Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
The triumphal entry
28 With these words, Jesus went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem.
29 As they came close, as near as Bethany and Bethphage, at the place called the Mount of Olives, he sent two of the disciples on ahead. 30 “Go into the village over there,” he said, “and as you arrive you’ll find a colt tied up, one that nobody has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here. 31 If anyone says to you, ‘Why are you untying it?’ you should say, ‘Because the master needs it.’ ”
32 The two who were sent went off and found it just as Jesus had said to them. 33 They untied the colt, and its owners said to them, “Why are you untying the colt?”
34 “Because the master needs it,” they replied.
35 They brought it to Jesus, threw their cloaks on the colt, and mounted Jesus on it. 36 As he was going along, people kept spreading their cloaks on the road.
37 When he came to the descent of the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of disciples began to celebrate and praise God at the tops of their voices for all the powerful deeds they had seen.
38 “Welcome, welcome, welcome with a blessing,” they sang.
“Welcome to the king in the name of the Lord!
“Peace in heaven, and glory on high!”
39 Some of the Pharisees from the crowd said to Jesus, “Teacher, tell your disciples to stop that.”
40 “Let me tell you,” replied Jesus, “if they stayed silent, the stones would be shouting out!”
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.
14 When the time came, Jesus sat down at table with the apostles.
15 “I have been so much looking forward to eating this Passover with you before I have to suffer,” he said to them. 16 “For—let me tell you—I won’t eat it again until it’s fulfilled in the kingdom of God.”
17 Then he took a cup, and gave thanks, and said, “Take this and share it among yourselves. 18 Let me tell you, from now on I won’t drink from the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.”
19 Then he took some bread. He gave thanks, broke it and gave it to them.
“This is my body,” he said, “which is given for you. Do this in memory of me.”
20 So too, after supper, with the cup: “This cup,” he said, “is the new covenant, in my blood which is shed for you.
21 “But look here! Someone here is going to betray me. His hand is with mine at this table. 22 The son of man is indeed going, as it is marked out for him; but woe betide that man by whom he is betrayed!”
23 They began to ask each other which of them was going to do this.
Prediction of Peter’s denial
24 A quarrel began among them: which of them would be seen as the most important?
25 “Pagan kings lord it over their subjects,” said Jesus to them, “and people in power get themselves called ‘Benefactors.’ 26 That’s not how it’s to be with you. The most important among you ought to be like the youngest. The leader should be like the servant. 27 After all, who is the more important, the one who sits at table or the one who waits on him? The one at table, obviously! But I am with you here like a servant.
28 “You are the ones who have stuck it out with me through the trials I’ve had to endure. 29 This is my bequest to you: the kingdom my father bequeathed to me! 30 What does this mean? You will eat and drink at my table, in my kingdom, and you will sit on thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.
31 “Simon, Simon, listen to this. The satan demanded to have you. He wanted to shake you into bits like wheat. 32 But I prayed for you; I prayed that you wouldn’t run out of faith. And, when you turn back again, you must give strength to your brothers.”
33 “Master,” replied Simon, “I’m ready to go with you to prison—or to death!”
34 “Let me tell you, Peter,” replied Jesus, “before the cock crows today, you will three times deny that you know me.
35 “When I sent you out,” Jesus said to them, “without purse or bag or sandals, were you short of anything?”
“Nothing,” they replied.
36 “But now,” he said, “anyone who has a purse should take it, and the same with a bag. And anyone who doesn’t have a sword should sell his cloak and buy one. 37 Let me tell you this: when the Bible says, ‘He was reckoned with the lawless,’ it must find its fulfillment in me. Yes; everything about me must reach its goal.”
38 “Look, Master,” they said, “we’ve got a couple of swords here.”
“That’s enough!” he said to them.
Jesus is arrested
39 So off they went. Jesus headed, as usual, for the Mount of Olives, and his disciples followed him.
40 When he came to the place, he said to them, “Pray that you won’t come into the trial.”
41 He then withdrew from them about a stone’s throw, and knelt down to pray.
42 “Father,” he said, “if you wish it—please take this cup away from me! But it must be your will, not mine.” 43 An angel appeared to him from heaven, strengthening him. 44 By now he was in agony, and he prayed very fervently. And his sweat became like clots of blood, falling on the ground. 45 Then he got up from praying, and came to the disciples and found them asleep because of sorrow.
46 “Why are you sleeping?” he said to them. “Get up and pray, so that you won’t come into the trial.”
47 While he was still speaking, a crowd appeared. The man named Judas, one of the Twelve, was leading them. He approached Jesus to kiss him, 48 but Jesus said to him, “Judas! Are you going to betray the son of man with a kiss?”
49 Jesus’ followers saw what was about to happen.
“Master!” they said. “Shall we go in with the swords?” 50 And one of them struck the high priest’s servant, and cut off his right ear.
51 “Enough of that!” said Jesus, and healed the ear with a touch.
52 Then Jesus spoke to the arresting party—the chief priests, the Temple guards, and the elders.
“Anyone would think I was a brigand,” he said, “seeing you coming out like this with swords and clubs! 53 Every day I’ve been in the Temple with you and you never laid hands on me. But your moment has come at last, and so has the power of darkness.”
Peter denies Jesus
54 So they arrested Jesus, took him off, and brought him into the high priest’s house. Peter followed at a distance. 55 They lit a fire in the middle of the courtyard and sat around it, and Peter sat in among them.
56 A servant-girl saw him sitting by the fire. She stared hard at him. “This fellow was with him!” she said.
57 Peter denied it. “I don’t know him, woman,” he said.
58 After a little while another man saw him and said, “You’re one of them!”
“No, my friend, I’m not,” replied Peter.
59 After the space of about an hour, another man insisted, “It’s true! This man was with him; he’s a Galilean too!”
60 “My good fellow,” said Peter, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” And at once, while he was still speaking, the cock crowed. 61 The master turned and looked at Peter, and Peter called to mind the words the master had spoken to him: “Before the cock crows, this very day, you will deny me three times.” 62 And he went outside and wept bitterly.
63 The men who were holding Jesus began to make fun of him and knock him about. 64 They blindfolded him.
“Prophesy!” they told him. “Who is it that’s hitting you?”
65 And they said many other scandalous things to him.
66 When the day broke, the official assembly of the people, the chief priests and the scribes came together, and they took him off to their council.
67 “If you are the Messiah,” they said, “tell us!”
“If I tell you,” he said to them, “you won’t believe me. 68 And if I ask you a question, you won’t answer me. 69 But from now on the son of man will be seated at the right hand of God’s power.”
70 “So you’re the son of God, are you?” they said.
“You say that I am,” he said to them.
71 “Why do we need any more witnesses?” they said. “We’ve heard it ourselves, from his own mouth!”
Jesus before Pilate and Herod
23 The whole crowd of them got up and took Jesus to Pilate.
2 They began to accuse him. “We found this fellow,” they said, “deceiving our nation! He was forbidding people to give tribute to Caesar, and saying that he is the Messiah—a king!”
3 So Pilate asked Jesus, “You are the king of the Jews?”
“You said it,” replied Jesus.
4 “I find no fault in this man,” said Pilate to the chief priests and the crowds. 5 But they became insistent.
“He’s stirring up the people,” they said, “teaching them throughout the whole of Judaea. He began in Galilee, and now he’s come here.”
6 When Pilate heard that, he asked if the man was indeed a Galilean. 7 When he learned that he was from Herod’s jurisdiction he sent him to Herod, who happened also to be in Jerusalem at that time.
8 When Herod saw Jesus he was delighted. He had been wanting to see him for quite some time now, since he’d heard about him, and had hoped to see him perform some sign or other. 9 He questioned him this way and that, but Jesus gave no answer at all. 10 The chief priests and the scribes stood by, accusing him vehemently. 11 Herod and his soldiers treated Jesus with contempt; they ridiculed him by dressing him up in a splendid robe, and sent him back to Pilate. 12 And so it happened, that very day, that Herod and Pilate became friends with each other. Up until then, they had been enemies.
Pilate pressured by the crowds
13 So Pilate called the chief priests, the rulers and the people.
14 “You brought this man before me,” he said to them, “on the grounds that he was leading the people astray. Look here, then: I examined him in your presence and I found no evidence in him of the charges you’re bringing against him. 15 Nor did Herod; he sent him back to me. Look: there is no sign that he’s done anything to deserve death. 16 So I’m going to flog him and let him go.”
18 “Take him away!” they shouted out all together. “Release Barabbas for us!” 19 (Barabbas had been thrown into prison because of an uprising that had taken place in the city, and for murder.) 20 Pilate spoke to them again, with the intention of letting Jesus go, 21 but they shouted back, “Crucify him! Crucify him!”
22 “Why?” he said for the third time. “What’s he done wrong? I can’t find anything he’s done that deserves death, so I’m going to beat him and let him go.”
23 But they went on shouting out at the tops of their voices, demanding that he be crucified; and eventually their shouts won the day. 24 Pilate gave his verdict that their request should be granted. 25 He released the man they asked for, the one who’d been thrown into prison because of rebellion and murder, and gave Jesus over to their demands.
26 As they led him away, they grabbed a man from Cyrene called Simon, who was coming in to the city from the countryside, and they forced him to carry the crossbeam behind Jesus.
The crucifixion
27 A great crowd of the people followed Jesus, including women who were mourning and wailing for him. 28 Jesus turned and spoke to them.
“Daughters of Jerusalem,” he said, “don’t cry for me. Cry for yourselves instead! Cry for your children! 29 Listen: the time is coming when you will say, ‘A blessing on the barren! A blessing on wombs that never bore children, and breasts that never nursed them!’ 30 At that time people will start to say to the mountains, ‘Fall on us!’ and to the hills, ‘Cover us!’ 31 Yes: if this is what they do with the green tree, what will happen to the dry one?”
32 Two other criminals were taken away with him to be executed. 33 When they came to the place called The Skull, they crucified him there, with the criminals, one on his right and one on his left.
34 “Father,” said Jesus, “forgive them! They don’t know what they’re doing!”
They divided his clothes, casting lots for them.
35 The people stood around watching. The rulers hurled abuse at him.
“He rescued others,” they said, “let him try rescuing himself, if he really is the Messiah, God’s chosen one!”
36 The soldiers added their taunts, coming up and offering him cheap wine.
37 “If you’re the king of the Jews,” they said, “rescue yourself!”
38 The charge was written above him: “This is the King of the Jews.”
39 One of the bad characters who was hanging there began to insult him. “Aren’t you the Messiah?” he said. “Rescue yourself—and us, too!”
40 But the other one told him off. “Don’t you fear God?” he said. “You’re sharing the same fate that he is! 41 In our case it’s fair enough; we’re getting exactly what we asked for. But this fellow hasn’t done anything out of order.
42 “Jesus,” he went on, “remember me when you finally become king.”
43 “I’m telling you the truth,” replied Jesus, “you’ll be with me in paradise, this very day.”
The death and burial of Jesus
44 By the time of the sixth hour, darkness came over all the land. 45 The sunlight vanished until the ninth hour. The veil of the Temple was ripped down the middle. 46 Then Jesus shouted out at the top of his voice, “Here’s my spirit, Father! You can take care of it now!” And with that he died.
47 The centurion saw what happened, and praised God.
“This fellow,” he said, “really was in the right.”
48 All the crowds who had come together for the spectacle saw what happened, and they went away beating their breasts. 49 Those who knew Jesus, including the women who had followed him from Galilee, remained at a distance and watched the scene.
50 Now there was a man named Joseph, a member of the council. He was a good and righteous man, 51 and had not given his consent to the court’s verdict or actions. He was from Arimathea, a town in Judaea, and he was longing for God’s kingdom. 52 He approached Pilate and asked for Jesus’ body. 53 He took it down, wrapped it in a shroud, and put it in a tomb hollowed out of the rock, where no one had ever been laid. 54 It was the day of Preparation, and the sabbath was beginning.
55 The women who had followed Jesus, the ones who had come with him from Galilee, saw the tomb and how the body was laid. 56 Then they went back to prepare spices and ointments. On the sabbath they rested, as the commandment specified.
Jesus before Pilate and Herod
23 The whole crowd of them got up and took Jesus to Pilate.
2 They began to accuse him. “We found this fellow,” they said, “deceiving our nation! He was forbidding people to give tribute to Caesar, and saying that he is the Messiah—a king!”
3 So Pilate asked Jesus, “You are the king of the Jews?”
“You said it,” replied Jesus.
4 “I find no fault in this man,” said Pilate to the chief priests and the crowds. 5 But they became insistent.
“He’s stirring up the people,” they said, “teaching them throughout the whole of Judaea. He began in Galilee, and now he’s come here.”
6 When Pilate heard that, he asked if the man was indeed a Galilean. 7 When he learned that he was from Herod’s jurisdiction he sent him to Herod, who happened also to be in Jerusalem at that time.
8 When Herod saw Jesus he was delighted. He had been wanting to see him for quite some time now, since he’d heard about him, and had hoped to see him perform some sign or other. 9 He questioned him this way and that, but Jesus gave no answer at all. 10 The chief priests and the scribes stood by, accusing him vehemently. 11 Herod and his soldiers treated Jesus with contempt; they ridiculed him by dressing him up in a splendid robe, and sent him back to Pilate. 12 And so it happened, that very day, that Herod and Pilate became friends with each other. Up until then, they had been enemies.
Pilate pressured by the crowds
13 So Pilate called the chief priests, the rulers and the people.
14 “You brought this man before me,” he said to them, “on the grounds that he was leading the people astray. Look here, then: I examined him in your presence and I found no evidence in him of the charges you’re bringing against him. 15 Nor did Herod; he sent him back to me. Look: there is no sign that he’s done anything to deserve death. 16 So I’m going to flog him and let him go.”
18 “Take him away!” they shouted out all together. “Release Barabbas for us!” 19 (Barabbas had been thrown into prison because of an uprising that had taken place in the city, and for murder.) 20 Pilate spoke to them again, with the intention of letting Jesus go, 21 but they shouted back, “Crucify him! Crucify him!”
22 “Why?” he said for the third time. “What’s he done wrong? I can’t find anything he’s done that deserves death, so I’m going to beat him and let him go.”
23 But they went on shouting out at the tops of their voices, demanding that he be crucified; and eventually their shouts won the day. 24 Pilate gave his verdict that their request should be granted. 25 He released the man they asked for, the one who’d been thrown into prison because of rebellion and murder, and gave Jesus over to their demands.
26 As they led him away, they grabbed a man from Cyrene called Simon, who was coming in to the city from the countryside, and they forced him to carry the crossbeam behind Jesus.
The crucifixion
27 A great crowd of the people followed Jesus, including women who were mourning and wailing for him. 28 Jesus turned and spoke to them.
“Daughters of Jerusalem,” he said, “don’t cry for me. Cry for yourselves instead! Cry for your children! 29 Listen: the time is coming when you will say, ‘A blessing on the barren! A blessing on wombs that never bore children, and breasts that never nursed them!’ 30 At that time people will start to say to the mountains, ‘Fall on us!’ and to the hills, ‘Cover us!’ 31 Yes: if this is what they do with the green tree, what will happen to the dry one?”
32 Two other criminals were taken away with him to be executed. 33 When they came to the place called The Skull, they crucified him there, with the criminals, one on his right and one on his left.
34 “Father,” said Jesus, “forgive them! They don’t know what they’re doing!”
They divided his clothes, casting lots for them.
35 The people stood around watching. The rulers hurled abuse at him.
“He rescued others,” they said, “let him try rescuing himself, if he really is the Messiah, God’s chosen one!”
36 The soldiers added their taunts, coming up and offering him cheap wine.
37 “If you’re the king of the Jews,” they said, “rescue yourself!”
38 The charge was written above him: “This is the King of the Jews.”
39 One of the bad characters who was hanging there began to insult him. “Aren’t you the Messiah?” he said. “Rescue yourself—and us, too!”
40 But the other one told him off. “Don’t you fear God?” he said. “You’re sharing the same fate that he is! 41 In our case it’s fair enough; we’re getting exactly what we asked for. But this fellow hasn’t done anything out of order.
42 “Jesus,” he went on, “remember me when you finally become king.”
43 “I’m telling you the truth,” replied Jesus, “you’ll be with me in paradise, this very day.”
The death and burial of Jesus
44 By the time of the sixth hour, darkness came over all the land. 45 The sunlight vanished until the ninth hour. The veil of the Temple was ripped down the middle. 46 Then Jesus shouted out at the top of his voice, “Here’s my spirit, Father! You can take care of it now!” And with that he died.
47 The centurion saw what happened, and praised God.
“This fellow,” he said, “really was in the right.”
48 All the crowds who had come together for the spectacle saw what happened, and they went away beating their breasts. 49 Those who knew Jesus, including the women who had followed him from Galilee, remained at a distance and watched the scene.
Scripture quotations from The New Testament for Everyone are copyright © Nicholas Thomas Wright 2011, 2018, 2019.