The Life of Jesus

From then on he looked for a good opportunity to betray him.

On the first day for matzah, the talmidim came to Yeshua and asked, "Where do you want us to prepare your Seder?"

"Go into the city, to so-and-so," he replied, "and tell him that the Rabbi says, `My time is near, my talmidim and I are celebrating Pesach at your house.'"

The talmidim did as Yeshua directed and prepared the Seder.

When evening came, Yeshua reclined with the twelve talmidim;

and as they were eating, he said, "Yes, I tell you that one of you is going to betray me."

They became terribly upset and began asking him, one after the other, "Lord, you don't mean me, do you?"

He answered, "The one who dips his matzah in the dish with me is the one who will betray me.

The Son of Man will die just as the Tanakh says he will; but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been better for him had he never been born!"

Y'hudah, the one who was betraying him, then asked, "Surely, Rabbi, you don't mean me?" He answered, "The words are yours."

While they were eating, Yeshua took a piece of matzah, made the b'rakhah, broke it, gave it to the talmidim and said, "Take! Eat! This is my body!"

Also he took a cup of wine, made the b'rakhah, and gave it to them, saying, "All of you, drink from it!

For this is my blood, which ratifies the New Covenant, my blood shed on behalf of many, so that they may have their sins forgiven.

I tell you, I will not drink this `fruit of the vine' again until the day I drink new wine with you in my Father's Kingdom."

After singing the Hallel, they went out to the Mount of Olives.

Yeshua then said to them, "Tonight you will all lose faith in me, as the Tanakh says, `I will strike the shepherd dead, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.'

But after I have been raised, I will go ahead of you into the Galil."

"I will never lose faith in you," Kefa answered, "even if everyone else does."

Yeshua said to him, "Yes! I tell you that tonight before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times!"

"Even if I must die with you," Kefa replied, "I will never disown you!" And all the talmidim said the same thing.

Then Yeshua went with his talmidim to a place called Gat-Sh'manim and said to them, "Sit here while I go over there and pray."

He took with him Kefa and Zavdai's two sons. Grief and anguish came over him,

and he said to them, "My heart is so filled with sadness that I could die! Remain here and stay awake with me."

Going on a little farther, he fell on his face, praying, "My Father, if possible, let this cup pass from me! Yet -- not what I want, but what you want!"

He returned to the talmidim and found them sleeping. He said to Kefa, "Were you so weak that you couldn't stay awake with me for even an hour?