Matthew 19-27

Easy-to-Read Version

Jesus Teaches About Divorce^(A)

19 After Jesus said all these things, he left Galilee. He went into the area of Judea on the other side of the Jordan River. ² Many people followed him. Jesus healed the sick people there.

³ Some Pharisees came to Jesus. They tried to make him say something wrong. They asked him, “Is it right for a man to divorce his wife for any reason he chooses?”

⁴ Jesus answered, “Surely you have read this in the Scriptures: When God made the world, ‘he made people male and female.’^{[a] 5} And God said, ‘That is why a man will leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife. And the two people will become one.’^{[b] 6} So they are no longer two, but one. God has joined them together, so no one should separate them.”

⁷ The Pharisees asked, “Then why did Moses give a command allowing a man to divorce his wife by writing a certificate of divorce^[c]?”

⁸ Jesus answered, “Moses allowed you to divorce your wives because you refused to accept God’s teaching. But divorce was not allowed in the beginning. ⁹ I tell you that whoever divorces his wife, except for the problem of sexual sin, and marries another woman is guilty of adultery.”

¹⁰ The followers said to Jesus, “If that is the only reason a man can divorce his wife, it is better not to marry.”

¹¹ He answered, “This statement is true for some, but not for everyone—only for those who have been given this gift. ¹² There are different reasons why some men don’t marry.^[d] Some were born without the ability to produce children. Others were made that way later in life. And others have given up marriage because of God’s kingdom. This is for anyone who is able to accept it.”

Jesus Welcomes Children^(B)

¹³ Then the people brought their little children to Jesus so that he could lay his hands on them to bless them and pray for them. When the followers saw this, they told the people to stop bringing their children to him. ¹⁴ But Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me. Don’t stop them, because God’s kingdom belongs to people who are like these children.” ¹⁵ After Jesus blessed the children, he left there.

A Rich Man Refuses to Follow Jesus^(C)

¹⁶ A man came to Jesus and asked, “Teacher, what good thing must I do to have eternal life?”

¹⁷ Jesus answered, “Why do you ask me about what is good? Only God is good. But if you want to have eternal life, obey the law’s commands.”

¹⁸ The man asked, “Which ones?”

Jesus answered, “‘You must not murder anyone, you must not commit adultery, you must not steal, you must not tell lies about others, ¹⁹ you must respect your father and mother,’^[e] and ‘love your neighbor^[f] the same as you love yourself.’^[g]”

²⁰ The young man said, “I have obeyed all these commands. What else do I need?”

²¹ Jesus answered, “If you want to be perfect, then go and sell all that you own. Give the money to the poor, and you will have riches in heaven. Then come and follow me!”

²² But when the young man heard Jesus tell him to give away his money, he was sad. He didn’t want to do this, because he was very rich. So he left.

²³ Then Jesus said to his followers, “The truth is, it will be very hard for a rich person to enter God’s kingdom. ²⁴ Yes, I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter God’s kingdom.”

²⁵ The followers were amazed to hear this. They asked, “Then who can be saved?”

²⁶ Jesus looked at them and said, “This is something that people cannot do. But God can do anything.”

²⁷ Peter said to him, “We left everything we had and followed you. So what will we have?”

²⁸ Jesus said to them, “When the time of the new world comes, the Son of Man will sit on his great and glorious throne. And I can promise that you who followed me will sit on twelve thrones, and you will judge the twelve tribes of Israel. ²⁹ Everyone who has left houses, brothers, sisters, father, mother, children, or farms to follow me will get much more than they left. And they will have eternal life. ³⁰ Many people who are first now will be last in the future. And many who are last now will be first in the future.

Jesus Uses a Story About Farm Workers

20 “God’s kingdom is like a man who owned some land. One morning, the man went out very early to hire some people to work in his vineyard. ² He agreed to pay the workers one silver coin for working that day. Then he sent them into the vineyard to work.

³ “About nine o’clock the man went to the marketplace and saw some other people standing there. They were doing nothing. ⁴ So he said to them, ‘If you go and work in my field, I will pay you what your work is worth.’ ⁵ So they went to work in the vineyard.

“The man went out again about twelve o’clock and again at three o’clock. Both times he hired some others to work in his vineyard. ⁶ About five o’clock the man went to the marketplace again. He saw some other people standing there. He asked them, ‘Why did you stand here all day doing nothing?’

⁷ “They said, ‘No one gave us a job.’

“The man said to them, ‘Then you can go and work in my vineyard.’

⁸ “At the end of the day, the owner of the field said to the boss of all the workers, ‘Call the workers and pay them all. Start by paying the last people I hired. Then pay all of them, ending with the ones I hired first.’

⁹ “The workers who were hired at five o’clock came to get their pay. Each worker got one silver coin. ¹⁰ Then the workers who were hired first came to get their pay. They thought they would be paid more than the others. But each one of them also received one silver coin. ¹¹ When they got their silver coin, they complained to the man who owned the land. ¹² They said, ‘Those people were hired last and worked only one hour. But you paid them the same as us. And we worked hard all day in the hot sun.’

¹³ “But the man who owned the field said to one of them, ‘Friend, I am being fair with you. You agreed to work for one silver coin. Right? ¹⁴ So take your pay and go. I want to give the man who was hired last the same pay I gave you. ¹⁵ I can do what I want with my own money. Why would you be jealous because I am generous?’

¹⁶ “So those who are last now will be first in the future. And those who are first now will be last in the future.”

Jesus Talks Again About His Death^(D)

¹⁷ Jesus was going to Jerusalem. His twelve followers were with him. While they were walking, he gathered the followers together and spoke to them privately. He said to them, ¹⁸ “We are going to Jerusalem. The Son of Man will be handed over to the leading priests and the teachers of the law, and they will say he must die. ¹⁹ They will hand him over to the foreigners, who will laugh at him and beat him with whips, and then they will kill him on a cross. But on the third day after his death, he will be raised to life again.”

A Mother Asks a Special Favor^(E)

²⁰ Then Zebedee’s wife came to Jesus and brought her sons. She bowed before Jesus and asked him to do something for her.

²¹ Jesus said, “What do you want?”

She said, “Promise that one of my sons will sit at your right side in your kingdom and the other at your left.”

²² So Jesus said to the sons, “You don’t understand what you are asking. Can you drink from the cup^[h] that I must drink from?”

The sons answered, “Yes, we can!”

²³ Jesus said to them, “It is true that you will drink from the cup that I drink from. But it is not for me to say who will sit at my right or my left. My Father has decided who will do that. He has prepared those places for them.”

²⁴ The other ten followers heard this and were angry with the two brothers. ²⁵ So Jesus called the followers together. He said, “You know that the rulers of the non-Jewish people love to show their power over the people. And their important leaders love to use all their authority over the people. ²⁶ But it should not be that way with you. Whoever wants to be your leader must be your servant. ²⁷ Whoever wants to be first must serve the rest of you like a slave. ²⁸ Do as I did: The Son of Man did not come for people to serve him. He came to serve others and to give his life to save many people.”

Jesus Heals Two Blind Men^(F)

²⁹ When Jesus and his followers were leaving Jericho, a large crowd followed him. ³⁰ There were two blind men sitting by the road. They heard that Jesus was coming by. So they shouted, “Lord, Son of David, please help us!”

³¹ The people there criticized the blind men and told them to be quiet. But they shouted more and more, “Lord, Son of David, please help us!”

³² Jesus stopped and said to them, “What do you want me to do for you?”

³³ They answered, “Lord, we want to be able to see.”

³⁴ Jesus felt sorry for the blind men. He touched their eyes, and immediately they were able to see. Then they became followers of Jesus.

Jesus Enters Jerusalem Like a King^(G)

21 Jesus and his followers were coming closer to Jerusalem. But first they stopped at Bethphage at the hill called the Mount of Olives. From there Jesus sent two of his followers into town. ² He said to them, “Go to the town you can see there. When you enter it, you will find a donkey with her colt. Untie them both, and bring them to me. ³ If anyone asks you why you are taking the donkeys, tell them, ‘The Master needs them. He will send them back soon.’”

⁴ This showed the full meaning of what the prophet said:

⁶ The followers went and did what Jesus told them to do. ⁷ They brought the mother donkey and the young donkey to him. They covered the donkeys with their coats, and Jesus sat on them. ⁸ On the way to Jerusalem, many people spread their coats on the road for Jesus. Others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. ⁹ Some of the people were walking ahead of Jesus. Others were walking behind him. They all shouted,

¹⁰ Then Jesus went into Jerusalem. All the people in the city were confused. They asked, “Who is this man?”

¹¹ The crowds following Jesus answered, “This is Jesus. He is the prophet from the town of Nazareth in Galilee.”

Jesus Goes to the Temple^(J)

¹² Jesus went into the Temple area. He threw out all those who were selling and buying things there. He turned over the tables that belonged to those who were exchanging different kinds of money. And he turned over the benches of those who were selling doves. ¹³ Jesus said to them, “The Scriptures say, ‘My Temple will be called a house of prayer.’^[k] But you are changing it into a ‘hiding place for thieves.’^[l]”

¹⁴ Some blind people and some who were crippled came to Jesus in the Temple area. Jesus healed them. ¹⁵ The leading priests and the teachers of the law saw the wonderful things he was doing. And they saw the children praising him in the Temple area. The children were shouting, “Praise to the Son of David.” All this made the priests and the teachers of the law angry.

¹⁶ They asked Jesus, “Do you hear what these children are saying?”

He answered, “Yes. The Scriptures say, ‘You have taught children and babies to give praise.’^[m] Have you not read that Scripture?”

¹⁷ Then Jesus left them and went out of the city to Bethany, where he spent the night.

Jesus Shows the Power of Faith^(K)

¹⁸ Early the next morning, Jesus was going back to the city. He was very hungry. ¹⁹ He saw a fig tree beside the road and went to get a fig from it. But there were no figs on the tree. There were only leaves. So Jesus said to the tree, “You will never again produce fruit!” The tree immediately dried up and died.

²⁰ When the followers saw this, they were very surprised. They asked, “How did the fig tree dry up and die so quickly?”

²¹ Jesus answered, “The truth is, if you have faith and no doubts, you will be able to do the same as I did to this tree. And you will be able to do more. You will be able to say to this mountain, ‘Go, mountain, fall into the sea.’ And if you have faith, it will happen. ²² If you believe, you will get anything you ask for in prayer.”

Jewish Leaders Doubt Jesus’ Authority^(L)

²³ Jesus went into the Temple area. While Jesus was teaching there, the leading priests and the older leaders of the people came to him. They said, “Tell us! What authority do you have to do these things you are doing? Who gave you this authority?”

²⁴ Jesus answered, “I will ask you a question too. If you answer me, then I will tell you what authority I have to do these things. ²⁵ Tell me: When John baptized people, did his authority come from God, or was it only from other people?”

The priests and the Jewish leaders talked about Jesus’ question. They said to each other, “If we answer, ‘John’s baptism was from God,’ then he will say, ‘Then why didn’t you believe John?’ ²⁶ But we can’t say John’s baptism was from someone else. We are afraid of the people, because they all believe John was a prophet.”

²⁷ So they told Jesus, “We don’t know the answer.”

Jesus said, “Then I will not tell you who gave me the authority to do these things.

Jesus Uses a Story About Two Sons

²⁸ “Tell me what you think about this: There was a man who had two sons. He went to the first son and said, ‘Son, go and work today in the vineyard.’

²⁹ “The son answered, ‘I will not go.’ But later he decided he should go, and he went.

³⁰ “Then the father went to the other son and said, ‘Son, go and work today in the vineyard.’ He answered, ‘Yes, sir, I will go and work.’ But he did not go.

³¹ “Which of the two sons obeyed his father?”

The Jewish leaders answered, “The first son.”

Jesus said to them, “The truth is, you are worse than the tax collectors and the prostitutes. In fact, they will enter God’s kingdom before you enter. ³² John came showing you the right way to live, and you did not believe him. But the tax collectors and prostitutes believed John. You saw that happening, but you would not change. You still refused to believe him.

God Sends His Son^(M)

³³ “Listen to this story: There was a man who owned a vineyard. He put a wall around the field and dug a hole for a winepress. Then he built a tower. He leased the land to some farmers and then left on a trip. ³⁴ Later, it was time for the grapes to be picked. So the man sent his servants to the farmers to get his share of the grapes.

³⁵ “But the farmers grabbed the servants and beat one. They killed another one and then stoned to death a third servant. ³⁶ So the man sent some other servants to the farmers. He sent more servants than he sent the first time. But the farmers did the same thing to them that they did the first time. ³⁷ So the man decided to send his son to the farmers. He said, ‘The farmers will respect my son.’

³⁸ “But when the farmers saw the son, they said to each other, ‘This is the owner’s son. This vineyard will be his. If we kill him, it will be ours.’ ³⁹ So the farmers took the son, threw him out of the vineyard, and killed him.

⁴⁰ “So what will the owner of the vineyard do to these farmers when he comes?”

⁴¹ The Jewish priests and leaders said, “He will surely kill those evil men. Then he will lease the land to other farmers, who will give him his share of the crop at harvest time.”

⁴² Jesus said to them, “Surely you have read this in the Scriptures:

⁴³ “So I tell you that God’s kingdom will be taken away from you. It will be given to people who do what God wants in his kingdom. ⁴⁴ Whoever falls on this stone will be broken. And it will crush anyone it falls on.”^[n]

⁴⁵ When the leading priests and the Pharisees heard these stories, they knew that Jesus was talking about them. ⁴⁶ They wanted to find a way to arrest Jesus. But they were afraid to do anything, because the people believed that Jesus was a prophet.

A Story About People Invited to a Dinner^(O)

22 Jesus used some more stories to teach the people. He said, ² “God’s kingdom is like a king who prepared a wedding feast for his son. ³ He invited some people to the feast. When it was ready, the king sent his servants to tell the people to come. But they refused to come to the king’s feast.

⁴ “Then the king sent some more servants. He said to them, ‘I have already invited the people. So tell them that my feast is ready. I have killed my best bulls and calves to be eaten. Everything is ready. Come to the wedding feast.’

⁵ “But when the servants told the people to come, they refused to listen. They all went to do other things. One went to work in his field, and another went to his business. ⁶ Some of the other people grabbed the servants, beat them, and killed them. ⁷ The king was very angry. He sent his army to kill those who murdered his servants. And the army burned their city.

⁸ “After that the king said to his servants, ‘The wedding feast is ready. I invited those people, but they were not good enough to come to my feast. ⁹ So go to the street corners and invite everyone you see. Tell them to come to my feast.’ ¹⁰ So the servants went into the streets. They gathered all the people they could find, good and bad alike, and brought them to where the wedding feast was ready. And the place was filled with guests.

¹¹ “When the king came in to meet the guests, he saw a man there who was not dressed in the right clothes for a wedding. ¹² The king said, ‘Friend, how were you allowed to come in here? You are not wearing the right clothes.’ But the man said nothing. ¹³ So the king told some servants, ‘Tie this man’s hands and feet. Throw him out into the darkness, where people are crying and grinding their teeth with pain.’

¹⁴ “Yes, many people are invited. But only a few are chosen.”

The Jewish Leaders Try to Trick Jesus^(P)

¹⁵ Then the Pharisees left the place where Jesus was teaching. They made plans to catch him saying something wrong. ¹⁶ They sent some men to Jesus. They were some of their own followers and some from the group called Herodians. They said, “Teacher, we know you are an honest man. We know you teach the truth about God’s way. You are not afraid of what others think about you. All people are the same to you. ¹⁷ So tell us what you think. Is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not?”

¹⁸ But Jesus knew that these men were trying to trick him. So he said, “You hypocrites! Why are you trying to catch me saying something wrong? ¹⁹ Show me a coin used for paying the tax.” They showed Jesus a silver coin. ²⁰ Then he asked, “Whose picture is on the coin? And whose name is written on the coin?”

²¹ They answered, “It is Caesar’s picture and Caesar’s name.”

Then Jesus said to them, “Give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar, and give to God what belongs to God.”

²² When they heard what Jesus said, they were amazed. They left him and went away.

Some Sadducees Try to Trick Jesus^(Q)

²³ That same day some Sadducees came to Jesus. (Sadducees believe that no one will rise from death.) The Sadducees asked Jesus a question. ²⁴ They said, “Teacher, Moses told us that if a married man dies and had no children, his brother must marry the woman. Then they will have children for the dead brother.^{[o] 25} There were seven brothers among us. The first brother married but died. He had no children. So his brother married the woman. ²⁶ Then the second brother also died. The same thing happened to the third brother and all the other brothers. ²⁷ The woman was the last to die. ²⁸ But all seven men had married her. So when people rise from death, whose wife will she be?”

²⁹ Jesus answered, “You are so wrong! You don’t know what the Scriptures say. And you don’t know anything about God’s power. ³⁰ At the time when people rise from death, there will be no marriage. People will not be married to each other. Everyone will be like the angels in heaven. ³¹ Surely you have read what God said to you about people rising from death. ³² God said, ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’^[p] So they were not still dead, because he is the God only of living people.”

³³ When the people heard this, they were amazed at Jesus’ teaching.

Which Command Is the Most Important?^(R)

³⁴ The Pharisees learned that Jesus had made the Sadducees look so foolish that they stopped trying to argue with him. So the Pharisees had a meeting. ³⁵ Then one of them, an expert in the Law of Moses, asked Jesus a question to test him. ³⁶ He said, “Teacher, which command in the law is the most important?”

³⁷ Jesus answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’^{[q] 38} This is the first and most important command. ³⁹ And the second command is like the first: ‘Love your neighbor^[r] the same as you love yourself.’^{[s] 40} All of the law and the writings of the prophets take their meaning from these two commands.”

Is the Messiah David’s Son or David’s Lord?^(S)

⁴¹ So while the Pharisees were together, Jesus asked them a question. ⁴² He said, “What do you think about the Messiah? Whose son is he?”

The Pharisees answered, “The Messiah is the Son of David.”

⁴³ Jesus said to them, “Then why did David call him ‘Lord’? David was speaking by the power of the Spirit. He said,

⁴⁵ David calls the Messiah ‘Lord.’ So how can he be David’s son?”

⁴⁶ None of the Pharisees could answer Jesus’ question. And after that day, no one was brave enough to ask him any more questions.

Jesus Criticizes the Religious Leaders^(U)

23 Then Jesus spoke to the people and to his followers. He said, ² “The teachers of the law and the Pharisees have the authority to tell you what the Law of Moses says. ³ So you should obey them. Do everything they tell you to do. But their lives are not good examples for you to follow. They tell you to do things, but they don’t do those things themselves. ⁴ They make strict rules that are hard for people to obey. They try to force others to obey all their rules. But they themselves will not try to follow any of those rules.

⁵ “The only reason they do what they do is for other people to see them. They make the little Scripture boxes^[u] they wear bigger and bigger. And they make the tassels^[v] on their prayer clothes long enough for people to notice them. ⁶ These men love to have the places of honor at banquets and the most important seats in the synagogues. ⁷ They love for people to show respect to them in the marketplaces and to call them ‘Teacher.’

⁸ “But you must not be called ‘Teacher.’ You are all equal as brothers and sisters. You have only one Teacher. ⁹ And don’t call anyone on earth ‘Father.’ You have one Father. He is in heaven. ¹⁰ And you should not be called ‘Master.’ You have only one Master, the Messiah. ¹¹ Whoever serves you like a servant is the greatest among you. ¹² People who think they are better than others will be made humble. But people who humble themselves will be made great.

¹³ “It will be bad for you teachers of the law and you Pharisees! You are hypocrites! You close the way for people to enter God’s kingdom. You yourselves don’t enter, and you stop those who are trying to enter. ^14 [w]

¹⁵ “It will be bad for you teachers of the law and you Pharisees! You are hypocrites. You travel across the seas and across different countries to find one person who will follow your ways. When you find that person, you make him worse than you are. And you are so bad that you belong in hell!

¹⁶ “It will be bad for you teachers of the law and you Pharisees! You guide the people, but you are blind. You say, ‘If anyone uses the name of the Temple to make a promise, that means nothing. But anyone who uses the gold that is in the Temple to make a promise must keep that promise.’ ¹⁷ You are blind fools! Can’t you see that the Temple is greater than the gold on it? It’s the Temple that makes the gold holy!

¹⁸ “And you say, ‘If anyone uses the altar to make a promise, that means nothing. But anyone who uses the gift on the altar to make a promise must keep that promise.’ ¹⁹ You are blind! Can’t you see that the altar is greater than any gift on it? It’s the altar that makes the gift holy! ²⁰ Whoever uses the altar to make a promise is really using the altar and everything on the altar. ²¹ And anyone who uses the Temple to make a promise is really using the Temple and God, who lives in it. ²² Whoever uses heaven to make a promise is using God’s throne and the one who is seated on it.

²³ “It will be bad for you teachers of the law and you Pharisees! You are hypocrites! You give God a tenth of the food you get, even your mint, dill, and cumin.^[x] But you don’t obey the really important teachings of the law—being fair, showing mercy, and being faithful. These are the things you should do. And you should also continue to do those other things. ²⁴ You guide the people, but you are blind! Think about a man picking a little fly out of his drink and then swallowing a camel! You are like that.^[y]

²⁵ “It will be bad for you teachers of the law and you Pharisees! You are hypocrites! You wash clean the outside of your cups and dishes. But inside they are full of what you got by cheating others and pleasing yourselves. ²⁶ Pharisees, you are blind! First make the inside of the cup clean and good. Then the outside of the cup will also be clean.

²⁷ “It will be bad for you teachers of the law and you Pharisees! You are hypocrites! You are like tombs that are painted white. Outside they look fine, but inside they are full of dead people’s bones and all kinds of filth. ²⁸ It is the same with you. People look at you and think you are godly. But on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and evil.

²⁹ “It will be bad for you teachers of the law and you Pharisees! You are hypocrites! You build tombs for the prophets. And you show honor to the graves of the godly people who were killed. ³⁰ And you say, ‘If we had lived during the time of our ancestors, we would not have helped them kill these prophets.’ ³¹ So you give proof that you are descendants of those who killed the prophets. ³² And you will finish the sin that your ancestors started!

³³ “You are snakes! You are from a family of poisonous snakes! You will not escape God. You will all be judged guilty and go to hell! ³⁴ So I tell you this: I send to you prophets and teachers who are wise and know the Scriptures. You will kill some of them. You will hang some of them on crosses. You will beat some of them in your synagogues. You will chase them from town to town.

³⁵ “So you will be guilty for the death of all the good people who have been killed on earth. You will be guilty for the killing of that godly man Abel. And you will be guilty for the killing of Zechariah^[z] son of Berachiah. He was killed between the Temple and the altar. You will be guilty for the killing of all the good people who lived between the time of Abel and the time of Zechariah. ³⁶ Believe me when I say that all these things will happen to you people who are living now.

Jesus Warns the People of Jerusalem^(V)

³⁷ “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem! You kill the prophets. You stone to death those that God has sent to you. Many, many times I wanted to help your people. I wanted to gather them together as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings. But you did not let me. ³⁸ Now your house will be left completely empty. ³⁹ I tell you, you will not see me again until that time when you will say, ‘Welcome! God bless the one who comes in the name of the Lord.’^[aa]”

Jesus Warns About the Future^(W)

24 Jesus left the Temple area and was walking away. But his followers came to him to show him the Temple’s buildings. ² He asked them, “Are you looking at these buildings? The fact is, they will be destroyed. Every stone will be thrown down to the ground. Not one stone will be left on another.”

³ Later, Jesus was sitting at a place on the Mount of Olives. The followers came to be alone with him. They said, “Tell us when these things will happen. And what will happen to prepare us for your coming and the end of time?”

⁴ Jesus answered, “Be careful! Don’t let anyone fool you. ⁵ Many people will come and use my name. They will say, ‘I am the Messiah.’ And they will fool many people. ⁶ You will hear about wars that are being fought. And you will hear stories about other wars beginning. But don’t be afraid. These things must happen before the end comes. ⁷ Nations will fight against other nations. Kingdoms will fight against other kingdoms. There will be times when there is no food for people to eat. And there will be earthquakes in different places. ⁸ These things are only the beginning of troubles, like the first pains of a woman giving birth.

⁹ “Then you will be arrested and handed over to be punished and killed. People all over the world will hate you because you believe in me. ¹⁰ During that time many believers will lose their faith. They will turn against each other and hate each other. ¹¹ Many false prophets will come and cause many people to believe things that are wrong. ¹² There will be so much more evil in the world that the love of most believers will grow cold. ¹³ But the one who remains faithful to the end will be saved. ¹⁴ And the Good News I have shared about God’s kingdom will be told throughout the world. It will be spread to every nation. Then the end will come.

¹⁵ “Daniel the prophet spoke about ‘the terrible thing that causes destruction.’^[ab] You will see this terrible thing standing in the holy place.” (You who read this should understand what it means.) ¹⁶ “The people in Judea at that time should run away to the mountains. ¹⁷ They should run away without wasting time to stop for anything. If they are on the roof of their house, they must not go down to get anything out of the house. ¹⁸ If they are in the field, they must not go back to get a coat.

¹⁹ “During that time it will be hard for women who are pregnant or have small babies! ²⁰ Pray that it will not be winter or a Sabbath day when these things happen and you have to run away, ²¹ because it will be a time of great trouble. There will be more trouble than has ever happened since the beginning of the world. And nothing as bad as that will ever happen again.

²² “But God has decided to make that terrible time short. If it were not made short, no one would continue living. But God will make that time short to help the people he has chosen.

²³ “Someone might say to you at that time, ‘Look, there is the Messiah!’ Or someone else might say, ‘There he is!’ But don’t believe them. ²⁴ False messiahs and false prophets will come and do great miracles and wonders,^[ac] trying to fool the people God has chosen, if that is possible. ²⁵ Now I have warned you about this before it happens.

²⁶ “Someone might tell you, ‘The Messiah is there in the desert!’ But don’t go into the desert to look for him. Someone else might say, ‘There is the Messiah in that room!’ But don’t believe it. ²⁷ When the Son of Man comes, everyone will see him. It will be like lightning flashing in the sky that can be seen everywhere. ²⁸ It’s like looking for a dead body: You will find it where the vultures are gathering above.

²⁹ “Right after the trouble of those days, this will happen:

³⁰ “Then there will be something in the sky that shows the Son of Man is coming. All the people of the world will cry. Everyone will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds in the sky. He will come with power and great glory. ³¹ He will use a loud trumpet to send his angels all around the earth. They will gather his chosen people from every part of the earth.

³² “The fig tree teaches us a lesson: When its branches become green and soft, and new leaves begin to grow, then you know that summer is very near. ³³ In the same way, when you see all these things happening, you will know that the time^[ae] is very near, already present. ³⁴ I assure you that all these things will happen while some of the people of this time are still living. ³⁵ The whole world, earth and sky, will be destroyed, but my words will last forever.

Only God Knows When the Time Will Be^(X)

³⁶ “No one knows when that day or time will be. The Son and the angels in heaven don’t know when it will be. Only the Father knows.

³⁷ “When the Son of Man comes, it will be the same as what happened during Noah’s time. ³⁸ In those days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving their children to be married right up to the day Noah entered the boat. ³⁹ They knew nothing about what was happening until the flood came and destroyed them all.

“It will be the same when the Son of Man comes. ⁴⁰ Two men will be working together in the field. One will be taken and the other will be left. ⁴¹ Two women will be grinding grain with a mill. One will be taken and the other will be left.

⁴² “So always be ready. You don’t know the day your Lord will come. ⁴³ What would a homeowner do if he knew when a thief was coming? You know he would be ready and not let the thief break in. ⁴⁴ So you also must be ready. The Son of Man will come at a time when you don’t expect him.

Good Servants and Bad Servants^(Y)

⁴⁵ “Who is the wise and trusted servant? The master trusts one servant to give the other servants their food at the right time. Who is the one the master trusts to do that work? ⁴⁶ When the master comes and finds that servant doing the work he gave him, it will be a day of blessing for that servant. ⁴⁷ I can tell you without a doubt, the master will choose that servant to take care of everything he owns.

⁴⁸ “But what will happen if that servant is evil and thinks his master will not come back soon? ⁴⁹ He will begin to beat the other servants. He will eat and drink with others who are drunk. ⁵⁰ Then the master will come when the servant is not ready, at a time when the servant is not expecting him. ⁵¹ Then the master will punish that servant. He will send him away to be with the hypocrites, where people will cry and grind their teeth with pain.

A Story About Ten Girls

25 “At that time God’s kingdom will be like ten girls who went to wait for the bridegroom. They took their lamps with them. ² Five of the girls were foolish, and five were wise. ³ The foolish girls took their lamps with them, but they did not take extra oil for the lamps. ⁴ The wise girls took their lamps and more oil in jars. ⁵ When the bridegroom was very late, the girls could not keep their eyes open, and they all fell asleep.

⁶ “At midnight someone announced, ‘The bridegroom is coming! Come and meet him!’

⁷ “Then all the girls woke up. They made their lamps ready. ⁸ But the foolish girls said to the wise girls, ‘Give us some of your oil. The oil in our lamps is all gone.’

⁹ “The wise girls answered, ‘No! The oil we have might not be enough for all of us. But go to those who sell oil and buy some for yourselves.’

¹⁰ “So the foolish girls went to buy oil. While they were gone, the bridegroom came. The girls who were ready went in with the bridegroom to the wedding feast. Then the door was closed and locked.

¹¹ “Later, the other girls came. They said, ‘Sir, sir! Open the door to let us in.’

¹² “But the bridegroom answered, ‘Certainly not! I don’t even know you.’

¹³ “So always be ready. You don’t know the day or the time when the Son of Man will come.

A Story About Three Servants^(Z)

¹⁴ “At that time God’s kingdom will also be like a man leaving home to travel to another place for a visit. Before he left, he talked with his servants. He told his servants to take care of his things while he was gone. ¹⁵ He decided how much each servant would be able to care for. The man gave one servant five bags of money.^[af] He gave another servant two bags. And he gave a third servant one bag. Then he left. ¹⁶ The servant who got five bags went quickly to invest the money. Those five bags of money earned five more. ¹⁷ It was the same with the servant who had two bags. That servant invested the money and earned two more. ¹⁸ But the servant who got one bag of money went away and dug a hole in the ground. Then he hid his master’s money in the hole.

¹⁹ “After a long time the master came home. He asked the servants what they did with his money. ²⁰ The servant who got five bags brought that amount and five more bags of money to the master. The servant said, ‘Master, you trusted me to care for five bags of money. So I used them to earn five more.’

²¹ “The master answered, ‘You did right. You are a good servant who can be trusted. You did well with that small amount of money. So I will let you care for much greater things. Come and share my happiness with me.’

²² “Then the servant who got two bags of money came to the master. The servant said, ‘Master, you gave me two bags of money to care for. So I used your two bags to earn two more.’

²³ “The master answered, ‘You did right. You are a good servant who can be trusted. You did well with a small amount of money. So I will let you care for much greater things. Come and share my happiness with me.’

²⁴ “Then the servant who got one bag of money came to the master. The servant said, ‘Master, I knew you were a very hard man. You harvest what you did not plant. You gather crops where you did not put any seed. ²⁵ So I was afraid. I went and hid your money in the ground. Here is the one bag of money you gave me.’

²⁶ “The master answered, ‘You are a bad and lazy servant! You say you knew that I harvest what I did not plant and that I gather crops where I did not put any seed. ²⁷ So you should have put my money in the bank. Then, when I came home, I would get my money back. And I would also get the interest that my money earned.’

²⁸ “So the master told his other servants, ‘Take the one bag of money from that servant and give it to the servant who has ten bags. ²⁹ Everyone who uses what they have will get more. They will have much more than they need. But people who do not use what they have will have everything taken away from them.’ ³⁰ Then the master said, ‘Throw that useless servant outside into the darkness, where people will cry and grind their teeth with pain.’

The Son of Man Will Judge All People

³¹ “The Son of Man will come again with divine greatness, and all his angels will come with him. He will sit as king on his great and glorious throne. ³² All the people of the world will be gathered before him. Then he will separate everyone into two groups. It will be like a shepherd separating his sheep from his goats. ³³ He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.

³⁴ “Then the king will say to the godly people on his right, ‘Come, my Father has great blessings for you. The kingdom he promised is now yours. It has been prepared for you since the world was made. ³⁵ It is yours because when I was hungry, you gave me food to eat. When I was thirsty, you gave me something to drink. When I had no place to stay, you welcomed me into your home. ³⁶ When I was without clothes, you gave me something to wear. When I was sick, you cared for me. When I was in prison, you came to visit me.’

³⁷ “Then the godly people will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and give you food? When did we see you thirsty and give you something to drink? ³⁸ When did we see you with no place to stay and welcome you into our home? When did we see you without clothes and give you something to wear? ³⁹ When did we see you sick or in prison and care for you?’

⁴⁰ “Then the king will answer, ‘The truth is, anything you did for any of my people here,^[ag] you also did for me.’

⁴¹ “Then the king will say to the evil people on his left, ‘Get away from me. God has already decided that you will be punished. Go into the fire that burns forever—the fire that was prepared for the devil and his angels. ⁴² You must go away because when I was hungry, you gave me nothing to eat. When I was thirsty, you gave me nothing to drink. ⁴³ When I had no place to stay, you did not welcome me into your home. When I was without clothes, you gave me nothing to wear. When I was sick and in prison, you did not care for me.’

⁴⁴ “Then those people will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty? When did we see you without a place to stay? Or when did we see you without clothes or sick or in prison? When did we see any of this and not help you?’

⁴⁵ “The king will answer, ‘The truth is, anything you refused to do for any of my people here, you refused to do for me.’

⁴⁶ “Then these evil people will go away to be punished forever. But the godly people will go and enjoy eternal life.”

The Jewish Leaders Plan to Kill Jesus^(AA)

26 After Jesus finished saying all these things, he said to his followers, ² “You know that the day after tomorrow is Passover. On that day the Son of Man will be handed over to his enemies to be killed on a cross.”

³ Then the leading priests and the older Jewish leaders had a meeting at the palace where the high priest lived. The high priest’s name was Caiaphas. ⁴ In the meeting they tried to find a way to arrest and kill Jesus without anyone knowing what they were doing. They planned to arrest Jesus and kill him. ⁵ They said, “We cannot arrest Jesus during Passover. We don’t want the people to become angry and cause a riot.”

A Woman Does Something Special^(AB)

⁶ Jesus was in Bethany at the house of Simon the leper. ⁷ While he was there, a woman came to him. She had an alabaster jar filled with expensive perfume. She poured the perfume on Jesus’ head while he was eating.

⁸ The followers saw the woman do this and were upset at her. They said, “Why waste that perfume? ⁹ It could be sold for a lot of money, and the money could be given to those who are poor.”

¹⁰ But Jesus knew what happened. He said, “Why are you bothering this woman? She did a very good thing for me. ¹¹ You will always have the poor with you.^[ah] But you will not always have me. ¹² This woman poured perfume on my body. She did this to prepare me for burial after I die. ¹³ The Good News will be told to people all over the world. And I can assure you that everywhere the Good News is told, the story of what this woman did will also be told, and people will remember her.”

Judas Agrees to Help Jesus’ Enemies^(AC)

¹⁴ Then one of the twelve followers went to talk to the leading priests. This was the follower named Judas Iscariot. ¹⁵ He said, “I will hand Jesus over to you. What will you pay me for doing this?” The priests gave him 30 silver coins. ¹⁶ After that Judas waited for the best time to hand Jesus over to them.

The Passover Meal^(AD)

¹⁷ On the first day of the Festival of Unleavened Bread, the followers came to Jesus. They said, “We will prepare everything for you to eat the Passover meal. Where do you want us to have the meal?”

¹⁸ Jesus answered, “Go into the city. Go to a man I know. Tell him that the Teacher says, ‘The chosen time is near. I will have the Passover meal with my followers at your house.’” ¹⁹ They obeyed and did what Jesus told them to do. They prepared the Passover meal.

²⁰ In the evening Jesus was at the table with the twelve followers. ²¹ They were all eating. Then Jesus said, “Believe me when I say that one of you twelve here will hand me over to my enemies.”

²² The followers were very sad to hear this. Each one said, “Lord, surely I am not the one!”

²³ Jesus answered, “One who has dipped his bread in the same bowl with me will be the one to hand me over. ²⁴ The Son of Man will suffer what the Scriptures say will happen to him. But it will be very bad for the one who hands over the Son of Man to be killed. It would be better for him if he had never been born.”

²⁵ Then Judas, the very one who would hand him over, said to Jesus, “Teacher, surely I am not the one you are talking about, am I?”

Jesus answered, “Yes, it is you.”

The Lord’s Supper^(AE)

²⁶ While they were eating, Jesus took some bread and thanked God for it. He broke off some pieces, gave them to his followers and said, “Take this bread and eat it. It is my body.”

²⁷ Then he took a cup of wine, thanked God for it, and gave it to them. He said, “Each one of you drink some of it. ²⁸ This wine is my blood, which will be poured out to forgive the sins of many and begin the new agreement from God to his people. ²⁹ I want you to know, I will not drink this wine again until that day when we are together in my Father’s kingdom and the wine is new. Then I will drink it again with you.”

³⁰ They all sang a song and then went out to the Mount of Olives.

Jesus Says His Followers Will Leave Him^(AF)

³¹ Jesus told the followers, “Tonight you will all lose your faith in me. The Scriptures say,

³² But after I am killed, I will rise from death. Then I will go into Galilee. I will be there before you go there.”

³³ Peter answered, “All the other followers may lose their faith in you. But my faith will never be shaken.”

³⁴ Jesus answered, “The truth is, tonight you will say you don’t know me. You will deny me three times before the rooster crows.”

³⁵ But Peter answered, “I will never say I don’t know you! I will even die with you!” And all the other followers said the same thing.

Jesus Prays Alone^(AH)

³⁶ Then Jesus went with his followers to a place called Gethsemane. He said to them, “Sit here while I go there and pray.” ³⁷ He told Peter and the two sons of Zebedee to come with him. Then he began to be very sad and troubled. ³⁸ Jesus said to Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, “My heart is so heavy with grief, I feel as if I am dying. Wait here and stay awake with me.”

³⁹ Then Jesus went on a little farther away from them. He fell to the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, don’t make me drink from this cup.^[ai] But do what you want, not what I want.” ⁴⁰ Then he went back to his followers and found them sleeping. He said to Peter, “Could you men not stay awake with me for one hour? ⁴¹ Stay awake and pray for strength against temptation. Your spirit wants to do what is right, but your body is weak.”

⁴² Then Jesus went away a second time and prayed, “My Father, if I must do this^[aj] and it is not possible for me to escape it, then I pray that what you want will be done.”

⁴³ Then he went back to the followers. Again he found them sleeping. They could not stay awake. ⁴⁴ So he left them and went away one more time and prayed. This third time he prayed, he said the same thing.

⁴⁵ Then Jesus went back to the followers and said, “Are you still sleeping and resting? The time has come for the Son of Man to be handed over to the control of sinful men. ⁴⁶ Stand up! We must go. Here comes the one who will hand me over.”

Jesus Is Arrested^(AI)

⁴⁷ While Jesus was still speaking, Judas, one of the twelve apostles came there. He had a big crowd of people with him, all carrying swords and clubs. They had been sent from the leading priests and the older leaders of the people. ⁴⁸ Judas^[ak] planned to do something to show them which one was Jesus. He said, “The one I kiss will be Jesus. Arrest him.” ⁴⁹ So he went to Jesus and said, “Hello, Teacher!” Then Judas kissed him.

⁵⁰ Jesus answered, “Friend, do the thing you came to do.”

Then the men came and grabbed Jesus and arrested him. ⁵¹ When that happened, one of the followers with Jesus grabbed his sword and pulled it out. He swung it at the servant of the high priest and cut off his ear.

⁵² Jesus said to the man, “Put your sword back in its place. People who use swords will be killed with swords. ⁵³ Surely you know I could ask my Father and he would give me more than twelve armies of angels. ⁵⁴ But it must happen this way to show the truth of what the Scriptures said.”

⁵⁵ Then Jesus said to the crowd, “Why do you come to get me with swords and clubs as if I were a criminal. Every day I sat in the Temple area teaching. You did not arrest me there. ⁵⁶ But all these things have happened to show the full meaning of what the prophets wrote.” Then all of Jesus’ followers left him and ran away.

Jesus Before the Jewish Leaders^(AJ)

⁵⁷ The men who arrested Jesus led him to the house of Caiaphas the high priest. The teachers of the law and the older Jewish leaders were gathered there. ⁵⁸ Peter followed Jesus but stayed back at a distance. He followed him to the yard of the high priest’s house. Peter went in and sat with the guards. He wanted to see what would happen to Jesus.

⁵⁹ The leading priests and the high council tried to find something against Jesus so that they could kill him. They tried to find people to lie and say that Jesus had done wrong. ⁶⁰ Many people came and told lies about him. But the council could find no real reason to kill him. Then two people came ⁶¹ and said, “This man^[al] said, ‘I can destroy the Temple of God and build it again in three days.’”

⁶² Then the high priest stood up and said to Jesus, “Don’t you have anything to say about these charges against you? Are they telling the truth?” ⁶³ But Jesus said nothing.

Again the high priest said to Jesus, “You are now under oath. I command you by the power of the living God to tell us the truth. Tell us, are you the Messiah, the Son of God?”

⁶⁴ Jesus answered, “Yes, that’s right. But I tell you, in the future you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right side of God. And you will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven.”

⁶⁵ When the high priest heard this, he tore his clothes in anger. He said, “This man has said things that insult God! We don’t need any more witnesses. You all heard his insulting words. ⁶⁶ What do you think?”

The Jewish leaders answered, “He is guilty, and he must die.”

⁶⁷ Then some there spit in Jesus’ face, and they hit him with their fists. Others slapped him. ⁶⁸ They said, “Show us that you are a prophet,^[am] Messiah! Tell us who hit you!”

Peter Is Afraid to Say He Knows Jesus^(AK)

⁶⁹ While Peter was sitting outside in the yard, a servant girl came up to him. She said, “You were with Jesus, that man from Galilee.”

⁷⁰ But Peter told everyone there that this was not true. “I don’t know what you are talking about,” he said.

⁷¹ Then he left the yard. At the gate another girl saw him and said to the people there, “This man was with Jesus of Nazareth.”

⁷² Again, Peter said he was never with Jesus. He said, “I swear to God I don’t know the man!”

⁷³ A short time later those standing there went to Peter and said, “We know you are one of them. It’s clear from the way you talk.”

⁷⁴ Then Peter began to curse. He said, “I swear to God, I don’t know the man!” As soon as he said this, a rooster crowed. ⁷⁵ Then he remembered what Jesus had told him: “Before the rooster crows, you will say three times that you don’t know me.” Then Peter went outside and cried bitterly.

Jesus Is Taken to Governor Pilate^(AL)

27 Early the next morning, all the leading priests and older leaders of the people met and decided to kill Jesus. ² They tied him, led him away, and handed him over to Pilate, the governor.

Judas Kills Himself^(AM)

³ Judas saw that they had decided to kill Jesus. He was the one who had handed him over. When he saw what happened, he was very sorry for what he had done. So he took the 30 silver coins back to the priests and the older leaders. ⁴ Judas said, “I sinned. I handed over to you an innocent man to be killed.”

The Jewish leaders answered, “We don’t care! That’s a problem for you, not us.”

⁵ So Judas threw the money into the Temple. Then he went out from there and hanged himself.

⁶ The leading priests picked up the silver coins in the Temple. They said, “Our law does not allow us to keep this money with the Temple money, because this money has paid for a man’s death.” ⁷ So they decided to use the money to buy a field called Potter’s Field. This field would be a place to bury people who died while visiting in Jerusalem. ⁸ That is why that field is still called the Field of Blood. ⁹ This showed the full meaning of what Jeremiah the prophet said:

“They took 30 silver coins. That was how much the people of Israel decided to pay for his life. ¹⁰ They used those 30 silver coins to buy the potter’s field, as the Lord commanded me.”^[an]

Governor Pilate Questions Jesus^(AN)

¹¹ Jesus stood before Pilate, the governor, who asked him, “Are you the king of the Jews?”

Jesus answered, “Yes, that’s right.”

¹² Then, when the leading priests and the older Jewish leaders made their accusations against Jesus, he said nothing.

¹³ So Pilate said to him, “Don’t you hear all these charges they are making against you? Why don’t you answer?”

¹⁴ But Jesus did not say anything, and this really surprised the governor.

Pilate Tries but Fails to Free Jesus^(AO)

¹⁵ Every year at Passover time the governor would free one prisoner—whichever one the people wanted him to free. ¹⁶ At that time there was a man in prison who was known to be very bad. His name was Barabbas.^[ao]

¹⁷ When a crowd gathered, Pilate said to them, “I will free one man for you. Which one do you want me to free: Barabbas or Jesus who is called the Messiah?” ¹⁸ Pilate knew that they had handed Jesus over to him because they were jealous of him.

¹⁹ While Pilate was sitting there in the place for judging, his wife sent a message to him. It said, “Don’t do anything with that man. He is not guilty. Last night I had a dream about him, and it troubled me very much.”

²⁰ But the leading priests and older Jewish leaders told the people to ask for Barabbas to be set free and for Jesus to be killed.

²¹ Pilate said, “I have Barabbas and Jesus. Which one do you want me to set free for you?”

The people answered, “Barabbas!”

²² Pilate asked, “So what should I do with Jesus, the one called the Messiah?”

All the people said, “Kill him on a cross!”

²³ Pilate asked, “Why do you want me to kill him? What wrong has he done?”

But they shouted louder, “Kill him on a cross!”

²⁴ Pilate saw that there was nothing he could do to make the people change. In fact, it looked as if there would be a riot. So he took some water and washed his hands^[ap] in front of them all. He said, “I am not guilty of this man’s death. You are the ones who are doing it!”

²⁵ The people answered, “We will take full responsibility for his death. You can blame us and even our children!”

²⁶ Then Pilate set Barabbas free. And he told some soldiers to beat Jesus with whips. Then he handed him over to the soldiers to be killed on a cross.

Pilate’s Soldiers Make Fun of Jesus^(AP)

²⁷ Then Pilate’s soldiers took Jesus into the governor’s palace. All the soldiers gathered around him. ²⁸ They took off Jesus’ clothes and put a red robe on him. ²⁹ Then they made a crown from thorny branches and put it on his head, and they put a stick in his right hand. Then they bowed before him, making fun of him. They said, “We salute you, king of the Jews!” ³⁰ They spit on him. Then they took his stick and kept hitting him on the head with it. ³¹ After they finished making fun of him, the soldiers took off the robe and put his own clothes on him again. Then they led him away to be killed on a cross.

Jesus Is Nailed to a Cross^(AQ)

³² The soldiers were going out of the city with Jesus. They saw a man from Cyrene named Simon, and they forced him to carry Jesus’ cross. ³³ They came to the place called Golgotha. (Golgotha means “The Place of the Skull.”) ³⁴ There the soldiers gave Jesus some wine mixed with gall.^[aq] But when he tasted it, he refused to drink it.

³⁵ The soldiers nailed Jesus to a cross. Then they threw dice to divide his clothes between them. ³⁶ The soldiers stayed there to guard him. ³⁷ They put a sign above his head with the charge against him written on it: “ this is jesus, the king of the jews.”

³⁸ Two criminals were nailed to crosses beside Jesus—one on the right and the other on the left. ³⁹ People walked by and shouted insults at Jesus. They shook their heads ⁴⁰ and said, “You said you could destroy the Temple and build it again in three days. So save yourself! Come down from that cross if you really are the Son of God!”

⁴¹ The leading priests, the teachers of the law, and the older Jewish leaders were also there. They made fun of Jesus the same as the other people did. ⁴² They said, “He saved others, but he can’t save himself! People say he is the king of Israel. If he is the king, he should come down now from the cross. Then we will believe in him. ⁴³ He trusted God. So let God save him now, if God really wants him. He himself said, ‘I am the Son of God.’” ⁴⁴ And in the same way, the criminals on the crosses beside Jesus also insulted him.

Jesus Dies^(AR)

⁴⁵ At noon the whole country became dark. The darkness continued for three hours. ⁴⁶ About three o’clock Jesus cried out loudly, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” This means “My God, my God, why have you left me alone?”^[ar]

⁴⁷ Some of the people standing there heard this. They said, “He is calling Elijah.”^[as]

⁴⁸ Quickly, one of them ran and got a sponge. He filled the sponge with sour wine and tied the sponge to a stick. Then he used the stick to give the sponge to Jesus to get a drink from it. ⁴⁹ But the others said, “Don’t bother him. We want to see if Elijah will come to save him.”

⁵⁰ Again Jesus cried out loudly and then died.^[at]

⁵¹ When Jesus died, the curtain in the Temple was torn into two pieces. The tear started at the top and tore all the way to the bottom. Also, the earth shook and rocks were broken. ⁵² The graves opened, and many of God’s people who had died were raised from death. ⁵³ They came out of the graves. And after Jesus was raised from death, they went into the holy city, and many people saw them.

⁵⁴ The army officer and the soldiers guarding Jesus saw this earthquake and everything that happened. They were very afraid and said, “He really was the Son of God!”

⁵⁵ Many women were standing away from the cross, watching. These were the women who had followed Jesus from Galilee to care for him. ⁵⁶ Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of James and John^[au] were there.

Jesus Is Buried^(AS)

⁵⁷ That evening a rich man named Joseph came to Jerusalem. He was a follower of Jesus from the town of Arimathea. ⁵⁸ He went to Pilate and asked to have Jesus’ body. Pilate gave orders for the soldiers to give Jesus’ body to him. ⁵⁹ Then Joseph took the body and wrapped it in a new linen cloth. ⁶⁰ He put Jesus’ body in a new tomb that he had dug in a wall of rock. Then he closed the tomb by rolling a very large stone to cover the entrance. After he did this, he went away. ⁶¹ Mary Magdalene and the other woman named Mary were sitting near the tomb.

The Tomb of Jesus Is Guarded

⁶² That day was the day called Preparation day. The next day, the leading priests and the Pharisees went to Pilate. ⁶³ They said, “Sir, we remember that while that liar was still alive he said, ‘I will rise from death in three days.’ ⁶⁴ So give the order for the tomb to be guarded well for three days. His followers might come and try to steal the body. Then they could tell everyone that he has risen from death. That lie will be even worse than what they said about him before.”

⁶⁵ Pilate said, “Take some soldiers and go guard the tomb the best way you know.” ⁶⁶ So they all went to the tomb and made it safe from thieves. They did this by sealing the stone in the entrance and putting soldiers there to guard it.