Read the Gospels in 40 Days
Jesus tells a story about ten young women
25 Jesus said, ‘I will tell you another story to show what the kingdom of heaven is like. There were ten young women who were going to a marriage party. They took their lamps with them and they went to meet the man who was marrying a wife. 2 Five of these young women were silly. The other five young women were wise. 3 The silly women took their lamps with them, but they did not take any extra oil with them. 4 The five wise women took jars of oil with their lamps. 5 The man who was marrying a wife did not come for a long time. So all the young women became tired, and they went to sleep.
6 In the middle of the night, someone shouted out, “The man is coming! Come out to meet him!”
7 The ten young women woke up. Then they prepared their lamps to make them work well. 8 The five silly young women said to the other five young women, “Give us some of your oil, because our lamps are not giving much light.” 9 The wise women replied, “If we did that, then there would not be enough oil for all of us. You must go instead to the people who sell oil. You must buy some oil for yourselves.”
10 So these five women went to buy some oil. While they were away, the man arrived for the marriage party. The five wise women were ready. They went with him into the house for the party. Then the servants shut the door.
11 Later, the five silly women also came to the house. They said, “Sir, Sir, please open the door for us.” 12 But he replied, “I tell you, I do not know you.” ’
13 Then Jesus said to the people, ‘So you must watch carefully. You do not know on what day or at what time I will return.’[a]
Jesus tells a story about three servants
14 Jesus said, ‘The kingdom of heaven is also like a man who began a journey. Before the master went away, he told his servants to come to him. He said to them, “Take care of all my money and all my things for me.” 15 The master gave one servant 5,000 gold coins. He gave another servant 2,000 gold coins, and to another servant he gave 1,000 gold coins. The master gave to each servant what he would be able to use well.[b] Then he went away on his journey.
16 The servant who had received 5,000 gold coins went out immediately. He bought and sold things with the money. When he did this, he got 5,000 more gold coins. 17 The servant who had received 2,000 gold coins did the same thing. This servant got 2,000 more gold coins. 18 But the servant who had received only 1,000 gold coins did something different. He went outside and he dug a hole in the ground. He buried the money that his master had given him.
19 After a long time, the master came home.[c] He asked the servants to come to him. He wanted to know how much money they had now. 20 The servant who had received 5,000 gold coins came to his master. The servant said, “Master, you gave me 5,000 gold coins. Now I have an extra 5,000 gold coins.”
21 The master said to this servant, “You are a good servant and you have done really well. You were careful with a small amount of money. Now I will give you authority over many more things. I am really happy about this and I want you to be happy with me.”
22 The servant who had received 2,000 gold coins also came to his master. The servant said, “Master, you gave me 2,000 gold coins. Now I have an extra 2,000 gold coins.”
23 The master said to this servant, “You are a good servant and you have done really well. You were careful with a small amount of money. Now I will give you authority over many more things. I am really happy about this and I want you to be happy with me.”
24 The servant who had received 1,000 gold coins then came to his master. The servant said, “Master, I know what you are like. You tell people what they should do all the time. You take food from fields where you did not put any seed in the ground. You get fruit from trees that you did not plant. 25 So I was afraid of you. I went and I buried your gold coins in the ground. Look! Here they are. You can have your money back again.”
26 The master said to him, “You are a bad and lazy servant. You know what I am like, do you? I get food from fields where I did not put any seeds. I get fruit from trees that I did not plant. You knew all that. 27 So you should have put the money into a bank. Then, when I came home, I could have received my money back from the bank, with extra money.”
28 Then the master said to his other servants, “Take the 1,000 gold coins from this bad servant. Give them to the man who now has 10,000 coins. 29 Some people have received good things. They will all receive even more and have lots of good things. Some other people have nothing. Those people will lose even the little bit that they do have. 30 This servant cannot work for me any longer. Take him outside and throw him into a dark place. There, people will cry and they will bite their teeth together.” ’[d]
God judges everybody
31 Jesus said, ‘I, the Son of Man, will return one day. Then people will see that I am great and powerful. All God's angels will come with me. I will sit on my great seat as king. 32 People from all the countries in the world will come together in front of me. I will put them into two groups. I will do it in the same way that a shepherd puts his sheep and goats into two groups. 33 He puts the sheep on his right side and the goats on his left side.[e]
34 The king will say to those people who are on his right side, “Come here. My Father has been good to you. He has prepared a place for you in his kingdom. That kingdom has been ready for you since the time that God made the world. 35 I was hungry and you gave me some food to eat. I was thirsty and you gave me some water to drink. I was visiting your town and you asked me to stay in your home. 36 I did not have enough clothes and you gave me some clothes to wear. I was ill and you took care of me. I was in prison and you came to visit me there.”
37 Then the people on the right side will say to the king, “Master, when did we see that you were hungry and give you some food? When did we see that you were thirsty and we gave you some water to drink? 38 When did we ask you to stay in our home because you were alone? When did we give you some clothes to wear? 39 When did we take care of you because you were ill? When did we come to visit you in prison?”
40 The king will answer them, “I tell you this: You did all these things to help other people. They were not important people, but they were my friends. When you helped them, then you also helped me.”
41 Then the king will say to those people who are at his left side, “Go away from me. God has decided to punish you. He has prepared a fire that will burn for ever. He has prepared it for Satan and his servants. You will also go into that fire. 42 I was hungry but you did not give me any food to eat. I was thirsty but you did not give me anything to drink. 43 I visited your town but you did not ask me to stay in your home. I did not have enough clothes but you did not give me anything to wear. I was ill but you did not take care of me. I was in prison but you did not come to visit me.”
44 Then these other people will say, “Master, when did we see you and you were hungry, or you were thirsty? When did we see you alone or without clothes? When did we see you and you were ill, or in prison? When did you need our help and we did not help you?”
45 Then the king will reply, “I tell you this: You did not help people who are my friends. They were not important people. But when you did not help them, you also did not help me.”
46 Then those people on the king's left side will go away to the place where God will punish them for ever. But the good people on the king's right side will live for ever with God.’
Those who are against Jesus want to take hold of him
26 When Jesus finished saying all these things, he said to his disciples, 2 ‘You know that after two days it will be the time of the Passover festival. Then those people who are against me will put me into the power of the rulers. They will fix me, the Son of Man, to a cross to kill me.’[f]
3 Then the leaders of the priests and the important Jews met together in the house of the most important priest. His name was Caiaphas. 4 They wanted to kill Jesus. But they wanted to take hold of him secretly. So they tried to decide how they could do that. 5 They said to each other, ‘We do not want to take hold of him during the Passover festival. If we do that, the people will be angry and they may fight against us.’
A woman pours beautiful oil on Jesus' head
6 Then Jesus went to Bethany and he visited Simon at his house. At one time, Simon had had a bad disease of the skin.[g]
7 While Jesus was eating a meal there, a woman came into the house. She brought a small stone jar with her. The jar contained expensive oil with a very nice smell.[h] She poured the oil over Jesus' head while he sat there.
8 Jesus' disciples saw what the woman had done. They became angry and they said, ‘This woman should not have wasted the oil. 9 She could have sold it for a lot of money. Then she could have given the money to poor people.’
10 Jesus knew what his disciples were saying. So he said to them, ‘Do not cause trouble for her. She has done a good thing to me. 11 You will always have poor people with you. But you will not always have me with you. 12 She has poured oil over my body. So now I will be ready for people to bury me. 13 I tell you this: Everywhere in the world people will speak about this good news. At the same time, they will also tell people about the good thing that this woman has done. And so people will remember her.’
Judas Iscariot promises to sell Jesus for money
14 Judas Iscariot was one of Jesus' 12 apostles. He went to see the leaders of the priests 15 and he asked them, ‘How much money will you give me if I help you to take hold of Jesus?’ The priests gave Judas 30 silver coins. 16 Judas then waited for the right moment to help them to take hold of Jesus.
Jesus eats his last meal with his 12 disciples
17 The first day of the festival when the Jews eat flat bread arrived.[i] Jesus' disciples came to him and they asked him, ‘Where do you want us to prepare the Passover meal for you to eat?’
18 Jesus replied, ‘Go to a certain man in the city and say to him, “The teacher says: This is the moment that God has prepared for me. I will eat the Passover meal with my disciples in your house.” ’ 19 So Jesus' disciples did what he had told them to do. They went and they prepared the Passover meal.
20 When it was evening, Jesus and the 12 apostles sat down to eat the Passover meal together. 21 While they were eating, Jesus said, ‘I tell you this: One of you will help the Jewish leaders to take hold of me.’
22 They were very sad about what Jesus had said. Each one of them said to Jesus, ‘Lord, surely you do not mean me, do you?’
23 Jesus said to them ‘The man who will give me to the rulers is eating from the same dish as I am.[j] 24 The Son of Man must die in the way that the Bible says. But it will be very bad for the man who gives me to my enemies. It would be better for that man if he had not been born.’
25 Judas was the one who would give Jesus to the Jewish leaders. But he said to Jesus, ‘Teacher, surely you do not mean me, do you?’ Jesus replied to him, ‘Yes, you have said it.’
26 While Jesus and his disciples were eating, he took a loaf of bread. He thanked God for it and then he broke the bread into pieces. He gave some of it to each of them. He said, ‘Take this bread and eat it. This is my body.’
27 Then Jesus took a cup. He thanked God for the wine in the cup. Then he gave it to them and he said, ‘All of you should drink some of this wine. 28 This is my blood that shows God's promise. When I die, my blood will pour out of my body. In that way God will forgive many people for the wrong things that they have done. That is the promise that God makes because of my death. 29 I tell you this. I will not drink wine again until I drink it with you in my Father's kingdom. Then it will be new wine.’[k]
30 Then Jesus and his disciples sang a song to praise God.[l] Then they went out to the Mount of Olives.
Jesus tells Peter what will happen
31 Then Jesus said to his disciples, ‘Tonight, all of you will turn away from me. It will happen in the way that the Bible says:
God says, “I will kill the shepherd who leads the sheep.
Then all the sheep will run away in different directions.” ’[m]
32 Jesus then said, ‘But after that happens, I will become alive again. Then I will go to Galilee, and you will meet me there.’
33 Peter said to Jesus, ‘Even if everyone else runs away, I will not leave you.’
34 Jesus replied to Peter, ‘I tell you this: Even tonight, you will say three times that you do not know me. This will happen before the cockerel sings early tomorrow morning.’
35 But Peter said to Jesus, ‘I will die with you if I need to. But I will never say that I do not know you.’ All the other disciples said the same thing.
Jesus prays in a garden on the Mount of Olives
36 Then Jesus and his disciples arrived at a large garden called Gethsemane. Jesus said to the disciples, ‘Sit here while I go over there to pray.’ 37 Then Jesus took Peter and Zebedee's two sons, James and John, with him. He became very sad and upset. 38 He said to them, ‘I am very sad. I feel as if I could die because I feel so sad. Wait here with me and stay awake.’
39 Jesus went a short way beyond them. He went down with his face on the ground. He prayed, ‘Father, if it is possible, please save me from this time of great pain. But Father, I do not ask you to do what I want. Do what you want to do.’
40 Jesus returned to the three disciples. Now they were sleeping. He said to Peter, ‘You men could not stay awake with me for even one hour! 41 You must stay awake and pray. God can help you, so that you will not do something wrong. You really want to do the right thing, but your bodies are weak.’
42 Jesus went away a second time and he prayed, ‘My Father, if it is not possible to save me from this time of great pain, then I want to obey you. Do what you want for me.’
43 Then Jesus returned again to Peter, James and John. He saw that they were sleeping. They could not keep their eyes open. 44 So Jesus went away from them again and he prayed a third time. He said the same words to God.
45 When he returned to the disciples, he said, ‘You should not still be sleeping and resting. Look! The moment has arrived! Someone will now give me, the Son of Man, to my enemies. 46 Stand up, we will go now. Look! The man who will give me to my enemies is here.’
The soldiers take hold of Jesus
47 While Jesus was still speaking, Judas arrived. He was one of Jesus' 12 disciples. A crowd also came with him. They were carrying swords and heavy sticks. The leaders of the priests and the important Jews had sent these people with Judas. 48 Judas was ready to help the Jewish leaders to take hold of Jesus. Before this, he had told them, ‘I will kiss one of the men. You must take hold of that man.’
49 Now Judas went immediately to Jesus. He said, ‘Hello, Teacher.’ Then he kissed Jesus in a friendly way.[n]
50 Jesus said to Judas, ‘My friend, now do what you have come here to do.’
Then the crowd of men came up to Jesus. They took hold of him to lead him away. 51 Then one of Jesus' disciples took hold of his sword. He hit the servant of the leader of the priests with it and he cut off the servant's ear.
52 Then Jesus said to the disciple, ‘Put your sword back in its place. People who use a sword to kill others will themselves die in the same way. Someone will kill them with a sword. 53 You should know that I could ask my Father God to help me. He would immediately send more than 12 large groups of angels to fight for me. 54 They would save me. But then the things that God has said in the Bible about this would not happen. So it must happen in this way.’
55 At that time, Jesus said to the crowd, ‘You have come out here with swords and heavy sticks to take hold of me. Do you really believe that I am leading people to fight against our country's rulers? No! I was teaching people every day in the yard of the temple. But you did not try to take hold of me then. 56 The prophets wrote long ago that all this would happen to me. Now it has become true.’
Then all of Jesus' disciples ran away and left him.
Jesus stands in front of all the important rulers
57 Then those men who had taken hold of Jesus took him to Caiaphas's house. Caiaphas was the most important priest. The teachers of God's Law and the important Jews were meeting there together with Caiaphas.[o]
58 Peter followed Jesus into the yard of Caiaphas' house. But he did not go near Jesus. He sat down in the yard with the police who worked in the temple. He wanted to see what would happen.
59 The leaders of the priests and all the Jewish leaders wanted to punish Jesus with death. So they tried to find some people who would say things against Jesus that were not true. 60 Many people did come. And they said things against Jesus that were not true. But still the Jewish leaders could not find a reason to kill Jesus.[p]
Then two men stood up and they said, 61 ‘We heard this man say, “I can destroy the temple and in three days I can build it again.” ’
62 Then Caiaphas stood up. He said to Jesus, ‘You must reply now to what these men have said against you. Are the things that they say true?’ 63 But Jesus did not say anything.
So Caiaphas said to him, ‘I use the authority of the God who lives. You must promise to tell us what is true. Are you the Messiah? Are you the Son of God?’
64 ‘You have said it,’ Jesus replied. ‘And I tell all of you, soon you will see the Son of Man. He will be sitting in the most important place at the right side of the Most Powerful God. You will also see him coming to earth. He will be riding on the clouds in the sky.’
65 Then Caiaphas tore his clothes to show that he was angry.[q] He said, ‘Jesus has spoken bad words against God. We do not need anyone else to speak against him. You have heard him speak bad words against God. 66 Do you think that he is guilty?’
They replied, ‘He is guilty and he deserves to die.’
67 Then some of them spat into Jesus' face. They also hit him with their fists. 68 When they hit him, they said, ‘Messiah! Show us that you are a prophet. Tell us who hit you!’
Peter says three times that he does not know Jesus
69 While all these things were happening, Peter was sitting outside in the yard. One of the girls who worked there went to him and she said, ‘You were also a friend of Jesus, the man from Galilee.’
70 Peter said in front of everyone who was there, ‘That is not true. I do not know what you are talking about.’
71 Peter then went out to the gate, and another servant girl saw him. This girl said to the people who were standing there, ‘This man was a friend of Jesus, the man from Nazareth.’
72 Peter answered again very strongly. He said, ‘I promise you, I really do not know that man!’
73 After a little time, other people who were standing at the gate spoke to Peter. They said, ‘We are sure that you too are one of that man's friends. We know this because you speak like people who live in Galilee.’
74 Peter said to them very strongly, ‘I tell you that I do not know that man. God will surely punish me if this is not true!’
Immediately after Peter said this, the cockerel sang. 75 Then Peter remembered that Jesus had said to him, ‘Tonight you will say three times that you do not know me. You will do it before the cockerel sings.’ So Peter went out of the yard. He began to weep a lot because he was very upset.
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