Mark 14:22-15:37

New American Bible (Revised Edition)

The Lord’s Supper. ^22 [a]While they were eating,^(A) he took bread, said the blessing, broke it, and gave it to them, and said, “Take it; this is my body.” ²³ Then he took a cup, gave thanks, and gave it to them, and they all drank from it. ²⁴ He said to them, “This is my blood of the covenant, which will be shed^[b] for many. ²⁵ Amen, I say to you, I shall not drink again the fruit of the vine until the day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.” ²⁶ Then, after singing a hymn,^[c] they went out to the Mount of Olives.^(B)

Peter’s Denial Foretold.^{[d] 27} Then Jesus said to them, “All of you will have your faith shaken, for it is written:

²⁸ But after I have been raised up, I shall go before you to Galilee.” ²⁹ Peter said to him, “Even though all should have their faith shaken, mine will not be.” ³⁰ Then Jesus said to him, “Amen, I say to you, this very night before the cock crows twice you will deny me three times.” ³¹ But he vehemently replied, “Even though I should have to die with you, I will not deny you.” And they all spoke similarly.

The Agony in the Garden. ^32 [e]Then they came to a place named Gethsemane,^(D) and he said to his disciples, “Sit here while I pray.”^{(E) 33} He took with him Peter, James, and John, and began to be troubled and distressed. ³⁴ Then he said to them, “My soul is sorrowful even to death. Remain here and keep watch.” ³⁵ He advanced a little and fell to the ground and prayed that if it were possible the hour might pass by him; ³⁶ he said, “Abba, Father,^[f] all things are possible to you. Take this cup away from me, but not what I will but what you will.” ³⁷ When he returned he found them asleep. He said to Peter, “Simon, are you asleep? Could you not keep watch for one hour? ^38 [g]Watch and pray that you may not undergo the test.^(F) The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak.” ³⁹ Withdrawing again, he prayed, saying the same thing. ⁴⁰ Then he returned once more and found them asleep, for they could not keep their eyes open and did not know what to answer him. ⁴¹ He returned a third time and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and taking your rest? It is enough. The hour has come. Behold, the Son of Man is to be handed over to sinners. ⁴² Get up, let us go. See, my betrayer is at hand.”

The Betrayal and Arrest of Jesus. ^43 (G)Then, while he was still speaking, Judas, one of the Twelve, arrived, accompanied by a crowd with swords and clubs who had come from the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders. ⁴⁴ His betrayer had arranged a signal with them, saying, “The man I shall kiss is the one; arrest him and lead him away securely.” ⁴⁵ He came and immediately went over to him and said, “Rabbi.” And he kissed him. ⁴⁶ At this they laid hands on him and arrested him. ⁴⁷ One of the bystanders drew his sword, struck the high priest’s servant, and cut off his ear. ⁴⁸ Jesus said to them in reply, “Have you come out as against a robber, with swords and clubs, to seize me? ⁴⁹ Day after day I was with you teaching in the temple area, yet you did not arrest me; but that the scriptures may be fulfilled.” ⁵⁰ And they all left him and fled. ⁵¹ Now a young man followed him wearing nothing but a linen cloth about his body. They seized him, ⁵² but he left the cloth behind and ran off naked.

Jesus Before the Sanhedrin. ^53 [h](H)They led Jesus away to the high priest, and all the chief priests and the elders and the scribes came together. ⁵⁴ Peter followed him at a distance into the high priest’s courtyard and was seated with the guards, warming himself at the fire. ⁵⁵ The chief priests and the entire Sanhedrin kept trying to obtain testimony against Jesus in order to put him to death, but they found none. ⁵⁶ Many gave false witness against him, but their testimony did not agree. ^57 [i]Some took the stand and testified falsely against him, alleging, ⁵⁸ “We heard him say, ‘I will destroy this temple made with hands and within three days I will build another not made with hands.’”^{(I) 59} Even so their testimony did not agree. ⁶⁰ The high priest rose before the assembly and questioned Jesus, saying, “Have you no answer? What are these men testifying against you?” ^61 [j]But he was silent and answered nothing. Again the high priest asked him and said to him, “Are you the Messiah, the son of the Blessed One?” ⁶² Then Jesus answered, “I am;

⁶³ At that the high priest tore his garments and said, “What further need have we of witnesses? ⁶⁴ You have heard the blasphemy. What do you think?” They all condemned him as deserving to die. ⁶⁵ Some began to spit on him. They blindfolded him and struck him and said to him, “Prophesy!” And the guards greeted him with blows.^(K)

Peter’s Denial of Jesus. ^66 (L)While Peter was below in the courtyard, one of the high priest’s maids came along. ⁶⁷ Seeing Peter warming himself, she looked intently at him and said, “You too were with the Nazarene, Jesus.” ^68 [k]But he denied it saying, “I neither know nor understand what you are talking about.” So he went out into the outer court. [Then the cock crowed.] ⁶⁹ The maid saw him and began again to say to the bystanders, “This man is one of them.” ⁷⁰ Once again he denied it. A little later the bystanders said to Peter once more, “Surely you are one of them; for you too are a Galilean.” ⁷¹ He began to curse and to swear, “I do not know this man about whom you are talking.” ⁷² And immediately a cock crowed a second time. Then Peter remembered the word that Jesus had said to him, “Before the cock crows twice you will deny me three times.” He broke down and wept.^(M)

Chapter 15

Jesus Before Pilate. ^1 (N)As soon as morning came,^(O) the chief priests with the elders and the scribes, that is, the whole Sanhedrin, held a council.^[l] They bound Jesus, led him away, and handed him over to Pilate. ² Pilate questioned him, “Are you the king of the Jews?”^[m] He said to him in reply, “You say so.” ³ The chief priests accused him of many things. ⁴ Again Pilate questioned him, “Have you no answer? See how many things they accuse you of.” ⁵ Jesus gave him no further answer, so that Pilate was amazed.

The Sentence of Death.^{[n] 6} Now on the occasion of the feast he used to release to them one prisoner whom they requested.^{(P) 7} A man called Barabbas^[o] was then in prison along with the rebels who had committed murder in a rebellion. ⁸ The crowd came forward and began to ask him to do for them as he was accustomed. ⁹ Pilate answered, “Do you want me to release to you the king of the Jews?” ¹⁰ For he knew that it was out of envy that the chief priests had handed him over. ¹¹ But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to have him release Barabbas for them instead. ¹² Pilate again said to them in reply, “Then what [do you want] me to do with [the man you call] the king of the Jews?” ^13 [p]They shouted again, “Crucify him.” ¹⁴ Pilate said to them, “Why? What evil has he done?” They only shouted the louder, “Crucify him.” ^15 [q]So Pilate, wishing to satisfy the crowd, released Barabbas to them and, after he had Jesus scourged, handed him over to be crucified.

Mockery by the Soldiers. ^16 [r](Q)The soldiers led him away inside the palace, that is, the praetorium, and assembled the whole cohort. ¹⁷ They clothed him in purple and, weaving a crown of thorns, placed it on him. ¹⁸ They began to salute him with, “Hail, King of the Jews!” ¹⁹ and kept striking his head with a reed and spitting upon him. They knelt before him in homage. ²⁰ And when they had mocked him, they stripped him of the purple cloak, dressed him in his own clothes, and led him out to crucify him.

The Way of the Cross. ²¹ They pressed into service a passer-by, Simon, a Cyrenian,^[s] who was coming in from the country, the father of Alexander and Rufus, to carry his cross.^(R)

The Crucifixion. ^22 (S)They brought him to the place of Golgotha (which is translated Place of the Skull). ²³ They gave him wine drugged with myrrh, but he did not take it. ^24 [t](T)Then they crucified him and divided his garments by casting lots for them to see what each should take. ²⁵ It was nine o’clock in the morning^[u] when they crucified him. ^26 [v]The inscription of the charge against him read, “The King of the Jews.” ²⁷ With him they crucified two revolutionaries, one on his right and one on his left.^(U) [²⁸ ]^{[w] 29 [x]}Those passing by reviled him, shaking their heads and saying,^(V) “Aha! You who would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, ³⁰ save yourself by coming down from the cross.” ³¹ Likewise the chief priests, with the scribes, mocked him among themselves and said, “He saved others; he cannot save himself. ³² Let the Messiah, the King of Israel, come down now from the cross that we may see and believe.” Those who were crucified with him also kept abusing him.^(W)

The Death of Jesus. ³³ At noon darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon. ³⁴ And at three o’clock Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?”^[y] which is translated, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”^{(X) 35 [z]}Some of the bystanders who heard it said, “Look, he is calling Elijah.” ³⁶ One of them ran, soaked a sponge with wine, put it on a reed, and gave it to him to drink, saying, “Wait, let us see if Elijah comes to take him down.” ³⁷ Jesus gave a loud cry and breathed his last.