Mark 14
Living Bible
14 The Passover observance began two days later—an annual Jewish holiday when no bread made with yeast was eaten. The chief priests and other Jewish leaders were still looking for an opportunity to arrest Jesus secretly and put him to death.
2 “But we can’t do it during the Passover,” they said, “or there will be a riot.”
3 Meanwhile Jesus was in Bethany, at the home of Simon the leper; during supper a woman came in with a beautiful flask of expensive perfume. Then, breaking the seal, she poured it over his head.
4-5 Some of those at the table were indignant among themselves about this “waste,” as they called it.
“Why, she could have sold that perfume for a fortune and given the money to the poor!” they snarled.
6 But Jesus said, “Leave her alone; why berate her for doing a good thing? 7 You always have the poor among you, and they badly need your help, and you can aid them whenever you want to; but I won’t be here much longer.
8 “She has done what she could and has anointed my body ahead of time for burial. 9 And I tell you this in solemn truth, that wherever the Good News is preached throughout the world, this woman’s deed will be remembered and praised.”
10 Then Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples, went to the chief priests to arrange to betray Jesus to them.
11 When the chief priests heard why he had come, they were excited and happy and promised him a reward. So he began looking for the right time and place to betray Jesus.
12 On the first day of the Passover, the day the lambs were sacrificed, his disciples asked him where he wanted to go to eat the traditional Passover supper. 13 He sent two of them into Jerusalem to make the arrangements.
“As you are walking along,” he told them, “you will see a man coming toward you carrying a pot of water. Follow him. 14 At the house he enters, tell the man in charge, ‘Our Master sent us to see the room you have ready for us, where we will eat the Passover supper this evening!’ 15 He will take you upstairs to a large room all set up. Prepare our supper there.”
16 So the two disciples went on ahead into the city and found everything as Jesus had said, and prepared the Passover.
17 In the evening Jesus arrived with the other disciples, 18 and as they were sitting around the table eating, Jesus said, “I solemnly declare that one of you will betray me, one of you who is here eating with me.”
19 A great sadness swept over them, and one by one they asked him, “Am I the one?”
20 He replied, “It is one of you twelve eating with me now. 21 I[a] must die, as the prophets declared long ago; but, oh, the misery ahead for the man by whom I am betrayed. Oh, that he had never been born!”
22 As they were eating, Jesus took bread and asked God’s blessing on it and broke it in pieces and gave it to them and said, “Eat it—this is my body.”
23 Then he took a cup of wine and gave thanks to God for it and gave it to them; and they all drank from it. 24 And he said to them, “This is my blood, poured out for many, sealing the new agreement[b] between God and man. 25 I solemnly declare that I shall never again taste wine until the day I drink a different kind[c] in the Kingdom of God.”
26 Then they sang a hymn and went out to the Mount of Olives.
27 “All of you will desert me,” Jesus told them, “for God has declared through the prophets, ‘I will kill the Shepherd, and the sheep will scatter.’ 28 But after I am raised to life again, I will go to Galilee and meet you there.”
29 Peter said to him, “I will never desert you no matter what the others do!”
30 “Peter,” Jesus said, “before the cock crows a second time tomorrow morning you will deny me three times.”
31 “No!” Peter exploded. “Not even if I have to die with you! I’ll never deny you!” And all the others vowed the same.
32 And now they came to an olive grove called the Garden of Gethsemane, and he instructed his disciples, “Sit here, while I go and pray.”
33 He took Peter, James, and John with him and began to be filled with horror and deepest distress. 34 And he said to them, “My soul is crushed by sorrow to the point of death; stay here and watch with me.”
35 He went on a little farther and fell to the ground and prayed that if it were possible the awful hour awaiting him might never come.[d]
36 “Father, Father,” he said, “everything is possible for you. Take away this cup from me. Yet I want your will, not mine.”
37 Then he returned to the three disciples and found them asleep.
“Simon!” he said. “Asleep? Couldn’t you watch with me even one hour? 38 Watch with me and pray lest the Tempter overpower you. For though the spirit is willing enough, the body is weak.”
39 And he went away again and prayed, repeating his pleadings. 40 Again he returned to them and found them sleeping, for they were very tired. And they didn’t know what to say.
41 The third time when he returned to them he said, “Sleep on; get your rest! But no! The time for sleep has ended! Look! I am[e] betrayed into the hands of wicked men. 42 Come! Get up! We must go! Look! My betrayer is here!”
43 And immediately, while he was still speaking, Judas (one of his disciples) arrived with a mob equipped with swords and clubs, sent out by the chief priests and other Jewish leaders.
44 Judas had told them, “You will know which one to arrest when I go over and greet[f] him. Then you can take him easily.” 45 So as soon as they arrived he walked up to Jesus. “Master!” he exclaimed, and embraced him with a great show of friendliness. 46 Then the mob arrested Jesus and held him fast. 47 But someone[g] pulled a sword and slashed at the high priest’s servant, cutting off his ear.
48 Jesus asked them, “Am I some dangerous robber, that you come like this, armed to the teeth to capture me? 49 Why didn’t you arrest me in the Temple? I was there teaching every day. But these things are happening to fulfill the prophecies about me.”
50 Meanwhile, all his disciples had fled. 51-52 There was, however, a young man following along behind, clothed only in a linen nightshirt.[h] When the mob tried to grab him, he escaped, though his clothes were torn off in the process, so that he ran away completely naked.
53 Jesus was led to the high priest’s home where all of the chief priests and other Jewish leaders soon gathered. 54 Peter followed far behind and then slipped inside the gates of the high priest’s residence and crouched beside a fire among the servants.
55 Inside, the chief priests and the whole Jewish Supreme Court were trying to find something against Jesus that would be sufficient to condemn him to death. But their efforts were in vain. 56 Many false witnesses volunteered, but they contradicted each other.
57 Finally some men stood up to lie about him and said, 58 “We heard him say, ‘I will destroy this Temple made with human hands and in three days I will build another, made without human hands!’” 59 But even then they didn’t get their stories straight!
60 Then the high priest stood up before the Court and asked Jesus, “Do you refuse to answer this charge? What do you have to say for yourself?”
61 To this Jesus made no reply.
Then the high priest asked him. “Are you the Messiah, the Son of God?”
62 Jesus said, “I am, and you will see me[i] sitting at the right hand of God, and returning to earth in the clouds of heaven.”
63-64 Then the high priest tore at his clothes and said, “What more do we need? Why wait for witnesses? You have heard his blasphemy. What is your verdict?” And the vote for the death sentence was unanimous.
65 Then some of them began to spit at him, and they blindfolded him and began to hammer his face with their fists.
“Who hit you that time, you prophet?” they jeered. And even the bailiffs were using their fists on him as they led him away.
66-67 Meanwhile Peter was below in the courtyard. One of the maids who worked for the high priest noticed Peter warming himself at the fire.
She looked at him closely and then announced, “You were with Jesus, the Nazarene.”
68 Peter denied it. “I don’t know what you’re talking about!” he said, and walked over to the edge of the courtyard.
Just then, a rooster crowed.[j]
69 The maid saw him standing there and began telling the others, “There he is! There’s that disciple of Jesus!”
70 Peter denied it again.
A little later others standing around the fire began saying to Peter, “You are, too, one of them, for you are from Galilee!”
71 He began to curse and swear. “I don’t even know this fellow you are talking about,” he said.
72 And immediately the rooster crowed the second time. Suddenly Jesus’ words flashed through Peter’s mind: “Before the cock crows twice, you will deny me three times.” And he began to cry.
Footnotes
- Mark 14:21 I, literally, “The Son of Man.”
- Mark 14:24 This is my blood . . . sealing the new agreement, literally, “This is my blood of the covenant.” Some ancient manuscripts read “new covenant.”
- Mark 14:25 drink a different kind, literally, “drink it new.”
- Mark 14:35 the awful hour . . . might never come, literally, “that the hour might pass away from him.”
- Mark 14:41 I am, literally, “The Son of Man is.”
- Mark 14:44 greet, literally, “kiss,” the usual oriental greeting, even to this day.
- Mark 14:47 someone. It was Peter, compare John 18:10.
- Mark 14:51 clothed only in a linen nightshirt, literally, “wearing only a linen cloth.”
- Mark 14:62 me, literally, “the Son of Man.”
- Mark 14:68 a rooster crowed. This statement is found in only some of the manuscripts.
Mark 14
GOD’S WORD Translation
The Plot to Kill Jesus(A)
14 It was two days before the Passover and the Festival of Unleavened Bread. The chief priests and the experts in Moses’ Teachings were looking for some underhanded way to arrest Jesus and to kill him. 2 However, they said, “We shouldn’t arrest him during the festival, or else there will be a riot among the people.”
A Woman Prepares Jesus’ Body for the Tomb(B)
3 Jesus was in Bethany at the home of Simon, a man who had suffered from a skin disease. While Jesus was sitting there, a woman went to him. She had a bottle of very expensive perfume made from pure nard. She opened the bottle and poured the perfume on his head.
4 Some who were there were irritated and said to one another, “Why was the perfume wasted like this? 5 This perfume could have been sold for a high price, and the money could have been given to the poor.” So they said some very unkind things to her.
6 Jesus said, “Leave her alone! Why are you bothering her? She has done a beautiful thing for me. 7 You will always have the poor with you and can help them whenever you want. But you will not always have me with you. 8 She did what she could. She came to pour perfume on my body before it is placed in a tomb. 9 I can guarantee this truth: Wherever the Good News is spoken in the world, what she has done will also be told in memory of her.”
Judas Plans to Betray Jesus(C)
10 Judas Iscariot, one of the twelve apostles, went to the chief priests to betray Jesus. 11 They were pleased to hear what Judas had to say and promised to give him money. So he kept looking for a chance to betray Jesus.
Preparations for the Passover(D)
12 Killing the Passover lamb was customary on the first day of the Festival of Unleavened Bread. The disciples asked Jesus, “Where do you want us to prepare the Passover meal for you?”
13 He sent two of his disciples and told them, “Go into the city. You will meet a man carrying a jug of water. Follow him. 14 When he goes into a house, tell the owner that the teacher asks, ‘Where is my room where I can eat the Passover meal with my disciples?’ 15 He will take you upstairs and show you a large room. The room will be completely furnished. Get everything ready for us there.”
16 The disciples left. They went into the city and found everything as Jesus had told them. So they prepared the Passover.
17 When evening came, Jesus arrived with the twelve apostles.
Jesus Knows Who Will Betray Him(E)
18 While they were at the table eating, Jesus said, “I can guarantee this truth: One of you is going to betray me, one who is eating with me!”
19 Feeling hurt, they asked him one by one, “You don’t mean me, do you?”
20 He said to them, “It’s one of you twelve, someone dipping his hand into the bowl with me. 21 The Son of Man is going to die as the Scriptures say he will. But how horrible it will be for that person who betrays the Son of Man! It would have been better for that person if he had never been born.”
The Lord’s Supper(F)
22 While they were eating, Jesus took bread and blessed it. He broke the bread, gave it to them, and said, “Take this. This is my body.”
23 Then he took a cup, spoke a prayer of thanksgiving, and gave the cup to them. They all drank from it. 24 He said to them, “This is my blood, the blood of the promise.[a] It is poured out for many people.
25 “I can guarantee this truth: I won’t drink this wine again until that day when I drink new wine in God’s kingdom.”
26 After they sang a hymn, they went to the Mount of Olives.
Jesus Predicts Peter’s Denial(G)
27 Then Jesus said to them, “All of you will abandon me. Scripture says,
‘I will strike the shepherd,
and the sheep will be scattered.’
28 “But after I am brought back to life, I will go to Galilee ahead of you.”
29 Peter said to him, “Even if everyone else abandons you, I won’t.”
30 Jesus said to Peter, “I can guarantee this truth: Tonight, before a rooster crows twice, you will say three times that you don’t know me.”
31 But Peter said very strongly, “Even if I have to die with you, I will never say that I don’t know you.” All the other disciples said the same thing.
Jesus Prays in the Garden of Gethsemane(H)
32 Then they came to a place called Gethsemane. He said to his disciples, “Stay here while I pray.”
33 He took Peter, James, and John with him and began to feel distressed and anguished. 34 He said to them, “My anguish is so great that I feel as if I’m dying. Wait here, and stay awake.”
35 After walking a little farther, he fell to the ground and prayed that if it were possible he might not have to suffer what was ahead of him. 36 He said, “Abba! [b] Father! You can do anything. Take this cup ⌞of suffering⌟ away from me. But let your will be done rather than mine.”
37 He went back and found them asleep. He said to Peter, “Simon, are you sleeping? Couldn’t you stay awake for one hour? 38 Stay awake, and pray that you won’t be tempted. You want to do what’s right, but you’re weak.”
39 He went away again and prayed the same prayer as before. 40 He found them asleep because they couldn’t keep their eyes open. They didn’t even know what they should say to him.
41 He came back a third time and said to them, “You might as well sleep now. It’s all over. The time has come for the Son of Man to be handed over to sinners. 42 Get up! Let’s go! The one who is betraying me is near.”
Jesus Is Arrested(I)
43 Just then, while Jesus was still speaking, Judas, one of the twelve apostles, arrived. A crowd carrying swords and clubs was with him. They were from the chief priests, the experts in Moses’ Teachings, and the leaders of the people. 44 Now, the traitor had given them a signal. He said, “The one I kiss is the man you want. Arrest him, and guard him closely as you take him away.”
45 Then Judas quickly stepped up to Jesus and said, “Rabbi!” and kissed him.
46 Some men took hold of Jesus and arrested him. 47 One of those standing there pulled out his sword and cut off the ear of the chief priest’s servant.
48 Jesus asked them, “Have you come out with swords and clubs to arrest me as if I were a criminal? 49 I used to teach in the temple courtyard every day. But you didn’t arrest me then. But what the Scriptures say must come true.”
50 Then all the disciples abandoned him and ran away.
51 A certain young man was following Jesus. He had nothing on but a linen sheet. They tried to arrest him, 52 but he left the linen sheet behind and ran away naked.
The Trial in Front of the Jewish Council(J)
53 The men took Jesus to the chief priest. All the chief priests, the leaders, and the experts in Moses’ Teachings had gathered together. 54 Peter followed him at a distance and went into the chief priest’s courtyard. He sat with the guards and warmed himself facing the glow of a fire.
55 The chief priests and the whole Jewish council were searching for some testimony against Jesus in order to execute him. But they couldn’t find any. 56 Many gave false testimony against him, but their statements did not agree.
57 Then some men stood up and gave false testimony against him. They said, 58 “We heard him say, ‘I’ll tear down this temple made by humans, and in three days I’ll build another temple, one not made by human hands.’ ” 59 But their testimony did not agree even on this point.
60 So the chief priest stood up in the center and asked Jesus, “Don’t you have any answer to what these men testify against you?”
61 But he was silent.
The chief priest asked him again, “Are you the Messiah, the Son of the Blessed One?”
62 Jesus answered, “Yes, I am, and you will see the Son of Man in the honored position—the one next to God the Father on the heavenly throne. He will be coming with the clouds of heaven.”
63 The chief priest tore his clothes in horror and said, “Why do we need any more witnesses? 64 You’ve heard him dishonor God! What’s your verdict?”
All of them condemned him with the death sentence. 65 Some of them began to spit on him. They covered his face and hit him with their fists. They said to him, “Prophesy!” Even the guards took him and slapped him.
Peter Denies Jesus(K)
66 Peter was in the courtyard. One of the chief priest’s female servants 67 saw Peter warming himself. She looked at him and said, “You, too, were with Jesus from Nazareth!”
68 But Peter denied it by saying, “I don’t know him, and I don’t understand what you’re talking about.”
He went to the entrance. Then a rooster crowed.[c]
69 The servant saw him. Once again she said to those who were standing around, “This man is one of them!” 70 Peter again denied it.
After a little while the men standing there said to Peter again, “It’s obvious you’re one of them. You’re a Galilean!”
71 Then Peter began to curse and swear with an oath, “I don’t know this man you’re talking about!” 72 Just then a rooster crowed a second time. Peter remembered that Jesus said to him, “Before a rooster crows twice, you will say three times that you don’t know me.” Then Peter began to cry very hard.
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