Mark 14:27-16:11

New International Reader's Version

Jesus Says That the Disciples Will Turn Away

²⁷ “You will all turn away,” Jesus told the disciples. “It is written,

²⁸ But after I rise from the dead, I will go ahead of you into Galilee.”

²⁹ Peter said, “All the others may turn away. But I will not.”

³⁰ “What I’m about to tell you is true,” Jesus answered. “It will happen today, in fact tonight. Before the rooster crows twice, you yourself will say three times that you don’t know me.”

³¹ But Peter would not give in. He said, “I may have to die with you. But I will never say I don’t know you.” And all the others said the same thing.

Jesus Prays in Gethsemane

³² Jesus and his disciples went to a place called Gethsemane. Jesus said to them, “Sit here while I pray.” ³³ He took Peter, James and John along with him. He began to be very upset and troubled. ³⁴ “My soul is very sad. I feel close to death,” he said to them. “Stay here. Keep watch.”

³⁵ He went a little farther. Then he fell to the ground. He prayed that, if possible, the hour might pass by him. ³⁶ “Abba, Father,” he said, “everything is possible for you. Take this cup of suffering away from me. But let what you want be done, not what I want.”

³⁷ Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. “Simon,” he said to Peter, “are you asleep? Couldn’t you keep watch for one hour? ³⁸ Watch and pray. Then you won’t fall into sin when you are tempted. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak.”

³⁹ Once more Jesus went away and prayed the same thing. ⁴⁰ Then he came back. Again he found them sleeping. They couldn’t keep their eyes open. They did not know what to say to him.

⁴¹ Jesus returned the third time. He said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting? Enough! The hour has come. Look! The Son of Man is about to be handed over to sinners. ⁴² Get up! Let us go! Here comes the one who is handing me over to them!”

Jesus Is Arrested

⁴³ Just as Jesus was speaking, Judas appeared. He was one of the 12 disciples. A crowd was with him. They were carrying swords and clubs. The chief priests, the teachers of the law, and the elders had sent them.

⁴⁴ Judas, who was going to hand Jesus over, had arranged a signal with them. “The one I kiss is the man,” he said. “Arrest him and have the guards lead him away.” ⁴⁵ So Judas went to Jesus at once. Judas said, “Rabbi!” And he kissed Jesus. ⁴⁶ The men grabbed Jesus and arrested him. ⁴⁷ Then one of those standing nearby pulled his sword out. He struck the servant of the high priest and cut off his ear.

⁴⁸ “Am I leading a band of armed men against you?” asked Jesus. “Do you have to come out with swords and clubs to capture me? ⁴⁹ Every day I was with you. I taught in the temple courtyard, and you didn’t arrest me. But the Scriptures must come true.” ⁵⁰ Then everyone left him and ran away.

⁵¹ A young man was following Jesus. The man was wearing nothing but a piece of linen cloth. When the crowd grabbed him, ⁵² he ran away naked. He left his clothing behind.

Jesus Is Taken to the Sanhedrin

⁵³ The crowd took Jesus to the high priest. All the chief priests, the elders, and the teachers of the law came together. ⁵⁴ Not too far away, Peter followed Jesus. He went right into the courtyard of the high priest. There he sat with the guards. He warmed himself at the fire.

⁵⁵ The chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin were looking for something to use against Jesus. They wanted to put him to death. But they did not find any proof. ⁵⁶ Many witnesses lied about him. But their stories did not agree.

⁵⁷ Then some of them stood up. Here is what those false witnesses said about him. ⁵⁸ “We heard him say, ‘I will destroy this temple made by human hands. In three days I will build another temple, not made by human hands.’ ” ⁵⁹ But what they said did not agree.

⁶⁰ Then the high priest stood up in front of them. He asked Jesus, “Aren’t you going to answer? What are these charges these men are bringing against you?” ⁶¹ But Jesus remained silent. He gave no answer.

Again the high priest asked him, “Are you the Messiah? Are you the Son of the Blessed One?”

⁶² “I am,” said Jesus. “And you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One. You will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven.”

⁶³ The high priest tore his clothes. “Why do we need any more witnesses?” he asked. ⁶⁴ “You have heard him say a very evil thing against God. What do you think?”

They all found him guilty and said he must die. ⁶⁵ Then some began to spit at him. They blindfolded him. They hit him with their fists. They said, “Prophesy!” And the guards took him and beat him.

Peter Says He Does Not Know Jesus

⁶⁶ Peter was below in the courtyard. One of the high priest’s female servants came by. ⁶⁷ When she saw Peter warming himself, she looked closely at him.

“You also were with Jesus, that Nazarene,” she said.

⁶⁸ But Peter said he had not been with him. “I don’t know or understand what you’re talking about,” he said. He went out to the entrance to the courtyard.

⁶⁹ The servant saw him there. She said again to those standing around, “This fellow is one of them.” ⁷⁰ Again he said he was not.

After a little while, those standing nearby said to Peter, “You must be one of them. You are from Galilee.”

⁷¹ Then Peter began to curse. He said to them, “I don’t know this man you’re talking about!”

⁷² Right away the rooster crowed the second time. Then Peter remembered what Jesus had spoken to him. “The rooster will crow twice,” he had said. “Before it does, you will say three times that you don’t know me.” Peter broke down and cried.

Jesus Is Brought to Pilate

15 It was very early in the morning. The chief priests, with the elders, the teachers of the law, and the whole Sanhedrin, made their plans. So they tied Jesus up and led him away. Then they handed him over to Pilate.

² “Are you the king of the Jews?” asked Pilate.

“You have said so,” Jesus replied.

³ The chief priests brought many charges against him. ⁴ So Pilate asked him again, “Aren’t you going to answer? See how many things they charge you with.”

⁵ But Jesus still did not reply. Pilate was amazed.

⁶ It was the usual practice at the Passover Feast to let one prisoner go free. The people could choose the one they wanted. ⁷ A man named Barabbas was in prison. He was there with some other people who had fought against the country’s rulers. They had committed murder while they were fighting against the rulers. ⁸ The crowd came up and asked Pilate to do for them what he usually did.

⁹ “Do you want me to let the king of the Jews go free?” asked Pilate. ¹⁰ He knew that the chief priests had handed Jesus over to him because they wanted to get their own way. ¹¹ But the chief priests stirred up the crowd. So the crowd asked Pilate to let Barabbas go free instead.

¹² “Then what should I do with the one you call the king of the Jews?” Pilate asked them.

¹³ “Crucify him!” the crowd shouted.

¹⁴ “Why? What wrong has he done?” asked Pilate.

But they shouted even louder, “Crucify him!”

¹⁵ Pilate wanted to satisfy the crowd. So he let Barabbas go free. He ordered that Jesus be whipped. Then he handed him over to be nailed to a cross.

The Soldiers Make Fun of Jesus

¹⁶ The soldiers led Jesus away into the palace. It was called the Praetorium. They called together the whole company of soldiers. ¹⁷ The soldiers put a purple robe on Jesus. Then they twisted thorns together to make a crown. They placed it on his head. ¹⁸ They began to call out to him, “We honor you, king of the Jews!” ¹⁹ Again and again they hit him on the head with a stick. They spit on him. They fell on their knees and pretended to honor him. ²⁰ After they had made fun of him, they took off the purple robe. They put his own clothes back on him. Then they led him out to nail him to a cross.

Jesus Is Nailed to a Cross

²¹ A man named Simon was passing by. He was from Cyrene. He was the father of Alexander and Rufus. Simon was on his way in from the country. The soldiers forced him to carry the cross. ²² They brought Jesus to the place called Golgotha. The word Golgotha means the Place of the Skull. ²³ Then they gave him wine mixed with spices. But he did not take it. ²⁴ They nailed him to the cross. Then they divided up his clothes. They cast lots to see what each of them would get.

²⁵ It was nine o’clock in the morning when they crucified him. ²⁶ They wrote out the charge against him. It read,

The King of the Jews.

^27-28 They crucified with him two rebels against Rome. One was on his right and one was on his left. ²⁹ Those who passed by shouted at Jesus and made fun of him. They shook their heads and said, “So you are going to destroy the temple and build it again in three days? ³⁰ Then come down from the cross! Save yourself!” ³¹ In the same way the chief priests and the teachers of the law made fun of him among themselves. “He saved others,” they said. “But he can’t save himself! ³² Let this Messiah, this king of Israel, come down now from the cross! When we see that, we will believe.” Those who were being crucified with Jesus also made fun of him.

Jesus Dies

³³ At noon, darkness covered the whole land. It lasted three hours. ³⁴ At three o’clock in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” This means “My God, my God, why have you deserted me?” (Psalm 22:1)

³⁵ Some of those standing nearby heard Jesus cry out. They said, “Listen! He’s calling for Elijah.”

³⁶ Someone ran and filled a sponge with wine vinegar. He put it on a stick. He offered it to Jesus to drink. “Leave him alone,” he said. “Let’s see if Elijah comes to take him down.”

³⁷ With a loud cry, Jesus took his last breath.

³⁸ The temple curtain was torn in two from top to bottom. ³⁹ A Roman commander was standing there in front of Jesus. He saw how Jesus died. Then he said, “This man was surely the Son of God!”

⁴⁰ Not very far away, some women were watching. Mary Magdalene was among them. Mary, the mother of the younger James and of Joseph, was also there. So was Salome. ⁴¹ In Galilee these women had followed Jesus. They had taken care of his needs. Many other women were also there. They had come up with him to Jerusalem.

Jesus Is Buried

⁴² It was the day before the Sabbath. That day was called Preparation Day. As evening approached, ⁴³ Joseph went boldly to Pilate and asked for Jesus’ body. Joseph was from the town of Arimathea. He was a leading member of the Jewish Council. He was waiting for God’s kingdom. ⁴⁴ Pilate was surprised to hear that Jesus was already dead. So he called for the Roman commander. He asked him if Jesus had already died. ⁴⁵ The commander said it was true. So Pilate gave the body to Joseph. ⁴⁶ Then Joseph bought some linen cloth. He took down the body and wrapped it in the linen. He put it in a tomb cut out of rock. Then he rolled a stone against the entrance to the tomb. ⁴⁷ Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joseph saw where Jesus’ body had been placed.

Jesus Rises From the Dead

16 The Sabbath day ended. Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices. They were going to use them for Jesus’ body. ² Very early on the first day of the week, they were on their way to the tomb. It was just after sunrise. ³ They asked each other, “Who will roll the stone away from the entrance to the tomb?”

⁴ Then they looked up and saw that the stone had been rolled away. The stone was very large. ⁵ They entered the tomb. As they did, they saw a young man dressed in a white robe. He was sitting on the right side. They were alarmed.

⁶ “Don’t be alarmed,” he said. “You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. But he has risen! He is not here! See the place where they had put him. ⁷ Go! Tell his disciples and Peter, ‘He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him. It will be just as he told you.’ ”

⁸ The women were shaking and confused. They went out and ran away from the tomb. They said nothing to anyone, because they were afraid.

⁹ Jesus rose from the dead early on the first day of the week. He appeared first to Mary Magdalene. He had driven seven demons out of her. ¹⁰ She went and told those who had been with him. She found them crying. They were very sad. ¹¹ They heard that Jesus was alive and that she had seen him. But they did not believe it.