Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Jesus rides into Jerusalem
21 When they came near to Jerusalem, and arrived at Bethphage on the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two of the disciples on ahead.
2 “Go into the village over there,” he said, “and at once you’ll find a donkey tied up, and a foal beside it. Untie them and bring them to me. 3 And if anyone says anything to you, say, ‘The master needs them, and he’ll send them back straight away.’ ”
He sent them off at once.
4 This happened so that the prophet’s words might be fulfilled:
5 Tell this to Zion’s daughter:
look now! Here comes your king;
he’s humble, mounted on an ass,
yes, on a foal, its young.
6 So the disciples went off and did as Jesus had told them. 7 They brought the donkey and its foal, and put their cloaks on them, and Jesus sat on them.
8 The huge crowd spread their cloaks on the road. Others cut branches from the trees and scattered them on the road. 9 The crowds who went on ahead of him, and those who were following behind, shouted out,
Hosanna now to David’s Son!
God’s blessing on the coming one—
the one who comes in the Lord’s own name!
Hosanna in the highest!
10 When they came into Jerusalem, the whole city was gripped with excitement.
“Who is this?” they were saying.
11 “This is the prophet, Jesus,” replied the crowds, “from Nazareth in Galilee!”
The mind of the Messiah
5 This is how you should think among yourselves—with the mind that you have because you belong to the Messiah, Jesus:
6 Who, though in God’s form, did not
regard his equality with God
as something he ought to exploit.
7 Instead, he emptied himself,
and received the form of a slave,
being born in the likeness of humans.
And then, having human appearance,
8 he humbled himself, and became
obedient even to death,
yes, even the death of the cross.
9 And so God has greatly exalted him,
and to him in his favor has given
the name which is over all names:
10 That now at the name of Jesus
every knee within heaven shall bow—
on earth, too, and under the earth;
11 And every tongue shall confess
that Jesus, Messiah, is Lord,
to the glory of God, the father.
Passover and betrayal
14 Then one of the Twelve, called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests.
15 “What will you give me,” he said, “to hand him over to you?”
They settled the deal with him at thirty pieces of silver. 16 From that moment on, he was watching for an opportunity to hand him over.
17 On the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the disciples said to Jesus, “Where do you want us to get the Passover ready for you to eat it?”
18 “Go into the city,” he said, “to a certain man, and say to him, ‘The teacher says, “My time is very close. I’m going to keep the Passover at your house with my disciples.” ’ ”
19 So the disciples did as Jesus had told them, and got the Passover ready.
20 When evening came, he settled down with the Twelve. 21 As they were eating, he said, “I’m telling you the truth: one of you will betray me.” 22 They were extremely upset, and began to say one by one, “It’s not me, is it, Master?”
23 “It’s one who’s dipped his hand with me in the dish,” Jesus replied. “That’s the one who will betray me. 24 The son of man is on his way, as the Bible said it would happen, but it’s misery for the man who hands him over. It would be better for that man if he’d never been born.”
25 At this, Judas, who was planning to betray him, said, “It isn’t me, is it, Teacher?”
“You’ve just said so,” he replied.
The Last Supper
26 As they were eating, Jesus took some bread, blessed it, broke it and gave it to the disciples.
“Take it and eat it,” he said, “this is my body.”
27 Then he took a cup; and, after giving thanks, he gave it to them.
“Drink this, all of you,” he said. 28 “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. 29 But let me tell you this: I will not drink any more from this fruit of the vine, until that day when I drink it new with you in the kingdom of my father.”
30 They sang a hymn, and went out to the Mount of Olives.
31 Then Jesus said to them, “You are all going to stumble and fall tonight because of me. This is what the Bible says, you see:
I shall strike the shepherd,
and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.
32 “But after I am raised up, I shall go on ahead of you to Galilee.”
33 “Even if everyone else trips and falls,” said Peter in reply to him, “I’m never going to do that!”
34 “I’m telling you the truth,” said Jesus to him, “this very night, before the cock has crowed, you will deny me three times.”
35 “Even if I have to die with you,” said Peter to him, “I won’t ever deny you!”
And all the disciples said the same.
Gethsemane
36 So Jesus went with them to the place called Gethsemane.
“You sit here,” he said to the disciples, “while I go over there and pray.”
37 He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee with him, and began to be very upset and distressed.
38 “My soul is overwhelmed with grief,” he said, “even to death. Stay here and keep watch with me.”
39 Then, going a little further on, he fell on his face and prayed.
“My father,” he said, “if it’s possible—please, please let this cup go away from me! But . . . not what I want, but what you want.”
40 He came back to the disciples and found them asleep.
“So,” he said to Peter, “couldn’t you keep watch with me for a single hour? 41 Watch and pray so that you don’t get pulled down into the time of testing. The spirit is eager, but the body is weak.”
42 Again, for the second time, he went off and said, “My father, if it’s not possible for this to pass unless I drink it, let your will be done.”
43 Again he came and found them asleep; their eyes were heavy. 44 Once more he left them and went away. He prayed for the third time, using the same words once again. 45 Then he came back to the disciples.
“You can sleep now,” he said, “and have a good rest! Look—the time has come, and the son of man is given over into the hands of wicked people! 46 Get up and let’s be going. Look! Here comes the one who’s going to betray me!”
Jesus is arrested
47 While Jesus was still speaking, there was Judas, one of the Twelve. He had come with a large crowd, with swords and clubs, from the chief priests and the elders of the people. 48 The one who was intending to betray him gave them a sign: “The one I kiss—that’s him! Grab hold of him!”
49 So he went up at once to Jesus and said “Greetings, Teacher!” and kissed him.
50 “My friend,” said Jesus, “what have you come to do?”
Then they came and laid hands on Jesus, and arrested him.
51 At that, one of the men with Jesus reached out his hand, drew his sword and hit the high priest’s slave, cutting off his ear.
52 “Put your sword back where it belongs!” said Jesus to him. “People who use the sword die by the sword! 53 Don’t you realize that I could call on my father and have him send me more than twelve legions of angels, just like that? 54 But how then can the Bible come true when it says this has to happen?”
55 At that time Jesus said to the crowds, “Have you really come out with swords and sticks to arrest me, as if I were some kind of brigand? I sat there teaching in the Temple every day, and you didn’t lay hands on me! 56 But all this has happened so that the writings of the prophets would be fulfilled.”
Then all the disciples abandoned him and ran away.
Jesus before Caiaphas
57 The people who had seized Jesus took him off to Caiaphas the high priest. The scribes and elders had already gathered at his house. 58 Peter, however, followed him at some distance, all the way to the high priest’s residence. He went in and sat with the servants, to see how things would work out.
59 The high priest and the whole council tried to produce false evidence against Jesus, to frame a capital charge and have him killed. 60 But even though they brought in plenty of lying witnesses, they couldn’t find the evidence they wanted. Finally two people came forward 61 and declared: “This fellow said, ‘I can destroy God’s Temple and build it again in three days!’ ”
62 Then the high priest stood up.
“Aren’t you going to answer?” he said to him. “What are these people accusing you of?”
63 But Jesus remained silent.
Then the high priest said to him, “I put you on oath before the living God: tell us if you are the Messiah, God’s son!”
64 “You said the words,” replied Jesus. “But let me tell you this: from now on you will see ‘the son of man sitting at the right hand of the Power, and coming on the clouds of heaven.’ ”
65 Then the high priest tore his robes. “He’s blasphemed!” he said. “Why do we need any more witnesses? Look—you’ve heard his blasphemy, here and now! 66 What’s your verdict?”
“He deserves to die,” they answered.
67 Then they spat in his face and hit him. Some of them slapped him, 68 and said, “Prophesy for us, Mr. Messiah! Who was it who hit you?”
Peter’s denial
69 Meanwhile, Peter sat outside in the courtyard.
One of the servant-girls came up to him.
“You were with Jesus the Galilean too, weren’t you?” she said.
70 He denied it in front of everyone.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he said.
71 He went out to the gateway. Another girl saw him, and said to the people who were there, “This fellow was with Jesus the Nazarene!”
72 Once more he denied it, this time swearing, “I don’t know the man!”
73 After a little while the people standing around came up and said to Peter, “You really are one of them! Look—your accent makes it obvious!”
74 Then he began to curse and swear, “I don’t know the man!” And then, all at once, the cock crowed.
75 And Peter remembered.
He remembered the words Jesus had spoken to him: “Before the cock crows, you will deny me three times.”
And he went outside and cried like a baby.
The death of Judas
27 When dawn broke, all the chief priests and elders of the people held a council meeting about Jesus, in order to have him put to death. 2 They tied him up, took him off, and handed him over to Pilate, the governor.
3 Meanwhile Judas, who had betrayed him, saw that he had been condemned, and was filled with remorse. He took the thirty pieces of silver back to the high priests and elders.
4 “I’ve sinned!” he said. “I betrayed an innocent man, and now I’ve got his blood on my hands!”
“See if we care!” they replied. “Deal with it yourself.”
5 And he threw down the money in the Temple, and left, and went and hanged himself.
6 “Well now,” said the chief priests, picking up the money. “According to the law, we can’t put it into the Temple treasury. It’s the price of someone’s blood.”
7 So they had a discussion, and used it to buy the Potter’s Field, as a burial place for foreigners. 8 (That’s why that field is called Blood Field, to this day.) 9 Then the word that was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet came true:
They took the thirty pieces of silver,
the price of the one who was valued,
valued by the children of Israel;
10 and they gave them for the potter’s field,
as the Lord instructed me.
Jesus and Barabbas before Pilate
11 So Jesus stood in front of the governor.
“Are you the King of the Jews?” the governor asked him.
“If you say so,” replied Jesus.
12 The chief priests and elders poured out their accusations against him, but he made no answer.
13 Then Pilate said to him, “Don’t you hear all this evidence they’re bringing against you?”
14 He gave him no answer, not even a word, which quite astonished the governor.
15 Now the governor had a custom. At festival time he used to release one prisoner for the crowd, whoever they chose. 16 Just then they had a famous prisoner, called Jesus Barabbas. 17 So when the people were all gathered there, Pilate said to them, “Who do you want me to release for you? Jesus Barabbas, or Jesus the so-called Messiah?” 18 (He knew that they’d handed him over out of sheer envy.)
19 While he was presiding in the court, his wife sent a message to him.
“Don’t have anything to do with that man,” she said. “He’s innocent! I’ve had a really bad time today in a dream, all because of him.”
20 The high priests and the elders persuaded the crowds to ask for Barabbas, and to have Jesus killed. 21 So when the governor came back to them again, and asked, “Which of the two do you want me to release for you?” they said, “Barabbas!”
22 “So what shall I do with Jesus the so-called Messiah?” asked Pilate.
“Let him be crucified!” they all said.
23 “Why?” asked Pilate. “What’s he done wrong?”
But they shouted all the louder, “Let him be crucified!”
24 Pilate saw that it was no good. In fact, there was a riot brewing. So he took some water and washed his hands in front of the crowd.
“I’m not guilty of this man’s blood,” he said. “It’s your problem.”
25 “Let his blood be on us!” answered all the people. “And on our children!”
26 Then Pilate released Barabbas for them. He had Jesus flogged, and handed him over to be crucified.
Jesus mocked and crucified
27 Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the barracks, and gathered the whole regiment together. 28 They took off his clothes and dressed him up in a scarlet military cloak. 29 They wove a crown out of thorns and stuck it on his head, and put a reed in his right hand. Then they knelt down in front of him.
“Greetings, King of the Jews!” they said, making fun of him.
30 They spat on him. Then they took the reed and beat him about the head. 31 When they had finished mocking him, they took off the cloak, dressed him in his own clothes again, and led him off to crucify him.
32 As they were going out they found a man from Cyrene, called Simon. They forced him to carry his cross.
33 When they came to the place called Golgotha, which means Skull Place, 34 they gave him a drink of wine mixed with bitter herbs. When he tasted it, he refused to drink it.
35 So then they crucified him. They divided up his clothes by casting lots, 36 and they sat down and kept watch over him there. 37 And they placed the written charge above his head: “This is Jesus, the King of the Jews.”
38 Then they crucified two brigands alongside him, one on his right and one on his left.
Jesus mocked on the cross
39 The people who were going by shouted blasphemies at Jesus. They shook their heads at him.
40 “So!” they said. “You were going to destroy the Temple and build it in three days, were you? Save yourself, if you’re God’s son! Come down from the cross!”
41 The chief priests, too, and the scribes and the elders, mocked him.
42 “He rescued others,” they said, “but he can’t rescue himself! All right, so he’s the King of Israel!—well, let him come down from the cross right now, and then we’ll really believe that he is! 43 He trusted in God; let God deliver him now, if he’s so keen on him—after all, he did say he was God’s son!”
44 The brigands who were crucified alongside him heaped insults on him as well.
The death of God’s son
45 From noon until mid-afternoon there was darkness over the whole land. 46 About the middle of the afternoon Jesus shouted out in a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani!”—which means, “My God, my God, why did you abandon me?”
47 Some of the people who were standing there heard it and said, “This fellow’s calling Elijah!”
48 One of them ran at once and got a sponge. He filled it with vinegar, put it on a reed, and gave him a drink.
49 The others said, “Wait a bit. Let’s see if Elijah is going to come and rescue him!”
50 But Jesus shouted out loudly one more time, and then breathed his last gasp.
51 At that instant the Temple curtain was torn in two, from top to bottom. The earth shook, the rocks were split, 52 and the tombs burst open. Many bodies of the sleeping holy ones were raised. 53 They came out of the tombs after Jesus’ resurrection, and went into the holy city, where they appeared to many people.
54 When the centurion and the others with him, keeping watch over Jesus, saw the earthquake and the things that happened, they were scared out of their wits.
“He really was God’s son!” they said.
55 There were several women there, watching from a distance. They had followed Jesus from Galilee, helping to look after his needs. 56 They included Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of Zebedee’s sons.
The burial of Jesus
57 When evening came, a rich man from Arimathea arrived. He was called Joseph, and he, too, was a disciple of Jesus. 58 He went to Pilate and requested the body of Jesus. Pilate gave the order that it should be given to him.
59 So Joseph took the body and wrapped it in a clean linen cloth. 60 He laid it in his own new tomb, which he had carved out of the rock. Then he rolled a large stone across the doorway of the tomb, and went away.
61 Mary Magdalene was there, and so was the other Mary. They were sitting opposite the tomb.
62 On the next day (that is, the day after Preparation Day), the chief priests and the Pharisees went as a group to Pilate.
63 “Sir,” they said, “when that deceiver was still alive, we recall that he said, ‘After three days, I’ll rise again.’ 64 So please give the order for the tomb to be made secure until the third day. Otherwise his disciples might come and steal him away, and then tell the people, ‘He’s been raised from the dead!’ and so the last deception would be worse than the first.”
65 “You can have a guard,” said Pilate; “go and make it as secure as you know how.” 66 So they went and made the tomb secure, sealing the stone and putting a guard on watch.
Jesus and Barabbas before Pilate
11 So Jesus stood in front of the governor.
“Are you the King of the Jews?” the governor asked him.
“If you say so,” replied Jesus.
12 The chief priests and elders poured out their accusations against him, but he made no answer.
13 Then Pilate said to him, “Don’t you hear all this evidence they’re bringing against you?”
14 He gave him no answer, not even a word, which quite astonished the governor.
15 Now the governor had a custom. At festival time he used to release one prisoner for the crowd, whoever they chose. 16 Just then they had a famous prisoner, called Jesus Barabbas. 17 So when the people were all gathered there, Pilate said to them, “Who do you want me to release for you? Jesus Barabbas, or Jesus the so-called Messiah?” 18 (He knew that they’d handed him over out of sheer envy.)
19 While he was presiding in the court, his wife sent a message to him.
“Don’t have anything to do with that man,” she said. “He’s innocent! I’ve had a really bad time today in a dream, all because of him.”
20 The high priests and the elders persuaded the crowds to ask for Barabbas, and to have Jesus killed. 21 So when the governor came back to them again, and asked, “Which of the two do you want me to release for you?” they said, “Barabbas!”
22 “So what shall I do with Jesus the so-called Messiah?” asked Pilate.
“Let him be crucified!” they all said.
23 “Why?” asked Pilate. “What’s he done wrong?”
But they shouted all the louder, “Let him be crucified!”
24 Pilate saw that it was no good. In fact, there was a riot brewing. So he took some water and washed his hands in front of the crowd.
“I’m not guilty of this man’s blood,” he said. “It’s your problem.”
25 “Let his blood be on us!” answered all the people. “And on our children!”
26 Then Pilate released Barabbas for them. He had Jesus flogged, and handed him over to be crucified.
Jesus mocked and crucified
27 Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the barracks, and gathered the whole regiment together. 28 They took off his clothes and dressed him up in a scarlet military cloak. 29 They wove a crown out of thorns and stuck it on his head, and put a reed in his right hand. Then they knelt down in front of him.
“Greetings, King of the Jews!” they said, making fun of him.
30 They spat on him. Then they took the reed and beat him about the head. 31 When they had finished mocking him, they took off the cloak, dressed him in his own clothes again, and led him off to crucify him.
32 As they were going out they found a man from Cyrene, called Simon. They forced him to carry his cross.
33 When they came to the place called Golgotha, which means Skull Place, 34 they gave him a drink of wine mixed with bitter herbs. When he tasted it, he refused to drink it.
35 So then they crucified him. They divided up his clothes by casting lots, 36 and they sat down and kept watch over him there. 37 And they placed the written charge above his head: “This is Jesus, the King of the Jews.”
38 Then they crucified two brigands alongside him, one on his right and one on his left.
Jesus mocked on the cross
39 The people who were going by shouted blasphemies at Jesus. They shook their heads at him.
40 “So!” they said. “You were going to destroy the Temple and build it in three days, were you? Save yourself, if you’re God’s son! Come down from the cross!”
41 The chief priests, too, and the scribes and the elders, mocked him.
42 “He rescued others,” they said, “but he can’t rescue himself! All right, so he’s the King of Israel!—well, let him come down from the cross right now, and then we’ll really believe that he is! 43 He trusted in God; let God deliver him now, if he’s so keen on him—after all, he did say he was God’s son!”
44 The brigands who were crucified alongside him heaped insults on him as well.
The death of God’s son
45 From noon until mid-afternoon there was darkness over the whole land. 46 About the middle of the afternoon Jesus shouted out in a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani!”—which means, “My God, my God, why did you abandon me?”
47 Some of the people who were standing there heard it and said, “This fellow’s calling Elijah!”
48 One of them ran at once and got a sponge. He filled it with vinegar, put it on a reed, and gave him a drink.
49 The others said, “Wait a bit. Let’s see if Elijah is going to come and rescue him!”
50 But Jesus shouted out loudly one more time, and then breathed his last gasp.
51 At that instant the Temple curtain was torn in two, from top to bottom. The earth shook, the rocks were split, 52 and the tombs burst open. Many bodies of the sleeping holy ones were raised. 53 They came out of the tombs after Jesus’ resurrection, and went into the holy city, where they appeared to many people.
54 When the centurion and the others with him, keeping watch over Jesus, saw the earthquake and the things that happened, they were scared out of their wits.
“He really was God’s son!” they said.
Scripture quotations from The New Testament for Everyone are copyright © Nicholas Thomas Wright 2011, 2018, 2019.