Mark

¹It was now two days before the feast of the Passover and of the unleavened bread. The chief priests and the scribes were seeking a way to arrest him by deception in order to kill him. ²But they said, “Not during the feast, because there might be a riot of the people.”

³While Jesus⁵⁶³ was at Bethany, in the house of Simon the leper, as he sat at the table, a woman came with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, made of pure nard. She broke the jar and poured the oil over his head. ⁴But there were some who were upset, saying, “Why has this ointment been wasted? ⁵It could have been sold for more than three hundred denarii,⁵⁶⁴ and given to the poor.” They grumbled against her. ⁶But Jesus said, “Leave her alone! Why do you trouble her? She has done a good work for me. ⁷You always have the poor with you, and whenever you want to, you can do them good; but you will not always have me! ⁸She has done what she could: she has anointed my body in advance for the burial. ⁹Amen, I tell you: wherever this Good News will be preached throughout the whole world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her.”

Judas’ betrayal—Preparations of the Passover meal

¹⁰Judas Iscariot, who was one of the Twelve, went off to [meet] the chief priests, in order to deliver Jesus to them. ¹¹When they heard this, they were glad, and promised to give him money. Judas⁵⁶⁵ began to seek how he might conveniently deliver him. ¹²On the first day of unleavened bread, when the Jews⁵⁶⁶ sacrificed the Passover, his disciples asked him, “Where do you want us to go and make preparations so that you may eat the Passover?”

¹³He sent two of his disciples and said to them, “Go into the city, and there you will meet a man carrying a pitcher of water. Follow him, ¹⁴and wherever he enters, tell the master of the house, ‘The Teacher says, “Where is my guest room, where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?”‘ ¹⁵He himself will show you a large upper room furnished and ready. Make preparations for us there.”

¹⁶His disciples went out, and came into the city, and found things as he had told them; and they prepared the Passover.

¹⁷When it was evening, Jesus came with the Twelve. ¹⁸As they sat and were eating, Jesus said, “Amen, I tell you: one of you will betray me; the one who eats with me.”

¹⁹And they began to be distressed, and they asked him, one by one, “Surely not I?” And another said, “Surely not I?”

²⁰He answered them, “It is one of the Twelve, the one who dips with me in the dish. ²¹The Son of Man goes just as it is written about him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been better for that man not to have been born.”

The institution of the Eucharist—The Lord’s supper

²²As they were eating, Jesus took bread, and after saying a blessing, he broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “Take, eat. This is my body.”

²³He took the cup, and after giving thanks, he gave it to them, and they all drank from it. ²⁴He said to them, “This is my blood of the new⁵⁶⁷ covenant, which is to be poured out for many. ²⁵Amen, I tell you: I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it anew in the Kingdom of God.” ²⁶After singing a hymn,⁵⁶⁸ they went out to the Mount of Olives.

Peter’s denial is foretold—The agony in the garden

²⁷Jesus said to them, “All of you will be made to stumble because of me tonight,⁵⁶⁹ for it is written, ‘I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered.’^{570 28}However, after I am raised up, I will go before you into Galilee.”

²⁹But Peter said to him, “Even if all fall away, I will not!”

³⁰Jesus said to him, “Amen, I tell you that today, this very night, before the rooster crows twice, you yourself will deny me three times!”

³¹But Peter insisted, “If I must die with you, I will not deny you!” And they all said the same thing.

³²They arrived at a place which was named Gethsemane. Jesus said to his disciples, “Sit here while I pray.” ³³He took with him Peter, James, and John, and began to be greatly troubled and distressed. ³⁴He said to them, “My soul is extremely sorrowful, even to death.⁵⁷¹ Stay here, and keep watch.”

³⁵He went ahead a little, fell on the ground on his face⁵⁷², and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour might pass away from him. ³⁶He said, “Abba, Father, all things are possible to you. Please remove this cup from me. However, not what I desire, but what you desire.”⁵⁷³

³⁷Coming back, he found the disciples sleeping, and said to Peter, “Simon, are you sleeping? Could you not watch one hour? ³⁸Watch and pray, that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak!”

³⁹Again, he went away, and prayed, saying the same words.^{574 40}And when he came back, he found them asleep again, because their eyes were very heavy, and they did not know what to answer him. ⁴¹The third time, he came and said to them, “Sleep on now, and take your rest. It is enough! The hour has come! Behold, the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. ⁴²Arise, let us be on our way, for behold, the one who betrays me is near.”

Judas’ kiss of betrayal—The Lord is arrested

⁴³Immediately, while he was still speaking, Judas Iscariot⁵⁷⁵, one of the Twelve, arrived. With him came a great crowd with swords and clubs, sent by the chief priests, the scribes, and the presbyters. ⁴⁴Now the betrayer had given them a sign, saying, “The one I will kiss is the man; arrest him and take him away under guard.” ⁴⁵So when he came, he immediately went up to Jesus and said, “Hail⁵⁷⁶ Rabbi!” and kissed him. ⁴⁶They laid their hands on Jesus⁵⁷⁷ and arrested him. ⁴⁷But one of those who stood by drew his sword, and struck the slave of the high priest, cutting off his ear.

⁴⁸Jesus said, “Have you come out as against a robber, with swords and clubs to seize me? ⁴⁹Every day I was with you in the temple, teaching, and you did not arrest me! But this is [taking place] so that the Scriptures might be fulfilled.”

⁵⁰All his disciples⁵⁷⁸ left him and fled. ⁵¹A certain young man was following Jesus,⁵⁷⁹ wearing only a linen cloth [as a tunic]. The young men⁵⁸⁰ grabbed him, ⁵²but he left the linen cloth [behind], and fled from them naked.⁵⁸¹

Before the Sanhedrin

⁵³They led Jesus away to the high priest, and all the chief priests, the presbyters and the scribes were assembled with him.

⁵⁴Peter had followed Jesus from a distance, right into the courtyard of the high priest. He was sitting with the officers, warming himself in the light of the fire. ⁵⁵Now the chief priests and the whole council were looking for witnesses [to testify] against Jesus in order to put him to death. But they could not find any. ⁵⁶Many gave false testimonies against him, and their testimonies did not agree with each other. ⁵⁷Some stood up, and bore false witness against Jesus,⁵⁸² saying: ⁵⁸”We heard him say, ‘I will destroy this sanctuary that is made with hands, and in three days, I will build another made without hands.’”^{583 59}Even so, their testimony did not agree.

⁶⁰The high priest stood up in their midst and asked Jesus, “Do you have no answer? What is this which these testify against you?” ⁶¹But Jesus remained silent and answered nothing. Again, the high priest asked him, “Are you the Christ,⁵⁸⁴ the Son of the Blessed?”

⁶²Jesus replied, “I am. You will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of Power, and coming with the clouds of the sky.”

⁶³At this, the high priest tore his robes and said, “What further need do we have for witnesses? ⁶⁴You have surely heard the blasphemy! What is your decision?” And they all condemned him as deserving death. ⁶⁵Some began to spit on him, to blindfold him, and to beat him with fists, saying, “Prophesy <to us! Who hit you?>“⁵⁸⁵ And the officers struck him with the palms of their hands.

Peter’s threefold denial

⁶⁶As Peter was in the courtyard below, one of the maidservants of the high priest came in. ⁶⁷Seeing Peter warming himself, she looked at him, and said, “You were also with Jesus the Nazarene!”

⁶⁸But he denied it, saying, “I do not know or understand what you are talking about!” He went out on the porch, and the rooster crowed.

⁶⁹When the servant girl saw him again, she began to tell those who stood by, “This is one of them!” ⁷⁰But again, he denied it. A little while later, those who stood by again said to Peter, “Surely you are one of them! You are a Galilean, and your accent⁵⁸⁶ shows it.” ⁷¹But Peter began to invoke a curse on himself and to swear, “I do not know this man of whom you speak!” ⁷²The rooster crowed the second time, and Peter remembered the word Jesus had spoken to him, “Before the rooster crows twice, you will deny me three times.” When he thought about that,⁵⁸⁷ he broke down and wept.

Before Pilate—The Lord is condemned to be crucified

563. Greek “he”
564. 300 denarii was about a years wages for an agricultural laborer.
565. Greek “he”
566. Greek “they”
567. CT omits “new”—the Greek word could also mean “renewed”
568. Probably a Psalm (118 and following)
569. CT omits “because of me tonight”
570. Zechariah 13:7
571. Compare Sirach 37:2
572. Other manuscripts omit “on his face”
573. Or “will”
574. Some manuscripts (D and Latin) omit “saying the same words”
575. Other manuscripts omit “Iscariot”
576. “Hail” is in the Patriarchal Text and Latin Vulgate, but absent from most other manuscripts
577. Greek “him”
578. Greek “they”
579. Greek “him”
580. CT has “they” instead of “the young men”
581. Or possibly “wearing only an undergarment” (see also John 21:7)
582. Greek “him”
583. Compare John 2:19
584. Or “Messiah”
585. Other manuscripts omit this harmonization of Matt 26:68
586. Or “speech/dialect”
587. The Greek expression can be translated as “broke down” (NRSV, NIV) or “thought about it” (NKJV). The EOB combines both expressions.