Jesus Speaks of the Destruction of the Temple

¹As Jesus was leaving the Temple, one of his disciples said, “Look, Teacher! What wonderful stones and buildings!”

²Jesus answered, “You see these great buildings? Not a single stone here will be left in its place; every one of them will be thrown down.”

Troubles and Persecutions

³Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, across from the Temple, when Peter, James, John, and Andrew came to him in private.

⁴“Tell us when this will be,” they said, “and tell us what will happen to show that the time has come for all these things to take place.”

⁵Jesus said to them, “Watch out, and don't let anyone fool you.

⁶Many men, claiming to speak for me, will come and say, ‘I am he!’ and they will fool many people.

⁷And don't be troubled when you hear the noise of battles close by and news of battles far away. Such things must happen, but they do not mean that the end has come.

⁸Countries will fight each other; kingdoms will attack one another. There will be earthquakes everywhere, and there will be famines. These things are like the first pains of childbirth.

⁹“You yourselves must watch out. You will be arrested and taken to court. You will be beaten in the synagogues; you will stand before rulers and kings for my sake to tell them the Good News.

¹⁰But before the end comes, the gospel must be preached to all peoples.

¹¹And when you are arrested and taken to court, do not worry ahead of time about what you are going to say; when the time comes, say whatever is then given to you. For the words you speak will not be yours; they will come from the Holy Spirit.

¹²Men will hand over their own brothers to be put to death, and fathers will do the same to their children. Children will turn against their parents and have them put to death.

¹³Everyone will hate you because of me. But whoever holds out to the end will be saved.

The Awful Horror

¹⁴“You will see ‘The Awful Horror’ standing in the place where he should not be.” (Note to the reader: understand what this means!) “Then those who are in Judea must run away to the hills.

¹⁵Someone who is on the roof of a house must not lose time by going down into the house to get anything to take along.

¹⁶Someone who is in the field must not go back to the house for a cloak.

¹⁷How terrible it will be in those days for women who are pregnant and for mothers with little babies!

¹⁸Pray to God that these things will not happen in the winter!

¹⁹For the trouble of those days will be far worse than any the world has ever known from the very beginning when God created the world until the present time. Nor will there ever be anything like it again.

²⁰But the Lord has reduced the number of those days; if he had not, nobody would survive. For the sake of his chosen people, however, he has reduced those days.

²¹“Then, if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Messiah!’ or, ‘Look, there he is!’—do not believe it.

²²For false Messiahs and false prophets will appear. They will perform miracles and wonders in order to deceive even God's chosen people, if possible.

²³Be on your guard! I have told you everything ahead of time.

The Coming of the Son of Man

²⁴“In the days after that time of trouble the sun will grow dark, the moon will no longer shine,

²⁵the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers in space will be driven from their courses.

²⁶Then the Son of Man will appear, coming in the clouds with great power and glory.

²⁷He will send the angels out to the four corners of the earth to gather God's chosen people from one end of the world to the other.

The Lesson of the Fig Tree

²⁸“Let the fig tree teach you a lesson. When its branches become green and tender and it starts putting out leaves, you know that summer is near.

²⁹In the same way, when you see these things happening, you will know that the time is near, ready to begin.

³⁰Remember that all these things will happen before the people now living have all died.

³¹Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.

No One Knows the Day or Hour

³²“No one knows, however, when that day or hour will come—neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son; only the Father knows.

³³Be on watch, be alert, for you do not know when the time will come.

³⁴It will be like a man who goes away from home on a trip and leaves his servants in charge, after giving to each one his own work to do and after telling the doorkeeper to keep watch.

³⁵Watch, then, because you do not know when the master of the house is coming—it might be in the evening or at midnight or before dawn or at sunrise.

³⁶If he comes suddenly, he must not find you asleep.

³⁷What I say to you, then, I say to all: Watch!”

The Plot against Jesus

¹It was now two days before the Festival of Passover and Unleavened Bread. The chief priests and the teachers of the Law were looking for a way to arrest Jesus secretly and put him to death.

²“We must not do it during the festival,” they said, “or the people might riot.”

Jesus Is Anointed at Bethany

³Jesus was in Bethany at the house of Simon, a man who had suffered from a dreaded skin disease. While Jesus was eating, a woman came in with an alabaster jar full of a very expensive perfume made of pure nard. She broke the jar and poured the perfume on Jesus' head.

⁴Some of the people there became angry and said to one another, “What was the use of wasting the perfume?

⁵It could have been sold for more than three hundred silver coins and the money given to the poor!” And they criticized her harshly.

⁶But Jesus said, “Leave her alone! Why are you bothering her? She has done a fine and beautiful thing for me.

⁷You will always have poor people with you, and any time you want to, you can help them. But you will not always have me.

⁸She did what she could; she poured perfume on my body to prepare it ahead of time for burial.

⁹Now, I assure you that wherever the gospel is preached all over the world, what she has done will be told in memory of her.”

Judas Agrees to Betray Jesus

¹⁰Then Judas Iscariot, one of the twelve disciples, went off to the chief priests in order to betray Jesus to them.

¹¹They were pleased to hear what he had to say, and promised to give him money. So Judas started looking for a good chance to hand Jesus over to them.

Jesus Eats the Passover Meal with His Disciples

¹²On the first day of the Festival of Unleavened Bread, the day the lambs for the Passover meal were killed, Jesus' disciples asked him, “Where do you want us to go and get the Passover meal ready for you?”

¹³Then Jesus sent two of them with these instructions: “Go into the city, and a man carrying a jar of water will meet you. Follow him

¹⁴to the house he enters, and say to the owner of the house: ‘The Teacher says, Where is the room where my disciples and I will eat the Passover meal?’

¹⁵Then he will show you a large upstairs room, fixed up and furnished, where you will get everything ready for us.”

¹⁶The disciples left, went to the city, and found everything just as Jesus had told them; and they prepared the Passover meal.

¹⁷When it was evening, Jesus came with the twelve disciples.

¹⁸While they were at the table eating, Jesus said, “I tell you that one of you will betray me—one who is eating with me.”

¹⁹The disciples were upset and began to ask him, one after the other, “Surely you don't mean me, do you?”

²⁰Jesus answered, “It will be one of you twelve, one who dips his bread in the dish with me.

²¹The Son of Man will die as the Scriptures say he will; but how terrible for that man who will betray the Son of Man! It would have been better for that man if he had never been born!”

The Lord's Supper

²²While they were eating, Jesus took a piece of bread, gave a prayer of thanks, broke it, and gave it to his disciples. “Take it,” he said, “this is my body.”

²³Then he took a cup, gave thanks to God, and handed it to them; and they all drank from it.

²⁴Jesus said, “This is my blood which is poured out for many, my blood which seals God's covenant.

²⁵I tell you, I will never again drink this wine until the day I drink the new wine in the Kingdom of God.”

²⁶Then they sang a hymn and went out to the Mount of Olives.

Jesus Predicts Peter's Denial

²⁷Jesus said to them, “All of you will run away and leave me, for the scripture says, ‘God will kill the shepherd, and the sheep will all be scattered.’

²⁸But after I am raised to life, I will go to Galilee ahead of you.”

²⁹Peter answered, “I will never leave you, even though all the rest do!”

³⁰Jesus said to Peter, “I tell you that before the rooster crows two times tonight, you will say three times that you do not know me.”

³¹Peter answered even more strongly, “I will never say that, even if I have to die with you!” And all the other disciples said the same thing.

Jesus Prays in Gethsemane

³²They came to a place called Gethsemane, and Jesus said to his disciples, “Sit here while I pray.”

³³He took Peter, James, and John with him. Distress and anguish came over him,

³⁴and he said to them, “The sorrow in my heart is so great that it almost crushes me. Stay here and keep watch.”

³⁵He went a little farther on, threw himself on the ground, and prayed that, if possible, he might not have to go through that time of suffering.

³⁶“Father,” he prayed, “my Father! All things are possible for you. Take this cup of suffering away from me. Yet not what I want, but what you want.”

³⁷Then he returned and found the three disciples asleep. He said to Peter, “Simon, are you asleep? Weren't you able to stay awake for even one hour?”

³⁸And he said to them, “Keep watch, and pray that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

³⁹He went away once more and prayed, saying the same words.

⁴⁰Then he came back to the disciples and found them asleep; they could not keep their eyes open. And they did not know what to say to him.

⁴¹When he came back the third time, he said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting? Enough! The hour has come! Look, the Son of Man is now being handed over to the power of sinners.

⁴²Get up, let us go. Look, here is the man who is betraying me!”

The Arrest of Jesus

⁴³Jesus was still speaking when Judas, one of the twelve disciples, arrived. With him was a crowd armed with swords and clubs and sent by the chief priests, the teachers of the Law, and the elders.

⁴⁴The traitor had given the crowd a signal: “The man I kiss is the one you want. Arrest him and take him away under guard.”

⁴⁵As soon as Judas arrived, he went up to Jesus and said, “Teacher!” and kissed him.

⁴⁶So they arrested Jesus and held him tight.

⁴⁷But one of those standing there drew his sword and struck at the High Priest's slave, cutting off his ear.

⁴⁸Then Jesus spoke up and said to them, “Did you have to come with swords and clubs to capture me, as though I were an outlaw?

⁴⁹Day after day I was with you teaching in the Temple, and you did not arrest me. But the Scriptures must come true.”

⁵⁰Then all the disciples left him and ran away.

⁵¹A certain young man, dressed only in a linen cloth, was following Jesus. They tried to arrest him,

⁵²but he ran away naked, leaving the cloth behind.

Jesus before the Council

⁵³Then Jesus was taken to the High Priest's house, where all the chief priests, the elders, and the teachers of the Law were gathering.

⁵⁴Peter followed from a distance and went into the courtyard of the High Priest's house. There he sat down with the guards, keeping himself warm by the fire.

⁵⁵The chief priests and the whole Council tried to find some evidence against Jesus in order to put him to death, but they could not find any.

⁵⁶Many witnesses told lies against Jesus, but their stories did not agree.

⁵⁷Then some men stood up and told this lie against Jesus:

⁵⁸“We heard him say, ‘I will tear down this Temple which men have made, and after three days I will build one that is not made by men.’”

⁵⁹Not even they, however, could make their stories agree.

⁶⁰The High Priest stood up in front of them all and questioned Jesus, “Have you no answer to the accusation they bring against you?”

⁶¹But Jesus kept quiet and would not say a word. Again the High Priest questioned him, “Are you the Messiah, the Son of the Blessed God?”

⁶²“I am,” answered Jesus, “and you will all see the Son of Man seated at the right side of the Almighty and coming with the clouds of heaven!”

⁶³The High Priest tore his robes and said, “We don't need any more witnesses!

⁶⁴You heard his blasphemy. What is your decision?” They all voted against him: he was guilty and should be put to death.

⁶⁵Some of them began to spit on Jesus, and they blindfolded him and hit him. “Guess who hit you!” they said. And the guards took him and slapped him.

Peter Denies Jesus

⁶⁶Peter was still down in the courtyard when one of the High Priest's servant women came by.

⁶⁷When she saw Peter warming himself, she looked straight at him and said, “You, too, were with Jesus of Nazareth.”

⁶⁸But he denied it. “I don't know … I don't understand what you are talking about,” he answered, and went out into the passageway. Just then a rooster crowed.

⁶⁹The servant woman saw him there and began to repeat to the bystanders, “He is one of them!”

⁷⁰But Peter denied it again. A little while later the bystanders accused Peter again, “You can't deny that you are one of them, because you, too, are from Galilee.”

⁷¹Then Peter said, “I swear that I am telling the truth! May God punish me if I am not! I do not know the man you are talking about!”

⁷²Just then a rooster crowed a second time, and Peter remembered how Jesus had said to him, “Before the rooster crows two times, you will say three times that you do not know me.” And he broke down and cried.

A National Song of Triumph

¹God rises up and scatters his enemies. Those who hate him run away in defeat.

²As smoke is blown away, so he drives them off; as wax melts in front of the fire, so do the wicked perish in God's presence.

³But the righteous are glad and rejoice in his presence; they are happy and shout for joy.

⁴Sing to God, sing praises to his name; prepare a way for him who rides on the clouds. His name is the Lord—be glad in his presence!

⁵God, who lives in his sacred Temple, cares for orphans and protects widows.

⁶He gives the lonely a home to live in and leads prisoners out into happy freedom, but rebels will have to live in a desolate land.

⁷O God, when you led your people, when you marched across the desert,

⁸the earth shook, and the sky poured down rain, because of the coming of the God of Sinai, the coming of the God of Israel.

⁹You caused abundant rain to fall and restored your worn-out land;

¹⁰your people made their home there; in your goodness you provided for the poor.

¹¹The Lord gave the command, and many women carried the news:

¹²“Kings and their armies are running away!” The women at home divided what was captured:

¹³figures of doves covered with silver, whose wings glittered with fine gold. (Why did some of you stay among the sheep pens on the day of battle?)

¹⁴When Almighty God scattered the kings on Mount Zalmon, he caused snow to fall there.

¹⁵What a mighty mountain is Bashan, a mountain of many peaks!

¹⁶Why from your mighty peaks do you look with scorn on the mountain on which God chose to live? The Lord will live there forever!

¹⁷With his many thousands of mighty chariots the Lord comes from Sinai into the holy place.

¹⁸He goes up to the heights, taking many captives with him; he receives gifts from rebellious people. The Lord God will live there.

¹⁹Praise the Lord, who carries our burdens day after day; he is the God who saves us.

²⁰Our God is a God who saves; he is the Lord, our Lord, who rescues us from death.

²¹God will surely break the heads of his enemies, of those who persist in their sinful ways.

²²The Lord has said, “I will bring your enemies back from Bashan; I will bring them back from the depths of the ocean,

²³so that you may wade in their blood, and your dogs may lap up as much as they want.”

²⁴O God, your march of triumph is seen by all, the procession of God, my king, into his sanctuary.

²⁵The singers are in front, the musicians are behind, in between are the young women beating the tambourines.

²⁶“Praise God in the meeting of his people; praise the Lord, all you descendants of Jacob!”

²⁷First comes Benjamin, the smallest tribe, then the leaders of Judah with their group, followed by the leaders of Zebulun and Naphtali.

²⁸Show your power, O God, the power you have used on our behalf

²⁹from your Temple in Jerusalem, where kings bring gifts to you.

³⁰Rebuke Egypt, that wild animal in the reeds; rebuke the nations, that herd of bulls with their calves, until they all bow down and offer you their silver. Scatter those people who love to make war!

³¹Ambassadors will come from Egypt; the Ethiopians will raise their hands in prayer to God.

³²Sing to God, kingdoms of the world, sing praise to the Lord,

³³to him who rides in the sky, the ancient sky. Listen to him shout with a mighty roar.

³⁴Proclaim God's power; his majesty is over Israel, his might is in the skies.

³⁵How awesome is God as he comes from his sanctuary— the God of Israel! He gives strength and power to his people. Praise God!