The Gospel According to Mark, chapters 14 - 16
14 NOW THE FESTIVAL of Passover and Unleavened Bread was only two
days off; and the chief priests and doctors of the law were trying
to devise some cunning plan to seize him and put him to death. 'It must not
be during the festival,' they said, 'or we should have rioting among the
people.'
Jesus was at Bethany, in the house of Simon the leper. As he sat at table,
a woman came in carrying a small bottle of very costly perfume, pure oil
of nard. She broke it open and poured the oil over his head. Some of those
present said to one another angrily, 'Why this waste? The perfume might
have been sold for 300 denarii and the money given to the poor; and
they turned upon her with fury. But Jesus said, 'Let her alone. Why must
you make trouble for her? It is a fine thing she has done for me. You have
the poor among you always, and you can help them whenever you like;
but you will not always have me. She has done what lay in her power; she
is beforehand with anointing my body for burial. I tell you this: wherever
in all the world the Gospel is proclaimed, what she has done will be told as
her memorial.'
Then Judas Iscariot, one of the Twelve, went to the chief priests to
betray him to them. When they heard what he had come for, they were
greatly pleased, and promised him money; and he began to look for a good
opportunity to betray him.
NOW ON THE FIRST DAY of Unleavened Bread, when the Passover lambs
were being slaughtered, his disciples said to him, 'Where would you like
us to go and prepare for your Passover supper?' So he sent out two of his
disciples with these instructions: 'Go into the city, and a man will meet
you carrying a jar of water. Follow him, and when he enters a house give
this message to the householder: The Master says, 'Where is the room
reserved for me to eat the Passover with my disciples?' " He will show you
a large room upstairs, set out in readiness. Make the preparations for us
there.' Then the disciples went off, and when they came into the city
they found everything just as he had told them. So they prepared for
Passover.
In the evening he came to the house with the Twelve. As they sat at
supper Jesus said, 'I tell you this: one of you will betray me — one who is
eating with me.' At this they were dismayed; and one by one they said to
him, 'Not I, surely?' 'It is one of the Twelve', he said, who is dipping into
the same bowl with me. The Son of Man is going the way appointed for him
in the scriptures; but alas for that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed!
It would be better for that man if he had never been born.'
During supper he took bread, and having said the blessing he broke it
and gave it to them, with the words: 'Take this; this is my body.' Then he
took a cup, and having offered thanks to God he gave it to them; and they
all drank from it. And he said, 'This is my blood, the blood of the covenant,
shed for many. I tell you this: never again shall I drink from the fruit of
the vine until that day when I drink it in new in the kingdom of God.'
After singing the Passover Hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.
And Jesus said, 'You will all fall from your faith; for it stands written:
"I will strike the shepherd down and the sheep will be scattered." Never-
theless, after I am raised again I will go on before you into Galilee.' Peter
answered, Everyone else may fall away, but I will not.' Jesus said, 'I tell
you this: today, this very night, before the cock crows twice, you yourself
will disown me three times.' But he insisted and repeated: 'Even if I must
die with you, I will never disown you.' And they all said the same.
WHEN THEY REACHED a place called Gethsemane, he said to his disciples,
'Sit here while I pray.' And he took Peter and James and John with him.
Horror and dismay came over him, and he said to them, 'My heart is ready
to break with grief; stop here, and stay awake.' Then he went forward a
little, threw himself on the ground, and prayed that, if it were possible,
this hour might pass him by. 'Abba, Father,' he said, 'all things are pos-
sible to thee; take this cup away from me. Yet not what I will, but what
thou wilt.'
He came back and found them asleep; and he said to Peter, 'Asleep,
Simon? Were you not able to stay awake for one hour? Stay awake, all of
you; and pray that you may be spared the test. The spirit s willing, but the
flesh is weak.' Once more he went away and prayed. On his return he
found them asleep again, for their eyes were heavy; and they did not know
how to answer him.
The third time he came and said to them, 'Still sleeping? Still taking your
ease? Enough! The hour has come. The Son of Man is betrayed to sinful
men. Up, let us go forward! My betrayer is upon us.'
Suddenly, while he was still speaking, Judas, one of the Twelve, appeared,
and with him was a crowd armed with swords and cudgels, sent by the
chief priests, lawyers, and elders. Now the traitor had agreed with them
upon a signal: 'The one I kiss is your man; seize him and get him safely
away.' When he reached the spot, he stepped forward at once and said to
Jesus, 'Rabbi', and kissed him. Then they seized him and held him fast.
One of the party drew his sword, and struck at the High Priest's servant,
cutting off his ear. Then Jesus spoke: 'Do you take me for a bandit, that
you have come out with swords and cudgels to arrest me? Day after day
I was within your reach as I taught in the temple, and you did not lay hands
on me. But let the scriptures be fulfilled.' Then the disciples all deserted
him and ran away.
Among those following was a young man with nothing on but a linen
cloth. They tried to seize him; but he slipped out of the linen cloth and ran
away naked.
THEN THEY LED Jesus away to the High Priest's house, where the chief
priests, elders, and doctors of the law were all assembling. Peter followed
him at a distance right into the High Priest's courtyard; and there he
remained, sitting among the attendants, warming himself at the fire.
The chief priests and the whole Council tried to find some evidence
against Jesus to warrant a death-sentence, but failed to find any. Many
gave false evidence against him, but their statements did not tally. Some
say "I will pull down this temple, made with human hands, and in three
days I will build another, not made with hands." ' But even on this point
their evidence did not agree.
The the High Priest stood up in his place and questioned Jesus: 'Have
you no answer to the charges that these witness bring against you?' But
he kept silence; he made no reply.
Again, a little later, the bystanders said to Peter, 'Surely you are one of
them. You must be; you are a Galilean.' At this he broke out into curses,
and with and oath he said, 'I do not know this man you speak of.' Then the
cock crew a second time; and Peter remembered how Jesus had said to
him, 'Before the cock crows twice you will disown me three times.' And he
burst into tears.
15 AS SOON AS MORNING CAME, the chief priests, having made their plan
with the elders and lawyers in full council, put Jesus in chains; then they
led him away and handed him over to Pilate. Pilate asked him, 'Are you the
king of the Jews?' He replied, 'The words are your.' And the chief priests
brought many charges against him. Pilate questioned him again: 'Have you
nothing to say in your defence? You see how many charges they are
bringing against you.' But, to Pilate's astonishment, Jesus made no
further reply.
At the festival season the Governor used to release one prisoner at the
people's request. As it happened, the man known as Barabbas was then in
custody with the rebels who had committed murder in the rising. When
the crowd appeared asking for the usual favour, Pilate replied, 'Do you
wish me to release for you the king of the Jews?' For he knew it was out of
malice that they had brought Jesus before him. but the chief priests incited
the crowd to ask him to release Barabbas rather than Jesus. Pilate spoke
to them again: 'Then what shall I do with the man you call king of the
Jews?' They shouted back, 'Crucify him!' 'Why, what harm has he done?'
Pilate asked; but they shouted all the louder, 'Crucify him!' So Pilate, in
his desire to satisfy the mob, released Barabbas to them; and he had Jesus
flogged and handed him over to be crucified.
Then the soldiers took him inside the courtyard (the Governor's head-
quarters) and called together the whole company. They dressed him in
purple, and plaiting a crown of thorns, placed it on his head. Then they
began to salute him with, 'Hail, King of the Jews!' They beat him about the
head with a cane and spat upon him, and then knelt and paid mock homage
to him. When they had finished their mockery, they stripped him of the
purple and dressed him in his own clothes.
THEN THEY TOOK HIM OUT to crucify him. A man called Simon, from
Cyrene, the father Alexander and Rufus, was passing by on his way in
from the country, and they pressed him into service to carry his cross.
They brought him to the place called Golgotha, which means 'Place
of a skull', He was offered drugged wine but he would not take it. Then
they fastened him to the cross. They divided his clothes among them,
casting lots to decide what each should have.
The hour of the crucifixion was nine in the morning, and the inscription
giving the charges against him read, 'The king of the Jews.' Two bandits
were crucified with him, one on his right and the other on his left.
The passers-by hurled abuse at him: 'Aha!' they cried, wagging their
heads, 'you would pull the temple down, would you, and build it in three
days? Come down from the cross and save yourself!' So too the chief
priests and lawyers jested with one another: 'He saved others,' they said,
'but he cannot save himself. Let the Messiah, the king of Israel, come down
now from the cross. If we see that, we shall believe.' Even those who were
crucified with him taunted him.
At midday a darkness fell over the whole land, which lasted till three in
the afternoon; and at three Jesus cried aloud, 'Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?',
which means, 'My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?' Some of
the bystanders, on hearing this, said, 'Hark, he s calling Elijah.' A man
ran and soaked a sponge in sour wine and held it to his lips on the end of
a cane. 'Let us see', he said, 'if Elijah will come to take him down.' Then
Jesus gave a loud cry and died. And the curtain of the temple was torn in
two from top to bottom. And when the centurion who was standing opposite
him saw how he died, he said, 'Truly this man was a son of God.'
A NUMBER OF WOMEN were also present, watching from a distance.
Among them wee Mary of Magdala, Mary the mother of James the
younger and of Joseph, and Salome, who had all followed him and waited
on him when he was in Galilee, and there were several others who had come
up to Jerusalem with him.
By this time evening had come; and as it was Preparation-day (that is,
the day before the Sabbath), Joseph of Arimathaea, a respected member of
the Council, a man who looked forward to the kingdom of God, bravely
went in to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Pilate was surprised to
hear that he was already dead; so he sent the centurion and asked him
whether it was long since he died. And when he heard the centurion's
report, he gave Joseph leave to take the dead body. So Joseph bought a
linen sheet, took him down from the cross, and wrapped him in the sheet.
Then he laid him in a tomb cut out of the rock, and rolled a stone against the
entrance. And Mary of Magdala and Mary the mother of Joseph were
watching and saw where he was laid.
16 When the Sabbath was over, Mary of Magdala, Mary the mother of
James, and Salome bought aromatic oils intending to go and anoint him;
and very early on the Sunday morning, just after sunrise, they came to the
tomb. They were wondering among themselves who would roll away the
stone for them from the entrance to the tomb, when they looked up and
saw that the stone, huge as it was, had been rolled back already. They
went into the tomb, where they saw a youth sitting on the right-hand side,
wearing a white robe; and they were dumbfounded. But he said to them,
'Fear nothing; you are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified.
He has been raised again; he is not here; look, there is the place where they
laid him. But go and give this message to his disciples and Peter: "He is
going on before you into Galilee; there you will see him, as he told you." '
Then they went out and ran away from the tomb, beside themselves with
terror. They said nothing to anybody, for they were afraid.
And they delivered all these instructions briefly to Peter and his com-
panions. Afterwards Jesus himself sent out by them from east to west the
sacred and imperishable message of eternal salvation.
When he had risen from the dead early on Sunday morning he appeared
first to Mary of Magdala, from whom he had formerly cast out seven
devils. She went and carried the news to his mourning and sorrowful
followers, but when they were told that he was alive and that she had seen
him they did not believe it.
Later he appeared in a different guise to two of them as they were
walking, on their way into the country. These also went and took the news
to the others, but again no one believed them.
Afterwards while the Eleven were at table he appeared to them and
reproached them for their incredulity and dullness, because they had not
believed those who had seen him after he was raised from the dead. Then he
said to them: 'Go forth to every part of the world, and proclaim the Good
News to the whole creation. Those who believe it and receive baptism will
find salvation; those who do not believe will be condemned. Faith will bring
with it miracles: believers will cast out devils in my name and speak in
strange tongues; if they handle snakes or drink any deadly poison, they will
come to no harm; and the sick on whom they lay their hands will recover.
So after talking with them the Lord Jesus was taken up into heaven, and
he took his seat at the right hand of God; but they went out to make their
proclamation everywhere, and the Lord worked with them and confirmed
their words by the miracles that followed.
The New English Bible (with Apocrypha)
Oxford University Press, Cambridge University Press, 1970
Posted Dec 20, 2018, 3:56 PM UTC
10