The Plot to Kill Jesus(A)

14 After (B)two days it was the Passover and (C)the Feast of Unleavened Bread. And the chief priests and the scribes sought how they might take Him by [a]trickery and put Him to death. But they said, “Not during the feast, lest there be an uproar of the people.”

The Anointing at Bethany(D)

(E)And being in Bethany at the house of Simon the leper, as He sat at the table, a woman came having an alabaster flask of very costly [b]oil of spikenard. Then she broke the flask and poured it on His head. But there were some who were indignant among themselves, and said, “Why was this fragrant oil wasted? For it might have been sold for more than three hundred (F)denarii and given to the poor.” And they (G)criticized[c] her sharply.

But Jesus said, “Let her alone. Why do you trouble her? She has done a good work for Me. (H)For you have the poor with you always, and whenever you wish you may do them good; (I)but Me you do not have always. She has done what she could. She has come beforehand to anoint My body for burial. Assuredly, I say to you, wherever this gospel is (J)preached in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be told as a memorial to her.”

Judas Agrees to Betray Jesus(K)

10 (L)Then Judas Iscariot, one of the twelve, went to the chief priests to betray Him to them. 11 And when they heard it, they were glad, and promised to give him money. So he sought how he might conveniently betray Him.

Jesus Celebrates the Passover with His Disciples(M)

12 (N)Now on the first day of Unleavened Bread, when they [d]killed the Passover lamb, His disciples said to Him, “Where do You want us to go and prepare, that You may eat the Passover?”

13 And He sent out two of His disciples and said to them, “Go into the city, and a man will meet you carrying a pitcher of water; follow him. 14 Wherever he goes in, say to the master of the house, ‘The Teacher says, “Where is the guest room in which I may eat the Passover with My disciples?” ’ 15 Then he will show you a large upper room, furnished and prepared; there make ready for us.”

16 So His disciples went out, and came into the city, and found it just as He had said to them; and they prepared the Passover.

17 (O)In the evening He came with the twelve. 18 Now as they sat and ate, Jesus said, “Assuredly, I say to you, (P)one of you who eats with Me will betray Me.”

19 And they began to be sorrowful, and to say to Him one by one, “Is it I?” [e]And another said,Is it I?”

20 He answered and said to them, It is one of the twelve, who dips with Me in the dish. 21 (Q)The Son of Man indeed goes just as it is written of Him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been good for that man if he had never been born.”

Jesus Institutes the Lord’s Supper(R)

22 (S)And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them and said, “Take, [f]eat; this is My (T)body.”

23 Then He took the cup, and when He had given thanks He gave it to them, and they all drank from it. 24 And He said to them, “This is My blood of the [g]new covenant, which is shed for many. 25 Assuredly, I say to you, I will no longer drink of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.”

26 (U)And when they had sung [h]a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.

Jesus Predicts Peter’s Denial(V)

27 (W)Then Jesus said to them, “All of you will be made to stumble [i]because of Me this night, for it is written:

(X)‘I will strike the Shepherd,
And the sheep will be scattered.’

28 “But (Y)after I have been raised, I will go before you to Galilee.”

29 (Z)Peter said to Him, “Even if all are made to [j]stumble, yet I will not be.

30 Jesus said to him, “Assuredly, I say to you that today, even this night, before the rooster crows twice, you will deny Me three times.”

31 But he spoke more vehemently, “If I have to die with You, I will not deny You!”

And they all said likewise.

The Prayer in the Garden(AA)

32 (AB)Then they came to a place which was named Gethsemane; and He said to His disciples, “Sit here while I pray.” 33 And He (AC)took Peter, James, and John with Him, and He began to be troubled and deeply distressed. 34 Then He said to them, (AD)“My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death. Stay here and watch.”

35 He went a little farther, and fell on the ground, and prayed that if it were possible, the hour might pass from Him. 36 And He said, (AE)“Abba, Father, (AF)all things are possible for You. Take this cup away from Me; (AG)nevertheless, not what I will, but what You will.

37 Then He came and found them sleeping, and said to Peter, “Simon, are you sleeping? Could you not watch one hour? 38 (AH)Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. (AI)The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

39 Again He went away and prayed, and spoke the same words. 40 And when He returned, He found them asleep again, for their eyes were heavy; and they did not know what to answer Him.

41 Then He came the third time and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting? It is enough! (AJ)The hour has come; behold, the Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of sinners. 42 (AK)Rise, let us be going. See, My betrayer is at hand.”

Betrayal and Arrest in Gethsemane(AL)

43 (AM)And immediately, while He was still speaking, Judas, one of the twelve, with a great multitude with swords and clubs, came from the chief priests and the scribes and the elders. 44 Now His betrayer had given them a signal, saying, “Whomever I (AN)kiss, He is the One; seize Him and lead Him away safely.”

45 As soon as he had come, immediately he went up to Him and said to Him, “Rabbi, Rabbi!” and kissed Him.

46 Then they laid their hands on Him and took Him. 47 And one of those who stood by drew his sword and struck the servant of the high priest, and cut off his ear.

48 (AO)Then Jesus answered and said to them, “Have you come out, as against a robber, with swords and clubs to take Me? 49 I was daily with you in the temple (AP)teaching, and you did not seize Me. But (AQ)the Scriptures must be fulfilled.”

50 (AR)Then they all forsook Him and fled.

A Young Man Flees Naked

51 Now a certain young man followed Him, having a linen cloth thrown around his naked body. And the young men laid hold of him, 52 and he left the linen cloth and fled from them naked.

Jesus Faces the Sanhedrin(AS)

53 (AT)And they led Jesus away to the high priest; and with him were (AU)assembled all the (AV)chief priests, the elders, and the scribes. 54 But (AW)Peter followed Him at a distance, right into the courtyard of the high priest. And he sat with the servants and warmed himself at the fire.

55 (AX)Now the chief priests and all the council sought testimony against Jesus to put Him to death, but found none. 56 For many bore (AY)false witness against Him, but their testimonies [k]did not agree.

57 Then some rose up and bore false witness against Him, saying, 58 “We heard Him say, (AZ)‘I will destroy this temple made with hands, and within three days I will build another made without hands.’ ” 59 But not even then did their testimony agree.

60 (BA)And the high priest stood up in the midst and asked Jesus, saying, “Do You answer nothing? What is it these men testify against You?” 61 But (BB)He kept silent and answered nothing.

(BC)Again the high priest asked Him, saying to Him, “Are You the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?”

62 Jesus said, “I am. (BD)And you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven.”

63 Then the high priest tore his clothes and said, “What further need do we have of witnesses? 64 You have heard the (BE)blasphemy! What do you think?”

And they all condemned Him to be deserving of (BF)death.

65 Then some began to (BG)spit on Him, and to blindfold Him, and to beat Him, and to say to Him, “Prophesy!” And the officers [l]struck Him with the palms of their hands.

Peter Denies Jesus, and Weeps(BH)

66 (BI)Now as Peter was below in the courtyard, one of the servant girls of the high priest came. 67 And when she saw Peter warming himself, she looked at him and said, “You also were with (BJ)Jesus of Nazareth.”

68 But he denied it, saying, “I neither know nor understand what you are saying.” And he went out on the porch, and a rooster crowed.

69 (BK)And the servant girl saw him again, and began to say to those who stood by, “This is one of them.” 70 But he denied it again.

(BL)And a little later those who stood by said to Peter again, “Surely you are one of them; (BM)for you are a Galilean, [m]and your [n]speech shows it.

71 Then he began to curse and swear, “I do not know this Man of whom you speak!”

72 (BN)A second time the rooster crowed. Then Peter called to mind the word that Jesus had said to him, “Before the rooster crows twice, you will deny Me three times.” And when he thought about it, he wept.

Footnotes

  1. Mark 14:1 deception
  2. Mark 14:3 Perfume of pure nard
  3. Mark 14:5 scolded
  4. Mark 14:12 sacrificed
  5. Mark 14:19 NU omits the rest of v. 19.
  6. Mark 14:22 NU omits eat
  7. Mark 14:24 NU omits new
  8. Mark 14:26 Or hymns
  9. Mark 14:27 NU omits because of Me this night
  10. Mark 14:29 fall away
  11. Mark 14:56 were not consistent
  12. Mark 14:65 NU received Him with slaps
  13. Mark 14:70 NU omits the rest of v. 70.
  14. Mark 14:70 accent

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.

“But we can’t do it during the Passover,” they said, “or there will be a riot.”

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.

But Jesus said, “Leave her alone; why berate her for doing a good thing? 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.

“She has done what she could and has anointed my body ahead of time for burial. 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

  1. Mark 14:21 I, literally, “The Son of Man.”
  2. 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.”
  3. Mark 14:25 drink a different kind, literally, “drink it new.”
  4. Mark 14:35 the awful hour . . . might never come, literally, “that the hour might pass away from him.”
  5. Mark 14:41 I am, literally, “The Son of Man is.”
  6. Mark 14:44 greet, literally, “kiss,” the usual oriental greeting, even to this day.
  7. Mark 14:47 someone. It was Peter, compare John 18:10.
  8. Mark 14:51 clothed only in a linen nightshirt, literally, “wearing only a linen cloth.”
  9. Mark 14:62 me, literally, “the Son of Man.”
  10. Mark 14:68 a rooster crowed. This statement is found in only some of the manuscripts.