Bible in 90 Days
The demon-possessed boy
14 The four of them made their way back to the other disciples. There they saw a large crowd surrounding them, and legal experts arguing with them. 15 As soon as the crowd saw Jesus they were astounded, and they all ran up to greet him.
16 “What’s all the fuss about?” he asked.
17 “Teacher,” said someone from the crowd, “I brought my son to you. He’s got a spirit that stops him speaking. 18 Whenever it takes hold of him it throws him on the ground; he foams at the mouth, and grinds his teeth, and goes rigid. I spoke to your disciples about casting it out, but they couldn’t.”
19 “You unbelieving generation!” replied Jesus. “How much longer must I be with you? How much longer must I put up with you? Bring the boy to me.”
20 They brought him to him. When the spirit saw Jesus, it immediately threw the boy into a convulsion, and he fell on the ground and rolled about, foaming at the mouth.
21 “How long has it been like this with him?” asked Jesus.
“Since childhood,” replied the man. 22 “Often it even throws him into the fire or water to kill him. But if you can do anything . . . please, please help us! Have pity on us!”
23 “What d’you mean, ‘If you can’?” said Jesus. “Everything is possible to someone who believes.”
24 At this the father gave a great shout. “I do believe!” he roared. “Help me in my unbelief!”
25 Jesus saw that the crowd was getting bigger by the minute. He scolded the unclean spirit: “Speechless and deaf spirit,” he said, “I command you—come out of him, and never go back again!”
26 The spirit yelled, gave the boy a huge convulsion, and came out. The boy seemed to be dead; in fact, several people did say “He’s dead!” 27 But Jesus took him by the hand and helped him to his feet, and he stood up.
28 “Why couldn’t we cast it out?” asked his disciples, once they were back in the house by themselves.
29 “This sort,” replied Jesus, “can only be cast out by prayer.”
True greatness
30 They went away from there and were traveling through Galilee. Jesus didn’t want anyone to know, 31 because he was teaching his disciples.
“The ‘son of man,’ ” he was saying, “is to be given over into human hands. They will kill him; and, when he’s been killed, after three days he will rise again.”
32 They didn’t understand the saying, and were afraid to ask him.
33 They came to Capernaum. When they got into the house he asked them, “What were you arguing about on the road?”
34 They said nothing, because on the road they had been arguing about which of them was the greatest.
35 Jesus sat down and called the Twelve. “If you want to be first,” he said, “you must be last of all, and servant of all.” 36 He took a small child, and stood it in the middle of them. Then he hugged the child, and said to them, 37 “If anyone welcomes one child like this in my name, they welcome me. And if anyone welcomes me, it isn’t me they welcome, but the one who sent me.”
Warnings about sin
38 “Teacher,” said John, “we saw someone casting out demons in your name. We stopped him, because he wasn’t following us.”
39 “Don’t stop him,” said Jesus. “No one who does powerful things by my name will be able to say bad things about me soon afterwards. 40 Anyone who’s not against us is on our side. 41 Anyone who even gives you a cup of water in my name, because you belong to the Messiah—I’m telling you the truth, that person won’t go unrewarded.
42 “Think about these little ones who believe in me,” he went on. “If anyone causes one of them to slip up, it would be much better for that person to have a huge millstone put around their neck, and be thrown into the sea.
43 “And if your hand causes you to slip up, cut it off. It’s better for you to go into life maimed than to have two hands and go into Gehenna, into the fire that never goes out.
45 “And if your foot causes you to slip up, cut it off. It’s better for you to go into life lame than to have two feet and be thrown into Gehenna.
47 “And if your eye causes you to slip up, throw it away. It’s better for you to go into the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and to be thrown into Gehenna, 48 where
their worm lives on forever
and the fire can never be quenched.
49 “You see, everyone will be salted with fire. 50 Salt is great stuff; but if salt becomes unsalty, how can you make it salty again? You need salt among yourselves. Live at peace with each other.”
Teachings on divorce
10 Jesus left the region, and went to the districts of Judaea across the Jordan. A large crowd gathered around him, and once more, as his custom was, he taught them.
2 Some Pharisees approached him with a question. “Is it permitted,” they asked, “for a man to divorce his wife?” They said this to trap him.
3 “Well,” answered Jesus, “what did Moses command you?”
4 “Moses permitted us,” they replied, “to write a notice of separation and so to complete the divorce.”
5 “He gave you that command,” said Jesus, “because you are hardhearted. 6 But from the beginning of creation
male and female he made them; 7 and that’s why the man must leave his father and his mother and cleave unto his wife; 8 so that the two become one flesh.
“There you are, then: they are no longer two, but one flesh. 9 What God has joined, humans must not split up.”
10 When they were back indoors, the disciples asked him about this.
11 “Anyone who divorces his wife,” said Jesus, “and marries someone else commits adultery against her. 12 And if she divorces her husband and marries someone else she commits adultery.”
13 People brought children to Jesus for him to touch them. The disciples reprimanded them. 14 But Jesus was angry when he saw it, and said to them, “Let the children come to me! Don’t stop them! The kingdom of God belongs to people like that. 15 I’m telling you the truth: anyone who doesn’t receive the kingdom of God like a child will never get into it.”
16 And he hugged them, laid his hands on them, and blessed them.
The rich young ruler
17 As he was setting out on the road, a man ran up and knelt down in front of him.
“Good teacher,” he asked, “what should I do to inherit the life of the age to come?”
18 “Why call me ‘good’?” replied Jesus. “No one is good except God alone. 19 You know the commandments:
Don’t kill.
Don’t commit adultery.
Don’t steal.
Don’t swear falsely.
Don’t defraud.
Honor your father and your mother.”
20 “Teacher,” he said, “I’ve kept all of them since I was little.”
21 Jesus looked hard at him, and loved him.
“One more thing,” he said. “Go away, and whatever you possess—sell it, and give it to the poor. You will have treasure in heaven! Then: come and follow me.”
22 At that, his face fell, and he went off sadly. He was very wealthy.
23 Jesus looked slowly around. Then he said to his disciples, “How difficult it is for the wealthy to enter the kingdom of God!”
24 The disciples were astonished at what he was saying. So Jesus repeated once more, “Children, it’s very hard to enter the kingdom of God! 25 It would be easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter God’s kingdom.”
26 They were totally amazed, and said to each other, “So who then can be saved?”
27 “It’s impossible for mortals,” Jesus said, looking hard at them, “but it’s not impossible for God. All things are possible for God.”
28 “Look here,” Peter started up, “we’ve left everything and followed you.”
29 “I’ll tell you the truth,” replied Jesus. “No one who has left a house, or brothers or sisters, or mother or father, or children, or lands, because of me and the gospel, 30 will fail to receive back a hundred times more in the present age: houses, brothers, sisters, mothers, children, and lands—with persecutions!—and finally the life of the age to come. 31 But plenty of people at the front will end up at the back, and the back at the front.”
The request of James and John
32 They were on the road, going up to Jerusalem. Jesus was walking ahead of them; they were amazed, and the people following were afraid.
Again he took the Twelve aside and began to tell them what was going to happen to him. 33 “Look,” he said, “we’re going up to Jerusalem. The son of man will be handed over to the chief priests and the legal experts, and they will condemn him to death, and hand him over to the pagans. 34 They will taunt him and spit at him and flog him and kill him—and after three days he will rise again.”
35 James and John, Zebedee’s sons, came up to him.
“Teacher,” they said, “we want you to grant us whatever we ask.”
36 “What do you want me to do for you?” asked Jesus.
37 “Grant us,” they said, “that when you’re there in all your glory, one of us will sit at your right, and the other at your left.”
38 “You don’t know what you’re asking for!” Jesus replied. “Can you drink the cup I’m going to drink? Can you receive the baptism I’m going to receive?”
39 “Yes,” they said, “we can.”
“Well,” said Jesus, “you will drink the cup I drink; you will receive the baptism I receive. 40 But sitting at my right hand or my left—that’s not up to me. It’s been assigned already.”
41 When the other ten disciples heard, they were angry with James and John. 42 Jesus called them to him.
“You know how it is in the pagan nations,” he said. “Think how their so-called rulers act. They lord it over their subjects. The high and mighty ones boss the rest around. 43 But that’s not how it’s going to be with you. Anyone who wants to be great among you must become your servant. 44 Anyone who wants to be first must be everyone’s slave. 45 Don’t you see? The son of man didn’t come to be waited on. He came to be the servant, to give his life ‘as a ransom for many.’ ”
Jesus heals a blind beggar
46 They came to Jericho. As Jesus, his disciples and a substantial crowd were leaving the town, a blind beggar named Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, was sitting by the road. 47 When he heard it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout out: “Son of David! Jesus! Take pity on me!”
48 Lots of people told him crossly to be quiet. But he shouted out all the louder, “Son of David—take pity on me!”
49 Jesus came to a stop. “Call him,” he said.
So they called the blind man.
“Cheer up,” they said, “and get up. He’s calling you.”
50 He flung his cloak aside, jumped up, and came to Jesus.
Jesus saw him coming. 51 “What do you want me to do for you?” he asked.
“Teacher,” the blind man said, “let me see again.”
52 “Off you go,” said Jesus. “Your faith has saved you.” And immediately he saw again, and he followed him on the way.
The triumphal entry
11 So they approached Jerusalem. They got as far as Bethphage and Bethany, on the Mount of Olives, when Jesus sent two of his disciples on ahead with a specific task.
2 “Go to the village over there,” he said to them, “and as soon as you enter it you will find a colt tied up—one that nobody has ever ridden before. Untie it and bring it here. 3 And if anyone says to you, ‘Why are you doing that?’ then say, ‘The master needs it, and he will return it at once.’ ”
4 They went off and found the colt tied up beside a door, out in the street; and they untied it.
5 Some of the bystanders said to them, “Why are you untying the colt?” 6 They gave the answer Jesus had told them, and they let them carry on. 7 So they brought the colt to Jesus and laid their cloaks on it, and he mounted it. 8 Several people spread out their cloaks in the road. Others did the same with foliage that they had cut in the fields. 9 Those in front, and those coming behind, shouted out, “Hosanna! Welcome in the Lord’s name! 10 Here comes the kingdom of our father David! Hosanna in the highest!”
11 Jesus entered Jerusalem, went into the Temple, and looked all round. It was already getting late, and he returned to Bethany with the Twelve.
Jesus cleanses the Temple
12 The next day, as they were leaving Bethany, Jesus was hungry. 13 From some distance away he saw a fig tree covered with leaves, and hoped to find some fruit on it; but when he came up to it he found nothing but leaves. (It wasn’t yet the season for figs.)
14 He addressed the tree directly. “May no one ever eat fruit from you again,” he said. And his disciples heard.
15 They came into Jerusalem. Jesus went into the Temple and began to drive out the traders, those who bought and sold in the Temple, and overturned the tables of the money-changers and the seats of the dove-sellers. 16 He permitted no one to carry any vessel through the Temple. 17 He began to teach: “Isn’t this what’s written,” he said,
‘My house shall be called a house of prayer
for all the world to share’?
“But you’ve made it a brigands’ den!”
18 The chief priests and the legal experts heard, and looked for a way to get rid of him. But they were afraid of him, because the whole crowd was astonished at his teaching.
19 When evening came, they went back out of the city.
20 As they were returning, early in the morning, they saw the fig tree withered from its roots.
21 “Look, Teacher!” said Peter to Jesus, remembering what had happened before. “The fig tree you cursed has withered.”
22 “Have faith in God,” replied Jesus. 23 “I’m telling you the truth: if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Be off with you—get yourself thrown into the sea,’ if they have no doubt in their heart, but believe that what they say will happen, it will be done for them. 24 That’s why I’m telling you, everything that you request in prayer, everything you ask God for, believe that you receive it, and it will happen for you.
25 “And when you are standing there praying, if you have something against someone else, forgive them—so that your father in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.”
The authority of Jesus is questioned
27 Once more they went into Jerusalem. As Jesus was walking in the Temple he was approached by the chief priests, the legal experts and the elders.
28 “By what right do you do these things?” they asked. “Who gave you the right to do them?”
29 “I have one question for you, too,” replied Jesus, “and if you tell me the answer I shall tell you by what right I do these things. 30 Was the baptism of John from heaven, or was it a human invention? What’s your answer?”
31 “Well now,” they muttered to each other, “if we say it was from heaven, he will say, ‘Then why didn’t you believe him?’ 32 But if we say it was a human invention . . .” They were afraid of the crowd, because everyone regarded John as a prophet.
33 “We don’t know,” they said to Jesus.
“Nor will I tell you,” replied Jesus, “by what right I do these things.”
The parable of the tenants
12 Jesus began to speak to them with parables.
“Once upon a time,” he began, “there was a man who planted a vineyard. He built a fence around it, dug out a wine-press, built a watchtower, and then let it out to tenant farmers. He himself went abroad. 2 When the time came he sent a slave to the farmers to collect from them his portion of the vineyard’s produce. 3 They seized him, beat him and sent him away empty-handed.
4 “So again he sent another slave to them. This one they beat about the head, and treated shamefully. 5 He sent another, and they killed him. He sent several more; they beat some and killed others.
6 “He had one more to send: his beloved son. He sent him to them last of all, thinking ‘They will respect my son.’
7 “But the tenant farmers said to themselves, ‘This is the heir! Come on—let’s kill him, and we’ll get the inheritance!’ 8 So they seized him and killed him, and threw him out of the vineyard.
9 “So what will the vineyard owner do? He will come and destroy those tenants, and give the vineyard to others. 10 Or haven’t you read the scripture which says,
There is the stone the builders refused;
now it’s in place at the top of the corner.
11 This was the way the Lord planned it;
we were astonished to see it.”
12 They tried to find a way of arresting him, because they realized he had directed the parable against them. But they were afraid of the crowd. They left him and went away.
On paying taxes to Caesar
13 They sent some Pharisees to Jesus, and some Herodians, to try to trick him into saying the wrong thing.
14 “Teacher,” they said, “we know you are a man of integrity; you don’t regard anybody as special. You don’t bother about the outward show people put up; you teach God’s way truly.
“Well then: is it lawful to give tribute to Caesar or not? Should we pay it, or shouldn’t we?”
15 He knew the game they were playing. “Why are you trying to trap me?” he said. “Bring me a tribute-coin; let me look at it.”
16 They brought one to him.
“This image,” he asked, “whose is it? And whose is this superscription?”
“Caesar’s,” they replied.
17 “Well then,” said Jesus, “give Caesar back what belongs to Caesar—and give God back what belongs to God!”
They were astonished at him.
Marriage and the resurrection
18 Some Sadducees approached Jesus (Sadducees, by the way, deny the resurrection).
19 “Teacher,” they said, “Moses wrote for us that ‘if a man’s brother dies, and leaves a wife but no child, the brother should take the wife and raise up descendants for his brother.’ 20 Well now: there were once seven brothers. The first married a wife, and died without children. 21 The second married the widow, and died without children. The third did so as well, 22 and so did all seven, still without leaving children. Finally the woman died too. 23 So: when they rise again in the resurrection, whose wife will she be? All seven had her, after all.”
24 “Where you’re going wrong,” replied Jesus, “is that you don’t know the scriptures, or God’s power. 25 When people rise from the dead, they don’t marry, nor do people give them in marriage. They are like angels in heaven.
26 “However, to show that the dead are indeed to be raised, surely you’ve read in the book of Moses, in the passage about the bush, what God says to Moses? ‘I am Abraham’s God, Isaac’s God and Jacob’s God’? 27 He isn’t the God of the dead, but of the living. You are completely mistaken.”
The most important commandment
28 One of the legal experts came up, and overheard the discussion. Realizing that Jesus had given a splendid answer, he put a question of his own.
“Which commandment,” he asked, “is the first one of all?”
29 “The first one,” replied Jesus, “is this: ‘Listen, Israel: the Lord your God, the Lord is one; 30 and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your understanding, and with all your strength.’ 31 And this is the second one: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ No other commandment is greater than these ones.”
32 “Well said, Teacher,” answered the lawyer. “You are right in saying that ‘he is one and that there is no other beside him,’ 33 and that ‘to love him with all the heart, and with all the intelligence, and with all the strength’ and ‘to love one’s neighbor as oneself’ is worth far more than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.”
34 Jesus saw that his answer came out of deep understanding.
“You are not far from God’s kingdom,” he said to him.
After that, nobody dared put any more questions to him.
David’s son and the widow’s mite
35 By way of response to it all, Jesus began to teach in the Temple.
“Why do the experts say,” he asked, “that the Messiah is the son of David? 36 David himself, inspired by the holy spirit, said:
The Lord said to my Lord:
sit at my right hand,
until I place your enemies
right underneath your feet.
37 “David himself calls him ‘Lord’; how then can he be his son?”
The whole crowd listened to him with delight.
38 During his teaching, he said, “Beware of the lawyers! They like to walk about in long robes, and to be greeted in the market-places. 39 They take the chief seats in the synagogue, and the best places at dinner parties. 40 They devour the property of widows, and make long prayers without meaning them. They will receive all the more condemnation.”
41 As he sat opposite the Temple treasury, he watched the crowd putting money into the alms boxes. Lots of rich people put in substantial amounts. 42 Then there came a single poor widow, who put in two tiny coins, together worth a single penny.
43 Jesus called his disciples.
“I’m telling you the truth,” he said. “This poor widow just put more into the treasury than everybody else. 44 You see, all the others were contributing out of their wealth; but she put in everything she had, out of her poverty. It was her whole livelihood.”
Signs of the end
13 As they were going out of the Temple, one of Jesus’ disciples said to him, “Teacher! Look at these huge stones, and these huge buildings!”
2 “You see these enormous buildings?” said Jesus. “There will not be one single stone left on top of another. They will all be torn down.”
3 Peter, James, John and Andrew approached him privately as he was sitting on the Mount of Olives opposite the Temple.
4 “Tell us,” they asked. “When will these things happen? What will be the sign that these things are about to be completed?”
5 “Take care that nobody deceives you,” Jesus began to say to them. 6 “Plenty of people will come in my name, saying ‘I’m the one!’ and they will lead plenty astray. 7 But whenever you hear about wars, and rumors of wars, don’t be disturbed. These things have to happen, but it doesn’t mean the end is here. 8 One nation will rise up against another; one kingdom will rise up against another. There will be earthquakes in various places, and famines too. These are the first pains of childbirth.
9 “But watch out for yourselves. They will hand you over to courts, they will beat you in synagogues; you will stand before rulers and kings because of me, as a witness against them. 10 And the message of the kingdom must first be announced to all the nations. 11 And when they put you on trial and hand you over, don’t work out beforehand what you are going to say, but say whatever is given you at that moment. It won’t be you speaking, you see, but the holy spirit.
12 “One brother will hand over another to death. Fathers will hand over children. Children will rebel against parents and have them put to death. 13 And you will be hated by everyone because of my name. But the one who is patient through to the end—that one will be saved.”
Further signs of the end
14 “However,” Jesus continued, “when you see ‘the desolating abomination’ set up where it ought not to be” (let the reader understand) “then those who are in Judaea should run away to the mountains. 15 If you’re on the housetop, don’t go down, and don’t go in to get anything from the house. 16 If you’re out in the countryside, don’t turn back again to pick up your cloak.
17 “It will be a terrible time for pregnant and nursing mothers. 18 Pray that it won’t happen in winter. 19 Yes, those days will bring trouble like nothing that’s ever happened from the beginning of creation, which God created, until now, or ever will again. 20 In fact, if the Lord had not shortened the days, no one would be rescued. But for the sake of his chosen ones, those whom he appointed, he shortened the days.
21 “So at that time, if someone says to you, ‘Look—here is the Messiah!’ or, ‘Look—there he is!’ don’t believe them; 22 because false messiahs and false prophets will arise, and will perform signs and portents to lead astray even God’s chosen ones, if that were possible. 23 But you must be on your guard. I’ve told you everything ahead of time.
24 “But in those days, after that suffering,
The sun will be dark as night
and the moon will not give its light;
25 the stars will fall from heaven
and the powers in heaven will shake.
26 “Then they will see ‘the son of man coming on clouds with great power and glory.’ 27 And then he will dispatch his messengers, and will gather in his chosen ones from the four winds, from the ends of earth to the ends of heaven.”
Watching for the son of man
28 “Learn this lesson from the fig tree. When its branch becomes soft and sprouts leaves, you know that summer is near. 29 In the same way, when you see these things happen, you should know that it is near, right at the gates. 30 I’m telling you the truth: this generation won’t disappear until all of this has happened. 31 Heaven and earth will disappear, but my words won’t disappear.
32 “No one knows, though, the day or the hour. The angels in heaven don’t know it; nor does the son; only the father.
33 “Keep watch, stay awake. You don’t know when the moment will arrive. 34 It’s like a man who goes away from home: he leaves his house, giving each of his slaves authority for their own tasks; and he commands the doorkeeper to keep watch. 35 Keep watch, then, because you don’t know when the master of the house is going to come. It might be at evening, or at midnight, or at cockcrow, or in the morning! 36 You don’t want him to come suddenly and find you asleep. 37 What I am telling you, I am telling everyone: keep watch!”
Jesus is anointed at Bethany
14 Passover—the Feast of Unleavened Bread—was due in two days. The chief priests and the lawyers were plotting how to seize Jesus by a trick, and kill him.
2 “We can’t do it at the feast,” they said. “The people might riot.”
3 Jesus was in Bethany, at the house of Simon (known as “the Leper”). While he was at table, a woman came up with an alabaster pot containing extremely valuable ointment made of pure spikenard. She broke the pot and poured the ointment on Jesus’ head.
4 Some of the people there grumbled to one another.
“What’s the point of wasting the ointment?” they asked. 5 “That ointment could have been sold for three hundred dinars, and given to the poor.”
And they were angry with her.
6 “Leave her alone,” said Jesus. “Why make trouble for her? She has done a wonderful thing for me. 7 You have the poor with you always; you can help them whenever you want to. But you won’t always have me.
8 “She has played her part. She has anointed my body for its burial, ahead of time. 9 I’m telling you the truth: wherever the message is announced in all the world, the story of what she has just done will be told. That will be her memorial.”
10 Judas Iscariot, one of the Twelve, went to the chief priests, to arrange to hand Jesus over to them. 11 They were delighted with his proposal, and made an agreement to pay him. And he began to look for a good moment to hand him over.
The Last Supper
12 On the first day of Unleavened Bread, when the Passover lambs were sacrificed, Jesus’ disciples said to him, “Where would you like us to go and get things ready for you to eat the Passover?”
13 He sent off two of his disciples, with these instructions.
“Go into the city, and you will be met by a man carrying a water-pot. Follow him. 14 When he goes indoors, say to the master of the house, ‘The teacher says, where is the guest room for me, where I can eat the Passover with my disciples?’ 15 He will show you a large upstairs room, set out and ready. Make preparations for us there.”
16 The disciples went out, entered the city, and found it exactly as he had said. They prepared the Passover.
17 When it was evening, Jesus came with the Twelve. 18 As they were reclining at table and eating, Jesus said, “I’m telling you the truth: one of you is going to betray me—one of you that’s eating with me.”
19 They began to be very upset, and they said to him, one after another, “It isn’t me, is it?”
20 “It’s one of the Twelve,” said Jesus, “one who has dipped his bread in the dish with me. 21 Yes: the son of man is completing his journey, as scripture said he would; but it’s bad news for the man who betrays him! It would have been better for that man never to have been born.”
22 While they were eating, he took bread, blessed it, broke it, and gave it to them.
“Take it,” he said. “This is my body.”
23 Then he took the cup, gave thanks, and gave it to them, and they all drank from it.
24 “This is my blood of the covenant,” he said, “which is poured out for many. 25 I’m telling you the truth: I won’t ever drink from the fruit of the vine again, until that day—the day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.”
Jesus is arrested
26 They sang a hymn, and went out to the Mount of Olives.
27 “You’re all going to desert me,” said Jesus, “because it’s written,
I shall attack the shepherd
and then the sheep will scatter.
28 “But after I am raised up, I will go ahead of you to Galilee.”
29 Peter spoke up.
“Everyone else may desert you,” he said, “but I won’t.”
30 “I’m telling you the truth,” Jesus replied. “Today—this very night, before the cock has crowed twice—you will renounce me three times.”
31 This made Peter all the more vehement. “Even if I have to die with you,” he said, “I will never renounce you.”
And all the rest said the same.
32 They came to a place called Gethsemane.
“Stay here,” said Jesus to the disciples, “while I pray.”
33 He took Peter, James and John with him, and became quite overcome and deeply distressed.
34 “My soul is disturbed within me,” he said, “right to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch.”
35 He went a little further, and fell on the ground and prayed that, if possible, the moment might pass from him.
36 “Abba, Father,” he said, “all things are possible for you! Take this cup away from me! But—not what I want, but what you want.”
37 He returned and found them sleeping. “Are you asleep, Simon?” he said to Peter. “Couldn’t you keep watch for a single hour? 38 Watch and pray, so that you won’t come into the time of trouble. The spirit is eager, but the body is weak.”
39 Once more he went off and prayed, saying the same words. 40 And again, when he returned, he found them asleep, because their eyes were very heavy. They had no words to answer him. 41 But the third time he came, he said to them, “All right—sleep as much as you like now. Have a good rest. The job is done, the time has come—and look! The son of man is betrayed into the clutches of sinners. 42 Get up, let’s be on our way. Here comes the man who’s going to betray me.”
43 At once, while he was still speaking, Judas, one of the Twelve, arrived, accompanied by a crowd, with swords and clubs, from the chief priests, the legal experts, and the elders. 44 The betrayer had given them a coded sign: “The one I kiss—that’s him! Seize him and take him away safely.”
45 He came up to Jesus at once. “Rabbi!” he said, and kissed him.
46 The crowd laid hands on him and seized him. 47 One of the bystanders drew a sword and struck the high priest’s servant, cutting off his ear. 48 Then Jesus spoke to them.
“Anyone would think,” he said, “you’d come after a brigand! Fancy needing swords and clubs to arrest me! 49 Day after day I’ve been teaching in the Temple, under your noses, and you never laid a finger on me. But the scriptures must be fulfilled.”
50 Then they all abandoned him and ran away.
51 A young man had followed him, wearing only a linen tunic over his otherwise naked body. 52 They seized him, and he left the tunic and ran away naked.
In the high priest’s house
53 They took Jesus away to the high priest. All the chief priests and the elders and legal experts were assembled. 54 Peter followed him at a distance, and came to the courtyard of the high priest’s house, where he sat with the servants and warmed himself at the fire.
55 The chief priests, and all the Sanhedrin, looked for evidence for a capital charge against Jesus, but they didn’t find any. 56 Several people invented fictitious charges against him, but their evidence didn’t agree. 57 Then some stood up with this fabricated charge: 58 “We heard him say, ‘I will destroy this Temple, which human hands have made, and in three days I’ll build another, made without human hands.’ ”
59 But even so their evidence didn’t agree.
60 Then the high priest got up in front of them all and interrogated Jesus.
“Haven’t you got any answer about whatever it is these people are testifying against you?”
61 Jesus remained silent, and didn’t answer a word.
Once more the high priest questioned him. “Are you the Messiah, the Son of the Blessed One?”
62 “I am,” replied Jesus, “and you will see ‘the son of man sitting at the right hand of Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven.’ ”
63 “Why do we need any more evidence?” shouted the high priest, tearing his clothes. 64 “You heard the blasphemy! What’s your verdict?”
They all agreed on their judgment: he deserved to die.
65 Some of them began to spit at him. They blindfolded him and hit him, and said, “Prophesy!” And the servants took charge of him and beat him.
66 Peter, meanwhile, was below in the courtyard. One of the high priest’s servant-girls came up 67 and saw him warming himself. She looked closely at him, and said, “You were with Jesus the Nazarene as well, weren’t you?”
68 “I don’t know what on earth you’re talking about,” replied Peter.
He went outside into the forecourt, and the cock crowed.
69 The servant-girl saw him, and once more began to say to the bystanders, “This man is one of them.” 70 But Peter again denied it.
A little while later the bystanders said again to Peter, “You really are one of them, aren’t you? You’re a Galilean!”
71 At that he began to curse and swear, “I don’t know this man you’re talking about.” 72 And immediately the cock crowed for the second time. Then Peter remembered the words that Jesus had said to him: “Before the cock crows twice, you will renounce me three times.” And he burst into tears.
Jesus before Pilate
15 As soon as morning came, the chief priests held a council meeting with the elders, the legal experts, and the whole Sanhedrin. They bound Jesus, took him off to Pilate, and handed him over.
2 “Are you the king of the Jews?” asked Pilate.
“You have said it,” replied Jesus.
3 The chief priests laid many accusations against him.
4 Pilate again interrogated him: “Aren’t you going to make any reply? Look how many accusations they’re making against you!”
5 But Jesus gave no reply at all, which astonished Pilate.
6 The custom was that at festival time he used to release for them a single prisoner, whoever they would ask for. 7 There was a man in prison named Barabbas, one of the revolutionaries who had committed murder during the uprising. 8 So the crowd came up and began to ask Pilate to do what he normally did.
9 “Do you want me,” answered Pilate, “to release for you ‘the king of the Jews’?”
10 He said this because he knew that the chief priests had handed him over out of envy. 11 The chief priests stirred up the crowd to ask for Barabbas instead to be released to them. So Pilate once again asked them, 12 “What then do you want me to do with the one you call ‘the king of the Jews’?”
13 “Crucify him!” they shouted again.
14 “Why?” asked Pilate. “What has he done wrong?”
“Crucify him!” they shouted all the louder.
15 Pilate wanted to satisfy the crowd; so he released Barabbas for them. He had Jesus flogged, and handed him over to be crucified.
The crucifixion
16 The soldiers took Jesus into the courtyard, that is, the Praetorium, and called together the whole squad. 17 They dressed Jesus up in purple; then, weaving together a crown of thorns, they stuck it on him. 18 They began to salute him: “Greetings, King of the Jews!” 19 And they hit him over the head with a staff, and spat at him, and knelt down to do him homage. 20 Then, when they had mocked him, they took the purple robe off him, and put his own clothes back on.
Then they led him off to crucify him. 21 They compelled a man called Simon to carry Jesus’ cross. He was from Cyrene, and was coming in from out of town. He was the father of Alexander and Rufus.
22 They took Jesus to the place called Golgotha, which in translation means “Skull’s Place.” 23 They gave him a mixture of wine and myrrh, but he didn’t drink it.
24 So they crucified him; they “parted his clothing between them, casting lots” to see who would get what. 25 It was about nine o’clock in the morning when they crucified him. 26 The inscription, giving the charge, read: “The King of the Jews.” 27 They also crucified two bandits alongside him, one on his right and one on his left.
29 People who were passing by abused him. They shook their heads at him.
“Hah!” they said. “You were going to destroy the Temple, were you? And build it again in three days? 30 Why don’t you rescue yourself, and come down from the cross?”
31 The chief priests and the lawyers were mocking him in the same way among themselves.
“He rescued others,” they said, “but he can’t rescue himself. 32 Messiah, is he? King of Israel, did he say? Well, let’s see him come down from the cross! We’ll believe him when we see that!”
The two who were crucified alongside him taunted him as well.
The death of Jesus
33 At midday there was darkness over all the land until three in the afternoon. 34 At three o’clock Jesus shouted out in a powerful voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” which means, “My God, my God, why did you abandon me?”
35 When the bystanders heard it, some of them said, “He’s calling for Elijah!”
36 One of them ran and filled a sponge with sour wine, put it on a pole, and gave it him to drink.
“Well then,” he declared, “let’s see if Elijah will come and take him down.”
37 But Jesus, with another loud shout, breathed his last.
38 The Temple veil was torn in two, from top to bottom. 39 When the centurion who was standing facing him saw that he died in this way, he said, “This fellow really was God’s son.”
The burial of Jesus
40 Some women were watching from a distance. They included Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of the younger James and of Joses, and Salome. 41 They had followed Jesus in Galilee, and had attended to his needs. There were several other women, too, who had come up with him to Jerusalem.
42 It was already getting towards evening, and it was the day of Preparation, that is, the day before the sabbath. 43 Joseph of Arimathea, a reputable member of the council who was himself eagerly awaiting God’s kingdom, took his courage in both hands, went to Pilate, and requested the body of Jesus.
44 Pilate was surprised that he was already dead. He summoned the centurion, and asked whether he had been dead for some time. 45 When he learned the facts from the centurion, he conceded the body to Joseph.
46 So Joseph bought a linen cloth, took the body down, wrapped it in the cloth, and laid it in a tomb cut out of the rock. He rolled a stone against the door of the tomb. 47 Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses saw where he was buried.
The resurrection
16 When the sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome brought spices so that they could come and anoint Jesus. 2 Then, very early on the first day of the week, they came to the tomb, just at sunrise. 3 They were saying to one another, “There’s that stone at the door of the tomb—who’s going to roll it away for us?”
4 Then, when they looked up, they saw that it had been rolled away. (It was extremely large.)
5 So they went into the tomb, and there they saw a young man sitting on the right-hand side. He was wearing white. They were totally astonished.
6 “Don’t be astonished,” he said to them. “You’re looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has been raised! He isn’t here! Look—this is the place where they laid him.
7 “But go and tell his disciples—including Peter—that he is going ahead of you to Galilee. You’ll see him there, just like he told you.”
8 They went out, and fled from the tomb. Trembling and panic had seized them. They said nothing to anyone, because they were afraid.
Two extra endings
[[They gave a brief account to the people around Peter of what they had been told. After this, Jesus himself sent out from East to West, through their work, the sacred and imperishable proclamation of eternal salvation. Amen.]]
9 [When Jesus was raised, early on the first day of the week, he appeared first of all to Mary Magdalene, from whom he had cast out seven demons. 10 She went and told the people who had been with him, who were mourning and weeping. 11 When they heard that he was alive, and that he had been seen by her, they didn’t believe it.
12 After this he appeared in a different guise to two of them as they were walking into the countryside. 13 They came back and told the others, but they didn’t believe them.
14 Later Jesus appeared to the eleven themselves, as they were at table. He told them off for their unbelief and hardheartedness, for not believing those who had seen him after he had been raised.
15 “Go into all the world,” he said to them, “and announce the message to all creation. 16 Anyone who believes and is baptized will be rescued, but people who don’t believe will be condemned. 17 And these signs will happen around those who believe: they will drive out demons in my name, they will speak with new tongues, 18 they will pick up serpents in their hands; and if they drink anything poisonous it won’t harm them. They will lay their hands on the sick, and they will get better.”
19 When the Lord Jesus had spoken with them, he was taken up into heaven, and sat down at God’s right hand. 20 They went out and announced the message everywhere. The Lord worked with them, validating their message by the signs that accompanied them.]
Prologue
1 Many people have undertaken to draw up an orderly account of the events that have been fulfilled in our midst. 2 It has all been handed down to us by the original eyewitnesses and stewards of the word. 3 So, most excellent Theophilus, since I had traced the course of the whole thing scrupulously from the start, I thought it a good idea to write an orderly account for you, 4 so that you may have secure knowledge about the matters in which you have been instructed.
Gabriel visits Zechariah
5 In the time when Herod was king of Judaea, there was a priest called Zechariah, of the priestly division of Abijah. His wife, who came from the Aaron family, was called Elizabeth. 6 Both of them were righteous in God’s sight; they followed all the Lord’s commandments and ordinances without fault. 7 They had no children. Elizabeth was barren, and both of them were of an advanced age.
8 It so happened, when Zechariah was performing his priestly service before God, according to the order of his division, 9 that the lot fell to him, according to the priestly custom, to go in to the Lord’s sanctuary to offer incense. 10 The people were praying outside in a large crowd, at the time of the incense-offering. 11 An angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing on the right hand side of the incense-altar. 12 Zechariah was troubled and terror-struck when he saw the angel.
13 But the angel said to him: “Don’t be afraid, Zechariah: your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John. 14 This will bring you joy and celebration, and many will rejoice at his birth. 15 He will be a great man in God’s sight; he will drink no wine or strong drink. He will be filled with the holy spirit from his mother’s womb, 16 and will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God. 17 He will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, and he will turn the hearts of fathers to children, and of unbelievers to the wisdom of the righteous. He will get ready for the Lord a prepared people.”
18 “How can I be sure of this?” said Zechariah to the angel. “I’m an old man! My wife’s not as young as she used to be, either!”
19 “Look here,” replied the angel, “I’m Gabriel. I stand in God’s presence. I was sent to speak to you and give you this splendid news. 20 Now, listen: you will be silent—you won’t be able to speak—until the day when it all happens, because you didn’t believe my words. But they will come true at the proper time.”
21 Meanwhile, the people were waiting for Zechariah, and were surprised that he was taking such a long time in the sanctuary. 22 But when he came out he couldn’t speak to them, and they understood that he had seen a vision in the sanctuary. He made gestures to them, but remained speechless.
23 So, when the days of his priestly service were complete, he went back home. 24 After that time, Elizabeth his wife conceived. She stayed in hiding for five months.
25 “This is the Lord’s doing,” she said; “at last he has looked on me, and taken away my public shame.”
The annunciation of the birth of Jesus
26 In the sixth month, Gabriel (the angel) was sent from God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, 27 to a virgin engaged to a man called Joseph, from the family of David. The virgin was called Mary.
28 “Greetings, favored one!” said the angel when he arrived. “May the Lord be with you!”
29 She was disturbed at this, and wondered what such a greeting might mean.
30 “Don’t be afraid, Mary,” said the angel to her. “You’re in favor with God. 31 Listen: you will conceive in your womb and will have a son; and you shall call his name Jesus. 32 He will be a great man, and he’ll be called the son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of David his father, 33 and he shall reign over the house of Jacob forever. His kingdom will never come to an end.”
34 “How will this happen?” said Mary to the angel. “I’m still a virgin!”
35 “The holy spirit will come upon you,” replied the angel, “and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. For that reason the holy one who is born from you will be called God’s Son.
36 “Let me tell you this, too: your cousin Elizabeth, in her old age, has also conceived a son. This is the sixth month for her, a woman who people used to say was barren. 37 With God, you see, nothing is impossible.”
38 “Here I am,” said Mary; “I’m the Lord’s servant-girl. Let it happen to me as you’ve said.”
Then the angel left her.
The Magnificat: Mary’s song of praise
39 Mary got up then and there, and went in excitement to the hill country of Judaea. 40 She went into Zechariah’s house, and greeted Elizabeth. 41 When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby gave a leap in her womb. Elizabeth was filled with the holy spirit, 42 and shouted at the top of her voice: “Of all women, you’re the blessed one! And the fruit of your womb—he’s blessed, too! 43 Why should this happen to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? 44 Look—when the sound of your greeting came to my ears, the child in my womb gave a great leap for joy! 45 A blessing on you, for believing that what the Lord said to you would come true!”
46 Mary said,
“My soul declares that the Lord is great,
47 my spirit exults in my savior, my God.
48 He saw his servant-girl in her humility;
from now, I’ll be blessed by all peoples to come.
49 The Powerful One, whose name is Holy,
has done great things for me, for me.
50 His mercy extends from father to son,
from mother to daughter for those who fear him.
51 Powerful things he has done with his arm:
he routed the arrogant through their own cunning.
52 Down from their thrones he hurled the rulers,
up from the earth he raised the humble.
53 The hungry he filled with the fat of the land,
but the rich he sent off with nothing to eat.
54 He has rescued his servant, Israel his child,
because he remembered his mercy of old,
55 just as he said to our long-ago ancestors—
Abraham and his descendants forever.”
56 Mary stayed with Elizabeth for three months, and then returned home.
Zechariah’s song of praise
57 The time arrived for Elizabeth’s child to be born, and she gave birth to a son. 58 Her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had increased his mercy to her, and they came to celebrate with her.
59 Now on the eighth day, when they came to circumcise the child, they were calling him by his father’s name, Zechariah. 60 But his mother spoke up.
“No,” she said, “he is to be called John.”
61 “None of your relatives,” they objected, “is called by that name.”
62 They made signs to his father, to ask what he wanted him to be called. 63 He asked for a writing tablet, and wrote on it, “His name is John.”
Everyone was astonished. 64 Immediately his mouth and his tongue were unfastened, and he spoke, praising God. 65 Fear came over all those who lived in the neighborhood, and people spoke of all these things throughout all the hill country of Judaea. 66 Everyone who heard about it turned the matter over in their hearts.
“What then will this child become?” they said. And the Lord’s hand was with him.
67 John’s father Zechariah was filled with the holy spirit, and spoke this prophecy:
68 “Blessed be the Lord, Israel’s God!
He’s come to his people and bought them their freedom.
69 He’s raised up a horn of salvation for us
in David’s house, the house of his servant,
70 just as he promised, through the mouths of his prophets,
the holy ones, speaking from ages of old:
71 salvation from our enemies, rescue from hatred,
72 mercy to our ancestors, keeping his holy covenant.
73 He swore an oath to Abraham our father,
74 to give us deliverance from fear and from foes,
so we might worship him, 75 holy and righteous
before his face to the end of our days.
76 You, child, will be called the prophet of the Highest One,
You’ll go before the Lord, preparing his way,
77 letting his people know of salvation,
through the forgiveness of all their sins.
78 The heart of our God is full of mercy,
that’s why his daylight has dawned from on high,
79 bringing light to the dark, as we sat in death’s shadow,
guiding our feet in the path of peace.”
80 The child grew, and became powerful in the spirit. He lived in the wilderness until the day when he was revealed to Israel.
Scripture quotations from The New Testament for Everyone are copyright © Nicholas Thomas Wright 2011, 2018, 2019.