Now it was two days before the Passover and the Festival of Unleavened Bread. The high priests and the scribes were looking for a way to arrest Jesus secretly and to have him put to death,

Now the Festival of Unleavened Bread, which is called the Passover, was near.

Now before the Passover Festival, Jesus realized that his hour had come to leave this world and return to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end.

Betrayed

The Son of Man is going away, just as it has been written about him. How terrible it will be for that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been better for him if he had never been born."

While they were gathering together in Galilee, Jesus told them, "The Son of Man is going to be betrayed into human hands.

"See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be handed over to the high priests and scribes, and they will condemn him to death.

saying, "I have sinned by betraying innocent blood."

He is not here, but has been raised. Remember what he told you while he was still in Galilee:

By supper time, the Devil had already put it into the heart of Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, to betray him.

Now Judas, who betrayed him, also knew the place, because Jesus often met there with his disciples.

General references

"The LORD's Passover is to take place on the fourteenth day of the first month.

At every festival, Pilate would release any one prisoner whom the people requested.

Now the Festival of Unleavened Bread, which is called the Passover, was near.