Study Desk

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.

He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.

"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.

"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.

After Jesus finished saying all these things, he said to his followers,

"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."

Jesus answered, "One who has dipped his bread in the same bowl with me will be the one to hand me over.

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."

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.

Then Jesus went with his followers to a place called Gethsemane. He said to them, "Sit here while I go there and pray."

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?

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.

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.

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.

At that time there was a man in prison who was known to be very bad. His name was Barabbas.

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."

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 in front of them all. He said, "I am not guilty of this man's death. You are the ones who are doing it!"

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

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!"

They spit on him. Then they took his stick and kept hitting him on the head with it.