Helpfinder Sampler - Flipbook - Page 57
M AR K 15
page 913
tried to grab him, 52 he slipped out of his shirt
and ran away naked.
Jesus before the Council
53 They took Jesus to the high priest’s home where
the leading priests, the elders, and the teachers
of religious law had gathered. 54 Meanwhile,
Peter followed him at a distance and went right
into the high priest’s courtyard. There he sat with
the guards, warming himself by the fire.
55 Inside, the leading priests and the entire
high council* were trying to find evidence
against Jesus, so they could put him to death.
But they couldn’t find any. 56 Many false witnesses spoke against him, but they contradicted
each other. 57 Finally, some men stood up and
gave this false testimony: 58 “We heard him say,
‘I will destroy this Temple made with human
hands, and in three days I will build another,
made without human hands.’” 59 But even then
they didn’t get their stories straight!
60 Then the high priest stood up before the
others and asked Jesus, “Well, aren’t you going to
answer these charges? What do you have to say
for yourself?” 61 But Jesus was silent and made no
reply. Then the high priest asked him, “Are you
the Messiah, the Son of the Blessed One?”
62 Jesus said, “I Am.* And you will see the Son
of Man seated in the place of power at God’s right
hand* and coming on the clouds of heaven.*”
63 Then the high priest tore his clothing to
show his horror and said, “Why do we need
other witnesses? 64 You have all heard his blasphemy. What is your verdict?”
“Guilty!” they all cried. “He deserves to die!”
65 Then some of them began to spit at him,
and they blindfolded him and beat him with
their fists. “Prophesy to us,” they jeered. And
the guards slapped him as they took him away.
Peter Denies Jesus
66 Meanwhile, Peter was in the courtyard below.
One of the servant girls who worked for the
high priest came by 67 and noticed Peter warming himself at the fire. She looked at him closely
and said, “You were one of those with Jesus of
Nazareth.*”
68 But Peter denied it. “I don’t know what
you’re talking about,” he said, and he went out
into the entryway. Just then, a rooster crowed.*
69 When the servant girl saw him standing
there, she began telling the others, “This man
is definitely one of them!” 70 But Peter denied it
again.
A little later some of the other bystanders
confronted Peter and said, “You must be one of
them, because you are a Galilean.”
14:55 Greek the Sanhedrin. 14:62a Or The ‘I Am’ is here; or
I am the Lord. See Exod 3:14. 14:62b Greek seated at the
right hand of the power. See Ps 110:1. 14:62c See Dan 7:13.
14:67 Or Jesus the Nazarene. 14:68 Some manuscripts do not
include Just then, a rooster crowed. 15:1 Greek the Sanhedrin;
also in 15:43.
71 Peter swore, “A curse on me if I’m lying—
I don’t know this man you’re talking about!”
72 And immediately the rooster crowed the second time.
Suddenly, Jesus’ words flashed through Peter’s mind: “Before the rooster crows twice, you
will deny three times that you even know me.”
And he broke down and wept.
Jesus’ Trial before Pilate
Very early in the morning the leading
priests, the elders, and the teachers of
religious law—the entire high council*—met to
discuss their next step. They bound Jesus, led
him away, and took him to Pilate, the Roman
governor.
2 Pilate asked Jesus, “Are you the king of the
Jews?”
Jesus replied, “You have said it.”
3 Then the leading priests kept accusing him
of many crimes, 4 and Pilate asked him, “Aren’t
you going to answer them? What about all these
charges they are bringing against you?” 5 But
Jesus said nothing, much to Pilate’s surprise.
6 Now it was the governor’s custom each year
during the Passover celebration to release one
prisoner—anyone the people requested. 7 One of
the prisoners at that time was Barabbas, a revolutionary who had committed murder in an uprising. 8 The crowd went to Pilate and asked him
to release a prisoner as usual.
9 “Would you like me to release to you this
‘King of the Jews’?” Pilate asked. 10 (For he realized by now that the leading priests had arrested Jesus out of envy.) 11 But at this point the
leading priests stirred up the crowd to demand
the release of Barabbas instead of Jesus. 12 Pilate
asked them, “Then what should I do with this
man you call the king of the Jews?”
13 They shouted back, “Crucify him!”
14 “Why?” Pilate demanded. “What crime has
he committed?”
15
• Pain
MAR K 1 4 :32-36
A family grieving the loss of a child is
told by a well-meaning Christian, “You
don’t have to be sad—she’s with the
Lord now.” Sometimes we assume that
because someone knows Christ and has
the hope of salvation, their losses are less
tragic. Jesus knew that the Father’s will
is trustworthy and good, and yet his soul
was sorrowful. Our faith does not make
our sorrows less painful, but it frees us to
express them to a God who understands
each sorrow and how it affects us.
