The Lord’s Supper^(A)

¹⁴ The time came for them to eat the Passover meal. Jesus and the apostles were together at the table. ¹⁵ Jesus said to them, “I wanted very much to eat this Passover meal with you before I die. ¹⁶ I will never eat another Passover meal until it is given its full meaning in God’s kingdom.”

¹⁷ Then Jesus took a cup of wine. He gave thanks to God for it and said, “Take this cup and give it to everyone here. ¹⁸ I will never drink wine again until God’s kingdom comes.”

¹⁹ Then he took some bread and thanked God for it. He broke off some pieces, gave them to the apostles and said, “This bread is my body that I am giving for you. Eat this to remember me.” ²⁰ In the same way, after supper, Jesus took the cup of wine and said, “This wine represents the new agreement from God to his people. It will begin when my blood is poured out for you.”^[a]

Jesus Prays Alone^(A)

^39-40 Jesus left the city and went to the Mount of Olives. His followers went with him. (He went there often.) He said to his followers, “Pray for strength against temptation.”

⁴¹ Then Jesus went about 50 steps away from them. He knelt down and prayed, ⁴² “Father, if you are willing, please don’t make me drink from this cup.^[a] But do what you want, not what I want.” ⁴³ Then an angel from heaven came to help him. ⁴⁴ Jesus was full of pain; he struggled hard in prayer. Sweat dripped from his face like drops of blood falling to the ground.^{[b] 45} When he finished praying, he went to his followers. He found them asleep, worn out from their grieving. ⁴⁶ Jesus said to them, “Why are you sleeping? Get up and pray for strength against temptation.”

Jesus Is Arrested^(B)

⁴⁷ While Jesus was speaking, a crowd came up. It was led by Judas, one of the twelve apostles. He came over to Jesus to kiss him.

⁴⁸ But Jesus said to him, “Judas, are you using the kiss of friendship to hand over the Son of Man to his enemies?” ⁴⁹ The followers of Jesus were standing there too. They saw what was happening and said to Jesus, “Lord, should we use our swords?” ⁵⁰ And one of them did use his sword. He cut off the right ear of the servant of the high priest.

⁵¹ Jesus said, “Stop!” Then he touched the servant’s ear and healed him.

⁵² Jesus spoke to the group that came to arrest him. They were the leading priests, the older Jewish leaders, and the Jewish soldiers. He said to them, “Why did you come out here with swords and clubs? Do you think I am a criminal? ⁵³ I was with you every day in the Temple area. Why didn’t you try to arrest me there? But this is your time—the time when darkness rules.”

³² There were also two criminals led out with Jesus to be killed. ³³ They were led to a place called “The Skull.” There the soldiers nailed Jesus to the cross. They also nailed the criminals to crosses beside Jesus—one on the right and the other on the left.

³⁴ Jesus said, “Father, forgive them. They don’t know what they are doing.”^[a]

The soldiers threw dice to divide Jesus’ clothes between them. ³⁵ The people stood there watching everything. The Jewish leaders laughed at Jesus. They said, “If he is God’s Chosen One, the Messiah, then let him save himself. He saved others, didn’t he?”

Jesus Dies^(A)

⁴⁴ It was about noon, but it turned dark throughout the land until three o’clock in the afternoon, ⁴⁵ because the sun stopped shining. The curtain in the Temple was torn into two pieces. ⁴⁶ Jesus shouted, “Father, I put my life in your hands!”^[a] After Jesus said this, he died.

⁴⁷ The army officer there saw what happened. He praised God, saying, “I know this man was a good man!”

⁴⁸ Many people had come out of the city to see all this. When they saw it, they felt very sorry and left. ⁴⁹ The people who were close friends of Jesus were there. Also, there were some women who had followed Jesus from Galilee. They all stood far away from the cross and watched these things.

Jesus Is Buried^(B)

^50-51 A man named Joseph was there from the Jewish town of Arimathea. He was a good man, who lived the way God wanted. He was waiting for God’s kingdom to come. Joseph was a member of the Jewish council. But he did not agree when the other Jewish leaders decided to kill Jesus. ⁵² He went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. ⁵³ He took the body down from the cross and wrapped it in cloth. Then he put it in a tomb that was dug in a wall of rock. This tomb had never been used before. ⁵⁴ It was late on Preparation day. When the sun went down, the Sabbath day would begin.

⁵⁵ The women who had come from Galilee with Jesus followed Joseph. They saw the tomb. Inside they saw where he put Jesus’ body. ⁵⁶ Then they left to prepare some sweet-smelling spices to put on the body.

On the Sabbath day they rested, as commanded in the Law of Moses.

News That Jesus Has Risen From Death^(A)

24 Very early Sunday morning, the women came to the tomb where Jesus’ body was laid. They brought the sweet-smelling spices they had prepared. ² They saw that the heavy stone that covered the entrance had been rolled away. ³ They went in, but they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. ⁴ They did not understand this. While they were wondering about it, two men in shining clothes stood beside them. ⁵ The women were very afraid. They bowed down with their faces to the ground. The men said to them, “Why are you looking for a living person here? This is a place for dead people. ⁶ Jesus is not here. He has risen from death. Do you remember what he said in Galilee? ⁷ He said the Son of Man must be handed over to the control of sinful men, be killed on a cross, and rise from death on the third day.” ⁸ Then the women remembered what Jesus had said.