The Beatitudes^(A)

5 And seeing the multitudes, ^(B)He went up on a mountain, and when He was seated His disciples came to Him. ² Then He opened His mouth and ^(C)taught them, saying:

^11 (N)Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of ^(O)evil against you falsely for My sake. ^12 (P)Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for ^(Q)so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Believers Are Salt and Light^(R)

¹³ “You are the salt of the earth; ^(S)but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men.

^14 (T)“You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. ¹⁵ Nor do they ^(U)light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. ¹⁶ Let your light so shine before men, ^(V)that they may see your good works and ^(W)glorify your Father in heaven.

Christ Fulfills the Law

^17 (X)“Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. ¹⁸ For assuredly, I say to you, ^(Y)till heaven and earth pass away, one ^[b]jot or one ^[c]tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled. ^19 (Z)Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. ²⁰ For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds ^(AA)the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.

Murder Begins in the Heart^(AB)

²¹ “You have heard that it was said to those ^[d]of old, ^(AC)‘You shall not murder, and whoever murders will be in danger of the judgment.’ ²² But I say to you that ^(AD)whoever is angry with his brother ^[e]without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment. And whoever says to his brother, ^(AE)‘Raca!’^[f] shall be in danger of the council. But whoever says, ^[g]‘You fool!’ shall be in danger of ^[h]hell fire. ²³ Therefore ^(AF)if you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, ^24 (AG)leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift. ^25 (AH)Agree with your adversary quickly, ^(AI)while you are on the way with him, lest your adversary deliver you to the judge, the judge hand you over to the officer, and you be thrown into prison. ²⁶ Assuredly, I say to you, you will by no means get out of there till you have paid the last penny.

Adultery in the Heart

²⁷ “You have heard that it was said ^[i]to those of old, ^(AJ)‘You shall not commit adultery.’ ²⁸ But I say to you that whoever ^(AK)looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. ^29 (AL)If your right eye causes you to ^[j]sin, ^(AM)pluck it out and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell. ³⁰ And if your right hand causes you to ^[k]sin, cut it off and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell.

Marriage Is Sacred and Binding^(AN)

³¹ “Furthermore it has been said, ^(AO)‘Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.’ ³² But I say to you that ^(AP)whoever divorces his wife for any reason except ^[l]sexual immorality causes her to commit adultery; and whoever marries a woman who is divorced commits adultery.

Jesus Forbids Oaths

³³ “Again you have heard that ^(AQ)it was said to those of ^[m]old, ^(AR)‘You shall not swear falsely, but ^(AS)shall perform your oaths to the Lord.’ ³⁴ But I say to you, ^(AT)do not swear at all: neither by heaven, for it is ^(AU)God’s throne; ³⁵ nor by the earth, for it is His footstool; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of ^(AV)the great King. ³⁶ Nor shall you swear by your head, because you cannot make one hair white or black. ^37 (AW)But let ^[n]your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No.’ For whatever is more than these is from the evil one.

Go the Second Mile^(AX)

³⁸ “You have heard that it was said, ^(AY)‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ ^39 (AZ)But I tell you not to resist an evil person. ^(BA)But whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also. ⁴⁰ If anyone wants to sue you and take away your tunic, let him have your cloak also. ⁴¹ And whoever ^(BB)compels you to go one mile, go with him two. ⁴² Give to him who asks you, and ^(BC)from him who wants to borrow from you do not turn away.

Love Your Enemies^(BD)

⁴³ “You have heard that it was said, ^(BE)‘You shall love your neighbor ^(BF)and hate your enemy.’ ^44 [o]But I say to you, ^(BG)love your enemies, bless those who curse you, ^(BH)do good to those who hate you, and pray ^(BI)for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, ⁴⁵ that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for ^(BJ)He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. ^46 (BK)For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? ⁴⁷ And if you greet your ^[p]brethren only, what do you do more than others? Do not even the ^[q]tax collectors do so? ^48 (BL)Therefore you shall be perfect, just ^(BM)as your Father in heaven is perfect.

Jesus Handed Over to Pontius Pilate^(A)

27 When morning came, ^(B)all the chief priests and elders of the people plotted against Jesus to put Him to death. ² And when they had bound Him, they led Him away and ^(C)delivered Him to ^[a]Pontius Pilate the governor.

Judas Hangs Himself^(D)

^3 (E)Then Judas, His betrayer, seeing that He had been condemned, was remorseful and brought back the thirty ^(F)pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders, ⁴ saying, “I have sinned by betraying innocent blood.”

And they said, “What is that to us? You see to it!”

⁵ Then he threw down the pieces of silver in the temple and ^(G)departed, and went and hanged himself.

⁶ But the chief priests took the silver pieces and said, “It is not lawful to put them into the treasury, because they are the price of blood.” ⁷ And they consulted together and bought with them the potter’s field, to bury strangers in. ⁸ Therefore that field has been called ^(H)the Field of Blood to this day.

⁹ Then was fulfilled what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet, saying, ^(I)“And they took the thirty pieces of silver, the value of Him who was priced, whom they of the children of Israel priced, ¹⁰ and ^(J)gave them for the potter’s field, as the Lord directed me.”

Jesus Faces Pilate^(K)

¹¹ Now Jesus stood before the governor. ^(L)And the governor asked Him, saying, “Are You the King of the Jews?”

Jesus said to him, ^(M)“It is as you say.” ¹² And while He was being accused by the chief priests and elders, ^(N)He answered nothing.

¹³ Then Pilate said to Him, ^(O)“Do You not hear how many things they testify against You?” ¹⁴ But He answered him not one word, so that the governor marveled greatly.

Taking the Place of Barabbas^(P)

^15 (Q)Now at the feast the governor was accustomed to releasing to the multitude one prisoner whom they wished. ¹⁶ And at that time they had a notorious prisoner called ^[b]Barabbas. ¹⁷ Therefore, when they had gathered together, Pilate said to them, “Whom do you want me to release to you? Barabbas, or Jesus who is called Christ?” ¹⁸ For he knew that they had handed Him over because of ^(R)envy.

¹⁹ While he was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent to him, saying, “Have nothing to do with that just Man, for I have suffered many things today in a dream because of Him.”

^20 (S)But the chief priests and elders persuaded the multitudes that they should ask for Barabbas and destroy Jesus. ²¹ The governor answered and said to them, “Which of the two do you want me to release to you?”

They said, ^(T)“Barabbas!”

²² Pilate said to them, “What then shall I do with Jesus who is called Christ?”

They all said to him, “Let Him be crucified!”

²³ Then the governor said, ^(U)“Why, what evil has He done?”

But they cried out all the more, saying, “Let Him be crucified!”

²⁴ When Pilate saw that he could not prevail at all, but rather that a ^[c]tumult was rising, he ^(V)took water and washed his hands before the multitude, saying, “I am innocent of the blood of this ^[d]just Person. You see to it.”

²⁵ And all the people answered and said, ^(W)“His blood be on us and on our children.”

²⁶ Then he released Barabbas to them; and when ^(X)he had ^[e]scourged Jesus, he delivered Him to be crucified.

The Soldiers Mock Jesus^(Y)

^27 (Z)Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the ^[f]Praetorium and gathered the whole ^[g]garrison around Him. ²⁸ And they ^(AA)stripped Him and ^(AB)put a scarlet robe on Him. ^29 (AC)When they had ^[h]twisted a crown of thorns, they put it on His head, and a reed in His right hand. And they bowed the knee before Him and mocked Him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” ³⁰ Then ^(AD)they spat on Him, and took the reed and struck Him on the head. ³¹ And when they had mocked Him, they took the robe off Him, put His own clothes on Him, ^(AE)and led Him away to be crucified.

The King on a Cross^(AF)

^32 (AG)Now as they came out, ^(AH)they found a man of Cyrene, Simon by name. Him they compelled to bear His cross. ^33 (AI)And when they had come to a place called Golgotha, that is to say, Place of a Skull, ^34 (AJ)they gave Him ^[i]sour wine mingled with gall to drink. But when He had tasted it, He would not drink.

^35 (AK)Then they crucified Him, and divided His garments, casting lots, ^[j]that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet:

^36 (AM)Sitting down, they kept watch over Him there. ³⁷ And they ^(AN)put up over His head the accusation written against Him:

THIS IS JESUS THE KING OF THE JEWS.

^38 (AO)Then two robbers were crucified with Him, one on the right and another on the left.

³⁹ And ^(AP)those who passed by blasphemed Him, wagging their heads ⁴⁰ and saying, ^(AQ)“You who destroy the temple and build it in three days, save Yourself! ^(AR)If You are the Son of God, come down from the cross.”

⁴¹ Likewise the chief priests also, mocking with the ^[k]scribes and elders, said, ⁴² “He ^(AS)saved others; Himself He cannot save. ^[l]If He is the King of Israel, let Him now come down from the cross, and we will believe ^[m]Him. ^43 (AT)He trusted in God; let Him deliver Him now if He will have Him; for He said, ‘I am the Son of God.’ ”

^44 (AU)Even the robbers who were crucified with Him reviled Him with the same thing.

Jesus Dies on the Cross^(AV)

^45 (AW)Now from the sixth hour until the ninth hour there was darkness over all the land. ⁴⁶ And about the ninth hour ^(AX)Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?” that is, ^(AY)“My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”

⁴⁷ Some of those who stood there, when they heard that, said, “This Man is calling for Elijah!” ⁴⁸ Immediately one of them ran and took a sponge, ^(AZ)filled it with sour wine and put it on a reed, and offered it to Him to drink.

⁴⁹ The rest said, “Let Him alone; let us see if Elijah will come to save Him.”

⁵⁰ And Jesus ^(BA)cried out again with a loud voice, and ^(BB)yielded up His spirit.

⁵¹ Then, behold, ^(BC)the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth quaked, and the rocks were split, ⁵² and the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised; ⁵³ and coming out of the graves after His resurrection, they went into the holy city and appeared to many.

^54 (BD)So when the centurion and those with him, who were guarding Jesus, saw the earthquake and the things that had happened, they feared greatly, saying, ^(BE)“Truly this was the Son of God!”

⁵⁵ And many women ^(BF)who followed Jesus from Galilee, ministering to Him, were there looking on from afar, ^56 (BG)among whom were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and ^[n]Joses, and the mother of Zebedee’s sons.

Jesus Buried in Joseph’s Tomb^(BH)

⁵⁷ Now ^(BI)when evening had come, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who himself had also become a disciple of Jesus. ⁵⁸ This man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then Pilate commanded the body to be given to him. ⁵⁹ When Joseph had taken the body, he wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, ⁶⁰ and ^(BJ)laid it in his new tomb which he had hewn out of the rock; and he rolled a large stone against the door of the tomb, and departed. ⁶¹ And Mary Magdalene was there, and the other Mary, sitting ^[o]opposite the tomb.

Pilate Sets a Guard

⁶² On the next day, which followed the Day of Preparation, the chief priests and Pharisees gathered together to Pilate, ⁶³ saying, “Sir, we remember, while He was still alive, how that deceiver said, ^(BK)‘After three days I will rise.’ ⁶⁴ Therefore command that the tomb be made secure until the third day, lest His disciples come ^[p]by night and steal Him away, and say to the people, ‘He has risen from the dead.’ So the last deception will be worse than the first.”

⁶⁵ Pilate said to them, “You have a guard; go your way, make it as secure as you know how.” ⁶⁶ So they went and made the tomb secure, ^(BL)sealing the stone and setting the guard.

He Is Risen^(BM)

28 Now ^(BN)after the Sabbath, as the first day of the week began to dawn, Mary Magdalene ^(BO)and the other Mary came to see the tomb. ² And behold, there was a great earthquake; for ^(BP)an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone ^[q]from the door, and sat on it. ^3 (BQ)His countenance was like lightning, and his clothing as white as snow. ⁴ And the guards shook for fear of him, and became like ^(BR)dead men.

⁵ But the angel answered and said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. ⁶ He is not here; for He is risen, ^(BS)as He said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay. ⁷ And go quickly and tell His disciples that He is risen from the dead, and indeed ^(BT)He is going before you into Galilee; there you will see Him. Behold, I have told you.”

⁸ So they went out quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to bring His disciples word.

The Women Worship the Risen Lord

⁹ And ^[r]as they went to tell His disciples, behold, ^(BU)Jesus met them, saying, “Rejoice!” So they came and held Him by the feet and worshiped Him. ¹⁰ Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid. Go and tell ^(BV)My brethren to go to Galilee, and there they will see Me.”

The Soldiers Are Bribed

¹¹ Now while they were going, behold, some of the guard came into the city and reported to the chief priests all the things that had happened. ¹² When they had assembled with the elders and consulted together, they gave a large sum of money to the soldiers, ¹³ saying, “Tell them, ‘His disciples came at night and stole Him away while we slept.’ ¹⁴ And if this comes to the governor’s ears, we will appease him and make you secure.” ¹⁵ So they took the money and did as they were instructed; and this saying is commonly reported among the Jews until this day.

The Great Commission^(BW)

¹⁶ Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, to the mountain ^(BX)which Jesus had appointed for them. ¹⁷ When they saw Him, they worshiped Him; but some ^(BY)doubted.

¹⁸ And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, ^(BZ)“All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. ^19 (CA)Go ^[s]therefore and ^(CB)make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ^20 (CC)teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am ^(CD)with you always, even to the end of the age.” ^[t]Amen.