"You know that the Passover Festival will be celebrated in two more days [Note: This was the annual Jewish festival commemorating Israel's deliverance from Egyptian bondage under Moses' leadership], and the Son of man will be turned over to be crucified."

About this time the chief priests, and the elders of the people, assembled in the palace of the high priest, whose name was Caiaphas,

But they kept saying, "This must not happen during the festival. Otherwise, there'll be a riot among the people."

Now when Jesus was at Bethany [Note: This was a small village less than two miles east of Jerusalem], in the house of Simon, the man [who probably had been healed] of an infectious skin disease,

But when his disciples saw it, they had indignation, saying, To what purpose is this waste?

For this ointment might have been sold for much, and given to the poor.

But Jesus, aware [of the malice] of this [remark], said to them, “Why are you bothering the woman? She has done a good thing to Me.

(seeing ye have the poor always with you, but me ye have not always:) for in pouring this ointment on my body,

For in that she hath poured this ointment on my body, she did it for my burial.

Verily I say unto you, Wheresoever this gospel shall be preached in the whole world, there shall also this, that this woman hath done, be told for a memorial of her.

About this time went one of the twelve, called Judas Iscariot,

and said, "What would you give me if I turned Jesus over to you?" And they weighed out thirty silver coins [Note: This amount was equivalent to about five months of a farm laborer's wages, or approximately $7,000 in 1994], and promised [See Mark 14:11] to give him that much money.

and as they were eating, he said, 'tis indeed true that one of this company shall betray me.

They were greatly distressed at this, and each of them said to him, "Lord, surely it is not me."

And he answered [and] said, "The one who dips his hand in the bowl with me--this one will betray me.

And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body.

And taking the cup, and giving thanks, he gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of this:

For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.

But I say unto you, I will not drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine, until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father's kingdom.

And after they had sung a hymn, they went up to the Mount of Olives. [Note: This was a small hill just east of Jerusalem]

Then saith Jesus unto them, All ye shall be offended because of me this night: for it is written, I will smite the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock shall be scattered abroad.

Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, That this night, before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice.

Then Jesus came with His disciples to a place called Gethsemene. [Note: This was an olive orchard on a hillside just east of Jerusalem]. He said to them, "You sit here while I go over there and pray."

And he went a little further, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.

And [when] He came [back] to where His disciples were and found them asleep, He said to Peter, "What [is this], could you not remain alert with me [in prayer] for one hour?

He went away again the second time, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it, thy will be done.

and at his return, he said to his disciples, is this a time to sleep and take your rest? the hour draws nigh, and the son of man is betrayed into the hands of the gentiles.

now he that was to betray him, gave them this signal, the person I shall kiss, is the very man, be sure to secure him.

What! do you think I cannot appeal to my Father to furnish me at this moment with over twelve legions of angels?

How then will the Scriptures be fulfilled, that it must happen this way?”

At this point, Jesus asked the crowds, "Have you come out with swords and clubs to arrest me as if I were a bandit? Day after day I sat teaching in the Temple, yet you didn't arrest me.

But all this was done, that the scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled. Then all the disciples forsook him, and fled.

Peter, however, followed him at a distance as far as the high priest's courtyard. He went inside and sat down with the servants to see how this would end.

And said, This fellow said, I am able to destroy the temple of God, and to build it in three days.

The high priest stood up and said to Jesus, “Have You no answer to give? What is it that these men are testifying against You?”

But Jesus remained silent. On this the High Priest said to him: "I adjure you, by the Living God, to tell us whether you are the Christ, the Son of God."

Jesus said to him, "You have said it. Nevertheless, I tell you, after this you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of Power, and coming on the clouds of the sky."

Then the High Priest tore his robes. "This is blasphemy!" he exclaimed. "Why do we want any more witnesses? You have just heard his blasphemy!

saying, "Prophesy to us, you 'Christ.' Tell us who hit you?" [Note: By this time Jesus had been blindfolded. See Mark 14:65].

And when he was gone out into the porch, another maid saw him, and said unto them that were there, This fellow was also with Jesus of Nazareth.

And he denied [it] again, [this time] with an oath, saying, "I do not [even] know the man."

At this he broke out cursing and swearing, "I do not know the man." At that moment a cock crowed.

The high priests picked up the pieces of silver and said, "It is not lawful to put this into the Temple treasury, because it is blood money."

So, they conferred together [and decided] to buy "The Potter's Field" with the money [Note: This was probably an abandoned field where clay had been obtained for making pottery], for use in burying people who were not from the local area.

Wherefore that field was called, The field of blood, unto this day.

and at this time they had a notorious prisoner called Barabbas.

So when they had assembled [for this purpose], Pilate said to them, “Whom do you want me to set free for you? Barabbas, or Jesus who is called Christ?”

He did this because he knew that they had handed him over out of jealousy.

When he was set down on the judgment seat, his wife sent unto him, saying, Have thou nothing to do with that just man: for I have suffered many things this day in a dream because of him.

When Pilate saw that he could prevail nothing, but that rather a tumult was made, he took water, and washed his hands before the multitude, saying, I am innocent of the blood of this just person: see ye to it.

To this all the people replied, "His blood be on us and on our children!"

after this the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the common hall, and gathered all the foot-guards about him.

They stripped off His clothing and placed a scarlet robe on Him [Note: Mark 15:17 calls this a "purple" robe because in that day, any color with a mixture of "red" in it was often called "purple," so the use of "scarlet" was appropriate].

Now as they were coming out, they found a man of Cyrene named Simon, whom they forced into service to carry the cross of Jesus.

And set up over his head his accusation written, THIS IS JESUS THE KING OF THE JEWS.

And about the ninth hour, Jesus cried out with a great voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani I this is, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?

Some of them that stood there, when they heard that, said, This man calleth for Elias.

Now when the centurion, and they that were with him, watching Jesus, saw the earthquake, and those things that were done, they feared greatly, saying, Truly this was the Son of God.

And many women, who had followed Jesus from Galilee and had ministered to His needs, were watching [all this] from a distance.

this man went to Pilate, and asked for the body of Jesus. Then Pilate commanded it to be given up.

Now the next day after the preparation, the chief priests and pharisees went together to Pilate, saying, Sir, we remember that this impostor,

and said, “Sir, we remember that while this deceiver was still alive He said, ‘After three days I will rise again.’

Therefore, give the order to secure the grave site until the third day, so his disciples will not steal his body and then tell the people 'He has risen from the dead.' This last deception would be worse than the first one [i.e., the claim that Jesus rose from the dead would be worse than the claim that he was the Messiah]."

Then run and tell His disciples, 'He has risen from the dead, and is going back to Galilee ahead of you; you will see Him there.' This is my message to you."

On this they left the tomb quickly, in awe and great joy, and ran to tell the news to the disciples.

While they went on this errand, some of the guards came into the city and reported to the High Priests every detail of what had happened.

and told them, “Say this, ‘His disciples came during the night and stole Him while we were sleeping.’

And if this come to the governor's ears, we will persuade him, and secure you.

So they took the money, and did as they were taught: and this saying is commonly reported among the Jews until this day.

This is the beginning of the gospel of Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God.

And in fulfillment of this, John the Baptizer appeared in the Wilderness, proclaiming a baptism upon repentance, for the forgiveness of sins.

And this was his message: "After me there is coming one stronger than I am, one whose shoes I am not fit to stoop down and untie.

when this voice from heaven was heard, "thou art my beloved son, in whom I am well pleased."

He spent forty days in this desert where He was put to the test by Satan. He was with wild animals, and angels ministered to His needs [while there].

"The time has fully come," He said, "and the Kingdom of God is close at hand: repent, and believe this Good News.

So, they went to Capernaum [Note: This was a city in Galilee that later became Jesus' headquarters while in Galilee. See verse

At this, the unclean spirit shook the man, cried out with a loud voice, and came out of him.

And they were all amazed, insomuch that they questioned among themselves, saying, What thing is this? what new doctrine is this? for with authority commandeth he even the unclean spirits, and they do obey him.

upon this his fame immediately spread abroad over all the region of Galilee.

And he saith unto them, Let us go elsewhere into the next towns, that I may preach there also; for to this end came I forth.

Then a person with an infectious skin disease came to Jesus and, kneeling down before Him, begged Him, saying, "If you want to, you can heal me." [Note: Throughout this narrative the term "heal/healing" is originally "clean/cleansing" because the Jews viewed a person with such a disease as ceremonially "unclean." See Lev. 13:1-3].

When he had said this, immediately the leprosy departed from him, and he was made clean.

But Jesus at once drove him out of their presence, and gave him this stringent charge:

saying to him, “See that you tell no one anything [about this]; but go, show yourself to the priest and offer for your purification what Moses commanded, as proof to them [that you are really healed].”

But certain of the scribes were sitting there, and reasoning in their hearts, Why doth this man thus speak blasphemies?

Why doth this man thus speak blasphemies? who can forgive sins but God only?

Immediately Jesus, being fully aware [of their hostility] and knowing in His spirit that they were thinking this, said to them, “Why are you debating and arguing about these things in your hearts?

Which is easier?--to say to this paralytic, 'Your sins are pardoned,' or to say, 'Rise, take up your mat, and walk?'

And immediately he arose, took up the bed, and went forth before them all; insomuch that they were all amazed, and glorified God, saying, We never saw it on this fashion.

When Jesus heard this, He told them, “Those who are well don’t need a doctor, but the sick do need one. I didn’t come to call the righteous, but sinners.”

And it happened that Jesus was walking through the grainfields on the Sabbath day and His disciples began picking off heads of grain [to eat] as they traveled along. [Note: It was an accepted custom for people in that day to be permitted to do this as they walked along the paths bordering a grainfield].

adding this observation, "the sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath."

For this reason the Son of Man is lord even of the Sabbath."

On this the Pharisees withdrew and at once joined the Herodians in a plot against him, to destroy him.

After this they went into an house, and the crowd press'd again upon them, so as to hinder them from taking their meal.

And [when] {his family} heard [this], they went out to restrain him, for they were saying, "He has lost his mind!"

And the experts in the law of Moses who had come down from Jerusalem were saying [Note: This followed the incident of Jesus healing a man with an evil spirit. See Matt. 12:22-28], "He has Beelzebub [in him]," and "He is driving out evil spirits by [the power of] the chief of evil spirits."

This was because they said, "He is possessed by a foul spirit."

By this time His mother and His brothers arrive, and standing outside they send a message to Him to call Him.

For whoever does the will of God, this person is my brother and sister and mother."