Bible in 90 Days

Jesus Heals a Sick Boy

¹⁴ When Jesus, Peter, James, and John came back to the other followers, they saw a great crowd around them and the teachers of the law arguing with them. ¹⁵ But as soon as the crowd saw Jesus, the people were surprised and ran to welcome him.

¹⁶ Jesus asked, “What are you arguing about?”

¹⁷ A man answered, “Teacher, I brought my son to you. He has an evil spirit in him that stops him from talking. ¹⁸ When the spirit attacks him, it throws him on the ground. Then my son foams at the mouth, grinds his teeth, and becomes very stiff. I asked your followers to force the evil spirit out, but they couldn’t.”

¹⁹ Jesus answered, “You people have no faith. How long must I stay with you? How long must I put up with you? Bring the boy to me.”

²⁰ So the followers brought him to Jesus. As soon as the evil spirit saw Jesus, it made the boy lose control of himself, and he fell down and rolled on the ground, foaming at the mouth.

²¹ Jesus asked the boy’s father, “How long has this been happening?”

The father answered, “Since he was very young. ²² The spirit often throws him into a fire or into water to kill him. If you can do anything for him, please have pity on us and help us.”

²³ Jesus said to the father, “You said, ‘If you can!’ All things are possible for the one who believes.”

²⁴ Immediately the father cried out, “I do believe! Help me to believe more!”

²⁵ When Jesus saw that a crowd was quickly gathering, he ordered the evil spirit, saying, “You spirit that makes people unable to hear or speak, I command you to come out of this boy and never enter him again!”

²⁶ The evil spirit screamed and caused the boy to fall on the ground again. Then the spirit came out. The boy looked as if he were dead, and many people said, “He is dead!” ²⁷ But Jesus took hold of the boy’s hand and helped him to stand up.

²⁸ When Jesus went into the house, his followers began asking him privately, “Why couldn’t we force that evil spirit out?”

²⁹ Jesus answered, “That kind of spirit can only be forced out by prayer.”^[a]

Jesus Talks About His Death

³⁰ Then Jesus and his followers left that place and went through Galilee. He didn’t want anyone to know where he was, ³¹ because he was teaching his followers. He said to them, “The Son of Man will be handed over to people, and they will kill him. After three days, he will rise from the dead.” ³² But the followers did not understand what Jesus meant, and they were afraid to ask him.

Who Is the Greatest?

³³ Jesus and his followers went to Capernaum. When they went into a house there, he asked them, “What were you arguing about on the road?” ³⁴ But the followers did not answer, because their argument on the road was about which one of them was the greatest.

³⁵ Jesus sat down and called the twelve apostles to him. He said, “Whoever wants to be the most important must be last of all and servant of all.”

³⁶ Then Jesus took a small child and had him stand among them. Taking the child in his arms, he said, ³⁷ “Whoever accepts a child like this in my name accepts me. And whoever accepts me accepts the One who sent me.”

Anyone Not Against Us Is for Us

³⁸ Then John said, “Teacher, we saw someone using your name to force demons out of a person. We told him to stop, because he does not belong to our group.”

³⁹ But Jesus said, “Don’t stop him, because anyone who uses my name to do powerful things will not easily say evil things about me. ⁴⁰ Whoever is not against us is with us. ⁴¹ I tell you the truth, whoever gives you a drink of water because you belong to the Christ will truly get his reward.

⁴² “If one of these little children believes in me, and someone causes that child to sin, it would be better for that person to have a large stone tied around his neck and be drowned in the sea. ⁴³ If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to lose part of your body and live forever than to have two hands and go to hell, where the fire never goes out. [ ⁴⁴ In hell the worm does not die; the fire is never put out.]^{[b] 45} If your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to lose part of your body and to live forever than to have two feet and be thrown into hell. [ ⁴⁶ In hell the worm does not die; the fire is never put out.]^{[c] 47} If your eye causes you to sin, take it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with only one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into hell. ⁴⁸ In hell the worm does not die; the fire is never put out. ⁴⁹ Every person will be salted with fire.

⁵⁰ “Salt is good, but if the salt loses its salty taste, you cannot make it salty again. So, be full of salt, and have peace with each other.”

Jesus Teaches About Divorce

10 Then Jesus left that place and went into the area of Judea and across the Jordan River. Again, crowds came to him, and he taught them as he usually did.

² Some Pharisees came to Jesus and tried to trick him. They asked, “Is it right for a man to divorce his wife?”

³ Jesus answered, “What did Moses command you to do?”

⁴ They said, “Moses allowed a man to write out divorce papers and send her away.”^[d]

⁵ Jesus said, “Moses wrote that command for you because you were stubborn. ⁶ But when God made the world, ‘he made them male and female.’^{[e] 7} ‘So a man will leave his father and mother and be united with his wife,^{[f] 8} and the two will become one body.’^[g] So there are not two, but one. ⁹ God has joined the two together, so no one should separate them.”

¹⁰ Later, in the house, his followers asked Jesus again about the question of divorce. ¹¹ He answered, “Anyone who divorces his wife and marries another woman is guilty of adultery against her. ¹² And the woman who divorces her husband and marries another man is also guilty of adultery.”

Jesus Accepts Children

¹³ Some people brought their little children to Jesus so he could touch them, but his followers told them to stop. ¹⁴ When Jesus saw this, he was upset and said to them, “Let the little children come to me. Don’t stop them, because the kingdom of God belongs to people who are like these children. ¹⁵ I tell you the truth, you must accept the kingdom of God as if you were a little child, or you will never enter it.” ¹⁶ Then Jesus took the children in his arms, put his hands on them, and blessed them.

A Rich Young Man’s Question

¹⁷ As Jesus started to leave, a man ran to him and fell on his knees before Jesus. The man asked, “Good teacher, what must I do to have life forever?”

¹⁸ Jesus answered, “Why do you call me good? Only God is good. ¹⁹ You know the commands: ‘You must not murder anyone. You must not be guilty of adultery. You must not steal. You must not tell lies about your neighbor. You must not cheat. Honor your father and mother.’”^[h]

²⁰ The man said, “Teacher, I have obeyed all these things since I was a boy.”

²¹ Jesus, looking at the man, loved him and said, “There is one more thing you need to do. Go and sell everything you have, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come and follow me.”

²² He was very sad to hear Jesus say this, and he left sorrowfully, because he was rich.

²³ Then Jesus looked at his followers and said, “How hard it will be for the rich to enter the kingdom of God!”

²⁴ The followers were amazed at what Jesus said. But he said again, “My children, it is very hard^[i] to enter the kingdom of God! ²⁵ It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.”

²⁶ The followers were even more surprised and said to each other, “Then who can be saved?”

²⁷ Jesus looked at them and said, “For people this is impossible, but for God all things are possible.”

²⁸ Peter said to Jesus, “Look, we have left everything and followed you.”

²⁹ Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, all those who have left houses, brothers, sisters, mother, father, children, or farms for me and for the Good News ³⁰ will get more than they left. Here in this world they will have a hundred times more homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children, and fields. And with those things, they will also suffer for their belief. But in this age they will have life forever. ³¹ Many who are first now will be last in the future. And many who are last now will be first in the future.”

Jesus Talks About His Death

³² As Jesus and the people with him were on the road to Jerusalem, he was leading the way. His followers were amazed, but others in the crowd who followed were afraid. Again Jesus took the twelve apostles aside and began to tell them what was about to happen in Jerusalem. ³³ He said, “Look, we are going to Jerusalem. The Son of Man will be turned over to the leading priests and the teachers of the law. They will say that he must die, and they will turn him over to the non-Jewish people, ³⁴ who will laugh at him and spit on him. They will beat him with whips and crucify him. But on the third day, he will rise to life again.”

Two Followers Ask Jesus a Favor

³⁵ Then James and John, sons of Zebedee, came to Jesus and said, “Teacher, we want to ask you to do something for us.”

³⁶ Jesus asked, “What do you want me to do for you?”

³⁷ They answered, “Let one of us sit at your right side and one of us sit at your left side in your glory in your kingdom.”

³⁸ Jesus said, “You don’t understand what you are asking. Can you drink the cup that I must drink? And can you be baptized with the same kind of baptism that I must go through?”^[j]

³⁹ They answered, “Yes, we can.”

Jesus said to them, “You will drink the same cup that I will drink, and you will be baptized with the same baptism that I must go through. ⁴⁰ But I cannot choose who will sit at my right or my left; those places belong to those for whom they have been prepared.”

⁴¹ When the other ten followers heard this, they began to be angry with James and John.

⁴² Jesus called them together and said, “The other nations have rulers. You know that those rulers love to show their power over the people, and their important leaders love to use all their authority. ⁴³ But it should not be that way among you. Whoever wants to become great among you must serve the rest of you like a servant. ⁴⁴ Whoever wants to become the first among you must serve all of you like a slave. ⁴⁵ In the same way, the Son of Man did not come to be served. He came to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many people.”

Jesus Heals a Blind Man

⁴⁶ Then they came to the town of Jericho. As Jesus was leaving there with his followers and a great many people, a blind beggar named Bartimaeus son of Timaeus was sitting by the road. ⁴⁷ When he heard that Jesus from Nazareth was walking by, he began to shout, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”

⁴⁸ Many people warned the blind man to be quiet, but he shouted even more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”

⁴⁹ Jesus stopped and said, “Tell the man to come here.”

So they called the blind man, saying, “Cheer up! Get to your feet. Jesus is calling you.” ⁵⁰ The blind man jumped up, left his coat there, and went to Jesus.

⁵¹ Jesus asked him, “What do you want me to do for you?”

The blind man answered, “Teacher, I want to see.”

⁵² Jesus said, “Go, you are healed because you believed.” At once the man could see, and he followed Jesus on the road.

Jesus Enters Jerusalem as a King

11 As Jesus and his followers were coming closer to Jerusalem, they came to the towns of Bethphage and Bethany near the Mount of Olives. From there Jesus sent two of his followers ² and said to them, “Go to the town you can see there. When you enter it, you will quickly find a colt tied, which no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here to me. ³ If anyone asks you why you are doing this, tell him its Master needs the colt, and he will send it at once.”

⁴ The followers went into the town, found a colt tied in the street near the door of a house, and untied it. ⁵ Some people were standing there and asked, “What are you doing? Why are you untying that colt?” ⁶ The followers answered the way Jesus told them to answer, and the people let them take the colt.

⁷ They brought the colt to Jesus and put their coats on it, and Jesus sat on it. ⁸ Many people spread their coats on the road. Others cut branches in the fields and spread them on the road. ⁹ The people were walking ahead of Jesus and behind him, shouting,

¹¹ Jesus entered Jerusalem and went into the Temple. After he had looked at everything, since it was already late, he went out to Bethany with the twelve apostles.

¹² The next day as Jesus was leaving Bethany, he became hungry. ¹³ Seeing a fig tree in leaf from far away, he went to see if it had any figs on it. But he found no figs, only leaves, because it was not the right season for figs. ¹⁴ So Jesus said to the tree, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again.” And Jesus’ followers heard him say this.

Jesus Goes to the Temple

¹⁵ When Jesus returned to Jerusalem, he went into the Temple and began to throw out those who were buying and selling there. He turned over the tables of those who were exchanging different kinds of money, and he upset the benches of those who were selling doves. ¹⁶ Jesus refused to allow anyone to carry goods through the Temple courts. ¹⁷ Then he taught the people, saying, “It is written in the Scriptures, ‘My Temple will be called a house for prayer for people from all nations.’^[l] But you are changing God’s house into a ‘hideout for robbers.’”^[m]

¹⁸ The leading priests and the teachers of the law heard all this and began trying to find a way to kill Jesus. They were afraid of him, because all the people were amazed at his teaching. ¹⁹ That evening, Jesus and his followers^[n] left the city.

The Power of Faith

²⁰ The next morning as Jesus was passing by with his followers, they saw the fig tree dry and dead, even to the roots. ²¹ Peter remembered the tree and said to Jesus, “Teacher, look! The fig tree you cursed is dry and dead!”

²² Jesus answered, “Have faith in God. ²³ I tell you the truth, you can say to this mountain, ‘Go, fall into the sea.’ And if you have no doubts in your mind and believe that what you say will happen, God will do it for you. ²⁴ So I tell you to believe that you have received the things you ask for in prayer, and God will give them to you. ²⁵ When you are praying, if you are angry with someone, forgive him so that your Father in heaven will also forgive your sins. [ ²⁶ But if you don’t forgive other people, then your Father in heaven will not forgive your sins.]”^[o]

Leaders Doubt Jesus’ Authority

²⁷ Jesus and his followers went again to Jerusalem. As Jesus was walking in the Temple, the leading priests, the teachers of the law, and the elders came to him. ²⁸ They said to him, “What authority do you have to do these things? Who gave you this authority?”

²⁹ Jesus answered, “I will ask you one question. If you answer me, I will tell you what authority I have to do these things. ³⁰ Tell me: When John baptized people, was that authority from God or just from other people?”

³¹ They argued about Jesus’ question, saying, “If we answer, ‘John’s baptism was from God,’ Jesus will say, ‘Then why didn’t you believe him?’ ³² But if we say, ‘It was from other people,’ the crowd will be against us.” (These leaders were afraid of the people, because all the people believed that John was a prophet.)

³³ So they answered Jesus, “We don’t know.”

Jesus said to them, “Then I won’t tell you what authority I have to do these things.”

A Story About God’s Son

12 Jesus began to use stories to teach the people. He said, “A man planted a vineyard. He put a wall around it and dug a hole for a winepress and built a tower. Then he leased the land to some farmers and left for a trip. ² When it was time for the grapes to be picked, he sent a servant to the farmers to get his share of the grapes. ³ But the farmers grabbed the servant and beat him and sent him away empty-handed. ⁴ Then the man sent another servant. They hit him on the head and showed no respect for him. ⁵ So the man sent another servant, whom they killed. The man sent many other servants; the farmers beat some of them and killed others.

⁶ “The man had one person left to send, his son whom he loved. He sent him last of all, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’

⁷ “But the farmers said to each other, ‘This son will inherit the vineyard. If we kill him, it will be ours.’ ⁸ So they took the son, killed him, and threw him out of the vineyard.

⁹ “So what will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and kill those farmers and will give the vineyard to other farmers. ¹⁰ Surely you have read this Scripture:

¹² The Jewish leaders knew that the story was about them. So they wanted to find a way to arrest Jesus, but they were afraid of the people. So the leaders left him and went away.

Is It Right to Pay Taxes or Not?

¹³ Later, the Jewish leaders sent some Pharisees and Herodians^[p] to Jesus to trap him in saying something wrong. ¹⁴ They came to him and said, “Teacher, we know that you are an honest man. You are not afraid of what other people think about you, because you pay no attention to who they are. And you teach the truth about God’s way. Tell us: Is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not? ¹⁵ Should we pay them, or not?”

But knowing what these men were really trying to do, Jesus said to them, “Why are you trying to trap me? Bring me a coin to look at.” ¹⁶ They gave Jesus a coin, and he asked, “Whose image and name are on the coin?”

They answered, “Caesar’s.”

¹⁷ Then Jesus said to them, “Give to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and give to God the things that are God’s.” The men were amazed at what Jesus said.

Some Sadducees Try to Trick Jesus

¹⁸ Then some Sadducees came to Jesus and asked him a question. (Sadducees believed that people would not rise from the dead.) ¹⁹ They said, “Teacher, Moses wrote that if a man’s brother dies, leaving a wife but no children, then that man must marry the widow and have children for his brother. ²⁰ Once there were seven brothers. The first brother married and died, leaving no children. ²¹ So the second brother married the widow, but he also died and had no children. The same thing happened with the third brother. ²² All seven brothers married her and died, and none of the brothers had any children. Finally the woman died too. ²³ Since all seven brothers had married her, when people rise from the dead, whose wife will she be?”

²⁴ Jesus answered, “Why don’t you understand? Don’t you know what the Scriptures say, and don’t you know about the power of God? ²⁵ When people rise from the dead, they will not marry, nor will they be given to someone to marry. They will be like the angels in heaven. ²⁶ Surely you have read what God said about people rising from the dead. In the book in which Moses wrote about the burning bush,^[q] it says that God told Moses, ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’^{[r] 27} God is the God of the living, not the dead. You Sadducees are wrong!”

The Most Important Command

²⁸ One of the teachers of the law came and heard Jesus arguing with the Sadducees. Seeing that Jesus gave good answers to their questions, he asked Jesus, “Which of the commands is most important?”

²⁹ Jesus answered, “The most important command is this: ‘Listen, people of Israel! The Lord our God is the only Lord. ³⁰ Love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength.’^{[s] 31} The second command is this: ‘Love your neighbor as you love yourself.’^[t] There are no commands more important than these.”

³² The man answered, “That was a good answer, Teacher. You were right when you said God is the only Lord and there is no other God besides him. ³³ One must love God with all his heart, all his mind, and all his strength. And one must love his neighbor as he loves himself. These commands are more important than all the animals and sacrifices we offer to God.”

³⁴ When Jesus saw that the man answered him wisely, Jesus said to him, “You are close to the kingdom of God.” And after that, no one was brave enough to ask Jesus any more questions.

³⁵ As Jesus was teaching in the Temple, he asked, “Why do the teachers of the law say that the Christ is the son of David? ³⁶ David himself, speaking by the Holy Spirit, said:

³⁷ David himself calls the Christ ‘Lord,’ so how can the Christ be his son?” The large crowd listened to Jesus with pleasure.

³⁸ Jesus continued teaching and said, “Beware of the teachers of the law. They like to walk around wearing fancy clothes, and they love for people to greet them with respect in the marketplaces. ³⁹ They love to have the most important seats in the synagogues and at feasts. ⁴⁰ But they cheat widows and steal their houses and then try to make themselves look good by saying long prayers. They will receive a greater punishment.”

True Giving

⁴¹ Jesus sat near the Temple money box and watched the people put in their money. Many rich people gave large sums of money. ⁴² Then a poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which were only worth a few cents.

⁴³ Calling his followers to him, Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, this poor widow gave more than all those rich people. ⁴⁴ They gave only what they did not need. This woman is very poor, but she gave all she had; she gave all she had to live on.”

The Temple Will Be Destroyed

13 As Jesus was leaving the Temple, one of his followers said to him, “Look, Teacher! How beautiful the buildings are! How big the stones are!”

² Jesus said, “Do you see all these great buildings? Not one stone will be left on another. Every stone will be thrown down to the ground.”

³ Later, as Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, opposite the Temple, he was alone with Peter, James, John, and Andrew. They asked Jesus, ⁴ “Tell us, when will these things happen? And what will be the sign that they are going to happen?”

⁵ Jesus began to answer them, “Be careful that no one fools you. ⁶ Many people will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the One,’ and they will fool many people. ⁷ When you hear about wars and stories of wars that are coming, don’t be afraid. These things must happen before the end comes. ⁸ Nations will fight against other nations, and kingdoms against other kingdoms. There will be earthquakes in different places, and there will be times when there is no food for people to eat. These things are like the first pains when something new is about to be born.

⁹ “You must be careful. People will arrest you and take you to court and beat you in their synagogues. You will be forced to stand before kings and governors, to tell them about me. This will happen to you because you follow me. ¹⁰ But before these things happen, the Good News must be told to all people. ¹¹ When you are arrested and judged, don’t worry ahead of time about what you should say. Say whatever is given you to say at that time, because it will not really be you speaking; it will be the Holy Spirit.

¹² “Brothers will give their own brothers to be killed, and fathers will give their own children to be killed. Children will fight against their own parents and cause them to be put to death. ¹³ All people will hate you because you follow me, but those people who keep their faith until the end will be saved.

¹⁴ “You will see ‘a blasphemous object that brings destruction’^[u] standing where it should not be.” (You who read this should understand what it means.) “At that time, the people in Judea should run away to the mountains. ¹⁵ If people are on the roofs^[v] of their houses, they must not go down or go inside to get anything out of their houses. ¹⁶ If people are in the fields, they must not go back to get their coats. ¹⁷ At that time, how terrible it will be for women who are pregnant or have nursing babies! ¹⁸ Pray that these things will not happen in winter, ¹⁹ because those days will be full of trouble. There will be more trouble than there has ever been since the beginning, when God made the world, until now, and nothing as bad will ever happen again. ²⁰ God has decided to make that terrible time short. Otherwise, no one would go on living. But God will make that time short to help the people he has chosen. ²¹ At that time, someone might say to you, ‘Look, there is the Christ!’ Or another person might say, ‘There he is!’ But don’t believe them. ²² False Christs and false prophets will come and perform great wonders and miracles. They will try to fool even the people God has chosen, if that is possible. ²³ So be careful. I have warned you about all this before it happens.

²⁴ “During the days after this trouble comes,

²⁶ “Then people will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory. ²⁷ Then he will send his angels all around the earth to gather his chosen people from every part of the earth and from every part of heaven.

²⁸ “Learn a lesson from the fig tree: When its branches become green and soft and new leaves appear, you know summer is near. ²⁹ In the same way, when you see these things happening, you will know that the time is near, ready to come. ³⁰ I tell you the truth, all these things will happen while the people of this time are still living. ³¹ Earth and sky will be destroyed, but the words I have said will never be destroyed.

³² “No one knows when that day or time will be, not the angels in heaven, not even the Son. Only the Father knows. ³³ Be careful! Always be ready,^[w] because you don’t know when that time will be. ³⁴ It is like a man who goes on a trip. He leaves his house and lets his servants take care of it, giving each one a special job to do. The man tells the servant guarding the door always to be watchful. ³⁵ So always be ready, because you don’t know when the owner of the house will come back. It might be in the evening, or at midnight, or in the morning while it is still dark, or when the sun rises. ³⁶ Always be ready. Otherwise he might come back suddenly and find you sleeping. ³⁷ I tell you this, and I say this to everyone: ‘Be ready!’”

The Plan to Kill Jesus

14 It was now only two days before the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread. The leading priests and teachers of the law were trying to find a trick to arrest Jesus and kill him. ² But they said, “We must not do it during the feast, because the people might cause a riot.”

A Woman with Perfume for Jesus

³ Jesus was in Bethany at the house of Simon, who had a skin disease. While Jesus was eating there, a woman approached him with an alabaster jar filled with very expensive perfume, made of pure nard. She opened the jar and poured the perfume on Jesus’ head.

⁴ Some who were there became upset and said to each other, “Why waste that perfume? ⁵ It was worth a full year’s work. It could have been sold and the money given to the poor.” And they got very angry with the woman.

⁶ Jesus said, “Leave her alone. Why are you troubling her? She did an excellent thing for me. ⁷ You will always have the poor with you, and you can help them anytime you want. But you will not always have me. ⁸ This woman did the only thing she could do for me; she poured perfume on my body to prepare me for burial. ⁹ I tell you the truth, wherever the Good News is preached in all the world, what this woman has done will be told, and people will remember her.”

Judas Becomes an Enemy of Jesus

¹⁰ One of the twelve apostles, Judas Iscariot, went to talk to the leading priests to offer to hand Jesus over to them. ¹¹ These priests were pleased about this and promised to pay Judas money. So he watched for the best time to turn Jesus in.

Jesus Eats the Passover Meal

¹² It was now the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread when the Passover lamb was sacrificed. Jesus’ followers said to him, “Where do you want us to go and prepare for you to eat the Passover meal?”

¹³ Jesus sent two of his followers and said to them, “Go into the city and a man carrying a jar of water will meet you. Follow him. ¹⁴ When he goes into a house, tell the owner of the house, ‘The Teacher says: “Where is my guest room in which I can eat the Passover meal with my followers?”’ ¹⁵ The owner will show you a large room upstairs that is furnished and ready. Prepare the food for us there.”

¹⁶ So the followers left and went into the city. Everything happened as Jesus had said, so they prepared the Passover meal.

¹⁷ In the evening, Jesus went to that house with the twelve. ¹⁸ While they were all eating, Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, one of you will turn against me—one of you eating with me now.”

¹⁹ The followers were very sad to hear this. Each one began to say to Jesus, “I am not the one, am I?”

²⁰ Jesus answered, “It is one of the twelve—the one who dips his bread into the bowl with me. ²¹ The Son of Man will die, just as the Scriptures say. But how terrible it will be for the person who hands the Son of Man over to be killed. It would be better for him if he had never been born.”

The Lord’s Supper

²² While they were eating, Jesus took some bread and thanked God for it and broke it. Then he gave it to his followers and said, “Take it; this is my body.”

²³ Then Jesus took a cup and thanked God for it and gave it to the followers, and they all drank from the cup.

²⁴ Then Jesus said, “This is my blood which is the new^[x] agreement that God makes with his people. This blood is poured out for many. ²⁵ I tell you the truth, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine^[y] again until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.”

²⁶ After singing a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.

Jesus’ Followers Will Leave Him

²⁷ Then Jesus told the followers, “You will all stumble in your faith, because it is written in the Scriptures:

²⁸ But after I rise from the dead, I will go ahead of you into Galilee.”

²⁹ Peter said, “Everyone else may stumble in their faith, but I will not.”

³⁰ Jesus answered, “I tell you the truth, tonight before the rooster crows twice you will say three times you don’t know me.”

³¹ But Peter insisted, “I will never say that I don’t know you! I will even die with you!” And all the other followers said the same thing.

Jesus Prays Alone

³² Jesus and his followers went to a place called Gethsemane. He said to them, “Sit here while I pray.” ³³ Jesus took Peter, James, and John with him, and he began to be very sad and troubled. ³⁴ He said to them, “My heart is full of sorrow, to the point of death. Stay here and watch.”

³⁵ After walking a little farther away from them, Jesus fell to the ground and prayed that, if possible, he would not have this time of suffering. ³⁶ He prayed, “Abba,^[z] Father! You can do all things. Take away this cup^[aa] of suffering. But do what you want, not what I want.”

³⁷ Then Jesus went back to his followers and found them asleep. He said to Peter, “Simon, are you sleeping? Couldn’t you stay awake with me for one hour? ³⁸ Stay awake and pray for strength against temptation. The spirit wants to do what is right, but the body is weak.”

³⁹ Again Jesus went away and prayed the same thing. ⁴⁰ Then he went back to his followers, and again he found them asleep, because their eyes were very heavy. And they did not know what to say to him.

⁴¹ After Jesus prayed a third time, he went back to his followers and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting? That’s enough. The time has come for the Son of Man to be handed over to sinful people. ⁴² Get up, we must go. Look, here comes the man who has turned against me.”

Jesus Is Arrested

⁴³ At once, while Jesus was still speaking, Judas, one of the twelve apostles, came up. With him were many people carrying swords and clubs who had been sent from the leading priests, the teachers of the law, and the Jewish elders.

⁴⁴ Judas had planned a signal for them, saying, “The man I kiss is Jesus. Arrest him and guard him while you lead him away.” ⁴⁵ So Judas went straight to Jesus and said, “Teacher!” and kissed him. ⁴⁶ Then the people grabbed Jesus and arrested him. ⁴⁷ One of his followers standing nearby pulled out his sword and struck the servant of the high priest and cut off his ear.

⁴⁸ Then Jesus said, “You came to get me with swords and clubs as if I were a criminal. ⁴⁹ Every day I was with you teaching in the Temple, and you did not arrest me there. But all these things have happened to make the Scriptures come true.” ⁵⁰ Then all of Jesus’ followers left him and ran away.

⁵¹ A young man, wearing only a linen cloth, was following Jesus, and the people also grabbed him. ⁵² But the cloth he was wearing came off, and he ran away naked.

Jesus Before the Leaders

⁵³ The people who arrested Jesus led him to the house of the high priest, where all the leading priests, the elders, and the teachers of the law were gathered. ⁵⁴ Peter followed far behind and entered the courtyard of the high priest’s house. There he sat with the guards, warming himself by the fire.

⁵⁵ The leading priests and the whole Jewish council tried to find something that Jesus had done wrong so they could kill him. But the council could find no proof of anything. ⁵⁶ Many people came and told false things about him, but all said different things—none of them agreed.

⁵⁷ Then some people stood up and lied about Jesus, saying, ⁵⁸ “We heard this man say, ‘I will destroy this Temple that people made. And three days later, I will build another Temple not made by people.’” ⁵⁹ But even the things these people said did not agree.

⁶⁰ Then the high priest stood before them and asked Jesus, “Aren’t you going to answer? Don’t you have something to say about their charges against you?” ⁶¹ But Jesus said nothing; he did not answer.

The high priest asked Jesus another question: “Are you the Christ, the Son of the blessed God?”

⁶² Jesus answered, “I am. And in the future you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of God, the Powerful One, and coming on clouds in the sky.”

⁶³ When the high priest heard this, he tore his clothes and said, “We don’t need any more witnesses! ⁶⁴ You all heard him say these things against God. What do you think?”

They all said that Jesus was guilty and should die. ⁶⁵ Some of the people there began to spit at Jesus. They blindfolded him and beat him with their fists and said, “Prove you are a prophet!” Then the guards led Jesus away and beat him.

Peter Says He Doesn’t Know Jesus

⁶⁶ While Peter was in the courtyard, a servant girl of the high priest came there. ⁶⁷ She saw Peter warming himself at the fire and looked closely at him.

Then she said, “You also were with Jesus, that man from Nazareth.”

⁶⁸ But Peter said that he was never with Jesus. He said, “I don’t know or understand what you are talking about.” Then Peter left and went toward the entrance of the courtyard. And the rooster crowed.^[ab]

⁶⁹ The servant girl saw Peter there, and again she said to the people who were standing nearby, “This man is one of those who followed Jesus.” ⁷⁰ Again Peter said that it was not true.

A short time later, some people were standing near Peter saying, “Surely you are one of those who followed Jesus, because you are from Galilee, too.”

⁷¹ Then Peter began to place a curse on himself and swear, “I don’t know this man you’re talking about!”

⁷² At once, the rooster crowed the second time. Then Peter remembered what Jesus had told him: “Before the rooster crows twice, you will say three times that you don’t know me.” Then Peter lost control of himself and began to cry.

Pilate Questions Jesus

15 Very early in the morning, the leading priests, the elders, the teachers of the law, and all the Jewish council decided what to do with Jesus. They tied him, led him away, and turned him over to Pilate, the governor.

² Pilate asked Jesus, “Are you the king of the Jews?”

Jesus answered, “Those are your words.”

³ The leading priests accused Jesus of many things. ⁴ So Pilate asked Jesus another question, “You can see that they are accusing you of many things. Aren’t you going to answer?”

⁵ But Jesus still said nothing, so Pilate was very surprised.

Pilate Tries to Free Jesus

⁶ Every year at the time of the Passover the governor would free one prisoner whom the people chose. ⁷ At that time, there was a man named Barabbas in prison who was a rebel and had committed murder during a riot. ⁸ The crowd came to Pilate and began to ask him to free a prisoner as he always did.

⁹ So Pilate asked them, “Do you want me to free the king of the Jews?” ¹⁰ Pilate knew that the leading priests had turned Jesus in to him because they were jealous. ¹¹ But the leading priests had persuaded the people to ask Pilate to free Barabbas, not Jesus.

¹² Then Pilate asked the crowd again, “So what should I do with this man you call the king of the Jews?”

¹³ They shouted, “Crucify him!”

¹⁴ Pilate asked, “Why? What wrong has he done?”

But they shouted even louder, “Crucify him!”

¹⁵ Pilate wanted to please the crowd, so he freed Barabbas for them. After having Jesus beaten with whips, he handed Jesus over to the soldiers to be crucified.

¹⁶ The soldiers took Jesus into the governor’s palace (called the Praetorium) and called all the other soldiers together. ¹⁷ They put a purple robe on Jesus and used thorny branches to make a crown for his head. ¹⁸ They began to call out to him, “Hail, King of the Jews!” ¹⁹ The soldiers beat Jesus on the head many times with a stick. They spit on him and made fun of him by bowing on their knees and worshiping him. ²⁰ After they finished, the soldiers took off the purple robe and put his own clothes on him again. Then they led him out of the palace to be crucified.

Jesus Is Crucified

²¹ A man named Simon from Cyrene, the father of Alexander and Rufus, was coming from the fields to the city. The soldiers forced Simon to carry the cross for Jesus. ²² They led Jesus to the place called Golgotha, which means the Place of the Skull. ²³ The soldiers tried to give Jesus wine mixed with myrrh to drink, but he refused. ²⁴ The soldiers crucified Jesus and divided his clothes among themselves, throwing lots to decide what each soldier would get.

²⁵ It was nine o’clock in the morning when they crucified Jesus. ²⁶ There was a sign with this charge against Jesus written on it: the king of the jews. ²⁷ They also put two robbers on crosses beside Jesus, one on the right, and the other on the left. [²⁸ And the Scripture came true that says, “They put him with criminals.”]^{[ac] 29} People walked by and insulted Jesus and shook their heads, saying, “You said you could destroy the Temple and build it again in three days. ³⁰ So save yourself! Come down from that cross!”

³¹ The leading priests and the teachers of the law were also making fun of Jesus. They said to each other, “He saved other people, but he can’t save himself. ³² If he is really the Christ, the king of Israel, let him come down now from the cross. When we see this, we will believe in him.” The robbers who were being crucified beside Jesus also insulted him.

Jesus Dies

³³ At noon the whole country became dark, and the darkness lasted for three hours. ³⁴ At three o’clock Jesus cried in a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani.” This means, “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?”

³⁵ When some of the people standing there heard this, they said, “Listen! He is calling Elijah.”

³⁶ Someone there ran and got a sponge, filled it with vinegar, tied it to a stick, and gave it to Jesus to drink. He said, “We want to see if Elijah will come to take him down from the cross.”

³⁷ Then Jesus cried in a loud voice and died.

³⁸ The curtain in the Temple^[ad] was torn into two pieces, from the top to the bottom. ³⁹ When the army officer who was standing in front of the cross saw what happened when Jesus died,^[ae] he said, “This man really was the Son of God!”

⁴⁰ Some women were standing at a distance from the cross, watching; among them were Mary Magdalene, Salome, and Mary the mother of James and Joseph. (James was her youngest son.) ⁴¹ These women had followed Jesus in Galilee and helped him. Many other women were also there who had come with Jesus to Jerusalem.

Jesus Is Buried

⁴² This was Preparation Day. (That means the day before the Sabbath day.) That evening, ⁴³ Joseph from Arimathea was brave enough to go to Pilate and ask for Jesus’ body. Joseph, an important member of the Jewish council, was one of the people who was waiting for the kingdom of God to come. ⁴⁴ Pilate was amazed that Jesus would have already died, so he called the army officer who had guarded Jesus and asked him if Jesus had already died. ⁴⁵ The officer told Pilate that he was dead, so Pilate told Joseph he could have the body. ⁴⁶ Joseph bought some linen cloth, took the body down from the cross, and wrapped it in the linen. He put the body in a tomb that was cut out of a wall of rock. Then he rolled a very large stone to block the entrance of the tomb. ⁴⁷ And Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joseph saw the place where Jesus was laid.

Jesus Rises from the Dead

16 The day after the Sabbath day, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought some sweet-smelling spices to put on Jesus’ body. ² Very early on that day, the first day of the week, soon after sunrise, the women were on their way to the tomb. ³ They said to each other, “Who will roll away for us the stone that covers the entrance of the tomb?”

⁴ Then the women looked and saw that the stone had already been rolled away, even though it was very large. ⁵ The women entered the tomb and saw a young man wearing a white robe and sitting on the right side, and they were afraid.

⁶ But the man said, “Don’t be afraid. You are looking for Jesus from Nazareth, who has been crucified. He has risen from the dead; he is not here. Look, here is the place they laid him. ⁷ Now go and tell his followers and Peter, ‘Jesus is going into Galilee ahead of you, and you will see him there as he told you before.’”

⁸ The women were confused and shaking with fear, so they left the tomb and ran away. They did not tell anyone about what happened, because they were afraid.

Verses 9–20 are not included in some of the earliest surviving Greek copies of Mark.

Some Followers See Jesus

[⁹ After Jesus rose from the dead early on the first day of the week, he showed himself first to Mary Magdalene. One time in the past, he had forced seven demons out of her. ¹⁰ After Mary saw Jesus, she went and told his followers, who were very sad and were crying. ¹¹ But Mary told them that Jesus was alive. She said that she had seen him, but the followers did not believe her.

¹² Later, Jesus showed himself to two of his followers while they were walking in the country, but he did not look the same as before. ¹³ These followers went back to the others and told them what had happened, but again, the followers did not believe them.

Jesus Talks to the Apostles

¹⁴ Later Jesus showed himself to the eleven apostles while they were eating, and he criticized them because they had no faith. They were stubborn and refused to believe those who had seen him after he had risen from the dead.

¹⁵ Jesus said to his followers, “Go everywhere in the world, and tell the Good News to everyone. ¹⁶ Anyone who believes and is baptized will be saved, but anyone who does not believe will be punished. ¹⁷ And those who believe will be able to do these things as proof: They will use my name to force out demons. They will speak in new languages.^{[af] 18} They will pick up snakes and drink poison without being hurt. They will touch the sick, and the sick will be healed.”

¹⁹ After the Lord Jesus said these things to his followers, he was carried up into heaven, and he sat at the right side of God. ²⁰ The followers went everywhere in the world and told the Good News to people, and the Lord helped them. The Lord proved that the Good News they told was true by giving them power to work miracles.]

Luke Writes About Jesus’ Life

1 Many have tried to report on the things that happened among us. ² They have written the same things that we learned from others—the people who saw those things from the beginning and served God by telling people his message. ³ Since I myself have studied everything carefully from the beginning, most excellent^[ag] Theophilus, it seemed good for me to write it out for you. I arranged it in order, ⁴ to help you know that what you have been taught is true.

Zechariah and Elizabeth

⁵ During the time Herod ruled Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah who belonged to Abijah’s group.^[ah] Zechariah’s wife, Elizabeth, came from the family of Aaron. ⁶ Zechariah and Elizabeth truly did what God said was good. They did everything the Lord commanded and were without fault in keeping his law. ⁷ But they had no children, because Elizabeth could not have a baby, and both of them were very old.

⁸ One day Zechariah was serving as a priest before God, because his group was on duty. ⁹ According to the custom of the priests, he was chosen by lot to go into the Temple of the Lord and burn incense. ¹⁰ There were a great many people outside praying at the time the incense was offered. ¹¹ Then an angel of the Lord appeared to Zechariah, standing on the right side of the incense table. ¹² When he saw the angel, Zechariah was startled and frightened. ¹³ But the angel said to him, “Zechariah, don’t be afraid. God has heard your prayer. Your wife, Elizabeth, will give birth to a son, and you will name him John. ¹⁴ He will bring you joy and gladness, and many people will be happy because of his birth. ¹⁵ John will be a great man for the Lord. He will never drink wine or beer, and even from birth, he will be filled with the Holy Spirit. ¹⁶ He will help many people of Israel return to the Lord their God. ¹⁷ He will go before the Lord in spirit and power like Elijah. He will make peace between parents and their children and will bring those who are not obeying God back to the right way of thinking, to make a people ready for the coming of the Lord.”

¹⁸ Zechariah said to the angel, “How can I know that what you say is true? I am an old man, and my wife is old, too.”

¹⁹ The angel answered him, “I am Gabriel. I stand before God, who sent me to talk to you and to tell you this good news. ²⁰ Now, listen! You will not be able to speak until the day these things happen, because you did not believe what I told you. But they will really happen.”

²¹ Outside, the people were still waiting for Zechariah and were surprised that he was staying so long in the Temple. ²² When Zechariah came outside, he could not speak to them, and they knew he had seen a vision in the Temple. He could only make signs to them and remained unable to speak. ²³ When his time of service at the Temple was finished, he went home.

²⁴ Later, Zechariah’s wife, Elizabeth, became pregnant and did not go out of her house for five months. Elizabeth said, ²⁵ “Look what the Lord has done for me! My people were ashamed^[ai] of me, but now the Lord has taken away that shame.”

An Angel Appears to Mary

²⁶ During Elizabeth’s sixth month of pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, ²⁷ to a virgin. She was engaged to marry a man named Joseph from the family of David. Her name was Mary. ²⁸ The angel came to her and said, “Greetings! The Lord has blessed you and is with you.”

²⁹ But Mary was very startled by what the angel said and wondered what this greeting might mean.

³⁰ The angel said to her, “Don’t be afraid, Mary; God has shown you his grace. ³¹ Listen! You will become pregnant and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus. ³² He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of King David, his ancestor. ³³ He will rule over the people of Jacob forever, and his kingdom will never end.”

³⁴ Mary said to the angel, “How will this happen since I am a virgin?”

³⁵ The angel said to Mary, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will cover you. For this reason the baby will be holy and will be called the Son of God. ³⁶ Now Elizabeth, your relative, is also pregnant with a son though she is very old. Everyone thought she could not have a baby, but she has been pregnant for six months. ³⁷ God can do anything!”

³⁸ Mary said, “I am the servant of the Lord. Let this happen to me as you say!” Then the angel went away.

Mary Visits Elizabeth

³⁹ Mary got up and went quickly to a town in the hills of Judea. ⁴⁰ She came to Zechariah’s house and greeted Elizabeth. ⁴¹ When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the unborn baby inside her jumped, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. ⁴² She cried out in a loud voice, “God has blessed you more than any other woman, and he has blessed the baby to which you will give birth. ⁴³ Why has this good thing happened to me, that the mother of my Lord comes to me? ⁴⁴ When I heard your voice, the baby inside me jumped with joy. ⁴⁵ You are blessed because you believed that what the Lord said to you would really happen.”

Mary Praises God

⁴⁶ Then Mary said,

⁵⁶ Mary stayed with Elizabeth for about three months and then returned home.

The Birth of John

⁵⁷ When it was time for Elizabeth to give birth, she had a boy. ⁵⁸ Her neighbors and relatives heard how good the Lord was to her, and they rejoiced with her.

⁵⁹ When the baby was eight days old, they came to circumcise him. They wanted to name him Zechariah because this was his father’s name, ⁶⁰ but his mother said, “No! He will be named John.”

⁶¹ The people said to Elizabeth, “But no one in your family has this name.” ⁶² Then they made signs to his father to find out what he would like to name him.

⁶³ Zechariah asked for a writing tablet and wrote, “His name is John,” and everyone was surprised. ⁶⁴ Immediately Zechariah could talk again, and he began praising God. ⁶⁵ All their neighbors became alarmed, and in all the mountains of Judea people continued talking about all these things. ⁶⁶ The people who heard about them wondered, saying, “What will this child be?” because the Lord was with him.

Zechariah Praises God

⁶⁷ Then Zechariah, John’s father, was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied:

⁸⁰ And so the child grew up and became strong in spirit. John lived in the desert until the time when he came out to preach to Israel.