14:1 Now the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread were two days away. The ruling priests and scripture scholars were looking for a devious way to arrest him and get him executed.

14:2 “But not during the festival,” they said, “or the people will riot.”

14:3 Jesus was in Bethany at the home of Simon the Leper. As he reclined at the table, a woman came with an alabaster flask containing very costly perfumed oil made from pure nard. She broke open the flask and poured the oil on his head.

14:4 But some there were indignant and said to each other, “Why this waste of perfumed oil?

14:5 It could have been sold for nearly a year’s wages and the money given to the destitute!” And they began to intimidate her.

14:6 But Jesus said, “Leave her alone! Why are you bullying her? She is doing a good thing to me.

14:7 You will always have the destitute among you, and you can help them anytime you want, but you will not always have me.

14:8 She has done what she could, and she has anointed me in advance of burial preparations for my body.

14:9 And it will be as I tell you now: wherever the Gospel is announced anywhere in the world, what she did will be told in honor of her memory.”

14:10 Then Judas from Kerioth, one of the Twelve, went off to the ruling priests to have Jesus handed over to them.

14:11 They were delighted to hear this and paid him in advance for his services. So he started watching for an opportune moment to hand him over.

14:12 On the first day of Unleavened Bread, when the Passover lamb was to be killed, his disciples asked, “Where do you want us to go and make preparations for you to eat the Passover?”

14:13 So he sent out two of his disciples and told them, “Go into the city, where you will see someone carrying a pitcher of water. Follow them,

14:14 and when they enter a house tell the owner, ‘the Teacher wants to know where the reception room is so that he may eat the Passover meal with his disciples’.

14:15 You will be shown a large, furnished, upper-story room; prepare it for us there.”

14:16 And when the disciples went into the city, they found everything just as he said it would be, so they prepared the Passover.

14:17 When evening came, he went there with the Twelve.

14:18 And while they were reclining around the table Jesus said to them, “I tell you with absolute certainty that one of you who are eating with me will betray me!”

14:19 They were deeply distressed, and one after the other they began to say to him, “Not I!”

14:20 But he said to them, “It is one of the Twelve who dips food into the sauce bowl with me.

14:21 Indeed, the Human must go away just as it is written about him. But woe to the person through whom the Human is betrayed! It would be better for that person if he had never been born.”

14:22 While they were eating, Jesus took some bread, blessed it, and then broke it up and passed it around to them. “Take this,” he said, “This is my body.”

14:23 Then he took the cup, gave thanks, and passed it around to them, and they all drank it.

14:24 “This is my blood, with which I am signing the new unilateral contract, and it is being poured out for many.

14:25 With absolute certainty I tell you that I will never drink the fruit of the vine until the day comes when I drink it fresh in the kingdom of God.”

14:26 And after singing a festive song, they went out to the Mount of Olives.

14:27 Then Jesus said to them, “You are all about to fall into a trap, for it is written: ‘I will strike down the shepherd and the sheep will scatter.’

14:28 But after I arise, I will go ahead of you into Galilee.”

14:29 But Peter objected, “Even if everyone else falls into a trap, I will not!”

14:30 “On the contrary,” said Jesus, “I tell you that today, this very night, before the rooster crows, you will completely disown me three times!”

14:31 But Peter became even more insistent: “Even if I am bound to die with you, I will never, ever disown you!” And all of them said the same.

14:32 They went into an area called Gethsemane, and he said to his disciples, “Sit here while I pray.”

14:33 He took Peter, James, and John with him, and in anguish and despair

14:34 he said to them, “My soul is deeply grieved, to the point of death! Stay here and keep alert.”

14:35 Then he went a little farther ahead and dropped to the ground, and he prayed that there might be some way for this hour to pass him by.

14:36 And he said, “Daddy, my Father, you can do anything; take this cup away from me! But the decision is yours, not mine.”

14:37 He comes back and finds the disciples sleeping, so he says to Peter, “Simon, what are you doing sleeping? Couldn’t you stay alert for one hour?

14:38 Pray that you will not be put to the test, for the spirit is eager but the flesh is weak.”

14:39 Once again Jesus left and prayed, saying the same thing.

14:40 And once again he went back to find them sleeping, because their eyes were heavy. And they didn’t know what to say to him.

14:41 So he comes back the third time and says to them, “Why are you still sleeping and resting? Well, that’s all you get; the hour has come! Look, the Human is being handed over to the deviants!

14:42 Get up, let’s go! See, here comes my betrayer!”

14:43 And while he is still speaking, Judas (one of the Twelve) comes right then with a mob wielding swords and clubs, sent by the ruling priests, scripture scholars, and elders.

14:44 Judas had given them a signal: “Whoever I greet affectionately is the one; seize him and take him away!”

14:45 And coming straight up to Jesus he says, “Rabbi!” and kissed him fondly.

14:46 So they seized Jesus and took him away.

14:47 One of the people standing there drew a sword and struck the slave of the ruling priest, cutting off his ear.

14:48 But Jesus told them, “Am I a robber, that you came with swords and clubs to arrest me?

14:49 Every day I was teaching in the temple compound and you didn’t arrest me. But the scriptures must be fulfilled!”

14:50 Then they all abandoned him and ran away.

14:51 (There was also a youth among them, and he was wearing nothing but high-quality pajamas. They seized him

14:52 but he slipped out of his pajamas and ran away naked.)

14:53 So they led Jesus away and took him to the ruling priest. All the ruling priests, elders, and scripture scholars were assembled there.

14:54 Peter followed at a distance, up to the point where they entered the courtyard of the ruling priest. He sat down with the slaves, warming himself by the fire.

14:55 Meanwhile, the ruling priests and the entire Sanhedrin were looking for evidence to convict Jesus of a capital crime. But they couldn’t find any

14:56 because of all the false and conflicting testimonies.

14:57 Some stood up to falsely accuse him by saying,

14:58 “We heard him say, ‘I will demolish this temple made by hands, and in three days I will build another one without hands!’ ”

14:59 But even then their testimonies were still conflicting.

14:60 So the ruling priest stood up in front and asked Jesus, “Why don’t you respond to any of these accusations?”

14:61 But Jesus said nothing.Once again the ruling priest asked him, “Are you the Anointed, the son of the Blessed One?”

14:62 “I am,” Jesus answered, “And all of you will see the Human sitting to the right of the Power, and coming with the clouds of the sky!”

14:63 At that, the ruling priest tore his tunic and exclaimed, “What need do we have for further testimony?

14:64 You yourselves heard his claim to be God! How do you see it?” And they all deemed him worthy of the death penalty.

14:65 At that, some began to spit on him. Then they blindfolded him and started beating him while mocking, “Prophesy!” The deputies slapped him as well.

14:66 Meanwhile, while Peter was in the courtyard, one of the ruling priest’s servant girls came

14:67 and saw Peter warming himself. She looked at him and said, “Hey you! You were with that Nazarene, Jesus!”

14:68 But he denied it: “I don’t know or care what you’re talking about!” He went outside onto the porch, and then a rooster crowed.

14:69 But the slave girl kept watching him and said again to the people standing around, “This is one of them!”

14:70 And again he denied it.Then short time later, the bystanders said to Peter once more, “You have to be one of them, because you’re a Galilean!”

14:71 Then Peter began cursing and swore to them, “I do not know that person you’re talking about!”

14:72 And right away a rooster crowed a second time. Then Peter remembered what Jesus had said to him: “Before the rooster crows twice, you will disown me three times!” And once this sank in, Peter began to sob.