Study Desk

This made the disciples sad, and one after another they said to Jesus, "You surely don't mean me!"

Jesus picked up a cup of wine and gave thanks to God. He gave it to his disciples, and they all drank some.

Then they sang a hymn and went out to the Mount of Olives.

But when he returned to the disciples, he found them sleeping again. They simply could not keep their eyes open, and they did not know what to say.

Jesus was still speaking, when Judas the betrayer came up. He was one of the twelve disciples, and a mob of men armed with swords and clubs were with him. They had been sent by the chief priests, the nation's leaders, and the teachers of the Law of Moses.

The chief priests and the whole council tried to find someone to accuse Jesus of a crime, so they could put him to death. But they could not find anyone to accuse him.

Finally, some men stood up and lied about him. They said,

The high priest stood up in the council and asked Jesus, "Why don't you say something in your own defense? Don't you hear the charges they are making against you?"

Some of the people started spitting on Jesus. They blindfolded him, hit him with their fists, and said, "Tell us who hit you!" Then the guards took charge of Jesus and beat him.

Early the next morning the chief priests, the nation's leaders, and the teachers of the Law of Moses met together with the whole Jewish council. They tied up Jesus and led him off to Pilate.

They put a purple robe on him, and on his head they placed a crown that they had made out of thorn branches.

They made fun of Jesus and shouted, "Hey, you king of the Jews!"

Then they beat him on the head with a stick. They spit on him and knelt down and pretended to worship him.

When the soldiers had finished making fun of Jesus, they took off the purple robe. They put his own clothes back on him and led him off to be nailed to a cross.

Simon from Cyrene happened to be coming in from a farm, and they forced him to carry Jesus' cross. Simon was the father of Alexander and Rufus.

They nailed Jesus to a cross and gambled to see who would get his clothes.

People who passed by said terrible things about Jesus. They shook their heads and shouted, "Ha! So you're the one who claimed you could tear down the temple and build it again in three days.

The chief priests and the teachers of the Law of Moses also made fun of Jesus. They said to each other, "He saved others, but he can't save himself.

Some women were looking on from a distance. They had come with Jesus to Jerusalem. But even before this they had been his followers and had helped him while he was in Galilee. Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of the younger James and of Joseph were two of these women. Salome was also one of them.

But when they looked, they saw that the stone had already been rolled away. And it was a huge stone!