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The Baptism and Temptation
1The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. .
. .
4John the baptizer
appeared in the wilderness, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for
the forgiveness of sins. 5And
people from the whole Judean countryside and all the people of
Jerusalem were going out to him, and were baptized by him in the
river Jordan, confessing their sins. 6Now
John was clothed with camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his
waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey.
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7He
proclaimed, ‘The one who is more powerful than I is coming after
me; I am not worthy to stoop down and untie the thong of his
sandals. 8I have
baptized you with water; but he will baptize you with the Holy
Spirit.’
9 In those days Jesus
came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the
Jordan. 10And just
as he was coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens torn apart
and the Spirit descending like a dove on him. 11And
a voice came from heaven, ‘You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I
am well pleased.’ 12And
the Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness. 13He
was in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan; and he was with
the wild beasts; and the angels waited on him. (Mark 1:1,
4-13)
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Jesus Discloses His Coming Suffering
27Jesus went on with his disciples
to the villages of Caesarea Philippi; and on the way he asked his
disciples, ‘Who do people say that I am?’ 28And
they answered him, ‘John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; and
still others, one of the prophets.’ 29He
asked them, ‘But who do you say that I am?’ Peter answered him,
‘You are the Messiah.’ 30And
he sternly ordered them not to tell anyone about him.
31Then he began to teach them that
the Son of Man must undergo great suffering,
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and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and
the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. 32He
said all this quite openly. And Peter took him aside and began to
rebuke him. 33But
turning and looking at his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said,
‘Get behind me, Satan! For you are setting your mind not on divine
things but on human things.’ (Mark 8:27-33) |
Jesus’ Hard Decision
51When
the days drew near for him to be taken up, he set his face to go to
Jerusalem. 52And he
sent messengers ahead of him. On their way they entered a village of
the Samaritans to make ready for him; 53but
they did not receive him, because his face was set toward Jerusalem.
(Luke 9:51-53)
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Jesus’ Difficult Mission
49‘I came to
bring fire to the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled! 50I
have a baptism with which to be baptized, and what stress I am under
until it is completed! (Luke 12:49-50) |
Two Disciples “Volunteer” for Hazardous Duty
35James
and John, the sons of Zebedee, came forward to him and said to him,
‘Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you.’ 36And
he said to them, ‘What is it you want me to do for you?’ 37And
they said to him, ‘Grant us to sit, one at your right hand and one
at your left, in your glory.’ 38But
Jesus said to them, ‘You do not know what you are
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asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink,
or be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?’ 39They
replied, ‘We are able.’ Then Jesus said to them, ‘The cup that
I drink you will drink; and with the baptism with which I am
baptized, you will be baptized; 40but
to sit at my right hand or at my left is not mine to grant, but it
is for those for whom it has been prepared.’ (Mark 10:35-40) |
A beachhead in Jerusalem
1When they were approaching
Jerusalem, at Bethphage and Bethany, near the Mount of Olives, . . . 7they
brought the colt to Jesus and threw their cloaks on it; and he sat on
it. 8Many people
spread their cloaks on the road, and others spread leafy branches that
they had cut in the fields. 9Then
those who went ahead and those
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who followed were shouting,
‘Hosanna!
Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!
10Blessed is the
coming kingdom of our ancestor David!
Hosanna in the highest heaven!’
11 Then he entered Jerusalem and
went into the temple; and when he had looked around at everything,
as it was already late, he went out to Bethany with the twelve.
(Mark 11:1, 7-11)
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The gauntlet, thrown down
15Then
they came to Jerusalem. And he entered the temple and began to drive
out those who were selling and those who were buying in the temple,
and he overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of
those who sold doves; 16and
he would not allow anyone to carry anything through the temple. 17He
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was teaching and saying, ‘Is it not written,
“My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the
nations”?
But you have made it a den of robbers.’
18And when the
chief priests and the scribes heard it, they kept looking for a way
to kill him; for they were afraid of him, because the whole crowd
was spellbound by his teaching. 19And
when evening came, Jesus and his disciples went out of the city.
(Mark 11:15-19)
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Conspiracy
1It 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; 2for they said,
‘Not during the festival, or there may be a riot among the
people.’ . . . 10Judas
Iscariot, who was one of the twelve, went to the chief priests in
order to betray him to them. 11When
they heard it, they were greatly pleased, and promised to give him
money. So he began to look for an opportunity to betray him.
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17When
it was evening, he came with the twelve. 18And
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.’ . . . 22While
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.’ 23Then
he took a cup, and after giving thanks he gave it to them, and all
of them drank from it. 24He
said to them, ‘This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured
out for many. 25Truly
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.’ (Mark 14:1-2,
10-11, 17-18, 22-25)
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The dread decision
26When
they had sung the hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives. . . . 32They
went to a place called Gethsemane; and he said to his disciples,
‘Sit here while I pray.’ 33He
took with him Peter and James and John, and began to be distressed and
agitated. 34And said
to them, ‘I am deeply grieved, even to death; remain here, and keep
awake.’ 35And
going a little farther, he threw himself on the ground and prayed
that, if it were possible, the hour might pass from him. 36He
said, ‘Abba, Father, for you all things are possible; remove this
cup from me; yet, not what I want, but what you want.’
. . .
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43Immediately,
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. 44Now
the betrayer had given them a sign, saying, ‘The one I will kiss
is the man; arrest him and lead him away under guard.’ 45So
when he came, he went up to him at once and said, ‘Rabbi!’ and
kissed him. 46Then
they laid hands on him and arrested him. . . . 53They
took Jesus to the high priest; and all the chief priests, the
elders, and the scribes were assembled. . . . 55Now
the chief priests and the whole council were looking for testimony
against Jesus to put him to death; but they found none.
. . . 61the high
priest asked him, ‘Are you the Messiah, the Son of the Blessed
One?’ 62Jesus
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.”’ 63Then
the high priest tore his clothes and said, ‘Why do we still need
witnesses? 64You
have heard his blasphemy! What is your decision?’ All of them
condemned him as deserving death. (Mark 14:26, 32-36, 43-46, 53, 55,
61-64)
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“Crucified, under Pontius Pilate”
1As 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. 2Pilate
asked him, ‘Are you the King of the Jews?’ He answered him, ‘You
say so.’ 3Then the
chief priests accused him of many things. 4Pilate
asked him again, ‘Have you no answer? See how many charges they
bring against you.’ 5But
Jesus made no further reply, so that Pilate was amazed.
. . .
15So Pilate,
wishing to satisfy the crowd, released Barabbas for them; and after
flogging Jesus, he handed him over to be crucified. . . . 16Then
the soldiers led him into the courtyard of the palace
. . . . 20After
mocking him, they stripped him of the purple cloak and put his own
clothes on him. Then they led him out to crucify him.
. . .
21They
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. 22Then
they brought Jesus to the place called Golgotha (which means the place
of a skull). 23And
they offered him wine mixed with myrrh; but he did not take it. 24And
they crucified him, and divided his clothes among them, casting lots
to decide what each should take.
25It was nine
o’clock in the morning when they crucified him. 26The
inscription of the charge against him read, ‘The King of the
Jews.’ 27And with
him they crucified two bandits, one on his right and one on his left.
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33When
it was noon, darkness came over the whole land until three in the
afternoon. 34At
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?’ . . . 37Then
Jesus gave a loud cry and breathed his last. 38And
the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. 39Now
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!’
40There 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. 41These
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.
42When evening
had come, and since it was the day of Preparation, that is, the day
before the sabbath, 43Joseph
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. 44Then
Pilate wondered if he were already dead; and summoning the
centurion, he asked him whether he had been dead for some time. 45When
he learned from the centurion that he was dead, he granted the body
to Joseph. 46Then
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. 47Mary
Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses saw where the body was laid.
(Mark 15:1-5, 15-16, 20-27, 33-34, 37-47)
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Next: Other Notable Episodes
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