Mark - Chapter 14

Passage

Now the feast of the pasch and of the Azymes was two days away; and the chief priests and the scribes were looking for a way to seize him by some trick and kill him. But they said: Not on the festival day, or there may be a riot among the people. And when he was in Bethania, in the house of Simon the leper, and was at table, a woman came with an alabaster box of ointment of precious spikenard; and breaking the alabaster box, she poured it on his head. Now some were indignant within themselves and said: Why was this ointment wasted? For this ointment could have been sold for more than three hundred pence and given to the poor. And they grumbled against her. But Jesus said: Let her alone. Why do you trouble her? She has done a good work for me. For the poor you always have with you, and whenever you wish, you can do them good; but you will not always have me. She has done what she could; she has come beforehand to anoint my body for burial. Amen, I say to you, wherever this gospel shall be preached in the whole world, what she has done shall also be told in memory of her. And Judas Iscariot, one of the twelve, went to the chief priests, to betray him to them. When they heard it, they were glad, and promised to give him money. And he looked for a good opportunity to betray him. Now on the first day of the unleavened bread, when they sacrificed the pasch, the disciples say to him: Where do you want us to go and prepare for you to eat the pasch? And he sends two of his disciples and says to them: Go into the city, and a man carrying a pitcher of water will meet you. Follow him. And wherever he goes in, say to the master of the house: The master says, Where is my dining room, where I may eat the pasch with my disciples? And he will show you a large dining room, furnished. Prepare for us there. And his disciples went off and came into the city, and found it as he had told them; and they prepared the pasch. And when evening came, he comes with the twelve. And when they were at table eating, Jesus says: Amen I say to you, one of you who is eating with me shall betray me. But they began to be sorrowful and to say to him, one by one: Is it I? He says to them: It is one of the twelve, who dips his hand with me in the dish. The Son of man indeed goes, as it is written of him; but woe to that man by whom the Son of man shall be betrayed. It would be better for that man if he had not been born. And while they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessing it, broke it and gave it to them and said: Take. This is my body. And taking the chalice and giving thanks, he gave it to them, and they all drank from it. And he said to them: This is my blood of the new testament, which shall be shed for many. Amen I say to you, I will drink no more of the fruit of the vine until that day when I shall drink it new in the kingdom of God. And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives. And Jesus says to them: You will all be scandalized because of me this night. For it is written: I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered. But after I have risen again, I will go before you into Galilee. But Peter says to him: Even if all are scandalized because of you, I will not be. And Jesus says to him: Amen I say to you, today, this very night, before the cock crows twice, you shall deny me three times. But he spoke all the more strongly: Even if I must die with you, I will not deny you. And they all said the same. And they came to a farm called Gethsemani. And he says to his disciples: Sit here while I pray. And he takes Peter and James and John with him, and he began to be afraid and deeply troubled. And he says to them: My soul is sorrowful even to death. Stay here and keep watch. And going forward a little, he fell flat on the ground and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour might pass from him. And he says: Abba, Father, all things are possible to you: remove this chalice from me; but not what I will, but what you will. And he comes and finds them sleeping. And he says to Peter: Simon, are you sleeping? Could you not watch one hour? Watch and pray, so that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak. And going away again, he prayed, saying the same words. And when he returned, he found them asleep again (for their eyes were heavy), and they did not know what to answer him. And he comes the third time and says to them: Sleep now and take your rest. It is enough. The hour has come: behold, the Son of man shall be betrayed into the hands of sinners. Get up, let us go. Behold, the one who will betray me is near. And while he was still speaking, Judas Iscariot, one of the twelve, comes, and with him a great crowd with swords and clubs, from the chief priests and the scribes and the ancients. Now the betrayer had given them a sign, saying: Whomever I kiss, that is he. Seize him and lead him away carefully. And when he came, he went up to him at once and says: Hail, Rabbi! And he kissed him. And they laid hands on him and held him. And one of those standing by drew a sword, struck a servant of the high priest, and cut off his ear. And Jesus said to them: Have you come out as against a robber, with swords and clubs, to arrest me? I was with you daily in the temple teaching, and you did not lay hands on me. But this is so that the scriptures may be fulfilled. Then his disciples all left him and fled. And a young man followed him, with a linen cloth wrapped around his naked body; and they seized him. But he, casting off the linen cloth, fled from them naked. And they brought Jesus to the high priest; and all the priests and the scribes and the ancients gathered together. And Peter followed him from far away, right into the courtyard of the high priest; and he sat with the servants at the fire and warmed himself. And the chief priests and all the council looked for evidence against Jesus so that they might put him to death, and found none. For many bore false witness against him, but their testimonies did not agree. And some stood up and bore false witness against him, saying: We heard him say: I will destroy this temple made with hands, and within three days I will build another not made with hands. And their witness did not agree. And the high priest stood up in the midst and asked Jesus: Have you no answer to the things these men are charging you with? But he kept silent and answered nothing. Again the high priest asked him: Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed God? And Jesus said to him: I am. And you shall see the Son of man sitting at the right hand of the power of God and coming with the clouds of heaven. Then the high priest tore his garments and says: What further need do we have of witnesses? You have heard the blasphemy. What do you think? And they all condemned him as deserving death. And some began to spit on him, and to cover his face and strike him, and to say to him: Prophesy! And the servants struck him with the palms of their hands. Now while Peter was in the courtyard below, one of the maidservants of the high priest comes. And when she saw Peter warming himself, she looked at him and says: You also were with Jesus of Nazareth. But he denied it, saying: I neither know nor understand what you are saying. And he went out into the forecourt, and the cock crowed. And again a maidservant saw him and began to say to those standing by: This is one of them. But he denied it again. And after a while those standing by said again to Peter: Surely you are one of them, for you are also a Galilean. But he began to curse and to swear: I do not know this man you are talking about. And immediately the cock crowed again. And Peter remembered the word that Jesus had said to him: Before the cock crows twice, you shall deny me three times. And he began to weep.