Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

Thanksgiving for Victory

Jesus Enters Jerusalem as a King

11 Jesus and his followers were coming closer to Jerusalem. They came to the towns of Bethphage and Bethany near the Mount of Olives. There Jesus sent two of his followers. ² He said to them, “Go to the town you see there. When you enter it, you will find a colt tied which no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here to me. ³ If anyone asks you why you are doing this, tell him, ‘The Master needs the colt. He will send it back soon.’”

⁴ The followers went into the town. They found a colt tied in the street near the door of a house, and they untied it. ⁵ Some people were standing there and asked, “What are you doing? Why are you untying that colt?” ⁶ The followers answered the way Jesus told them to answer. And the people let them take the colt.

⁷ The followers brought the colt to Jesus. They put their coats on the colt, and Jesus sat on it. ⁸ Many people spread their coats on the road. Others cut branches in the fields and spread the branches on the road. ⁹ Some of the people were walking ahead of Jesus. Others were following him. All of them were shouting,

¹¹ Jesus entered Jerusalem and went into the Temple. When he had looked at everything, and since it was already late, he went out to Bethany with the 12 apostles.

Jesus Enters Jerusalem

¹² The next day a great crowd in Jerusalem heard that Jesus was coming there. These were the people who had come to the Passover Feast. ¹³ They took branches of palm trees and went out to meet Jesus. They shouted,

¹⁴ Jesus found a colt and sat on it. This was as the Scripture says,

¹⁶ The followers of Jesus did not understand this at first. But after Jesus was raised to glory, they remembered that this had been written about him. And they remembered that they had done these things to him.

God’s Servant Obeys

Be Unselfish Like Christ

⁵ In your lives you must think and act like Christ Jesus.

The Plan to Kill Jesus

14 It was now only two days before the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread. The leading priests and teachers of the law were trying to find a way to use some trick to arrest Jesus and kill him. ² But they said, “We must not do it during the feast. The people might cause a riot.”

A Woman with Perfume for Jesus

³ Jesus was in Bethany. He was at dinner in the house of Simon, who had a harmful skin disease. While Jesus was there, a woman came to him. She had an alabaster jar filled with very expensive perfume, made of pure nard. The woman opened the jar and poured the perfume on Jesus’ head.

⁴ Some of those who were there saw this and became angry. They complained to each other, saying, “Why waste that perfume? ⁵ It was worth a full year’s work. It could be sold, and the money could be given to the poor.” They spoke to the woman sharply.

⁶ Jesus said, “Don’t bother the woman. Why are you troubling her? She did a beautiful thing for me. ⁷ You will always have the poor with you. You can help them anytime you want. But you will not always have me. ⁸ This woman did the only thing she could do for me. She poured perfume on my body. She did this before I die to prepare me for burial. ⁹ I tell you the truth. The Good News will be told to people in all the world. And in every place it is preached, what this woman has done will be told. And people will remember her.”

Judas Becomes an Enemy of Jesus

¹⁰ One of the 12 followers, Judas Iscariot, went to talk to the leading priests. Judas offered to give Jesus to them. ¹¹ The leading priests were pleased about this. They promised to pay Judas money. So he waited for the best time to give Jesus to them.

Jesus Eats the Passover Feast

¹² It was now the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread. This was a time when the Jews always sacrificed the Passover lambs. Jesus’ followers came to him. They said, “We will go and prepare everything for the Passover Feast. Where do you want to eat the feast?”

¹³ Jesus sent two of his followers and said to them, “Go into the city. A man carrying a jar of water will meet you. Follow him. ¹⁴ He will go into a house. Tell the owner of the house, ‘The Teacher asks that you show us the room where he and his followers can eat the Passover Feast.’ ¹⁵ The owner will show you a large room upstairs. This room is ready. Prepare the food for us there.”

¹⁶ So the followers left and went into the city. Everything happened as Jesus had said. So they prepared the Passover Feast.

¹⁷ In the evening, Jesus went to that house with the 12. ¹⁸ While they were all eating, Jesus said, “I tell you the truth. One of you will give me to my enemies—one of you eating with me now.”

¹⁹ The followers were very sad to hear this. Each one said to Jesus, “I am not the one, am I?”

²⁰ Jesus answered, “The man who is against me is 1 of the 12. He is the 1 who dips his bread into the bowl with me. ²¹ The Son of Man must go and die. The Scriptures say this will happen. But how terrible it will be for the person who gives the Son of Man to be killed. It would be better for that person if he had never been born.”

The Lord’s Supper

²² While they were eating, Jesus took some bread. He thanked God for it and broke it. Then he gave it to his followers and said, “Take it. This bread is my body.”

²³ Then Jesus took a cup. He thanked God for it and gave it to the followers. All the followers drank from the cup.

²⁴ Then Jesus said, “This is my blood which begins the new^[a] agreement that God makes with his people. This blood is poured out for many. ²⁵ I tell you the truth. I will not drink of this fruit of the vine^[b] again until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.”

²⁶ They sang a hymn and went out to the Mount of Olives.

Jesus’ Followers Will All Leave Him

²⁷ Then Jesus told the followers, “You will all lose your faith in me. It is written in the Scriptures:

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

²⁹ Peter said, “All the other followers may lose their faith. But I will not.”

³⁰ Jesus answered, “I tell you the truth. Tonight you will say you don’t know me. You will say this three times before the rooster crows twice.”

³¹ But Peter answered strongly, “I will never say that I don’t know you! I will even die with you!” And all the other followers said the same thing.

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,^[c] Father! You can do all things. Let me not have this cup^[d] 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.

Peter Says He Doesn’t Know Jesus

⁶⁶ Peter was still in the courtyard when a servant girl of the high priest came there. ⁶⁷ She saw Peter warming himself at the fire. She looked closely at him.

Then the girl said, “You were with Jesus, that man from Nazareth.”

⁶⁸ But Peter said that he was never with Jesus. He said, “I don’t know or understand what you are talking about.” Then Peter left and went toward the entrance of the courtyard.^[e]

⁶⁹ The servant girl saw Peter there. Again she said to the people who were standing there, “This man is one of those who followed Jesus.” ⁷⁰ Again Peter said that it was not true.

A short time later, some people were standing near Peter. They said, “We know you are one of those who followed Jesus. You are from Galilee, too.”

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

⁷² As soon as Peter said this, the rooster crowed the second time. Then Peter remembered what Jesus had told him: “Before the rooster crows twice, you will say three times that you don’t know me.” Then Peter was very sad and began to cry.

Pilate Questions Jesus

15 Very early in the morning, the leading priests, the Jewish elders, the teachers of the law, and all the Jewish council decided what to do with Jesus. They tied him, led him away, and turned him over to Pilate, the governor.

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

Jesus answered, “Yes, I am.”

³ The leading priests accused Jesus of many things. ⁴ So Pilate asked Jesus another question. He said, “You can see that these people are accusing you of many things. Why don’t you answer?”

⁵ But Jesus still said nothing. Pilate was very surprised at this.

Pilate Tries to Free Jesus

⁶ Every year at the Passover time the governor would free one person from prison. He would free any person the people wanted him to free. ⁷ At that time, there was a man named Barabbas in prison. He was a rebel and had committed murder during a riot. ⁸ The crowd came to Pilate and asked him to free a prisoner as he always did.

⁹ Pilate asked them, “Do you want me to free the king of the Jews?” ¹⁰ Pilate knew that the leading priests had given Jesus to him because they were jealous of Jesus. ¹¹ And the leading priests had persuaded the people to ask Pilate to free Barabbas, not Jesus.

¹² Pilate asked the crowd again, “So what should I do with this man you call the king of the Jews?”

¹³ They shouted, “Kill him on a cross!”

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

But they shouted louder and louder, “Kill him on a cross!”

¹⁵ Pilate wanted to please the crowd. So he freed Barabbas for them. And Pilate told the soldiers to beat Jesus with whips. Then he gave Jesus to the soldiers to be killed on a cross.

¹⁶ Pilate’s soldiers took Jesus into the governor’s palace (called the Praetorium). They called all the other soldiers together. ¹⁷ They put a purple robe on Jesus. Then they used thorny branches to make a crown. They put it on his head. ¹⁸ Then they called out to him, “Hail, King of the Jews!” ¹⁹ The soldiers beat Jesus on the head many times with a stick. They also spit on him. Then they made fun of him by bowing on their knees and worshiping him. ²⁰ After they finished making fun of him, the soldiers took off the purple robe and put his own clothes on him again. Then they led Jesus out of the palace to be killed on a cross.

Jesus Is Killed on a Cross

²¹ There was a man from Cyrene coming from the fields to the city. The man was Simon, the father of Alexander and Rufus. The soldiers forced Simon to carry the cross for Jesus. ²² They led Jesus to the place called Golgotha. (Golgotha means the Place of the Skull.) ²³ At Golgotha the soldiers tried to give Jesus wine to drink. This wine was mixed with myrrh. But he refused to drink it. ²⁴ The soldiers nailed Jesus to a cross. Then they divided his clothes among themselves. They threw lots to decide which clothes each soldier would get.

²⁵ It was nine o’clock in the morning when they nailed Jesus to the cross. ²⁶ There was a sign with the charge against Jesus written on it. The sign read: “THE KING OF THE JEWS.” ²⁷ They also put two robbers on crosses beside Jesus, one on the right, and the other on the left. ²⁸ [And the Scripture came true that says, “They put him with criminals.”]^{[f] 29} People walked by and insulted Jesus. They shook their heads, saying, “You said you could destroy the Temple and build it again in three days. ³⁰ So save yourself! Come down from that cross!”

³¹ The leading priests and the teachers of the law were also there. They made fun of Jesus just as the other people did. They said among themselves, “He saved other people, but he can’t save himself. ³² If he is really the Christ, the king of Israel, then let him come down from the cross now. We will see this, and then we will believe in him.” The robbers who were being killed on the crosses beside Jesus also insulted him.

Jesus Dies

³³ At noon the whole country became dark. This darkness lasted for three hours. ³⁴ At three o’clock Jesus cried in a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani.” This means, “My God, my God, why have you left me alone?”

³⁵ Some of the people standing there heard this. They said, “Listen! He is calling Elijah.”

³⁶ One man there ran and got a sponge. He filled the sponge with vinegar and tied it to a stick. Then he used the stick to give the sponge to Jesus to drink from it. The man said, “We should wait now and see if Elijah will come to take him down from the cross.”

³⁷ Then Jesus cried in a loud voice and died.

³⁸ When Jesus died, the curtain in the Temple^[g] split into two pieces. The tear started at the top and tore all the way to the bottom. ³⁹ The army officer that was standing there before the cross saw what happened when Jesus died.^[h] The officer said, “This man really was the Son of God!”

⁴⁰ Some women were standing at a distance from the cross, watching. Some of these women were Mary Magdalene, Salome, and Mary the mother of James and Joseph. (James was her youngest son.) ⁴¹ These were the women who followed Jesus in Galilee and cared for him. Many other women were also there who had come with Jesus to Jerusalem.

Jesus Is Buried

⁴² This was Preparation Day. (That means the day before the Sabbath day.) It was becoming dark. ⁴³ A man named Joseph from Arimathea was brave enough to go to Pilate and ask for Jesus’ body. Joseph was an important member of the Jewish council. He was one of the people who wanted the kingdom of God to come. ⁴⁴ Pilate wondered if Jesus was already dead. Pilate called the army officer who guarded Jesus and asked him if Jesus had already died. ⁴⁵ The officer told Pilate that he was dead. So Pilate told Joseph he could have the body. ⁴⁶ Joseph bought some linen cloth, took the body down from the cross and wrapped it in the linen. He put the body in a tomb that was cut in a wall of rock. Then he closed the tomb by rolling a very large stone to cover the entrance. ⁴⁷ And Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joseph saw the place where Jesus was laid.

Pilate Questions Jesus

15 Very early in the morning, the leading priests, the Jewish elders, the teachers of the law, and all the Jewish council decided what to do with Jesus. They tied him, led him away, and turned him over to Pilate, the governor.

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

Jesus answered, “Yes, I am.”

³ The leading priests accused Jesus of many things. ⁴ So Pilate asked Jesus another question. He said, “You can see that these people are accusing you of many things. Why don’t you answer?”

⁵ But Jesus still said nothing. Pilate was very surprised at this.

Pilate Tries to Free Jesus

⁶ Every year at the Passover time the governor would free one person from prison. He would free any person the people wanted him to free. ⁷ At that time, there was a man named Barabbas in prison. He was a rebel and had committed murder during a riot. ⁸ The crowd came to Pilate and asked him to free a prisoner as he always did.

⁹ Pilate asked them, “Do you want me to free the king of the Jews?” ¹⁰ Pilate knew that the leading priests had given Jesus to him because they were jealous of Jesus. ¹¹ And the leading priests had persuaded the people to ask Pilate to free Barabbas, not Jesus.

¹² Pilate asked the crowd again, “So what should I do with this man you call the king of the Jews?”

¹³ They shouted, “Kill him on a cross!”

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

But they shouted louder and louder, “Kill him on a cross!”

¹⁵ Pilate wanted to please the crowd. So he freed Barabbas for them. And Pilate told the soldiers to beat Jesus with whips. Then he gave Jesus to the soldiers to be killed on a cross.

¹⁶ Pilate’s soldiers took Jesus into the governor’s palace (called the Praetorium). They called all the other soldiers together. ¹⁷ They put a purple robe on Jesus. Then they used thorny branches to make a crown. They put it on his head. ¹⁸ Then they called out to him, “Hail, King of the Jews!” ¹⁹ The soldiers beat Jesus on the head many times with a stick. They also spit on him. Then they made fun of him by bowing on their knees and worshiping him. ²⁰ After they finished making fun of him, the soldiers took off the purple robe and put his own clothes on him again. Then they led Jesus out of the palace to be killed on a cross.

Jesus Is Killed on a Cross

²¹ There was a man from Cyrene coming from the fields to the city. The man was Simon, the father of Alexander and Rufus. The soldiers forced Simon to carry the cross for Jesus. ²² They led Jesus to the place called Golgotha. (Golgotha means the Place of the Skull.) ²³ At Golgotha the soldiers tried to give Jesus wine to drink. This wine was mixed with myrrh. But he refused to drink it. ²⁴ The soldiers nailed Jesus to a cross. Then they divided his clothes among themselves. They threw lots to decide which clothes each soldier would get.

²⁵ It was nine o’clock in the morning when they nailed Jesus to the cross. ²⁶ There was a sign with the charge against Jesus written on it. The sign read: “THE KING OF THE JEWS.” ²⁷ They also put two robbers on crosses beside Jesus, one on the right, and the other on the left. ²⁸ [And the Scripture came true that says, “They put him with criminals.”]^{[a] 29} People walked by and insulted Jesus. They shook their heads, saying, “You said you could destroy the Temple and build it again in three days. ³⁰ So save yourself! Come down from that cross!”

³¹ The leading priests and the teachers of the law were also there. They made fun of Jesus just as the other people did. They said among themselves, “He saved other people, but he can’t save himself. ³² If he is really the Christ, the king of Israel, then let him come down from the cross now. We will see this, and then we will believe in him.” The robbers who were being killed on the crosses beside Jesus also insulted him.

Jesus Dies

³³ At noon the whole country became dark. This darkness lasted for three hours. ³⁴ At three o’clock Jesus cried in a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani.” This means, “My God, my God, why have you left me alone?”

³⁵ Some of the people standing there heard this. They said, “Listen! He is calling Elijah.”

³⁶ One man there ran and got a sponge. He filled the sponge with vinegar and tied it to a stick. Then he used the stick to give the sponge to Jesus to drink from it. The man said, “We should wait now and see if Elijah will come to take him down from the cross.”

³⁷ Then Jesus cried in a loud voice and died.

³⁸ When Jesus died, the curtain in the Temple^[b] split into two pieces. The tear started at the top and tore all the way to the bottom. ³⁹ The army officer that was standing there before the cross saw what happened when Jesus died.^[c] The officer said, “This man really was the Son of God!”

⁴⁰ Some women were standing at a distance from the cross, watching. Some of these women were Mary Magdalene, Salome, and Mary the mother of James and Joseph. (James was her youngest son.) ⁴¹ These were the women who followed Jesus in Galilee and cared for him. Many other women were also there who had come with Jesus to Jerusalem.

Jesus Is Buried

⁴² This was Preparation Day. (That means the day before the Sabbath day.) It was becoming dark. ⁴³ A man named Joseph from Arimathea was brave enough to go to Pilate and ask for Jesus’ body. Joseph was an important member of the Jewish council. He was one of the people who wanted the kingdom of God to come. ⁴⁴ Pilate wondered if Jesus was already dead. Pilate called the army officer who guarded Jesus and asked him if Jesus had already died. ⁴⁵ The officer told Pilate that he was dead. So Pilate told Joseph he could have the body. ⁴⁶ Joseph bought some linen cloth, took the body down from the cross and wrapped it in the linen. He put the body in a tomb that was cut in a wall of rock. Then he closed the tomb by rolling a very large stone to cover the entrance. ⁴⁷ And Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joseph saw the place where Jesus was laid.