betrayer had given them a sign, saying, “The one I will kiss is the man; seize him.” 49 And he came up to Jesus at once and said, “Greetings, ^bzRabbi!” And he kissed him. 50 Jesus said to him, ^ca“Friend, ^cbdo what you came to do.” ^{▼▼Or Friend, why are you here?} Then they came up and laid hands on Jesus and seized him. 51 And behold, one of those who were with Jesus stretched out his hand and drew his ^cdsword and struck the servant ^{▼▼Greek bondservant} of the high priest and cut off his ear. 52 Then Jesus said to him, “Put your sword back into its place. For ^cfall who take the sword will perish by the sword. 53 ^cgDo you think that I cannot appeal to my Father, and he will at once send me ^chmore than twelve ^cilegions of angels? 54 ^cjBut how then should the Scriptures be fulfilled, that it must be so?” 55 At 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 ^ckI sat in the temple ^clteaching, and you did not seize me. 56 But ^cmall this has taken place that the Scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled.” ^cnThen all the disciples left him and fled.

Jesus Before Caiaphas and the Council

57 ^coThen ^cpthose who had seized Jesus led him to ^cqCaiaphas the high priest, where the scribes and the elders had gathered. 58 And ^crPeter was following him at a distance, as far as ^csthe courtyard of the high priest, and going inside he sat with ^ctthe guards to see the end. 59 Now the chief priests and the whole council ^{▼▼Greek Sanhedrin} ^cvwere seeking false testimony against Jesus that they might put him to death, 60 but they found none, ^cwthough many false witnesses came forward. At last ^cxtwo came forward 61 and said, “This man said, ^cy‘I am able to ^czdestroy the temple of God, and to rebuild it in three days.’” 62 And the high priest stood up and said, “Have you no answer to make? What is it that these men testify against you?” ^{▼▼Or Have you no answer to what these men testify against you?} 63 ^dbBut Jesus remained silent. ^dcAnd the high priest said to him, ^dd“I adjure you by ^dethe living God, ^dftell us if you are ^dgthe Christ, ^dhthe Son of God.” 64 Jesus said to him, ^di“You have said so. But I tell you, from now on ^djyou will see the Son of Man ^dkseated at the right hand of Power and ^dlcoming on the clouds of heaven.” 65 Then the high priest ^dmtore his robes and said, ^dn“He has uttered blasphemy. What further witnesses do we need? You have now heard his blasphemy. 66 What is your judgment?” They answered, ^do“He deserves death.” 67 Then ^dpthey spit in his face ^dqand ^drstruck him. And some slapped him, 68 saying, “Prophesy to us, you ^dsChrist! Who is it that struck you?”

Peter Denies Jesus

69 ^dtNow Peter was sitting outside ^duin the courtyard. And a servant girl came up to him and said, “You also were with Jesus the Galilean.” 70 But he denied it before them all, saying, “I do not know what you mean.” 71 And when he went out to the entrance, another servant girl saw him, and she said to the bystanders, “This man was with Jesus ^dvof Nazareth.” 72 And again he denied it with an oath: “I do not know the man.” 73 After a little while the bystanders came up and said to Peter, “Certainly you too are one of them, for ^dwyour accent betrays you.” 74 Then he began to invoke a curse on himself and to swear, “I do not know the man.” And immediately the rooster crowed. 75 And Peter remembered the saying of Jesus, ^dx“Before the rooster crows, you will ^dydeny me three times.” And he went out and wept bitterly.

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‏ Matthew 26Summary

The Plot to Kill Jesus