Matthew 26 — Berean Standard Bible

¹ When Jesus had finished {saying} all these things, He told His disciples, ² “You know that the Passover is two days away, and the Son of Man will be handed over to be crucified. ³ At that time the chief priests and elders of the people assembled in the courtyard of the high priest, whose name was Caiaphas, ⁴ and they conspired to arrest Jesus covertly and kill [Him]. ⁵ “But not during the feast, they said, “or there may be a riot among the people. ⁶ While Jesus was in Bethany in [the] home of Simon the Leper, ⁷ a woman came to Him with an alabaster jar of expensive perfume, which she poured on His head as He reclined at the table. ⁸ When the disciples saw this, they were indignant and asked, “Why this waste? ⁹ This [perfume] could have been sold at a high price, and [the money] given to [the] poor. ¹⁰ Aware of this, Jesus asked, “Why are you bothering [this] woman? She has done a beautiful deed to Me. ¹¹ The poor you will always have with you, but {you will} not always have Me. ¹² By pouring this perfume on Me, she has prepared My body for burial. ¹³ Truly I tell you, wherever this gospel is preached in all the world, what she has done will also be told in memory of her. ¹⁴ Then one of the Twelve, the [one] called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests ¹⁵ [and] asked, “What are you willing to give me if I hand Him {over} to you? And they set out for him thirty pieces of silver. ¹⁶ So from then on [Judas] looked for an opportunity to betray [Jesus]. ¹⁷ On the first [day] of the Feast of Unleavened [Bread], the disciples came to Jesus [and] asked, “Where do You want us to prepare for You to eat the Passover? ¹⁸ He answered, “Go into the city to a certain man and tell him [that] the Teacher says, ‘My time is near. I will keep the Passover with My disciples at your [house].’ ¹⁹ So the disciples did as Jesus had directed them and prepared the Passover. ²⁰ When evening came, [Jesus] was reclining with the twelve disciples. ²¹ And while they were eating, He said to them, “Truly I tell you, one of you will betray Me. ²² They were deeply grieved [and] began to ask Him one after another, “Surely not I, Lord? ²³ [Jesus] answered, “The [one] who has dipped [his] hand into the bowl with Me will betray Me. ²⁴ The Son of Man will go just as it is written about Him, but woe to that man by whom [He] is betrayed. It would be better for him if [he] had not been born. ²⁵ Then Judas, who would betray Him, said, “Surely not I, Rabbi? [Jesus] answered, “You have said [it] yourself. ²⁶ While they were eating, Jesus took bread, spoke a blessing [and] broke [it], and gave [it] to the disciples, saying, “Take [and] eat; this is My body. ²⁷ Then He took [the] cup, gave thanks, [and] gave [it] to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you. ²⁸ This is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for [the] forgiveness of sins. ²⁹ I tell you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it anew with you in My Father’s kingdom. ³⁰ And [when] they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives. ³¹ Then Jesus said to them, “This very night you will all fall away on account of Me. For it is written: ‘I will strike the Shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.’ ³² But after I have risen, I will go ahead of you into Galilee. ³³ Peter said to Him, “Even if all fall away on account of You, I never will. ³⁴ “Truly I tell you, Jesus declared, “this very night, before [the] rooster crows, you will deny Me three times. ³⁵ Peter replied, “Even if I have to die with You, I will never deny You. And all the other disciples said the same thing. ³⁶ Then Jesus went with [His disciples] to a place called Gethsemane, and He told [them], “Sit here while I go over there [and] pray. ³⁷ He took with Him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee [and] began to be sorrowful and deeply distressed. ³⁸ Then He said to them, “My soul is consumed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with Me. ³⁹ Going a little {farther}, He fell facedown [and] prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, {let} this cup pass from Me. Yet not as I will, but as You [will]. ⁴⁰ Then [Jesus] returned to the disciples and found them sleeping. “Were you not able to keep watch with Me [for] one hour? He asked Peter. ⁴¹ “Watch and pray so that you will not enter into temptation. For the spirit [is] willing, but the body [is] weak. ⁴² A second time He went away [and] prayed, “My Father, if this [cup] cannot pass unless I drink it, {may} Your will be done. ⁴³ And again [Jesus] returned [and] found them sleeping, for their eyes were heavy. ⁴⁴ So He left them [and] went away once more [and] prayed [a] third time, saying the same thing. ⁴⁵ Then He returned to the disciples and said, “Are you still sleeping and resting? Look, the hour is near, and the Son of Man is betrayed into [the] hands of sinners. ⁴⁶ Rise, let us go! See, My betrayer is approaching! ⁴⁷ While [Jesus] was still speaking, Judas, one of the Twelve, arrived, accompanied by a large crowd [armed] with swords and clubs, [sent] from the chief priests and elders of the people. ⁴⁸ Now the betrayer had arranged a signal with them: “The One I kiss is [the man]; arrest Him. ⁴⁹ Going directly to Jesus, he said, “Greetings, Rabbi! and kissed Him. ⁵⁰ “Friend, Jesus replied, “[do] what you came for.” Then [the men] stepped forward, seized Jesus, and arrested Him. ⁵¹ At this, one of Jesus’ companions drew his sword and struck the servant of the high priest, cutting off his ear. ⁵² “Put your sword back in its place, Jesus said to him. “For all who draw [the] sword will die by [the] sword. ⁵³ Are you not aware that I can call on My Father, and He will at once put at My disposal more than twelve legions of angels? ⁵⁴ But how then {would} the Scriptures be fulfilled that say it must happen this way? ⁵⁵ At that time Jesus said to the crowd, “Have you come out with swords and clubs to arrest Me as [you would] an outlaw? Every day I sat teaching in the temple [courts], and you did not arrest Me. ⁵⁶ But this {has} all happened so that the writings of the prophets would be fulfilled. Then all the disciples deserted Him [and] fled. ⁵⁷ Those who had arrested Jesus led [Him] away to [the house of] Caiaphas the high priest, where the scribes and elders had gathered. ⁵⁸ But Peter followed Him at a distance, right up to the courtyard of the high priest. And he went in [and] sat down with the guards to see the outcome. ⁵⁹ Now the chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin were seeking false testimony against Jesus in order to put Him to death. ⁶⁰ But they did not find any, [though] many false witnesses came forward. Finally two came forward ⁶¹ [and] declared, “This [man] said, ‘I am able to destroy the temple of God and rebuild it in three days. ⁶² So the high priest stood up [and] asked Him, “Have You no answer? What {are} these [men] testifying against You? ⁶³ But Jesus remained silent. Then the high priest said to Him, “I charge You under oath by the living God: Tell us if You are the Christ, the Son of God. ⁶⁴ “You have said [it] yourself, Jesus answered. “But I say to all of you, from now on you will see the Son of Man sitting at [the] right hand of Power and coming on the clouds of heaven.” ⁶⁵ At this, the high priest tore his clothes [and] declared, “He has blasphemed! Why do we need any more witnesses? Look, now you have heard the blasphemy. ⁶⁶ What {do} you think? “He deserves to die, they answered. ⁶⁷ Then they spit in His face and struck Him. Others slapped [Him] ⁶⁸ [and] said, “Prophesy to us, Christ! Who hit You? ⁶⁹ Meanwhile, Peter was sitting out in the courtyard, and a servant girl came up to him. “You also were with Jesus the Galilean, she said. ⁷⁰ But he denied [it] before [them] all: “I do not know what you are talking about. ⁷¹ When [Peter] had gone out to the gateway, another [servant girl] saw him and said to the people there, “This [man] was with Jesus of Nazareth. ⁷² And again he denied [it] with an oath: “I do not know the man! ⁷³ After a little while, those standing nearby came up to Peter. “Surely you are one of them, they said, “for your accent gives you away. ⁷⁴ At that he began to curse and swear [to them], “I do not know the man! And immediately a rooster crowed. ⁷⁵ Then Peter remembered the word [that] Jesus had spoken: “Before [the] rooster crows, you will deny Me three times. And he went outside [and] wept bitterly.