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Matthew 26
EasyEnglish Bible
Matthew 26
EasyEnglish Bible
Those who are against Jesus want to take hold of him
26 When Jesus finished saying all these things, he said to his disciples, 2 ‘You know that after two days it will be the time of the Passover festival. Then those people who are against me will put me into the power of the rulers. They will fix me, the Son of Man, to a cross to kill me.’[a]
3 Then the leaders of the priests and the important Jews met together in the house of the most important priest. His name was Caiaphas. 4 They wanted to kill Jesus. But they wanted to take hold of him secretly. So they tried to decide how they could do that. 5 They said to each other, ‘We do not want to take hold of him during the Passover festival. If we do that, the people will be angry and they may fight against us.’
A woman pours beautiful oil on Jesus' head
6 Then Jesus went to Bethany and he visited Simon at his house. At one time, Simon had had a bad disease of the skin.[b]
7 While Jesus was eating a meal there, a woman came into the house. She brought a small stone jar with her. The jar contained expensive oil with a very nice smell.[c] She poured the oil over Jesus' head while he sat there.
8 Jesus' disciples saw what the woman had done. They became angry and they said, ‘This woman should not have wasted the oil. 9 She could have sold it for a lot of money. Then she could have given the money to poor people.’
10 Jesus knew what his disciples were saying. So he said to them, ‘Do not cause trouble for her. She has done a good thing to me. 11 You will always have poor people with you. But you will not always have me with you. 12 She has poured oil over my body. So now I will be ready for people to bury me. 13 I tell you this: Everywhere in the world people will speak about this good news. At the same time, they will also tell people about the good thing that this woman has done. And so people will remember her.’
Judas Iscariot promises to sell Jesus for money
14 Judas Iscariot was one of Jesus' 12 apostles. He went to see the leaders of the priests 15 and he asked them, ‘How much money will you give me if I help you to take hold of Jesus?’ The priests gave Judas 30 silver coins. 16 Judas then waited for the right moment to help them to take hold of Jesus.
Jesus eats his last meal with his 12 disciples
17 The first day of the festival when the Jews eat flat bread arrived.[d] Jesus' disciples came to him and they asked him, ‘Where do you want us to prepare the Passover meal for you to eat?’
18 Jesus replied, ‘Go to a certain man in the city and say to him, “The teacher says: This is the moment that God has prepared for me. I will eat the Passover meal with my disciples in your house.” ’ 19 So Jesus' disciples did what he had told them to do. They went and they prepared the Passover meal.
20 When it was evening, Jesus and the 12 apostles sat down to eat the Passover meal together. 21 While they were eating, Jesus said, ‘I tell you this: One of you will help the Jewish leaders to take hold of me.’
22 They were very sad about what Jesus had said. Each one of them said to Jesus, ‘Lord, surely you do not mean me, do you?’
23 Jesus said to them ‘The man who will give me to the rulers is eating from the same dish as I am.[e] 24 The Son of Man must die in the way that the Bible says. But it will be very bad for the man who gives me to my enemies. It would be better for that man if he had not been born.’
25 Judas was the one who would give Jesus to the Jewish leaders. But he said to Jesus, ‘Teacher, surely you do not mean me, do you?’ Jesus replied to him, ‘Yes, you have said it.’
26 While Jesus and his disciples were eating, he took a loaf of bread. He thanked God for it and then he broke the bread into pieces. He gave some of it to each of them. He said, ‘Take this bread and eat it. This is my body.’
27 Then Jesus took a cup. He thanked God for the wine in the cup. Then he gave it to them and he said, ‘All of you should drink some of this wine. 28 This is my blood that shows God's promise. When I die, my blood will pour out of my body. In that way God will forgive many people for the wrong things that they have done. That is the promise that God makes because of my death. 29 I tell you this. I will not drink wine again until I drink it with you in my Father's kingdom. Then it will be new wine.’[f]
30 Then Jesus and his disciples sang a song to praise God.[g] Then they went out to the Mount of Olives.
Jesus tells Peter what will happen
31 Then Jesus said to his disciples, ‘Tonight, all of you will turn away from me. It will happen in the way that the Bible says:
God says, “I will kill the shepherd who leads the sheep.
Then all the sheep will run away in different directions.” ’[h]
32 Jesus then said, ‘But after that happens, I will become alive again. Then I will go to Galilee, and you will meet me there.’
33 Peter said to Jesus, ‘Even if everyone else runs away, I will not leave you.’
34 Jesus replied to Peter, ‘I tell you this: Even tonight, you will say three times that you do not know me. This will happen before the cockerel sings early tomorrow morning.’
35 But Peter said to Jesus, ‘I will die with you if I need to. But I will never say that I do not know you.’ All the other disciples said the same thing.
Jesus prays in a garden on the Mount of Olives
36 Then Jesus and his disciples arrived at a large garden called Gethsemane. Jesus said to the disciples, ‘Sit here while I go over there to pray.’ 37 Then Jesus took Peter and Zebedee's two sons, James and John, with him. He became very sad and upset. 38 He said to them, ‘I am very sad. I feel as if I could die because I feel so sad. Wait here with me and stay awake.’
39 Jesus went a short way beyond them. He went down with his face on the ground. He prayed, ‘Father, if it is possible, please save me from this time of great pain. But Father, I do not ask you to do what I want. Do what you want to do.’
40 Jesus returned to the three disciples. Now they were sleeping. He said to Peter, ‘You men could not stay awake with me for even one hour! 41 You must stay awake and pray. God can help you, so that you will not do something wrong. You really want to do the right thing, but your bodies are weak.’
42 Jesus went away a second time and he prayed, ‘My Father, if it is not possible to save me from this time of great pain, then I want to obey you. Do what you want for me.’
43 Then Jesus returned again to Peter, James and John. He saw that they were sleeping. They could not keep their eyes open. 44 So Jesus went away from them again and he prayed a third time. He said the same words to God.
45 When he returned to the disciples, he said, ‘You should not still be sleeping and resting. Look! The moment has arrived! Someone will now give me, the Son of Man, to my enemies. 46 Stand up, we will go now. Look! The man who will give me to my enemies is here.’
The soldiers take hold of Jesus
47 While Jesus was still speaking, Judas arrived. He was one of Jesus' 12 disciples. A crowd also came with him. They were carrying swords and heavy sticks. The leaders of the priests and the important Jews had sent these people with Judas. 48 Judas was ready to help the Jewish leaders to take hold of Jesus. Before this, he had told them, ‘I will kiss one of the men. You must take hold of that man.’
49 Now Judas went immediately to Jesus. He said, ‘Hello, Teacher.’ Then he kissed Jesus in a friendly way.[i]
50 Jesus said to Judas, ‘My friend, now do what you have come here to do.’
Then the crowd of men came up to Jesus. They took hold of him to lead him away. 51 Then one of Jesus' disciples took hold of his sword. He hit the servant of the leader of the priests with it and he cut off the servant's ear.
52 Then Jesus said to the disciple, ‘Put your sword back in its place. People who use a sword to kill others will themselves die in the same way. Someone will kill them with a sword. 53 You should know that I could ask my Father God to help me. He would immediately send more than 12 large groups of angels to fight for me. 54 They would save me. But then the things that God has said in the Bible about this would not happen. So it must happen in this way.’
55 At that time, Jesus said to the crowd, ‘You have come out here with swords and heavy sticks to take hold of me. Do you really believe that I am leading people to fight against our country's rulers? No! I was teaching people every day in the yard of the temple. But you did not try to take hold of me then. 56 The prophets wrote long ago that all this would happen to me. Now it has become true.’
Then all of Jesus' disciples ran away and left him.
Jesus stands in front of all the important rulers
57 Then those men who had taken hold of Jesus took him to Caiaphas's house. Caiaphas was the most important priest. The teachers of God's Law and the important Jews were meeting there together with Caiaphas.[j]
58 Peter followed Jesus into the yard of Caiaphas' house. But he did not go near Jesus. He sat down in the yard with the police who worked in the temple. He wanted to see what would happen.
59 The leaders of the priests and all the Jewish leaders wanted to punish Jesus with death. So they tried to find some people who would say things against Jesus that were not true. 60 Many people did come. And they said things against Jesus that were not true. But still the Jewish leaders could not find a reason to kill Jesus.[k]
Then two men stood up and they said, 61 ‘We heard this man say, “I can destroy the temple and in three days I can build it again.” ’
62 Then Caiaphas stood up. He said to Jesus, ‘You must reply now to what these men have said against you. Are the things that they say true?’ 63 But Jesus did not say anything.
So Caiaphas said to him, ‘I use the authority of the God who lives. You must promise to tell us what is true. Are you the Messiah? Are you the Son of God?’
64 ‘You have said it,’ Jesus replied. ‘And I tell all of you, soon you will see the Son of Man. He will be sitting in the most important place at the right side of the Most Powerful God. You will also see him coming to earth. He will be riding on the clouds in the sky.’
65 Then Caiaphas tore his clothes to show that he was angry.[l] He said, ‘Jesus has spoken bad words against God. We do not need anyone else to speak against him. You have heard him speak bad words against God. 66 Do you think that he is guilty?’
They replied, ‘He is guilty and he deserves to die.’
67 Then some of them spat into Jesus' face. They also hit him with their fists. 68 When they hit him, they said, ‘Messiah! Show us that you are a prophet. Tell us who hit you!’
Peter says three times that he does not know Jesus
69 While all these things were happening, Peter was sitting outside in the yard. One of the girls who worked there went to him and she said, ‘You were also a friend of Jesus, the man from Galilee.’
70 Peter said in front of everyone who was there, ‘That is not true. I do not know what you are talking about.’
71 Peter then went out to the gate, and another servant girl saw him. This girl said to the people who were standing there, ‘This man was a friend of Jesus, the man from Nazareth.’
72 Peter answered again very strongly. He said, ‘I promise you, I really do not know that man!’
73 After a little time, other people who were standing at the gate spoke to Peter. They said, ‘We are sure that you too are one of that man's friends. We know this because you speak like people who live in Galilee.’
74 Peter said to them very strongly, ‘I tell you that I do not know that man. God will surely punish me if this is not true!’
Immediately after Peter said this, the cockerel sang. 75 Then Peter remembered that Jesus had said to him, ‘Tonight you will say three times that you do not know me. You will do it before the cockerel sings.’ So Peter went out of the yard. He began to weep a lot because he was very upset.
Footnotes
- 26:2 We can read about the first Passover meal in Exodus 12.
- 26:6 We believe that Jesus had caused Simon to become well again. Now Simon could live in his home in Bethany again.
- 26:7 The oil was called nard and people made it from a plant. The plant grows in the country called India. People kept the oil in a special stone jar. The woman had to break the jar to pour out the oil.
- 26:17 Flat bread is bread that has no yeast in it.
- 26:23 There was a dish on the table with wet food in it. They all put the end of their bread into this dish and they ate the wet food with the bread. Sometimes a person ate out of the same dish as someone else. This meant that they were good friends.
- 26:29 Most Christians still meet for special meals to remember what Jesus did for them. They obey Jesus. They eat bread and drink wine together. And they think about when Jesus died for them.
- 26:30 People sang a special song about God at the end of a Passover meal. It helped them to remember all that God had done for them.
- 26:31 See Zechariah 13:7
- 26:49 We think that Judas kissed Jesus on the side of his face.
- 26:57 Caiaphas was the leader of the important Jewish rulers. There were 71 of them. They met together to decide about how to rule the people. They also decided how to punish a bad person. They had a lot of power, but they could not kill a bad person. Only the Roman rulers could do that.
- 26:60 The Jewish leaders wanted a reason to give Jesus over to the Roman rulers. But Jesus had never said anything wrong.
- 26:65 Caiaphas tore his coat to show other people that he was very angry.
Matthew 26
New International Version
Matthew 26
New International Version
The Plot Against Jesus(A)
26 When Jesus had finished saying all these things,(B) he said to his disciples, 2 “As you know, the Passover(C) is two days away—and the Son of Man will be handed over to be crucified.”
3 Then the chief priests and the elders of the people assembled(D) in the palace of the high priest, whose name was Caiaphas,(E) 4 and they schemed to arrest Jesus secretly and kill him.(F) 5 “But not during the festival,” they said, “or there may be a riot(G) among the people.”
Jesus Anointed at Bethany(H)(I)
6 While Jesus was in Bethany(J) in the home of Simon the Leper, 7 a woman came to him with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, which she poured on his head as he was reclining at the table.
8 When the disciples saw this, they were indignant. “Why this waste?” they asked. 9 “This perfume could have been sold at a high price and the money given to the poor.”
10 Aware of this, Jesus said to them, “Why are you bothering this woman? She has done a beautiful thing to me. 11 The poor you will always have with you,[a](K) but you will not always have me. 12 When she poured this perfume on my body, she did it to prepare me for burial.(L) 13 Truly I tell you, wherever this gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her.”
Judas Agrees to Betray Jesus(M)
14 Then one of the Twelve—the one called Judas Iscariot(N)—went to the chief priests 15 and asked, “What are you willing to give me if I deliver him over to you?” So they counted out for him thirty pieces of silver.(O) 16 From then on Judas watched for an opportunity to hand him over.
The Last Supper(P)(Q)(R)
17 On the first day of the Festival of Unleavened Bread,(S) the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Where do you want us to make preparations for you to eat the Passover?”(T)
18 He replied, “Go into the city to a certain man and tell him, ‘The Teacher says: My appointed time(U) is near. I am going to celebrate the Passover with my disciples at your house.’” 19 So the disciples did as Jesus had directed them and prepared the Passover.
20 When evening came, Jesus was reclining at the table with the Twelve. 21 And while they were eating, he said, “Truly I tell you, one of you will betray me.”(V)
22 They were very sad and began to say to him one after the other, “Surely you don’t mean me, Lord?”
23 Jesus replied, “The one who has dipped his hand into the bowl with me will betray me.(W) 24 The Son of Man will go just as it is written about him.(X) But woe to that man who betrays the Son of Man! It would be better for him if he had not been born.”
25 Then Judas, the one who would betray him,(Y) said, “Surely you don’t mean me, Rabbi?”(Z)
Jesus answered, “You have said so.”
26 While they were eating, Jesus took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it(AA) and gave it to his disciples, saying, “Take and eat; this is my body.”
27 Then he took a cup,(AB) and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you. 28 This is my blood of the[b] covenant,(AC) which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.(AD) 29 I tell you, I will not drink from this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you(AE) in my Father’s kingdom.”
30 When they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.(AF)
Jesus Predicts Peter’s Denial(AG)
31 Then Jesus told them, “This very night you will all fall away on account of me,(AH) for it is written:
32 But after I have risen, I will go ahead of you into Galilee.”(AJ)
33 Peter replied, “Even if all fall away on account of you, I never will.”
34 “Truly I tell you,” Jesus answered, “this very night, before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times.”(AK)
35 But Peter declared, “Even if I have to die with you,(AL) I will never disown you.” And all the other disciples said the same.
Gethsemane(AM)
36 Then Jesus went with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to them, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.” 37 He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee(AN) along with him, and he began to be sorrowful and troubled. 38 Then he said to them, “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow(AO) to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.”(AP)
39 Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup(AQ) be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.”(AR)
40 Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. “Couldn’t you men keep watch with me(AS) for one hour?” he asked Peter. 41 “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation.(AT) The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”
42 He went away a second time and prayed, “My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done.”(AU)
43 When he came back, he again found them sleeping, because their eyes were heavy. 44 So he left them and went away once more and prayed the third time, saying the same thing.
45 Then he returned to the disciples and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting? Look, the hour(AV) has come, and the Son of Man is delivered into the hands of sinners. 46 Rise! Let us go! Here comes my betrayer!”
Jesus Arrested(AW)
47 While he was still speaking, Judas,(AX) one of the Twelve, arrived. With him was a large crowd armed with swords and clubs, sent from the chief priests and the elders of the people. 48 Now the betrayer had arranged a signal with them: “The one I kiss is the man; arrest him.” 49 Going at once to Jesus, Judas said, “Greetings, Rabbi!”(AY) and kissed him.
50 Jesus replied, “Do what you came for, friend.”[d](AZ)
Then the men stepped forward, seized Jesus and arrested him. 51 With that, one of Jesus’ companions reached for his sword,(BA) drew it out and struck the servant of the high priest, cutting off his ear.(BB)
52 “Put your sword back in its place,” Jesus said to him, “for all who draw the sword will die by the sword.(BC) 53 Do you think I cannot call on my Father, and he will at once put at my disposal more than twelve legions of angels?(BD) 54 But how then would the Scriptures be fulfilled(BE) that say it must happen in this way?”
55 In that hour Jesus said to the crowd, “Am I leading a rebellion, that you have come out with swords and clubs to capture me? Every day I sat in the temple courts teaching,(BF) and you did not arrest me. 56 But this has all taken place that the writings of the prophets might be fulfilled.”(BG) Then all the disciples deserted him and fled.
Jesus Before the Sanhedrin(BH)
57 Those who had arrested Jesus took him to Caiaphas(BI) the high priest, where the teachers of the law and the elders had assembled. 58 But Peter followed him at a distance, right up to the courtyard of the high priest.(BJ) He entered and sat down with the guards(BK) to see the outcome.
59 The chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin(BL) were looking for false evidence against Jesus so that they could put him to death. 60 But they did not find any, though many false witnesses(BM) came forward.
Finally two(BN) came forward 61 and declared, “This fellow said, ‘I am able to destroy the temple of God and rebuild it in three days.’”(BO)
62 Then the high priest stood up and said to Jesus, “Are you not going to answer? What is this testimony that these men are bringing against you?” 63 But Jesus remained silent.(BP)
The high priest said to him, “I charge you under oath(BQ) by the living God:(BR) Tell us if you are the Messiah,(BS) the Son of God.”(BT)
64 “You have said so,”(BU) Jesus replied. “But I say to all of you: From now on you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One(BV) and coming on the clouds of heaven.”[e](BW)
65 Then the high priest tore his clothes(BX) and said, “He has spoken blasphemy! Why do we need any more witnesses? Look, now you have heard the blasphemy. 66 What do you think?”
“He is worthy of death,”(BY) they answered.
67 Then they spit in his face and struck him with their fists.(BZ) Others slapped him 68 and said, “Prophesy to us, Messiah. Who hit you?”(CA)
Peter Disowns Jesus(CB)
69 Now Peter was sitting out in the courtyard, and a servant girl came to him. “You also were with Jesus of Galilee,” she said.
70 But he denied it before them all. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he said.
71 Then he went out to the gateway, where another servant girl saw him and said to the people there, “This fellow was with Jesus of Nazareth.”
72 He denied it again, with an oath: “I don’t know the man!”
73 After a little while, those standing there went up to Peter and said, “Surely you are one of them; your accent gives you away.”
74 Then he began to call down curses, and he swore to them, “I don’t know the man!”
Immediately a rooster crowed. 75 Then Peter remembered the word Jesus had spoken: “Before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times.”(CC) And he went outside and wept bitterly.
Footnotes
- Matthew 26:11 See Deut. 15:11.
- Matthew 26:28 Some manuscripts the new
- Matthew 26:31 Zech. 13:7
- Matthew 26:50 Or “Why have you come, friend?”
- Matthew 26:64 See Psalm 110:1; Daniel 7:13.
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