Mark 14:32-65

International Children’s Bible

Jesus Prays Alone

³² Jesus and his followers went to a place called Gethsemane. He said to his followers, “Sit here while I pray.” ³³ Jesus told Peter, James, and John to come with him. Then Jesus began to be very sad and troubled. ³⁴ He said to them, “I am full of sorrow. My heart is breaking with sadness. Stay here and watch.”

³⁵ Jesus walked a little farther away from them. Then he fell on the ground and prayed. He prayed that, if possible, he would not have this time of suffering. ³⁶ He prayed, “Abba,^[a] Father! You can do all things. Let me not have this cup^[b] of suffering. But do what you want, not what I want.”

³⁷ Then Jesus went back to his followers. He found them asleep. He said to Peter, “Simon, why are you sleeping? You could not stay awake with me for one hour? ³⁸ Stay awake and pray that you will not be tempted. Your spirit wants to do what is right, but your body is weak.”

³⁹ Again Jesus went away and prayed the same thing. ⁴⁰ Then he went back to the followers. Again he found them asleep because their eyes were very heavy. And they did not know what to say to Jesus.

⁴¹ After Jesus prayed a third time, he went back to his followers. He said to them, “You are still sleeping and resting? That’s enough! The time has come for the Son of Man to be given to sinful people. ⁴² Get up! We must go. Here comes the man who has turned against me.”

Jesus Is Arrested

⁴³ While Jesus was still speaking, Judas came up. Judas was 1 of the 12 followers. He had many people with him. They were sent from the leading priests, the teachers of the law, and the Jewish elders. Those with Judas had swords and clubs.

⁴⁴ Judas had planned a signal for them. He had said, “The man I kiss is Jesus. Arrest him and guard him while you lead him away.” ⁴⁵ So Judas went to Jesus and said, “Teacher!” and kissed him. ⁴⁶ Then the men grabbed Jesus and arrested him. ⁴⁷ One of the followers standing near drew his sword. He struck the servant of the high priest with the sword and cut off his ear.

⁴⁸ Then Jesus said, “You came to get me with swords and clubs as if I were a criminal. ⁴⁹ Every day I was with you teaching in the Temple. You did not arrest me there. But all these things have happened to make the Scriptures come true.” ⁵⁰ Then all of Jesus’ followers left him and ran away.

⁵¹ A young man, wearing only a linen cloth, was following Jesus. The people also grabbed him. ⁵² But the cloth he was wearing came off, and he ran away naked.

Jesus Before the Leaders

⁵³ The people who arrested Jesus led him to the house of the high priest. All the leading priests, the Jewish elders, and the teachers of the law were gathered there. ⁵⁴ Peter followed far behind and entered the courtyard of the high priest’s house. There he sat with the guards, warming himself by the fire.

⁵⁵ The leading priests and all the Jewish council tried to find something that Jesus had done wrong so they could kill him. But the council could find no proof against him. ⁵⁶ Many people came and told false things about him. But all said different things—none of them agreed.

⁵⁷ Then some men stood up and lied about Jesus. They said, ⁵⁸ “We heard this man say, ‘I will destroy this Temple that men made. And three days later, I will build another Temple—a Temple not made by men.’” ⁵⁹ But even the things these men said did not agree.

⁶⁰ Then the high priest stood before them and said to Jesus, “Aren’t you going to answer the charges these men bring against you?” ⁶¹ But Jesus said nothing. He did not answer.

The high priest asked Jesus another question: “Are you the Christ, the Son of the blessed God?”

⁶² Jesus answered, “I am. And in the future you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right side of the Powerful One. And you will see the Son of Man coming on clouds in the sky.”

⁶³ When the high priest heard this, he was very angry. He tore his clothes and said, “We don’t need any more witnesses! ⁶⁴ You all heard him say these things against God. What do you think?”

They all said that Jesus was guilty and should be killed. ⁶⁵ Some of the people there spit at Jesus. They covered his eyes and hit him with their fists. They said, “Prove that you are a prophet!” Then the guards led Jesus away and beat him.