| Narrator 1: |
It was now two days before the Passover and the feast of
Unleavened Bread. The chief priests and the scribes were seeking how to
arrest Jesus in secret, and kill him; for they said, |
| Reader 1: |
"Not during the feast, lest there be a riot of the
people." |
| Narrator 1: |
While Jesus was at Bethany in the house of Simon the
leper, as he sat at table, a woman came with a flask of costly ointment,
and she broke the flask and poured it over Jesus head. But there were
some who said to themselves in anger, |
| Reader 1: |
"Why was the ointment wasted in this way?" |
| Reader 2: |
"This ointment could have been sold for more than
three hundred denarii and the money given to the poor." |
| Narrator 1: |
And they scolded her. But Jesus said, |
| Jesus: |
"Let her alone; why do you trouble her? She has done a
beautiful thing to me. For you always have the poor with you. Whenever
you will, you can do good to the poor; but you will not always have me.
She has done what she could; she has anointed my body beforehand for
burying. And surely, I say to you, wherever the gospel is preached in
the whole world, what she has done will be told in memory of her." |
| Narrator 1: |
Then Judas Iscariot, who was one of the twelve, went to
the chief priests in order to betray Jesus to them. And when the chief
priests heard it they were glad, and promised to give him money. So
Judas began to look for an opportunity to betray Jesus. |
| Narrator 2: |
On the first day of Unleavened Bread, when they
sacrificed the Passover lamb, his disciples said to Jesus, |
| Reader 3: |
"Where do you want us to go and make the preparations
for you to eat the Passover?" |
| Narrator 1: |
Jesus sent for two of his disciples and said to them, |
| Jesus: |
"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 says, Where is my guest room, where I am to eat
the Passover with my disciples?’ And he will show you a large room
upstairs, furnished and ready. Make preparations for us there." |
| Narrator 2: |
And the disciples set out and went to the city, and found
it as Jesus had told them; and they prepared the Passover meal. |
| Narrator 1: |
And when it was evening Jesus came with the twelve. And
as they were at table eating, he said, |
| Jesus: |
"I say to you, one of you will betray me, one who is
eating with me." |
| Narrator 1: |
They began to be sorrowful, and to say to him one after
another, |
| Reader 1: |
"Is it I?" |
| Reader 2: |
"Master, is it I?" |
| Reader 3: |
"Surely not I." |
| Narrator 1: |
Jesus said to them, |
| Jesus: |
"It is one of the twelve, one who is dipping bread in the
bowl with me. For the Son of Man goes as it is written of him, but woe
to the one by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been better
for that one not to have been born." |
| Narrator 1: |
As they were eating, he took bread, and blessed, and
broke it, and gave it to them, and said, |
| Jesus: |
"Take, this is my body." |
| Narrator 2: |
And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave
it to them, and they all drank from it. And he said to them, |
| Jesus: |
"This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out
for many. Truly, I say to 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." |
| Narrator 1: |
When they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of
Olives. And Jesus said to them, |
| Jesus: |
"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." |
| Narrator 1: |
Peter said to Jesus, |
| Peter: |
"Even though they all become deserters, I will not." |
| Jesus: |
"Truly, I say to you that you will deny me three times before the
rooster crows." |
| Narrator 1: |
But Peter protested and said, |
| Peter: |
"Even though I must die with you, I will not deny you." |
| Narrator 1: |
And the disciples all said the same thing. |
| Narrator 2: |
And they went to a place that was called Gethsemane, and
Jesus said to his disciples, |
| Jesus: |
"Sit here while I pray." |
| Narrator 1: |
Jesus took with him Peter and James and John and began to
be distressed and greatly troubled. And he said to them, |
| Jesus: |
"My soul is very sorrowful, even to death; remain here,
and keep awake and watch with me." |
| Narrator 1: |
Going a little farther, he fell on the ground and prayed,
that if it were possible, the hour might pass from him, And he prayed, |
| Jesus: |
"Abba, Father, for you all things are possible; remove
this cup from me; yet not what I will but what you will." |
| Narrator 1: |
And Jesus came and found them sleeping, and he said to Peter, |
| Jesus: |
"Simon Peter, are you asleep? Could you not stay awake
one hour? Keep awake and pray that you may not come into this time of
trial; the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak." |
| Narrator 2: |
Again Jesus went away and prayed. And again he came and
found them sleeping, for their eyes were very heavy; and they did not
know what to say to him. And he came the third time, and said to them, |
| Jesus: |
"Are you still sleeping and taking your rest? It is
enough; the hour has come; the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of
sinners. Get up now, see, my betrayer is at hand." |
| Narrator 1: |
Immediately, while Jesus was still speaking, Judas, one
of the twelve, arrived and with him a crowd with swords and clubs, from
the chief priests and the scribes and the elders. |
| Narrator 2: |
Now the betrayer had given them a sign, saying, |
| Judas: |
"The one I shall kiss is Jesus, seize him and lead him away under
guard." |
| Narrator 2: |
When Judas came, he went up to Jesus at once, and said, |
| Judas: |
"Master." |
| Narrator 1: |
And Judas kissed him. And they laid hands on Jesus and arrested
him. |
| Narrator 2: |
And Jesus said to them, |
| Jesus: |
"Have you come out as against a robber, with swords and
clubs to capture me? Day after day I was with you in the temple
teaching, and you did not arrest me. But let the scriptures be
fulfilled." |
| Narrator 1: |
The disciples all deserted Jesus and fled. |
| Narrator 2: |
They led Jesus to the high priest; and all the chief
priests and the elders and the scribes were assembled. |
| Narrator 1: |
Peter had followed at a distance, right into the
courtyard of the high priest; and he was sitting with the guards, and
warming himself at the fire. |
| Narrator 2: |
Now the chief priests and the whole council sought
testimony against Jesus to put him to death; but they found none. For
many gave false testimonies against Jesus, but their witnesses did not
agree. And some stood up and bore false testimony against Jesus, saying, |
| Reader 4: |
"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.’" |
| Narrator 2: |
Yet even on this point their testimony did not agree. And
the high priest stood up in the midst, and asked Jesus, |
| High Priest: |
"Have you no answer to make? What is it that these
men testify against you?" |
| Narrator 2: |
But Jesus was silent and made no answer. Again the high
priest asked him, |
| High Priest: |
"Are you the Messiah, the Son of the Blessed One?" |
| Narrator 2: |
And Jesus said, |
| Jesus: |
"I am, and you will see the Son of Man seated at the
right hand of Power and coming with the clouds of heaven." |
| Narrator 2: |
And the high priest tore his clothes, and said, |
| High Priest: |
"Why do we still need witnesses? You have heard
his blasphemy. What is your decision?" |
| Narrator 2: |
And they all condemned Jesus as deserving death. |
| Narrator 1: |
And some began to spit on Jesus and they blindfolded him,
and began to strike him, saying, |
| Reader 1: |
"Prophesy! Who is it that struck you?" |
| Narrator 1: |
And the guards took Jesus and beat him. |
| Narrator 2: |
Peter was in the courtyard and one of the maids of the
high priest came out. Seeing Peter warming himself, she looked at him,
and said, |
| Maid: |
"You also were with Jesus, the one from Nazareth." |
| Narrator 2: |
But Peter denied it, saying, |
| Peter: |
"I neither know nor understand what you are talking about." |
| Narrator 2: |
Peter went out into the gateway. The maid saw him again
and began to say to the bystanders, |
| Maid: |
"This man is one of them." |
| Narrator 2: |
But again he denied it. And after a little while the bystander
said to Peter, |
| Reader 1: |
"Certainly you are one of them, for you are a Galilean." |
| Narrator 2: |
But Peter replied in a hostile voice. |
| Peter: |
"I do not know this man you are talking about." |
| Narrator 2: |
And immediately, while Peter was speaking, the rooster
crowed and he remembered how Jesus had said to him, "Before the
rooster crows, you will deny me three times." And Peter broke down
and wept. |
| Narrator 1: |
As soon as it was morning the chief priests, with the
elders and scribes and the whole council, had Jesus bound and led away
and handed over to Pilate. And Pilate asked him, |
| Pilate: |
"Are you king of the Jews?" |
| Narrator 1: |
And Jesus answered him, |
| Jesus: |
"You have said so." |
| Narrator 1: |
The chief priests accused him of many things. Pilate asked him
again, |
| Pilate: |
"Have you no answer to make? See how many charges they bring
against you." |
| Narrator 1: |
But Jesus made no further answer, so that
Pilate was amazed. |
| Narrator 2: |
At the Passover feast Pilate would release one prisoner
that the people asked for. Among the rebels in prison, who had committed
murder, there was a man called Barabbas. And the crowd came up and began
to ask Pilate to release a prisoner as was his custom. And he said to
them, |
| Pilate: |
"Do you want me to release the king of the Jews?" |
| Narrator 2: |
For he realized that it was out of envy that the chief priests
had handed Jesus over. |
| Narrator 1: |
But the chief priests had stirred up the crowd to have
him release Barabbas instead. And Pilate said to them again, |
| Pilate: |
"Then what shall I do with the man whom you call the
king of the Jews?" |
| Narrator 2: |
And they shouted back, |
| Crowd: |
"Crucify him." |
| Narrator 2: |
So Pilate, wishing to satisfy the crowd, released for
them Barabbas; and having flogged Jesus, he delivered him to be
crucified. |
| Narrator 1: |
The soldiers led Jesus away to the courtyard; and they
called together the whole battalion. Then they put a purple cloak on
Jesus, and after twisting some thorns into a crown, they put it on his
head. And they began to shout at him, |
| All Readers: |
"Hail, king of the Jews!" |
| Narrator 1: |
The soldiers struck Jesus on the head and spat upon him,
and then they knelt down in homage to him. And after they had mocked
him, they stripped him of the purple cloak, and put his own clothes on
him. And they led him out to crucify him. |
| Narrator 2: |
They compelled a passerby, Simon of
Cyrene, who was
coming in from the country, to carry the cross. And they brought him to
the place called Golgotha (which means the place of a skull). |
| Narrator 1: |
And they offered him wine mingled with a sedative; but he
did not take it. It was about nine o’clock in the morning. |
| Narrator 2: |
There was an inscription over him that said "This is the
king of the Jews." |
| Narrator 2: |
The soldiers cast lots to divide his garments. And the
people stood by, watching, but the rulers scoffed at him, saying, |
| Reader 5: |
"He saved others; he cannot save himself. Let the
Christ, the king of Israel, come down now from the cross, that we may
see and believe!" |
| Narrator 1: |
The soldiers also mocked him, saying, |
| Reader 2: |
"If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself!" |
| Narrator 1: |
One of the thieves who was next to Jesus said to him, |
| Thief 1: |
"If you are the Christ, save yourself and us!" |
| Narrator 1: |
But the other thief rebuked him saying, |
| Thief 2: |
"Do you not fear God, since you are under the same
sentence of condemnation? We are receiving the due reward of our deeds;
but this man has done nothing wrong. (pause) Jesus, remember me
when you come into your kingdom." |
| Narrator 1: |
And Jesus answered him and said, |
| Jesus: |
"Today you will be with me in paradise." |
| Narrator 2: |
When it was twelve o’clock, there was darkness over the
whole land until three o’clock. Then Jesus cried with a loud voice, |
| Jesus: |
"My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" |
| Narrator 1: |
And some of the bystanders
hearing it said, |
| All Readers: |
"Behold, he is calling Elijah." |
| Narrator 2: |
One bystander ran and, filling a sponge full of vinegar, gave it
to Jesus to drink. |
| Narrator 1: |
Others said, |
| Reader 3: |
"Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to take him
down." |
| Narrator 1: |
And Jesus uttered a loud cry and breathed his last. |
| Narrator 2: |
And the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to
bottom. |
| Narrator 1: |
When the centurion who stood facing Jesus saw that he had
breathed his last, he said, Reader 3: "Truly, this man was the son of
God." |
| Narrator 2: |
There were also women looking on from a distance. Among
them were Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, who
had followed him while he was in Galilee, also many other women who came
up with him to Jerusalem. |
| Narrator 1: |
When evening had come, 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 looking for the
kingdom of God, took courage and went to Pilate and asked for the body
of Jesus. |
| Narrator 2: |
When Pilate learned from the centurion that Jesus was
dead, he granted the body to Joseph. |
| Narrator 1: |
After taking Jesus down from the cross, they wrapped him
in a linen cloth and laid him in a tomb that had been hewn out of the
rock. |
| Narrator 2: |
They rolled a stone against the door of the tomb. Mary
Magdalene and Mary the mother of Jesus saw where he was laid. |
