Thursday, August 13

¹When Jesus had finished saying all these things, he told his disciples, ²“You know that after two days the Passover is coming, and the Son of Man will be handed over to be crucified.” ³Then the chief priests and the elders of the people met together in the palace of the high priest, who was named Caiaphas. ⁴They planned to arrest Jesus by stealth and kill him. ⁵But they said, “Not during the feast, so that there won’t be a riot among the people.”

⁶Now while Jesus was in Bethany at the house of Simon the leper, ⁷a woman came to him with an alabaster jar of expensive perfumed oil, and she poured it on his head as he was at the table. ⁸When the disciples saw this, they became indignant and said, “Why this waste? ⁹It could have been sold at a high price and the money given to the poor!” ¹⁰When Jesus learned of this, he said to them, “Why are you bothering this woman? She has done a good service for me. ¹¹For you will always have the poor with you, but you will not always have me! ¹²When she poured this oil on my body, she did it to prepare me for burial. ¹³I tell you the truth, wherever this gospel is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will also be told in memory of her.”

¹⁴Then one of the twelve, the one named Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests ¹⁵and said, “What will you give me to betray him into your hands?” So they set out 30 silver coins for him. ¹⁶From that time on, Judas began looking for an opportunity to betray him.

¹⁷Now on the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread the disciples came to Jesus and said, “Where do you want us to prepare for you to eat the Passover?” ¹⁸He said, “Go into the city to a certain man and tell him, ‘The Teacher says, “My time is near. I will observe the Passover with my disciples at your house.”’” ¹⁹So the disciples did as Jesus had instructed them, and they prepared the Passover. ²⁰When it was evening, he took his place at the table with the twelve. ²¹And while they were eating he said, “I tell you the truth, one of you will betray me.” ²²They became greatly distressed and each one began to say to him, “Surely not I, Lord?” ²³He answered, “The one who has dipped his hand into the bowl with me will betray me. ²⁴The Son of Man will go as it is written about him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would be better for him if he had never been born.” ²⁵Then Judas, the one who would betray him, said, “Surely not I, Rabbi?” Jesus replied, “You have said it yourself.”