When Jesus and his disciples arrived at Gethsemane, he said to them, “Stay here while I take Peter, James and John to pray.” When he was alone with these three he told them, “I’m so overwhelmed with sadness that I feel like it could kill me. While I pray by myself, keep watch here.”
Going off alone he fell face down and prayed, “Father, if it is possible, take away this cup of fate. But I will submit to your Holy will.”
When he returned to the three, he found them asleep. “Couldn’t you stay awake for one hour? Keep praying so you won’t have the temptation to sleep.”
Then he went off again and prayed a similar prayer a second and third time, but each time when he returned he found them asleep. After the third time he said, “Are you still sleeping? Look, it’s time for me to be handed over to sinners. Get up. Let’s go. Here comes my betrayer.”
As he was talking, Judas Iscariot arrived with a large crowd armed with swords and clubs sent by the Sanhedrin. Judas had told them “The one I greet with a kiss is the man you want.” He walked up to Jesus and said, “Hello, teacher,” and kissed him.
Jesus said, “Do what you came to do, friend.” Then the crowd came forward and grabbed Jesus. Peter grabbed his sword and swung at the crowd, cutting off a man’s ear. “Put your sword away, Jesus said, “Those who live by the sword, die by the sword. Don’t you think that if I wanted to I could ask my Father, for help and he would send me an army of angels?” Then Jesus asked the mob, “Who is it you want?”
“Jesus of Nazareth,” they replied.
Jesus replied, “I am he,” and the entire mob fell to the ground. When they picked themselves up, Jesus then pointed to his disciples and said, “If you are looking for me, then let these men go. Am I leading a rebellion that you come with swords and clubs to capture me? For days I’ve been at the temple teaching and you didn’t arrest me. But this is all happening so the words of the prophets will come true.” Then they arrested Jesus and all of his disciples fled.
Jesus was taken to Caiaphas, the high priest, who was joined by the Sanhedrin. They were trying to come up with false evidence against Jesus they could use to have him killed. Finally, two people came forward and said, “This man claimed he would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days.”
Caiaphas stood up and said to Jesus, “Aren’t you going to reply to these accusations,” but Jesus remained silent. So Caiaphas continued, “I charge you under oath to the one true God, do you claim to be our savior, the Son of God?”
Jesus replied, “It is like you say. But know this, you will see me sitting at the right hand of God and returning on the clouds.”
Then Caiaphas tore his clothes in a rage and said, “He has spoken lies against God. What more do we need to hear? You’ve all heard it. What do you think?”
The rest answered, “He should be killed.” Then they spit on him and starting mocking him by slapping and punching him in the face and saying, “Prophecy, savior, who hit you?”
Peter, meanwhile, followed behind them at a distance and eventually waited in the courtyard to see what would happen to Jesus. After a while, a servant girl came up to him and said, “You were there with Jesus, right?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he answered.
He walked away from her a bit, but another servant saw him and said, “This guy is one of Jesus’ followers.”
“I don’t even know him,” he answered.
But after a while several people agreed, saying, “You have to be one of them, you have a Galilean accent just like his.”
Then he started cursing at them and yelled, “I DON’T KNOW HIM!” Immediately a rooster crowed and Peter remembered Jesus' words. So he went outside the courtyard and cried, filled with anger and shame.
Early Friday morning, the religious leaders made their plans to kill Jesus. They tied him up and took him to Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor of that region who had replaced Herod Archelaus after he had displeased Caesar. When Judas saw that Jesus was going to be killed, he was filled with regret for what he had done. He tried to return the 30 pieces of silver to the Sanhedrin, saying, “I have sinned by betraying an innocent man.”
But they said, “That’s your problem.” So he threw the money down on the floor, left the temple, and in his shame, killed himself.
Meanwhile, Jesus stood before Pilate who asked him, “Are you the king of Jews?”
“You have said so.” Jesus answered. When he was accused of various things by the religious leaders he would not answer them.
Then Pilate asked, “Don’t you hear these accusations?” But Jesus would not answer them and Pilate was amazed. He told the religious leaders, “I don’t see any reason to convict this man.”
But they replied, “He stirs up the people wherever he goes. He started in Galilee and has traveled all the way here.”
When Pilate realized Jesus was from Galilee, which was under Herod Antipas’s jurisdiction, he had Jesus sent to him.
Herod had been wanting to see Jesus for a long time. From what he had heard, he hoped Jesus would show him a sign to prove his identity. But no matter how many questions he asked, Jesus remained silent. So Herod had Jesus dressed in a royal robe to mock him for claiming to be a king before sending him back to Pilate.
Pilate had a tradition during Passover to release one prisoner chosen by the people. At that time they had a well-known prisoner named Barabbas locked up. So Pilate went out and asked the crowd, “Who do you want me to release, Barabbas or Jesus who claims to be your savior?” He knew it was out of self-interest the religious leaders had arrested Jesus so he expected the crowds would set him free.
But the religious leaders persuaded people in the crowd to change their minds so they yelled, “Barabbas!”
“What do you want me to do with Jesus?” Pilate asked.
“Execute him.” they shouted.
“Why? What crime has he committed?” Pilate asked. “The Sanhedrin claim he was inciting a rebellion, but both Herod and I have examined him and found no basis for their claims. He does not deserve to die.”
“Execute him.” they shouted even louder. “We have a law that says he must die for claiming to be the son of God.
These words worried Pilate and so he said to Jesus, “Who are you?” but when Jesus would not answer him he said, “Do you still refuse to speak? Don’t you know that I have the power to free you or have you executed?”
Jesus replied, “You would have no power if it wasn’t given to you by God. The ones who handed me over to you are more guilty than you.”
Pilate’s wife leaned over to him and said, “Don’t get involved in this. This man is innocent and last night I had terrible nightmares about him.”
So Pilate, seeing that it was pointless to argue with the crowd, had a bowl of water brought out to him and he washed his hands in front of the crowd, saying, “I am innocent of this man’s blood. It is on you.”
The people answered, “Let his blood be on us and our children.” Then Pilate released Barabbas and had Jesus whipped before he was killed. The soldiers responsible for his punishment stripped Jesus naked, then put a royal robe back on him and pressed a crown made out of thorns into his head. They put a staff in his hand and knelt down before him in mockery, saying, “All hail the king of the Jews! Then they spit on him and punched him in the face repeatedly. After they were tired of this, they put his own clothes back on him and sent him off to be killed.
Because Jesus was sentenced by Pilate, he was to be crucified, the Romans preferred method of execution. Jesus carried his large wooden cross toward Golgotha, the skull hill, a place outside the city where these executions took place. Exhausted from his repeated beatings, he soon collapsed under the weight of the cross. The soldiers forced a man from the crowd, Simon from Cyrene, west of Egypt, to carry it the rest of the way. Many of the women who were followers of Jesus were with him, crying. Jesus said to them, “Daughters of Jerusalem, don’t cry for me. Cry for yourselves and your children. A time of suffering is coming when you will wish you had no children. If this is what people are doing when I am with you, imagine what will happen once I am gone.”
When they arrived at Golgotha they nailed his hands and feet to the cross and stood it up, leaving him hanging. They posted a sign above his head that listed his crime, “This is Jesus, the king of the Jews.” The soldiers beneath him gambled for who would get to keep his clothes.
People yelled insults at Jesus as they passed. “You said you would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days. Then save yourself. Come down off that cross if you are the son of God.”
The religious leaders mocked him too, saying, “He claimed to save others, but he can’t save himself. He says he is the king of Israel. Come down off that cross and we’ll believe you. If you trust in God so much, let’s see God rescue you.”
Jesus said, “Father, forgive them. They don’t know what they are doing.”
Even one of the two other men were crucified that day on either side of Jesus yelled insults at him. But the other man being crucified said, “Be quiet. Don’t you fear God? We were punished justly for what we did. But this man did nothing wrong. Jesus, remember me when you go to your kingdom.”
Jesus replied, “You will join me there today.”
For three hours as Jesus hung from the cross darkness covered the midday sky. Then Jesus called out “My God, My God, why have you abandoned me?”
The people listening said, “Listen. He’s calling Elijah. Let’s see if he comes to save him.” Then Jesus uttered his last word, “Father into your hands I entrust my spirit,” and he died. At that moment the curtain in the temple that blocked off the ark of God’s covenant in the most holy place was torn in half. The earth shook, rocks cracked apart, and tombs broke open. Many people who were dead returned to life in that moment and in the days that followed they appeared to many people in Jerusalem.
Seeing all this, one of the soldiers guarding Jesus was terrified and said to himself, “Surely he really was the Son of God.”
As night approached a wealthy member of the Sanhedrin and secret follower of Jesus, Joseph from the town of Arimathea, in Judea, asked Pilate for Jesus’ body. Pilate was surprised to hear that Jesus was already dead, but agreed after confirming this with his soldiers. Then Joseph had Jesus' body properly wrapped for burial and placed in a new tomb he had purchased for himself. A large rock was rolled in front of the entrance of the tomb.
On Saturday the Sanhedrin went to Pilate and said, “We remember that liar saying he would come back to life after three days. We need you to keep the tomb guarded and sealed until after three days have passed or else his followers will steal his body and say he is alive. That lie would be more damaging than all his other lies.” So Pilate agreed to post guards outside the tomb.
On Sunday, Mary Magdalene along with another follower, Mary of Clopas, travelled to Jesus’ tomb. Suddenly an earthquake shook the ground and when they looked up they saw that the stone covering the tomb was rolled away and an angel was sitting on it. His face was like lightning and his clothes like snow. The guards were so terrified they had fainted.
The angel said, “don’t be afraid. I know you are looking for Jesus. He’s not here, he is alive again just like he said he would be. Come and look where his body was. Then go quickly and tell his other followers that he will meet them in Galilee.” So the women hurried off, afraid, but also filled with joy.
Mary Magdalene ran off ahead and when she came to Peter and John she said, “They have taken Jesus out of his tomb and I don’t know where he is.”
They all ran back to the tomb with John, then Peter arriving before Mary. When they saw Jesus’ burial cloth still in the tomb, they believed that he had been resurrected from the dead and returned to where they were staying.
When Mary returned to the tomb and found herself alone, she began to cry. Suddenly she heard a voice say, “Why are you crying?”
She turned and saw who she assumed was a gardener and said, “They have taken Jesus away and I don’t know where. If you know anything, please tell me so I can retrieve his body.”
The man replied, “Mary,” and at that moment she recognized him as Jesus.
She reached out to him and said, “teacher,” but Jesus replied,
“Do not cling to me as your teacher. Wait until I have ascended to my father. Go and tell all of my disciples that I will soon return to my father, and your father.” Then Mary left and told the disciples everything she had seen.
The guards, meanwhile, had gone to the Sanhedrin and told them everything that had happened. The Sanhedrin gave the guards a large amount of money and said, “You are to say that his followers came in the night and stole his body while you slept. If word of this gets to Pilate we will keep you out of trouble.” So the guards took the money and this story was widely spread among the people.
That same day, two of Jesus' followers were going to a village outside of Jerusalem. They were talking to each other about everything that had happened. While they were talking a man came and walked with them. He said, “What are you talking about?”
They replied, “Are you the only person who hasn’t heard what’s been going on? Jesus, a prophet from Nazareth, was crucified by the Sanhedrin. We had hoped he was going to rescue Israel. And now we’ve heard from some of his followers who went to his tomb that his body is gone. They came and told us they had seen an angel and that Jesus was alive. When we went to check we found the tomb empty, but didn’t see any angels or Jesus.
The man replied, “Why are you so slow to believe what the prophets said? Didn’t your savior have to suffer like this before entering his glorious kingdom?” He then went on to explain all of the teachings concerning their savior from Moses and the prophets. When they came to the village they asked the man to stay with them for the night. At dinner he took the bread and prayed and gave it to them and at that moment they realized that he was Jesus. Then, he disappeared. When they returned to Jerusalem they told the rest of the followers everything that had happened.
While they were speaking, Jesus appeared. They were afraid, thinking he was a ghost. Jesus said, “Why are you scared and why do you doubt that it’s really me? Look at my hands and feet. Touch me. Does a ghost have flesh and bones?” Even after touching him, they struggled to believe it was true. As he ate with them he opened their minds to understand the words of Moses and the prophets in a way they never had before. He said, “It was written that your savior would die and return to life on the third day. Teaching people to repent so their sins will be forgiven will be preached in my name to all people, starting here in Jerusalem. You will be the ones to start this. But wait here until you receive the power from God you will need.
But Thomas was not with them and when they told him what happened he said, “Unless I touch the wounds on his body myself, I don’t believe it.”
A week later when they were all together, Jesus suddenly appeared among them again, even though they had locked the doors, and said to Thomas, “Go ahead. Touch me. Feel the scars from my suffering. You don’t have to doubt that this is true. Believe it.”
Thomas did and cried out, “My Lord and my God.”
Jesus said, “You believe because you have seen it for yourself. But honor those who will believe even though they will never see for themselves.” Then Jesus left his disciples.
Some time after this, Peter, Thomas, Nathaniel, James, John, and two other disciples went to fish on the Sea of Galilee, but they caught nothing. Early the next morning they saw someone on the shore who called out to them, “Have you caught anything?”
“No,” they replied.
“Throw your net on the other side of your boat and you will catch some,” the man said.
When they did, fish swarmed into the net, so many that they were unable to haul it back in. This moment of deja vu was not lost on Peter who called out, “It’s Jesus!” and immediately jumped out of the boat and swam towards the shore with the other six following behind him, slowly towing the catch of fish.
When they reached the shore they saw that Jesus had already started a fire and cooked breakfast, which Jesus invited them to share with him. After the meal, Jesus asked Peter, “Peter, do you love me more than anyone else?”
“Yes, you know how much I love you,” he replied.
“Feed my lambs.”
Jesus asked him this question three times and Peter started to feel hurt so he finally replied, “You know all things so you know how much I love you.”
“When you were younger you went wherever you wanted. But when you grow older you will be led where you do not want to go,” Jesus said, prophesying that Peter would one day glorify God by being killed as he had.
Peter looked back at John and asked, “What about him?”
Jesus answered, “If I choose to keep him alive until I return, what is that to you? You must follow me.”
For forty days after his resurrection, Jesus appeared many times to his followers, not just the eleven he was closest to, but others, including 500 who had gathered together. When his time on earth was coming to an end, he appeared before his disciples one last time. When they saw him, they worshipped him, but some still doubted it was really him.
Jesus told them, “Don’t leave Jerusalem until you have received my father’s gift. Remember, John baptized with water, but soon you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit of God.”
They asked him, “Has the time come for you to restore the kingdom of Israel?”
He answered, “It is not your responsibility to know when. Only God does. God has given me complete authority over all. So now I tell you to go and gain new followers from all nations. Baptize them in the name of God the father, Jesus the son, and the Holy Spirit. Teach them to obey everything I have taught. Remember that I am with you always, until the end of time.” Then, before their eyes, he was taken to heaven. They continued to worship as they returned to Jerusalem.
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