Judas Becomes an Enemy of Jesus

22 It was almost time for the Feast of Unleavened Bread, called the Passover Feast. ² The leading priests and teachers of the law were trying to find a way to kill Jesus, because they were afraid of the people.

³ Satan entered Judas Iscariot, one of Jesus’ twelve apostles. ⁴ Judas went to the leading priests and some of the soldiers who guarded the Temple and talked to them about a way to hand Jesus over to them. ⁵ They were pleased and agreed to give Judas money. ⁶ He agreed and watched for the best time to hand Jesus over to them when he was away from the crowd.

Jesus Eats the Passover Meal

⁷ The Day of Unleavened Bread came when the Passover lambs had to be sacrificed. ⁸ Jesus said to Peter and John, “Go and prepare the Passover meal for us to eat.”

⁹ They asked, “Where do you want us to prepare it?” ¹⁰ Jesus said to them, “After you go into the city, a man carrying a jar of water will meet you. Follow him into the house that he enters, ¹¹ and tell the owner of the house, ‘The Teacher says: “Where is the guest room in which I may eat the Passover meal with my followers?”’ ¹² Then he will show you a large, furnished room upstairs. Prepare the Passover meal there.”

¹³ So Peter and John left and found everything as Jesus had said. And they prepared the Passover meal.

The Lord’s Supper

¹⁴ When the time came, Jesus and the apostles were sitting at the table. ¹⁵ He said to them, “I wanted very much to eat this Passover meal with you before I suffer. ¹⁶ I will not eat another Passover meal until it is given its true meaning in the kingdom of God.”

¹⁷ Then Jesus took a cup, gave thanks, and said, “Take this cup and share it among yourselves. ¹⁸ I will not drink again from the fruit of the vine^[a] until God’s kingdom comes.”

¹⁹ Then Jesus took some bread, gave thanks, broke it, and gave it to the apostles, saying, “This is my body,^[b] which I am giving for you. Do this to remember me.” ²⁰ In the same way, after supper, Jesus took the cup and said, “This cup is the new agreement that God makes with his people. This new agreement begins with my blood which is poured out for you.

Who Will Turn Against Jesus?

²¹ “But one of you will turn against me, and his hand is with mine on the table. ²² What God has planned for the Son of Man will happen, but how terrible it will be for that one who turns against the Son of Man.”

²³ Then the apostles asked each other which one of them would do that.

Be Like a Servant

²⁴ The apostles also began to argue about which one of them was the most important. ²⁵ But Jesus said to them, “The kings of the non-Jewish people rule over them, and those who have authority over others like to be called ‘friends of the people.’ ²⁶ But you must not be like that. Instead, the greatest among you should be like the youngest, and the leader should be like the servant. ²⁷ Who is more important: the one sitting at the table or the one serving? You think the one at the table is more important, but I am like a servant among you.

²⁸ “You have stayed with me through my struggles. ²⁹ Just as my Father has given me a kingdom, I also give you a kingdom ³⁰ so you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom. And you will sit on thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.

Don’t Lose Your Faith!

³¹ “Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to test all of you as a farmer sifts his wheat. ³² I have prayed that you will not lose your faith! Help your brothers be stronger when you come back to me.”

³³ But Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, I am ready to go with you to prison and even to die with you!”

³⁴ But Jesus said, “Peter, before the rooster crows this day, you will say three times that you don’t know me.”

Be Ready for Trouble

³⁵ Then Jesus said to the apostles, “When I sent you out without a purse, a bag, or sandals, did you need anything?”

They said, “No.”

³⁶ He said to them, “But now if you have a purse or a bag, carry that with you. If you don’t have a sword, sell your coat and buy one. ³⁷ The Scripture says, ‘He was treated like a criminal,’^[c] and I tell you this scripture must have its full meaning. It was written about me, and it is happening now.”

³⁸ His followers said, “Look, Lord, here are two swords.”

He said to them, “That is enough.”

Jesus Prays Alone

³⁹ Jesus left the city and went to the Mount of Olives, as he often did, and his followers went with him. ⁴⁰ When he reached the place, he said to them, “Pray for strength against temptation.”

⁴¹ Then Jesus went about a stone’s throw away from them. He kneeled down and prayed, ⁴² “Father, if you are willing, take away this cup^[d] of suffering. But do what you want, not what I want.” ⁴³ Then an angel from heaven appeared to him to strengthen him. ⁴⁴ Being full of pain, Jesus prayed even harder. His sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground. ⁴⁵ When he finished praying, he went to his followers and found them asleep because of their sadness. ⁴⁶ Jesus said to them, “Why are you sleeping? Get up and pray for strength against temptation.”

Jesus Is Arrested

⁴⁷ While Jesus was speaking, a crowd came up, and Judas, one of the twelve apostles, was leading them. He came close to Jesus so he could kiss him.

⁴⁸ But Jesus said to him, “Judas, are you using the kiss to give the Son of Man to his enemies?”

⁴⁹ When those who were standing around him saw what was happening, they said, “Lord, should we strike them with our swords?” ⁵⁰ And one of them struck the servant of the high priest and cut off his right ear.

⁵¹ Jesus said, “Stop! No more of this.” Then he touched the servant’s ear and healed him.

⁵² Those who came to arrest Jesus were the leading priests, the soldiers who guarded the Temple, and the elders. Jesus said to them, “You came out here with swords and clubs as though I were a criminal. ⁵³ I was with you every day in the Temple, and you didn’t arrest me there. But this is your time—the time when darkness rules.”

Peter Says He Doesn’t Know Jesus

⁵⁴ They arrested Jesus, and led him away, and brought him into the house of the high priest. Peter followed far behind them. ⁵⁵ After the soldiers started a fire in the middle of the courtyard and sat together, Peter sat with them. ⁵⁶ A servant girl saw Peter sitting there in the firelight, and looking closely at him, she said, “This man was also with him.”

⁵⁷ But Peter said this was not true; he said, “Woman, I don’t know him.”

⁵⁸ A short time later, another person saw Peter and said, “You are also one of them.”

But Peter said, “Man, I am not!”

⁵⁹ About an hour later, another man insisted, “Certainly this man was with him, because he is from Galilee, too.”

⁶⁰ But Peter said, “Man, I don’t know what you are talking about!”

At once, while Peter was still speaking, a rooster crowed. ⁶¹ Then the Lord turned and looked straight at Peter. And Peter remembered what the Lord had said: “Before the rooster crows this day, you will say three times that you don’t know me.” ⁶² Then Peter went outside and cried painfully.

The People Make Fun of Jesus

⁶³ The men who were guarding Jesus began making fun of him and beating him.

⁶⁴ They blindfolded him and said, “Prove that you are a prophet, and tell us who hit you.” ⁶⁵ They said many cruel things to Jesus.

Jesus Before the Leaders

⁶⁶ When day came, the council of the elders of the people, both the leading priests and the teachers of the law, came together and led Jesus to their highest court. ⁶⁷ They said, “If you are the Christ, tell us.”

Jesus said to them, “If I tell you, you will not believe me. ⁶⁸ And if I ask you, you will not answer. ⁶⁹ But from now on, the Son of Man will sit at the right hand of the powerful God.”

⁷⁰ They all said, “Then are you the Son of God?”

Jesus said to them, “You say that I am.”

⁷¹ They said, “Why do we need witnesses now? We ourselves heard him say this.”

Jesus Washes His Followers’ Feet

13 It was almost time for the Passover Feast. Jesus knew that it was time for him to leave this world and go back to the Father. He had always loved those who were his own in the world, and he loved them all the way to the end.

² Jesus and his followers were at the evening meal. The devil had already persuaded Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon, to turn against Jesus. ³ Jesus knew that the Father had given him power over everything and that he had come from God and was going back to God. ⁴ So during the meal Jesus stood up and took off his outer clothing. Taking a towel, he wrapped it around his waist. ⁵ Then he poured water into a bowl and began to wash the followers’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.

⁶ Jesus came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?”

⁷ Jesus answered, “You don’t understand now what I am doing, but you will understand later.”

⁸ Peter said, “No, you will never wash my feet.”

Jesus answered, “If I don’t wash your feet, you are not one of my people.”

⁹ Simon Peter answered, “Lord, then wash not only my feet, but wash my hands and my head, too!”

¹⁰ Jesus said, “After a person has had a bath, his whole body is clean. He needs only to wash his feet. And you men are clean, but not all of you.” ¹¹ Jesus knew who would turn against him, and that is why he said, “Not all of you are clean.”

¹² When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and sat down again. He asked, “Do you understand what I have just done for you? ¹³ You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and you are right, because that is what I am. ¹⁴ If I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash each other’s feet. ¹⁵ I did this as an example so that you should do as I have done for you. ¹⁶ I tell you the truth, a servant is not greater than his master. A messenger is not greater than the one who sent him. ¹⁷ If you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.

¹⁸ “I am not talking about all of you. I know those I have chosen. But this is to bring about what the Scripture said: ‘The man who ate at my table has turned against me.’^{[a] 19} I am telling you this now before it happens so that when it happens, you will believe that I am he. ²⁰ I tell you the truth, whoever accepts anyone I send also accepts me. And whoever accepts me also accepts the One who sent me.”

Jesus Talks About His Death

²¹ After Jesus said this, he was very troubled. He said openly, “I tell you the truth, one of you will turn against me.”

²² The followers all looked at each other, because they did not know whom Jesus was talking about. ²³ One of the followers sitting^[b] next to Jesus was the follower Jesus loved. ²⁴ Simon Peter motioned to him to ask Jesus whom he was talking about.

²⁵ That follower leaned closer to Jesus and asked, “Lord, who is it?”

²⁶ Jesus answered, “I will dip this bread into the dish. The man I give it to is the man who will turn against me.” So Jesus took a piece of bread, dipped it, and gave it to Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon. ²⁷ As soon as Judas took the bread, Satan entered him. Jesus said to him, “The thing that you will do—do it quickly.” ²⁸ No one at the table understood why Jesus said this to Judas. ²⁹ Since he was the one who kept the money box, some of the followers thought Jesus was telling him to buy what was needed for the feast or to give something to the poor.

³⁰ Judas took the bread Jesus gave him and immediately went out. It was night.

³¹ When Judas was gone, Jesus said, “Now the Son of Man receives his glory, and God receives glory through him. ³² If God receives glory through him,^[c] then God will give glory to the Son through himself. And God will give him glory quickly.”

³³ Jesus said, “My children, I will be with you only a little longer. You will look for me, and what I told the Jews, I tell you now: Where I am going you cannot come.

³⁴ “I give you a new command: Love each other. You must love each other as I have loved you. ³⁵ All people will know that you are my followers if you love each other.”

Peter Will Say He Doesn’t Know Jesus

³⁶ Simon Peter asked Jesus, “Lord, where are you going?”

Jesus answered, “Where I am going you cannot follow now, but you will follow later.”

³⁷ Peter asked, “Lord, why can’t I follow you now? I am ready to die for you!”

³⁸ Jesus answered, “Are you ready to die for me? I tell you the truth, before the rooster crows, you will say three times that you don’t know me.”