HelpFinder Bible - Flipbook - Page 1259
M ATTHEW 26
page 889
leprosy. 7 While he was eating,* a woman came
in with a beautiful alabaster jar of expensive
perfume and poured it over his head.
8 The disciples were indignant when they saw
this. “What a waste!” they said. 9 “It could have
been sold for a high price and the money given
to the poor.”
10 But Jesus, aware of this, replied, “Why criticize this woman for doing such a good thing
to me? 11 You will always have the poor among
you, but you will not always have me. 12 She has
poured this perfume on me to prepare my body
for burial. 13 I tell you the truth, wherever the
Good News is preached throughout the world,
this woman’s deed will be remembered and
discussed.”
Judas Agrees to Betray Jesus
14 Then Judas Iscariot, one of the twelve disciples, went to the leading priests 15 and asked,
“How much will you pay me to betray Jesus to
you?” And they gave him thirty pieces of silver.
16 From that time on, Judas began looking for an
opportunity to betray Jesus.
The Last Supper
17 On the first day of the Festival of Unleavened
Bread, the disciples came to Jesus and asked,
“Where do you want us to prepare the Passover
meal for you?”
18 “As you go into the city,” he told them, “you
will see a certain man. Tell him, ‘The Teacher
says: My time has come, and I will eat the Passover meal with my disciples at your house.’”
19 So the disciples did as Jesus told them and
prepared the Passover meal there.
20 When it was evening, Jesus sat down at the
table* with the Twelve. 21 While they were eating, he said, “I tell you the truth, one of you will
betray me.”
22 Greatly distressed, each one asked in turn,
“Am I the one, Lord?”
23 He replied, “One of you who has just eaten
from this bowl with me will betray me. 24 For the
Son of Man must die, as the Scriptures declared
long ago. But how terrible it will be for the one
who betrays him. It would be far better for that
man if he had never been born!”
25 Judas, the one who would betray him, also
asked, “Rabbi, am I the one?”
And Jesus told him, “You have said it.”
26 As they were eating, Jesus took some bread
and blessed it. Then he broke it in pieces and
gave it to the disciples, saying, “Take this and
eat it, for this is my body.”
27 And he took a cup of wine and gave thanks
to God for it. He gave it to them and said, “Each
of you drink from it, 28 for this is my blood,
which confirms the covenant* between God and
26:7 Or reclining. 26:20 Or Jesus reclined. 26:28 Some
manuscripts read the new covenant. 26:31 Greek I will strike.
Zech 13:7.
his people. It is poured out as a sacrifice to forgive the sins of many. 29 Mark my words—I will
not drink wine again until the day I drink it new
with you in my Father’s Kingdom.”
30 Then they sang a hymn and went out to the
Mount of Olives.
Jesus Predicts Peter’s Denial
31 On the way, Jesus told them, “Tonight all of
you will desert me. For the Scriptures say,
‘God will strike* the Shepherd,
and the sheep of the flock will
be scattered.’
32 But after I have been raised from the dead,
I will go ahead of you to Galilee and meet you
there.”
33 Peter declared, “Even if everyone else deserts you, I will never desert you.”
34 Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, Peter—
this very night, before the rooster crows, you
will deny three times that you even know me.”
35 “No!” Peter insisted. “Even if I have to die
with you, I will never deny you!” And all the
other disciples vowed the same.
Jesus Prays in Gethsemane
36 Then Jesus went with them to the olive grove
called Gethsemane, and he said, “Sit here
while I go over there to pray.” 37 He took Peter
and Zebedee’s two sons, James and John, and
he became anguished and distressed. 38 He told
them, “My soul is crushed with grief to the point
of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.”
39 He went on a little farther and bowed with
his face to the ground, praying, “My Father! If
it is possible, let this cup of suffering be taken
• Serving
M ATTHE W 25:14-30
While secular values like self-promotion
and competitive ladder climbing are not to
be translated into spiritual life, the idea of
investing resources for profit is one we are
encouraged to adopt. In Jesus’ parable,
three servants received money from their
master. Each of us has received resources
from God: time, ability, and opportunity.
Like the servants in the parable, we can
choose—out of fear, laziness, or disinterest—to bury our resources, or we can
find a way to put our gifts to work to earn
a profitable return. Whether we have five
“bags of silver” or only one, God expects
us to invest our lives boldly in his service.
Have you identified the resources he has
entrusted you with? How might you invest
them for a maximum “Kingdom return”?