Readings for Thursday

Episodes

• The Last Supper (Mark 14:12–31; parallels Matt 26:17–35; Luke 22:7–38. John 13:1–14:31. Cf. 1 Cor 11:23‒26)
• The Farewell Discourses (John 14:1–17:26)
• Jesus at Gethsemane (Mark 14:32–42; Matt 26:36–47; Luke 22:39–46; John 18:1)
• Betrayal and Arrest of Jesus (Mark 14:43–52; Matt 26:47–56; Luke 22:47–53; John 18:2–3)
•  Jesus before the Jewish Authorities (Mark 14:43–65; Matt 26:57–68; Luke 22:54–71; John 18–28)

 

Walter Rane, "In Remembrance of Me"

The Last Supper: Mark 14:12‒25; John 13:1‒35

While Matthew 26:17–30 and Luke 22:7–38 largely follow Mark in their portrayal of the Last Supper as a Passover meal at the end of which Jesus instituted the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper, John portrays it simply as the last meal that Jesus shares with his disciples, at which he performs another ritual, the washing of their feet.

See the discussion in Greater Love Hath No Man, 104–114.

Mark

14

¹²On the first day of Unleavened Bread, when they sacrificed the paschal lamb, his disciples said to him, “Where do you want us to go to make preparations that you may eat the Passover?” ¹³So he sent two of his disciples and said to them, “Go into the city, and a man carrying a jar of water will meet you. Follow him, ¹⁴and wherever he enters, say to the master of the house, ‘The Teacher asks, “Where is my guest room, where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?’’’ ¹⁵Then he himself will show you a large room upstairs, furnished and ready. There make preparations for us.” ¹⁶And so the disciples went out and came into the city, found just what he told them, and prepared the Passover.

¹⁷When it was evening, he arrived with the Twelve. ¹⁸While they were reclining at the table and eating, Jesus said to them, “Truly I say to you that one of you who is eating with me will hand me over.” ¹⁹They began to be upset and said one after another, “It isn’t me, is it?” ²⁰Then he said to them, “It is one of the Twelve who dips into the bowl with me. ²¹Yes, the Son of Man is going as it has been written about him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is handed over! It would have been better for that man if he had not been born.”

²²Then as they were eating, after Jesus had taken bread and blessed it, he broke it, gave it to them, and said, “Take it, this is my body.” ²³And after he had taken the cup and given thanks, he gave it to them, and they all drank from it. ²⁴He said to them, “This is my blood of the covenant that is poured out for many. ²⁵Truly I say to you that I will no longer drink of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.”

 

J. Kirk Richards, "Greatest in the Kingdom"

John

13

¹Before the festival of the Passover, because Jesus knew that his time had arrived to pass on from this world to his Father, because he had loved his own who were in the world, he loved them until the end. ²Then, while the dinner was in progress and when the Adversary had already put it into the heart of Judas the son of Simon Iscariot to betray him, ³because Jesus knew that the Father had put all things into his hands and that he had come from God and was returning to God, ⁴he arose up from the feast, set aside his outer clothing, and, after picking up a linen cloth, tied it around himself. ⁵Then he poured water into a wash basin and began to wash the feet of his disciples and dry them with the linen cloth that was tied around him. ⁶He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, are you washing my feet?” ⁷Jesus answered and said to him, “You do not understand what I am doing just yet, but after these things you will come to understand.” ⁸Peter said to him, “You will never wash my feet!” Jesus answered him, “If I do not wash you, you do not have a place with me.” ⁹Simon Peter said to him, “Lord, not just my feet but also my hands and my head!” ¹⁰Jesus said to him, “Whoever has bathed does not need to wash, except his feet, but is clean all over. You are clean but not all of you,” ¹¹for he knew who was about to betray him. For this reason, he said, “You are not all clean.” 

¹²So, when he had washed their feet, picked up his outer clothes, and reclined again at the table, Jesus asked them, “Do you know what I have done for you? ¹³You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and you have spoken well, for that is what I am. ¹⁴Then if I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash each other’s feet. ¹⁵You see, I have given a pattern to you: namely, you should also do just what I have done for you. ¹⁶Truly, truly I say to you,

A servant is not greater than his master,

Nor is a messenger greater than he who sent him.

¹⁷                    If you understand these things,

You are blessed if you do them.

¹⁸I am not speaking about all of you—I know those whom I have chosen—but that the scripture may be fulfilled: ‘He who has eaten bread with me has lifted up his heel against me.’ ¹⁹ From now on, I am telling you this before it happens, so that when it does happen, you may believe that I Am. ²⁰Truly, truly I say to you,

Whoever receives one whom I send,

Receives me.

Whoever receives me,

Receives the one who sent me.”

²¹After Jesus had said these things, he was deeply upset in spirit, testified, and said, “Truly, truly I say to you, one of you will betray me.” ²²The disciples began looking at one another, uncertain as to which one he meant. ²³One of the disciples was reclining at the table, leaning in Jesus’ embrace—he was the one whom Jesus loved. ²⁴Simon Peter motioned to him to ask whom it was he was talking about. ²⁵So he, leaning back further against Jesus’ chest, asked, “Lord, who is it?” ²⁶Jesus answered, “He is the one for whom I will dip a piece of bread and to whom I will give it.” Then after he had dipped the piece of bread, he gave it to Judas son of Simon Iscariot. ²⁷After he had taken the piece of bread, Satan entered into him. Jesus said to him, “That which you are about to do, do quickly.” ²⁸No one reclining at the table knew why Jesus said this to him. ²⁹Some of them were thinking that because Judas kept the common purse, Jesus was saying to him, “Buy what we need for the festival” or that he might give something to the poor. ³⁰So, when he had taken the piece of bread, he left immediately, and it was night.

³¹And so when he had gone out, Jesus said,

“Now has the Son of Man been glorified,

And God has been glorified in him.

³²                    Since God has been glorified in him,

God will also glorify him in himself

And will glorify him right away.

³³Little children, I am with you for yet a short time. You will seek for me, yet as I said to ‘the Jews,’ even so now I say to you now: ‘Where I am going, you cannot come.’

³⁴             A new commandment I give to you:

Love one another.

                Even as I have loved you

                                You, too, should love one another.

³⁵             In this will all know,

                                You are my disciples

If you have love one for one another.”

  

Excerpts from the Farewell Discourses: John 14:1‒21; 15:1‒17; 17:1‒26

Following John’s account of the Last Supper, the Fourth Gospel features a series of extended discourses that Jesus delivered to his disciples, first in the Upper Room and then, apparently, as they walked from the city through the Qidron Valley to the Garden of Gethsemane. Often known as the “Farewell Discourses,” though delivered in the first instance to his closest followers, they are written in a way that they apply to disciples in every age. They conclude in John 17:1‒26 with a powerful prayer of Jesus to the Father, known as either the “Intercessory Prayer” or sometimes as the “Great High Priestly Prayer.” As is often the case in John, the words of Jesus are frequently poetic or semi-poetic, which we have tried to indicate by laying out such lines in verse.

See the discussion in Greater Love Hath No Man, 121–23.

14

 ¹               “Do not let your heart be troubled:

                Believe in God,

                                Believe also in me.

²In my Father’s house are many places to live. If not, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? ³Yet if I go and prepare a place for you, I will return and take you to myself, so that where I am, you may be also. ⁴You know the way to where I am going.” ⁵Thomas said to him, “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?” ⁶Jesus said to him,

 “I Am the Way,

                                And the Truth,

                                And the Life.

                No one comes to the Father,

                                Except he comes through me.

⁷               If you had known me,

                                You would have known the Father.

                From now on you know him,

                                And you have seen him.”

⁸Philip said to him, “Lord, show us the Father, and that is enough for us.” ⁹And Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you this long, and you have not known me, Philip?

                Whoever has seen me,

                                He has seen the Father.

How are you saying, ‘Show us the Father’? ¹⁰Do you not believe

That I am in the Father,

And the Father is in me?

As to the things that I am saying to you

I am not speaking of myself,

But the Father who dwells in me,

He performs his works.

¹¹             Believe in me,

                                That I am in the Father,

                                And the Father in me.

                If you do not believe in me,

Believe because of the works themselves. 

¹²Truly, truly I say to you,

                Whoever believes in me,

                                The works that I do,

                                He will do.

                And he will do greater works than these,

                                Because I am going to the Father.

¹³And whatever you ask in my name, that I will do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son.

¹⁴             If you ask me anything in my name,

I will do it.

^{15             “}If you love me,

You will keep my commandments.

¹⁶             I will ask the Father,

And he will give you another Intercessor,

      That he may be with you forever.

¹⁷             The Spirit of Truth,

Whom the world cannot receive,

Because it neither sees nor knows him.

                You know him,

                                Because he dwells in you,

                                And he will be in you.

¹⁸             I will not leave you as orphans,

                                I am coming to you.

¹⁹                    In a little while the world will no longer see me,

                                but you see me:

                     Because I live,

                                You, too, will live.

²⁰In that day you will know,

                     I am in my Father

                                And you in me,

                                And I in you.

²¹                   Whoever has my commandments and keeps them,

                                He is the one who loves me.

                     Whoever loves me,

                                Will be loved by my Father.

                     I also will love him,

                                And I will reveal myself to him. 

15

¹                  I Am the True Vine,

                             And my Father is the Vinedresser.

²                  Every branch in me that does not bear fruit,

                             He cuts off,

                   And every branch that does bear fruit,

                             He prunes it,

                             That it may bear more fruit.

 ³You are already pure through the word that I have spoken to you. ⁴Dwell in me as I dwell in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it dwells in the vine, neither can you unless you dwell in me.

⁵                  I Am the Vine,

                             You are the branches.

                   Whoever dwells in me and I in him,

                             This one bears much fruit.

                   Because apart from me,

                             You cannot do anything.

⁶                  Unless someone dwells in me,

He is cast out and withers like a branch,

                   People gather such branches,

                             And they cast them into the fire

                             And the branches burn.

⁷                  If you dwell in me,

And my proclamation remains in you,

                   Whatever you wish to ask,

                             It will come about for you.

⁸                  In this has my Father been glorified,

                             That you should bear much fruit,

                             And should become my disciples.

⁹                  Just as my Father has loved me,

                             Even so have I loved you.

                             Dwell in my love.

¹⁰                 If you obey my commandments,

                             You will dwell in my love.

Just as I have obeyed my Father’s commandments,

                             And I dwell in his love.

¹¹                 I have spoken these things to you,

                             That my joy may be in you,

And that your joy may be complete.

¹²                 This is my commandment,

                             That you love one another,

                             Just as I have loved you.

¹³                 No one has greater love than this,

Than to lay down his life for his friends.

¹⁴                 You are my friends,

If you do whatever I command you.

¹⁵            I am no longer calling you servants,

because a servant does not know

what his master is doing.

I have called you friends,

because everything I have heard from my Father

I have made known to you.

¹⁶            You did not choose me,

but I chose you and appointed you

to go out and bear fruit,

and your fruit remains,

so that whatever you ask the Father in my name

he will give it to you.

¹⁷            These things I command you:

                             love one another.”

                            

17

¹Jesus spoke these words, and after he had lifted up his eyes to heaven, he said,
 

    “Father, the hour has come.
                    Glorify your Son,
                    That the Son may glorify you,
²        Just as you have given him power over all flesh,
                    To give eternal life to those,
                    To each one that you have given him.
³        Now this is eternal life,
                    That they may know you, the only true God,
                   And Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.
⁴        I have glorified you on the earth,
                    By completing the work that you gave me to do.
⁵        And now glorify me in your presence, Father,
                    With that glory I had with you before the world was.
 
⁶        I have revealed your name
                    to those people whom you gave me out of the world.
        They were yours,
                    and you gave them to me,
                    and they have kept your word.
⁷        Now they know
                    that everything you have given me
                    comes from you.
⁸         The sayings that you gave to me
                I gave to them,
                and they received them
        and know with certainty
                that I have come from your side,
                and they have believed
                that you sent me.
 
⁹             I pray for them,
                             I do not pray for the world,
                Rather I pray for those whom you have given to me,
                             Because they are yours.
¹⁰            And all mine are yours,
                             And yours mine,
                             And I have been glorified in them.
 
¹¹            I am no longer in the world,
                             But they are in the world,
                             And I am coming to you.
              Holy Father, keep them in your name,
                             The name that you gave to me,
              That they may be one,
                             Even as we are one.
¹²            When I was with them,
                             I kept them in your name,
                             The name you gave to me,
              And I protected them,
                             And not one of them has perished,
            Except the son of destruction,
                               That the scripture might be fulfilled.
¹³            But now I am coming to you,
                          And I am speaking these things in the world,
                          That they may have my joy,
                          Joy fulfilled in them.
¹⁴            I have given them your word,
                             And the world hated them,
                Because they are not of the world,
                             Just as I am not of the world.
¹⁵            I am not praying that you take them out of the world,
                            But that you preserve them from the Evil One.
¹⁶            They are not of the world,
                             Just as I am not of the world.
¹⁷            Make them holy in your truth,
                             Your word is truth.
¹⁸            Just as you sent me into the world,
                             So I have sent them into the world.
¹⁹            For them I make myself holy,
                            That they, too, may be made holy in truth.
 
²⁰            I am not praying for them alone,
                           But also for those who will believe in me through their word,
²¹            That they may all be one,
                             Just as you, Father, are in me,
                             And I in you,
              That they also may be one in us,
                            That the world may believe that you sent me.
 
²²            And the glory that you gave to me,
                             I have given to them,
              That they may be one,
                             Just as we are one.
²³            I am in them, and you in me,
                             That they might attain perfect unity,
              That the world may know that you sent me,
                             And that you have loved them
                            just as you have loved me.
 
²⁴            Father, I want those whom you have given me
                        to be with me where I am,
            that they may see my glory,
                        which you have given me,
            because you have loved me
                        from before the foundation of the world.
 
²⁵            Righteous Father, the world has not known you,
                             But I have known you,
                             And they know that you sent me.
²⁶            I have made known your name,
                             And I will make it known
              So that the love with which you have loved me,
                             May be in them,
                             And I in them.

 

Carl Bloch, "Christ in Gethsemane"

Gethsemane: Mark 14:26–42; Luke 22:39–46

Matthew and Luke largely parallel Mark’s description of Jesus’ experiences in Gethsemane, with Luke making some important changes and additions. Changes include reducing the number of times that Jesus prays and finds his three closest disciples sleeping, which reduces their implicit condemnation, and important additions include recording the appearance of an angel to strengthen him and his “sweating great drops of blood” as a result of his agony,” which has led us to include the Lucan passages below.

See the discussion in Greater Love Hath No Man, 123–131.

Mark

14

²⁶After they had sung a psalm, they left for the Mount of Olives. ²⁷Then Jesus said to them, “All of you will fall away because it is written, ‘I will strike down the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered.’ ²⁸Yet when I have been raised, I will go ahead of you to Galilee. ²⁹But Peter said to him, “Even if everyone else falls away, I will not!” ³⁰Jesus said to him, “Truly, I say to you, this very night, before the rooster crows twice, you yourself will deny me three times.” ³¹But he kept insisting, “Even it is necessary that I die with you, I will not deny you!” And they all kept saying the same thing.

³²Then they came to a place named Gethsemane, and he said to his disciples, “Sit here while I pray.” ³³He took Peter, James, and John with him, and he began to feel overwhelmed and distressed. ³⁴Then he said to them, “My soul is consumed with grief, to the point of death. Remain here and keep watch.”

³⁵After he went a bit further, he fell on the ground and prayed that if it were possible, the hour might pass him by. ³⁶And he said, “Abba! Father! All things are possible for you. Take this cup from me, yet not what I want but what you desire.”

³⁷Then he returned and found them sleeping, and he said to Peter, “Simon, are you sleeping? Were you not able to keep watch for a single hour? ³⁸Keep watching and praying that you not come into trial. While the spirit is willing, the flesh is weak.”

³⁹After he had gone back, he prayed again, saying the same thing.

⁴⁰When he returned, he found them sleeping again, for their eyes were weighed down, and they did not know how to answer him.

⁴¹He came back a third time and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and feeling drowsy? Enough! The hour has come. Look, the Son of Man is being delivered into the hands of sinful men. ⁴²Get up, let us go! The one who is betraying me is almost here.”

Luke

22

 ³⁹Then after he had gone out, he came, as was his habit, to the Mount of Olives, and his disciples followed him. ⁴⁰And when he had arrived at the place, he said to them, “Pray that you are not brought to trial.”
 
⁴¹Then after he had withdrawn about a stone’s throw from them, kneeling down, he began to pray, ⁴²saying, “Father, if you are willing, take this cup away from me, but let it not be according to my will but yours. [⁴³Next an angel from heaven appeared to him to strengthen him. ⁴⁴And because he was in agony, he kept praying more fervently, and his sweat became like clots of blood falling onto the ground.]
 
⁴⁵Then after he had arisen from prayer, when he had come to his disciples, he found them asleep because of grief. ⁴⁶And he said to them, “Why are you sleeping? Get up and pray that you are not brought to trial.”

Giotto, "Kiss of Judas"

 

Arrested, Abandoned, Examined, and Denied: Mark 14:43–72; John 18:2–27

Matthew and Luke parallel Mark’s version of these events, with Luke shortening the account at times to lessen the failings of the disciples, even of Judas, and depicting a more compassionate Jesus, adding, for instance, that Jesus healed the ear of the high priest’s servant (see Luke 22:51). John adds considerable details, adding to the usual assumption that the source of or authority behind this Gospel, the Beloved Disciple, was in fact present at many of these events.

See the discussion in Greater Love Hath No Man, 131–38.

Mark

⁴³Then right away, while he was still speaking, Judas, one of the Twelve, arrived together with a crowd armed with swords and clubs that had been sent by the chief priests, the experts at the law, and the elders. ⁴⁴Now the one who was betraying him had given them a signal, saying, “The one whom I kiss is the one. Arrest him and lead him away securely.” ⁴⁵So when he had arrived and had come straight up to him, he said, “Master!” and kissed him. ⁴⁶And they laid hands on him and arrested him. ⁴⁷Then one of those who was standing by, after he had drawn a sword, struck the servant of the high priest and cut off his ear. ⁴⁸In response Jesus said to them, “Have you come with swords and clubs to arrest me as you would against a bandit? ⁴⁹I was right in front of you every day, teaching in the temple, and you did not lay hold of me—but let the scriptures be fulfilled.”
 
⁵⁰Then they all fled, abandoning him. ⁵¹But one young man, who was wearing a light linen shirt around his otherwise naked body, began following him. They laid hold of him, ⁵²but he, by slipping out of the light shirt, fled from them wearing nothing at all.
 
⁵³Then they led Jesus to the high priest, and all the chief priests, elders, and experts at the law gathered together. ⁵⁴Peter followed him at a distance right up into the courtyard of the high priest, and he took a seat with the guards and warmed himself by the fire.
 
⁵⁵The chief priests and the entire Sanhedrin were seeking testimony against Jesus in order to put him to death, but they were not finding any. ⁵⁶For many kept giving false testimony against him, but their testimonies were not consistent. ⁵⁷Some standing up gave false testimony against him, saying, ⁵⁸”We heard him saying, ‘I will destroy this temple built by human hands, and in three days I will build another not built by human hands.’” ⁵⁹But even in this their testimony was not consistent. ⁶⁰So the high priest, after he stood up in the middle of the assembly, asked Jesus, saying, ⁶¹“Are you not giving any answer? What is this that these men are testifying against you?” ⁶¹But he was silent and did not give any answer. Again the high priest asked him and said to him, “Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed One?” ⁶²And Jesus said, “I Am. And you will see ‘the Son of Man sitting on the right hand of power, coming with the clouds of heaven.’” ⁶³But the high priest, after he had torn his tunic, said, “What witnesses do we need anymore? ⁶⁴You have heard blasphemy! What is your decision?” Then they all condemned him as one deserving of death. ⁶⁵Some of them started spitting on him, blindfolding his face and striking him with their fists, and saying to him, “Prophesy!” And their retainers took him with slaps on the face.
 
⁶⁶Then while Peter was down below in the courtyard, one of the servant girls of the high priest came, ⁶⁷and when she saw Peter warming himself, as she looked at him she said, “You, too, were with Jesus, the man from Nazareth!” ⁶⁸But he denied it, saying, “I neither know nor understand what you are talking about!” And he went out into the forecourt, [and the rooster crowed.] ⁶⁹And the maid, seeing him again, began to say to those standing around, “This man is one of them!” ⁷⁰But he denied it again. Then a little while later, those standing around began to say again to Peter, “Certainly you are one of them, for you, too, are a Galilean.” ⁷¹But he began to curse and swear an oath, “I do not know this man whom you are talking about.” ⁷²Right then the rooster crowed a second time, and Peter remembered the prediction, how Jesus had said to him, “Before the rooster crows twice, you will deny me three times.” Then when he reflected on this, he began to weep.

John

18

²Judas, who was betraying him, knew the place, because Jesus often met with his disciples there. ³So Judas, after he had put together a contingent of retainers from both the chief priests and Pharisees, came there with lamps, torches, and weapons.
 
⁴Then Jesus, because he knew everything that was going to happen to him, went out and said to them, “Whom are you looking for?” ⁵They answered him, “Jesus, the man of Nazareth.” Jesus said, “I Am he.” Judas also, who was betraying him, was standing with them. ⁶So when he said to them, “I Am!” they withdrew backwards and fell on the ground. ⁷Again he asked them, “Whom are you looking for?” And they said, “Jesus, the man of Nazareth.” ⁸Jesus answered, “I told you, ‘I Am he!’ So if you are looking for me, let these men go away.” ⁹This was so the word that he had said could be fulfilled, “Of those whom you have given me I have not lost any.” ¹⁰Then Simon Peter, who had a sword, drew it and struck the servant of the high priest, and he cut off his right ear. Now the name of the servant was Malchus. ¹¹Then Jesus said to Peter, “Put your sword in its sheath! Should I not drink the cup that the Father has given to me?”
 
¹²Then the contingent, both its commander and the retainers of “the Jews,” arrested Jesus and bound him. ¹³They took him first to Annas, for he was the father-in-law of Caiaphas, who was the high priest that year. ¹⁴Now Caiaphas was the one who had advised “the Jews” that it was advantageous for one man to die for the people.

Carl Bloch, "The Denial of Peter"

 
¹⁵Now Simon Peter and another disciple were following Jesus. That disciple was an acquaintance of the high priest, and he went with Jesus into the courtyard of the high priest. ¹⁶Peter, however, stood outside at the gate. Then the other disciple, the acquaintance of the high priest, went and spoke to the woman stationed at the gate and brought Peter in. ¹⁷Then the servant girl on duty at the gate said to Peter, “You are also one of this man’s disciples, aren’t you?” He said, “I am not.” ¹⁸Now the servants and guards who were standing there had made a charcoal fire, because it was cold, and they were warming themselves. Peter, too, was standing with them and warming himself.
 
¹⁹Meanwhile the high priest questioned Jesus about his disciples and his teaching. ²⁰Jesus answered him, “I have spoken openly to the world—I always taught in synagogue and in the temple, where all ‘the Jews’ assemble, and I did not speak anything secretly. ²¹Why are you asking me? Ask those who have heard what I said to them. Look, they know what I said.” ²²After he had said these things, one of the retainers standing there slapped Jesus in the face, saying, “Is that the way you answer the high priest?” ²³Jesus responded to him, “If I have spoken badly, give evidence of the wrong. If I spoke correctly, why are you beating me?” ²⁴Then Annas sent him bound to Caiaphas, the high priest.
 
²⁵Now Simon Peter was standing there and warming himself. Then they said to him, “Aren’t you also one of his disciples?” He denied and said, “I am not.” ²⁶One of the servants of the high priest, who was a relative of the man whose ear Peter had cut off, said, “Did I not see you in the garden with him?” ²⁷Then Peter denied again, and right away the rooster crowed.