Mateus 26

The Plot To Kill Jesus

1 When Jesus had finished teaching, he told his disciples, 2 *Ex 12.1-27."You know two days from now will be Passover. This is when the Son of Man will be handed over to his enemies and nailed to a cross."

3 At that time the chief priests and the nation’s leaders were meeting at the home of Caiaphas the high priest. 4 They planned how they could sneak around and have Jesus arrested and put to death. 5 But they said, "We must not do it during Passover, because the people will riot."

At Bethany

6 Jesus was in the town of Bethany, eating at the home of Simon, who had leprosy.*26.6 leprosy: See the note at 8.2.7 *Lk 7.37,38.A woman came in with a bottle of expensive perfume and poured it on Jesus' head. 8 But when his disciples saw this, they became angry and complained, "Why such a waste? 9 We could have sold this perfume for a lot of money and given it to the poor."

10 Jesus knew what they were thinking, and he said:

Why are you bothering this woman? She has done a beautiful thing for me. 11 *Dt 15.11.You will always have the poor with you, but you won’t always have me. 12 She has poured perfume on my body to prepare it for burial.*26.12 poured perfume on my body to prepare it for burial: The Jewish people taught that giving someone a proper burial was even more important than helping the poor.13 You may be sure that wherever the good news is told all over the world, people will remember what she has done. And they will tell others.

Judas and the Chief Priests

14 Judas Iscariot*26.14 Iscariot: See the note at 10.4. was one of the twelve disciples. He went to the chief priests 15 *Zec 11.12.and asked, "How much will you give me if I help you arrest Jesus?" They paid Judas 30 silver coins, 16 and from then on he started looking for a good chance to betray Jesus.

Jesus Eats the Passover Meal with His Disciples

17 On the first day of the Festival of Thin Bread, Jesus' disciples came to him and asked, "Where do you want us to prepare the Passover meal?"

18 Jesus told them to go to a certain man in the city and tell him, "Our teacher says, ‘My time has come! I want to eat the Passover meal with my disciples in your home.’ " 19 They did as Jesus told them and prepared the meal.

20,21 When Jesus was eating with his twelve disciples that evening, he said, "One of you will surely hand me over to my enemies."

22 The disciples were very sad, and each one said to Jesus, "Lord, you can’t mean me!"

23 *Ps 41.9.He answered, "One of you men who has eaten with me from this dish will betray me. 24 The Son of Man will die, as the Scriptures say. But it’s going to be terrible for the one who betrays me! That man would be better off if he had never been born."

25 Judas said, "Teacher, you surely don’t mean me!"

"That’s what you say!" Jesus replied. But later, Judas did betray him.

The Lord’s Supper

26 During the meal Jesus took some bread in his hands. He blessed the bread and broke it. Then he gave it to his disciples and said, "Take this and eat it. This is my body."

27 Jesus picked up a cup of wine and gave thanks to God. He then gave it to his disciples and said, "Take this and drink it. 28 *Ex 24.8;Jr 31.31-34.This is my blood, and with it God makes his agreement with you. It will be poured out, so that many people will have their sins forgiven.