¹⁸ because Christ also suffered once for sins in our place,^[a] the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you^[b] to God. He was put to death in flesh^[c] but was made alive in spirit,^{[d] 19} in which he also went and made an announcement to the spirits in prison. ²⁰ These spirits disobeyed long ago, when God’s patience was waiting in the days of Noah while the ark was being built. In this ark a few, that is, eight souls, were saved by water. ²¹ And corresponding to that, baptism now saves you—not the removal of dirt from the body but the guarantee^[e] of a good conscience before God through the resurrection of Jesus Christ. ²² He went to heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers made subject to him.

The Plot to Kill Jesus

14 It was two days before the Passover and the Festival of Unleavened Bread. The chief priests and the experts in the law were looking for some deceptive way to arrest Jesus and kill him. ² “Certainly not during the Festival,” they said, “or there will be a riot among the people.”

Mary Anoints Jesus

³ While Jesus was in Bethany, in the house of Simon the leper, as he was reclining at the table, a woman came with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, made from pure nard. She broke the alabaster jar and poured it over his head. ⁴ But there were some who were indignant and said to one another, “Why has this perfume been wasted? ⁵ Certainly this perfume could have been sold for more than three hundred denarii^[a] and given to the poor!” And they began to scold her.

⁶ But Jesus said, “Leave her alone. Why are you bothering her? She has done a beautiful thing for me. ⁷ In fact, you always have the poor with you, and whenever you want, you can do good for them. But you are not always going to have me. ⁸ She did what she could. She anointed my body beforehand for burial. ⁹ Amen I tell you: Wherever the gospel is preached in the whole world, what this woman did will also be told in memory of her.”

Judas Plans to Betray Jesus

¹⁰ Judas Iscariot, one of the Twelve, went to the chief priests in order to betray Jesus to them. ¹¹ When they heard this, they were glad and promised to give him money. So he began to look for an opportunity to betray him.

Jesus Celebrates the Passover

¹² On the first day of the Festival of Unleavened Bread, when the Passover lamb is sacrificed, his disciples asked him, “Where do you want us to go and prepare for you to eat the Passover?” ¹³ He sent two of his disciples and said to them, “Go into the city, and there a man carrying a jar of water will meet you. Follow him. ¹⁴ Wherever he enters, tell the owner of the house that the Teacher says, ‘Where is my guest room, where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?’ ¹⁵ He will show you a large upper room, furnished and ready. Make preparations for us there.”

¹⁶ His disciples left and went into the city and found things just as he had told them; and they prepared the Passover.

¹⁷ When it was evening, he arrived with the Twelve.

One Will Betray Jesus

¹⁸ While they were reclining and eating, Jesus said, “Amen I tell you: One of you will betray me, one who is eating with me.”

¹⁹ They began to be sorrowful and said to him one by one, “Surely not I?”

²⁰ He said to them, “It is one of the Twelve, one who is dipping bread with me in the dish. ²¹ Indeed, the Son of Man is going to go just as it has been written about him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been better for that man if he had not been born.”

The Lord’s Supper

²² While they were eating, Jesus took bread. When he had blessed it, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “Take it.^[b] This is my body.”

²³ Then he took the cup, gave thanks, and gave it to them. They all drank from it. ²⁴ He said to them, “This is my blood of the new testament,^[c] which is poured out for many. ²⁵ Amen I tell you: I will certainly not drink again of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.” ²⁶ After they sang a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.