Sunday of the Passion/Palm Sunday

Mark 14:1-15:47

It was two days before the Passover and the festival of Unleavened Bread.
The chief priests and the scribes were looking for a way to arrest Jesus
by stealth and kill him; for they said, "Not during the festival, or there
may be a riot among the people."

While he was at Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, as he sat at the
table, a woman came with an alabaster jar of very costly ointment of nard,
and she broke open the jar and poured the ointment on his head.  But some
were there who said to one another in anger, "Why was the ointment wasted
in this way?  For this ointment could have been sold for more than three
hundred denarii, and the money given to the poor."  And they scolded her.
But Jesus said, "Let her alone; why do you trouble her?  She has performed
a good service for me.  For you always have the poor with you, and you can
show kindness to them whenever you wish; but you will not always have me.
She has done what she could; she has anointed my body beforehand for its
burial.  Truly I tell you, wherever the good news is proclaimed in the
whole world, what she has done will be told in remembrance of her."

Then Judas Iscariot, who was one of the twelve, went to the chief priests
in order to betray him to them.  When they heard it, they were greatly
pleased, and promised to give him money.  So he began to look for an
opportunity to betray him.

On the first day of Unleavened Bread, when the Passover lamb is
sacrificed, his disciples said to him, "Where do you want us to go and
make the preparations for you to eat the Passover?"  So he sent two of his
disciples, saying to them, "Go into the city, and a man carrying a jar of
water will meet you; follow him, and wherever he enters, say to the owner
of the house, 'The Teacher asks, Where is my guest room where I may eat
the Passover with my disciples?'  He will show you a large room upstairs,
furnished and ready.  Make preparations for us there."  So the disciples
set out and went to the city, and found everything as he had told them;
and they prepared the Passover meal.

When it was evening, he came with the twelve.  And when they had taken
their places and were eating, Jesus said, "Truly I tell you, one of you
will betray me, one who is eating with me."  They began to be distressed
and to say to him one after another, "Surely, not I?"  He said to them,
"It is one of the twelve, one who is dipping bread into the bowl with me.
For the Son of Man goes as it is written of him, but woe to that one by
whom the Son of Man is betrayed!  It would have been better for that one
not to have been born."

While they were eating, he took a loaf of bread, and after blessing it he
broke it, gave it to them, and said, "Take; this is my body."  Then he
took a cup, and after giving thanks he gave it to them, and all of them
drank from it.  He said to them, "This is my blood of the covenant, which
is poured out for many.  Truly I tell you, I will never again drink of the
fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of
God."

When they had sung the hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.  And
Jesus said to them, "You will all become deserters; for it is written,
        'I will strike the shepherd,
        and the sheep will be scattered.'

But after I am raised up, I will go before you to Galilee."  Peter said to
him, "Even though all become deserters, I will not."  Jesus said to him,
"Truly I tell you, this day, this very night, before the cock crows twice,
you will deny me three times."  But he said vehemently, "Even though I
must die with you, I will not deny you."  And all of them said the same.

They went to a place called Gethsemane; and he said to his disciples, "Sit
here while I pray."  He took with him Peter and James and John, and began
to be distressed and agitated.  And he said to them, "I am deeply grieved,
even to death; remain here, and keep awake."  And going a little farther,
he threw himself on the ground and prayed that, if it were possible, the
hour might pass from him.  He said, "Abba, Father, for you all things are
possible; remove this cup from me; yet, not what I want, but what you
want."  He came and found them sleeping; and he said to Peter, "Simon, are
you asleep?  Could you not keep awake one hour?  Keep awake and pray that
you may not come into the time of trial; the spirit indeed is willing, but
the flesh is weak."  And again he went away and prayed, saying the same
words.  And once more he came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were
very heavy; and they did not know what to say to him.  He came a third
time and said to them, "Are you still sleeping and taking your rest?
Enough!  The hour has come; the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of
sinners.  Get up, let us be going. See, my betrayer is at hand."

Immediately, while he was still speaking, Judas, one of the twelve,
arrived; and with him there was a crowd with swords and clubs, from the
chief priests, the scribes, and the elders.  Now the betrayer had given
them a sign, saying, "The one I will kiss is the man; arrest him and lead
him away under guard."  So when he came, he went up to him at once and
said, "Rabbi!" and kissed him.  Then they laid hands on him and arrested
him.  But one of those who stood near drew his sword and struck the slave
of the high priest, cutting off his ear.  Then Jesus said to them, "Have
you come out with swords and clubs to arrest me as though I were a bandit?
Day after day I was with you in the temple teaching, and you did not
arrest me.  But let the scriptures be fulfilled."  All of them deserted
him and fled.

A certain young man was following him, wearing nothing but a linen cloth.
They caught hold of him,  but he left the linen cloth and ran off naked.

They took Jesus to the high priest; and all the chief priests, the elders,
and the scribes were assembled.  Peter had followed him at a distance,
right into the courtyard of the high priest; and he was sitting with the
guards, warming himself at the fire.  Now the chief priests and the whole
council were looking for testimony against Jesus to put him to death; but
they found none.  For many gave false testimony against him, and their
testimony did not agree.  Some stood up and gave false testimony against
him, saying, "We heard him say, 'I will destroy this temple that is made
with hands, and in three days I will build another, not made with hands.'"
But even on this point their testimony did not agree.  Then the high
priest stood up before them and asked Jesus, "Have you no answer?  What is
it that they testify against you?"  But he was silent and did not answer.
Again the high priest asked him, "Are you the Messiah, the Son of the
Blessed One?"  Jesus said, "I am; and
        'you will see the Son of Man
        seated at the right hand of the Power,'
        and 'coming with the clouds of heaven.'"

Then the high priest tore his clothes and said, "Why do we still need
witnesses?  You have heard his blasphemy!  What is your decision?"  All of
them condemned him as deserving death.  Some began to spit on him, to
blindfold him, and to strike him, saying to him, "Prophesy!"  The guards
also took him over and beat him.

While Peter was below in the courtyard, one of the servant-girls of the
high priest came by.  When she saw Peter warming himself, she stared at
him and said, "You also were with Jesus, the man from Nazareth."  But he
denied it, saying, "I do not know or understand what you are talking
about."  And he went out into the forecourt.  Then the cock crowed.  And
the servant-girl, on seeing him, began again to say to the bystanders,
"This man is one of them."  But again he denied it.  Then after a little
while the bystanders again said to Peter, "Certainly you are one of them;
for you are a Galilean."  But he began to curse, and he swore an oath, "I
do not know this man you are talking about."  At that moment the cock
crowed for the second time.  Then Peter remembered that Jesus had said to
him, "Before the cock crows twice, you will deny me three times."  And he
broke down and wept.

As soon as it was morning, the chief priests held a consultation with the
elders and scribes and the whole council.  They bound Jesus, led him away,
and handed him over to Pilate.  Pilate asked him, "Are you the King of the
Jews?"  He answered him, "You say so."  Then the chief priests accused him
of many things.  Pilate asked him again, "Have you no answer?  See how
many charges they bring against you."  But Jesus made no further reply, so
that Pilate was amazed.

Now at the festival he used to release a prisoner for them, anyone for
whom they asked.  Now a man called Barabbas was in prison with the rebels
who had committed murder during the insurrection.  So the crowd came and
began to ask Pilate to do for them according to his custom.  Then he
answered them, "Do you want me to release for you the King of the Jews?"
For he realized that it was out of jealousy that the chief priests had
handed him over.  But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to have him
release Barabbas for them instead.  Pilate spoke to them again, "Then what
do you wish me to do with the man you call the King of the Jews?"  They
shouted back, "Crucify him!"  Pilate asked them, "Why, what evil has he
done?"  But they shouted all the more, "Crucify him!"  So Pilate, wishing
to satisfy the crowd, released Barabbas for them; and after flogging
Jesus, he handed him over to be crucified.

Then the soldiers led him into the courtyard of the palace (that is, the
governor's headquarters); and they called together the whole cohort.  And
they clothed him in a purple cloak; and after twisting some thorns into a
crown, they put it on him.  And they began saluting him, "Hail, King of
the Jews!"  They struck his head with a reed, spat upon him, and knelt
down in homage to him.  After mocking him, they stripped him of the purple
cloak and put his own clothes on him.  Then they led him out to crucify
him.

They compelled a passer-by, who was coming in from the country, to carry
his cross; it was Simon of Cyrene, the father of Alexander and Rufus.
Then they brought Jesus to the place called Golgotha (which means the
place of a skull).  And they offered him wine mixed with myrrh; but he did
not take it.  And they crucified him, and divided his clothes among them,
casting lots to decide what each should take.

It was nine o'clock in the morning when they crucified him.  The
inscription of the charge against him read, "The King of the Jews."  And
with him they crucified two bandits, one on his right and one on his left.

Those who passed by derided him, shaking their heads and saying, "Aha!
You who would destroy the temple and build it in three days, save
yourself, and come down from the cross!"  In the same way the chief
priests, along with the scribes, were also mocking him among themselves
and saying, "He saved others; he cannot save himself.  Let the Messiah,
the King of Israel, come down from the cross now, so that we may see and
believe."  Those who were crucified with him also taunted him.

When it was noon, darkness came over the whole land until three in the
afternoon.  At three o'clock Jesus cried out with a loud voice, "Eloi,
Eloi, lema sabachthani?"  which means, "My God, my God, why have you
forsaken me?"

When some of the bystanders heard it, they said, "Listen, he is calling
for Elijah."  And someone ran, filled a sponge with sour wine, put it on a
stick, and gave it to him to drink, saying, "Wait, let us see whether
Elijah will come to take him down."  Then Jesus gave a loud cry and
breathed his last.  And the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from
top to bottom.  Now when the centurion, who stood facing him, saw that in
this way he breathed his last, he said, "Truly this man was God's Son!"

There were also women looking on from a distance; among them were Mary
Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James the younger and of Joses, and
Salome.  These used to follow him and provided for him when he was in
Galilee; and there were many other women who had come up with him to
Jerusalem.

When evening had come, and since it was the day of Preparation, that is,
the day before the sabbath, Joseph of Arimathea, a respected member of the
council, who was also himself waiting expectantly for the kingdom of God,
went boldly to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus.  Then Pilate
wondered if he were already dead; and summoning the centurion, he asked
him whether he had been dead for some time.  When he learned from the
centurion that he was dead, he granted the body to Joseph.  Then Joseph
bought a linen cloth, and taking down the body, wrapped it in the linen
cloth, and laid it in a tomb that had been hewn out of the rock.  He then
rolled a stone against the door of the tomb.  Mary Magdalene and Mary the
mother of Joses saw where the body was laid.