Monday, August 17

⁵⁷Now the ones who had arrested Jesus led him to Caiaphas, the high priest, in whose house the experts in the law and the elders had gathered. ⁵⁸But Peter was following him from a distance, all the way to the high priest’s courtyard. After going in, he sat with the guards to see the outcome. ⁵⁹The chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin were trying to find false testimony against Jesus so that they could put him to death. ⁶⁰But they did not find anything, though many false witnesses came forward. Finally two came forward ⁶¹and declared, “This man said, ‘I am able to destroy the temple of God and rebuild it in three days.’” ⁶²So the high priest stood up and said to him, “Have you no answer? What is this that they are testifying against you?” ⁶³But Jesus was silent. The high priest said to him, “I charge you under oath by the living God, tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God.” ⁶⁴Jesus said to him, “You have said it yourself. But I tell you, from now on you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Power and coming on the clouds of heaven.” ⁶⁵Then the high priest tore his clothes and declared, “He has blasphemed! Why do we still need witnesses? Now you have heard the blasphemy! ⁶⁶What is your verdict?” They answered, “He is guilty and deserves death.” ⁶⁷Then they spat in his face and struck him with their fists. And some slapped him, ⁶⁸saying, “Prophesy for us, you Christ! Who hit you?”

⁶⁹Now Peter was sitting outside in the courtyard. A slave girl came to him and said, “You also were with Jesus the Galilean.” ⁷⁰But he denied it in front of them all: “I don’t know what you’re talking about!” ⁷¹When he went out to the gateway, another slave girl saw him and said to the people there, “This man was with Jesus the Nazarene.” ⁷²He denied it again with an oath, “I do not know the man!” ⁷³After a little while, those standing there came up to Peter and said, “You really are one of them too—even your accent gives you away!” ⁷⁴At that he began to curse, and he swore with an oath, “I do not know the man!” At that moment a rooster crowed. ⁷⁵Then Peter remembered what Jesus had said: “Before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times.” And he went outside and wept bitterly.

¹When it was early in the morning, all the chief priests and the elders of the people plotted against Jesus to execute him. ²They tied him up, led him away, and handed him over to Pilate the governor.

³Now when Judas, who had betrayed him, saw that Jesus had been condemned, he regretted what he had done and returned the 30 silver coins to the chief priests and the elders, ⁴saying, “I have sinned by betraying innocent blood!” But they said, “What is that to us? You take care of it yourself!” ⁵So Judas threw the silver coins into the temple and left. Then he went out and hanged himself. ⁶The chief priests took the silver and said, “It is not lawful to put this into the temple treasury, since it is blood money.” ⁷After consulting together they bought the Potter’s Field with it, as a burial place for foreigners. ⁸For this reason that field has been called the “Field of Blood” to this day. ⁹Then what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled: “They took the 30 silver coins, the price of the one whose price had been set by the people of Israel, ¹⁰and they gave them for the potter’s field, as the Lord commanded me.”