What The Bible Says About The Last Weeks Before Jesus Was Crucified


In the gospels in the New Testament, The Bible says:

Luke chapter 9 (NIV)

51 As the time approached for him to be taken up to heaven, Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem. 52 And he sent messengers on ahead, who went into a Samaritan village to get things ready for him; 53 but the people there did not welcome him, because he was heading for Jerusalem. 54 When the disciples James and John saw this, they asked, "Lord, do you want us to call fire down from heaven to destroy them?"

55 But Jesus turned and rebuked them, 56 and they went to another village.

Luke chapter 9 (GWT)

18 Once when Jesus was praying privately and his disciples were with him, he asked them, "Who do people say I am?" 19 They answered, "Some say you are John the Baptizer, others Elijah, and still others say that one of the prophets from long ago has come back to life." 20 He asked them, "But who do you say I am?"

Peter answered, "You are the Messiah, whom God has sent."

Matthew chapter 16 (NIV)

17 Jesus replied, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven.

21 From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.

22 Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. "Never, Lord!" he said. "This shall never happen to you!"

23 Jesus turned and said to Peter, "Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men."

John chapter 11 (TEV)

1 A man named Lazarus, who lived in Bethany, became sick. Bethany was the town where Mary and her sister Martha lived. 2 (This Mary was the one who poured the perfume on the Lord's feet and wiped them with her hair; it was her brother Lazarus who was sick.) 3 The sisters sent Jesus a message: "Lord, your dear friend is sick."

4 When Jesus heard it, he said, "The final result of this sickness will not be the death of Lazarus; this has happened in order to bring glory to God, and it will be the means by which the Son of God will receive glory."

5 Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. 6 Yet when he received the news that Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was for two more days. 7 Then he said to the disciples, "Let us go back to Judea."

8 "Teacher," the disciples answered, "just a short time ago the people there wanted to stone you; and are you planning to go back?" 9 Jesus said, "A day has twelve hours, doesn't it? So those who walk in broad daylight do not stumble, for they see the light of this world. 10 But if they walk during the night they stumble, because they have no light." 11 Jesus said this and then added, "Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I will go and wake him up." 12 The disciples answered, "If he is asleep, Lord, he will get well." 13 Jesus meant that Lazarus had died, but they thought he meant natural sleep. 14 So Jesus told them plainly, "Lazarus is dead, 15 but for your sake I am glad that I was not with him, so that you will believe. Let us go to him."

16 Thomas (called the Twin) said to his fellow disciples, "Let us all go along with the Teacher, so that we may die with him!"

17 When Jesus arrived, he found that Lazarus had been buried four days before. 18 Bethany was less than two miles from Jerusalem, 19 and many Judeans had come to see Martha and Mary to comfort them about their brother's death. 20 When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went out to meet him, but Mary stayed in the house. 21 Martha said to Jesus, "If you had been here, Lord, my brother would not have died! 22 But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask him for."

23 "Your brother will rise to life," Jesus told her.

24 "I know," she replied, "that he will rise to life on the last day."

25 Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me will live, even though they die; 26 and those who live and believe in me will never die. Do you believe this?"

27 "Yes, Lord!" she answered. "I do believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, who was to come into the world."

28 After Martha said this, she went back and called her sister Mary privately. "The Teacher is here," she told her, "and is asking for you."

29 When Mary heard this, she got up and hurried out to meet him 30 (Jesus had not yet arrived in the village, but was still in the place where Martha had met him.) 31 The people who were in the house with Mary comforting her followed her when they saw her get up and hurry out. They thought that she was going to the grave to weep there. 32 Mary arrived where Jesus was, and as soon as she saw him, she fell at his feet. "Lord," she said, "if you had been here, my brother would not have died!"

33 Jesus saw her weeping, and he saw how the people with her were weeping also; his heart was touched, and he was deeply moved. 34 "Where have you buried him?" he asked them.

"Come and see, Lord," they answered. 35 Jesus wept.

36 "See how much he loved him!" the people said. 37 But some of them said, "He gave sight to the blind man, didn't he? Could he not have kept Lazarus from dying?"

38 Deeply moved once more, Jesus went to the tomb, which was a cave with a stone placed at the entrance. 39 "Take the stone away!" Jesus ordered.

Martha, the dead man's sister, answered, "There will be a bad smell, Lord. He has been buried four days!"

40 Jesus said to her, "Didn't I tell you that you would see God's glory if you believed?" 41 They took the stone away. Jesus looked up and said, "I thank you, Father, that you listen to me. 42 I know that you always listen to me, but I say this for the sake of the people here, so that they will believe that you sent me."

43 After he had said this, he called out in a loud voice, "Lazarus, come out!"

44 He came out, his hands and feet wrapped in grave cloths, and with a cloth around his face. "Untie him," Jesus told them, "and let him go."


45 Many of the people who had come to visit Mary saw what Jesus did, and they believed in him. 46 But some of them returned to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done. 47 So the Pharisees and the chief priests met with the Council and said, "What shall we do? Look at all the miracles this man is performing! 48 If we let him go on in this way, everyone will believe in him, and the Roman authorities will take action and destroy our Temple and our nation!" 49 One of them, named Caiaphas, who was High Priest that year, said, "What fools you are! 50 Don't you realize that it is better for you to have one man die for the people, instead of having the whole nation destroyed?" 51 Actually, he did not say this of his own accord; rather, as he was High Priest that year, he was prophesying that Jesus was going to die for the Jewish people, 52 and not only for them, but also to bring together into one body all the scattered people of God.

53 From that day on the Jewish authorities made plans to kill Jesus. 54 So Jesus did not travel openly in Judea, but left and went to a place near the desert, to a town named Ephraim, where he stayed with the disciples.

55 The time for the Passover Festival was near, and many people went up from the country to Jerusalem to perform the ritual of purification before the festival. 56 They were looking for Jesus, and as they gathered in the Temple, they asked one another, "What do you think? Surely he will not come to the festival, will he?" 57 The chief priests and the Pharisees had given orders that if anyone knew where Jesus was, he must report it, so that they could arrest him.

Mark chapter 10 (NIV)

32 They were on their way up to Jerusalem, with Jesus leading the way, and the disciples were astonished, while those who followed were afraid. Again he took the Twelve aside and told them what was going to happen to him. 33 "We are going up to Jerusalem," he said, "and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and teachers of the law. They will condemn him to death and will hand him over to the Gentiles, 34 who will mock him and spit on him, flog him and kill him. Three days later he will rise."


35 Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to him. "Teacher," they said, "we want you to do for us whatever we ask."

36 "What do you want me to do for you?" he asked.

37 They replied, "Let one of us sit at your right and the other at your left in your glory."

41 When the ten heard about this, they became indignant with James and John. 42 Jesus called them together and said, "You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. 43 Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, 44 and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. 45 For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."

John chapter 12 (TEV)

1 Six days before the Passover ceremonies began, Jesus arrived in Bethany, the home of Lazarus - the man he had raised from the dead. 2 A dinner was prepared in Jesus' honor. Martha served, and Lazarus sat at the table with him. 3 Then Mary took a twelve-ounce jar of expensive perfume made from essence of nard, and she anointed Jesus' feet with it and wiped his feet with her hair. And the house was filled with fragrance. 4 But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples - the one who would betray him - said, 5 "That perfume was worth a small fortune. It should have been sold and the money given to the poor." 6 Not that he cared for the poor - he was a thief who was in charge of the disciples' funds, and he often took some for his own use.

7 Jesus replied, "Leave her alone. She did it in preparation for my burial. 8 You will always have the poor among you, but I will not be here with you much longer."


9 When all the people heard of Jesus' arrival, they flocked to see him and also to see Lazarus, the man Jesus had raised from the dead. 10 The chief priests made plans to kill Lazarus too, 11 because on his account many Jews were rejecting them and believing in Jesus.

12 The next day, the news that Jesus was on the way to Jerusalem swept through the city. A huge crowd of Passover visitors 13 took palm branches and went down the road to meet him. They shouted, "Praise God! Bless the one who comes in the name of the Lord! Hail to the King of Israel!" 14 Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it, fulfilling the prophecy that said: 15 "Don't be afraid, people of Israel. Look, your King is coming, sitting on a donkey's colt." 16 His disciples didn't realize at the time that this was a fulfillment of prophecy. But after Jesus entered into his glory, they remembered that these Scriptures had come true before their eyes. 17 Those in the crowd who had seen Jesus call Lazarus back to life were telling others all about it. 18 That was the main reason so many went out to meet him - because they had heard about this mighty miracle. 19 Then the Pharisees said to each other, "We've lost. Look, the whole world has gone after him!"

Luke chapter 19 (CEV)

36 And as he rode along, the people spread clothes on the road in front of him. 37 When Jesus was starting down the Mount of Olives, his large crowd of disciples were happy and praised God because of all the miracles they had seen. 38 They shouted,
"Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!
Peace in heaven and glory to God."

39 Some Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, "Teacher, make your disciples stop shouting!"

40 But Jesus answered, "If they keep quiet, these stones will start shouting."


41 When Jesus came closer and could see Jerusalem, he cried 42 and said: It is too bad that today your people don't know what will bring them peace! Now it is hidden from them. 43 Jerusalem, the time will come when your enemies will build walls around you to attack you. Armies will surround you and close in on you from every side. 44 They will level you to the ground and kill your people. Not one stone in your buildings will be left on top of another. This will happen because you did not see that God had come to save you.

John chapter 12 (TEV)

20 Some Greeks were among those who had gone to Jerusalem to worship during the festival. 21 They went to Philip (he was from Bethsaida in Galilee) and said, "Sir, we want to see Jesus." 22 Philip went and told Andrew, and the two of them went and told Jesus.

23 Jesus answered them, "The hour has now come for the Son of Man to receive great glory. 24 I am telling you the truth: a grain of wheat remains no more than a single grain unless it is dropped into the ground and dies. If it does die, then it produces many grains. 25 Those who love their own life will lose it; those who hate their own life in this world will keep it for life eternal. 26 Whoever wants to serve me must follow me, so that my servant will be with me where I am. And my Father will honor anyone who serves me.

27 "Now my heart is troubled-and what shall I say? Shall I say, "Father, do not let this hour come upon me'? But that is why I came-so that I might go through this hour of suffering. 28 Father, bring glory to your name!"

Luke chapter 19 (NLT)

1 One day Jesus told his disciples a story to illustrate their need for constant prayer and to show them that they must never give up. 2 "There was a judge in a certain city," he said, "who was a godless man with great contempt for everyone. 3 A widow of that city came to him repeatedly, appealing for justice against someone who had harmed her. 4 The judge ignored her for a while, but eventually she wore him out. 'I fear neither God nor man,' he said to himself, 5 'but this woman is driving me crazy. I'm going to see that she gets justice, because she is wearing me out with her constant requests!'"

6 Then the Lord said, "Learn a lesson from this evil judge. 7 Even he rendered a just decision in the end, so don't you think God will surely give justice to his chosen people who plead with him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? 8 I tell you, he will grant justice to them quickly! But when I, the Son of Man, return, how many will I find who have faith?"

John chapter 12 (NLT)

42 Many people, including some of the Jewish leaders, believed in him. But they wouldn't admit it to anyone because of their fear that the Pharisees would expel them from the synagogue. 43 For they loved human praise more than the praise of God.

Matthew chapter 21 (NLT)

{Jesus said to the authorities}, 33 "Now listen to this story. A certain landowner planted a vineyard, built a wall around it, dug a pit for pressing out the grape juice, and built a lookout tower. Then he leased the vineyard to tenant farmers and moved to another country. 34 At the time of the grape harvest he sent his servants to collect his share of the crop. 35 But the farmers grabbed his servants, beat one, killed one, and stoned another. 36 So the landowner sent a larger group of his servants to collect for him, but the results were the same. 37 "Finally, the owner sent his son, thinking, 'Surely they will respect my son.' 38 "But when the farmers saw his son coming, they said to one another, 'Here comes the heir to this estate. Come on, let's kill him and get the estate for ourselves!' 39 So they grabbed him, took him out of the vineyard, and murdered him.

40 "When the owner of the vineyard returns," Jesus asked, "what do you think he will do to those farmers?"

41 The religious leaders replied, "He will put the wicked men to a horrible death and lease the vineyard to others who will give him his share of the crop after each harvest."

42 Then Jesus asked them, "Didn't you ever read this in the Scriptures? 'The stone rejected by the builders has now become the cornerstone. This is the Lord's doing, and it is marvelous to see.' 43 What I mean is that the Kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a nation that will produce the proper fruit. 44 Anyone who stumbles over that stone will be broken to pieces, and it will crush anyone on whom it falls."

45 When the leading priests and Pharisees heard Jesus, they realized he was pointing at them - that they were the farmers in his story. 46 They wanted to arrest him, but they were afraid to try because the crowds considered Jesus to be a prophet.

Luke chapter 20 (NLT)

20 Watching for their opportunity, the leaders sent secret agents pretending to be honest men. They tried to get Jesus to say something that could be reported to the Roman governor so he would arrest Jesus. 21 They said, "Teacher, we know that you speak and teach what is right and are not influenced by what others think. You sincerely teach the ways of God. 22 Now tell us - is it right to pay taxes to the Roman government or not?"

23 He saw through their trickery and said, 24 "Show me a Roman coin. Whose picture and title are stamped on it?"

"Caesar's," they replied.

25 "Well then," he said, "give to Caesar what belongs to him. But everything that belongs to God must be given to God."

26 So they failed to trap him in the presence of the people. Instead, they were amazed by his answer, and they were silenced.

27 Then some Sadducees stepped forward - a group of Jews who say there is no resurrection after death. 28 They posed this question: "Teacher, Moses gave us a law that if a man dies, leaving a wife but no children, his brother should marry the widow and have a child who will be the brother's heir. 29 Well, there were seven brothers. The oldest married and then died without children. 30 His brother married the widow, but he also died. Still no children. 31 And so it went, one after the other, until each of the seven had married her and died, leaving no children. 32 Finally, the woman died, too. 33 So tell us, whose wife will she be in the resurrection? For all seven were married to her!"

34 Jesus replied, "Marriage is for people here on earth. 35 But that is not the way it will be in the age to come. For those worthy of being raised from the dead won't be married then. 36 And they will never die again. In these respects they are like angels. They are children of God raised up to new life.

Luke chapter 22 (TEV)

1 ... The chief priests and the teachers of the Law were afraid of the people, and so they were trying to find a way of putting Jesus to death secretly. 3 Then Satan entered into Judas, called Iscariot, who was one of the twelve disciples. 4 So Judas went off and spoke with the chief priests and the officers of the Temple guard about how he could betray Jesus to them. 5 They were pleased and offered to pay him money. 6 Judas agreed to it and started looking for a good chance to hand Jesus over to them without the people knowing about it.

7 The day came during the Festival of Unleavened Bread when the lambs for the Passover meal were to be killed. 8 Jesus sent Peter and John with these instructions: "Go and get the Passover meal ready for us to eat."

9 "Where do you want us to get it ready?" they asked him. 10 He answered, "As you go into the city, a man carrying a jar of water will meet you. Follow him into the house that he enters, 11 and say to the owner of the house: "The Teacher says to you, Where is the room where my disciples and I will eat the Passover meal?' 12 He will show you a large furnished room upstairs, where you will get everything ready."

13 They went off and found everything just as Jesus had told them, and they prepared the Passover meal.

14 When the hour came, Jesus took his place at the table with the apostles. 15 He said to them, "I have wanted so much to eat this Passover meal with you before I suffer! 16 For I tell you, I will never eat it until it is given its full meaning in the Kingdom of God."

17 Then Jesus took a cup, gave thanks to God, and said, "Take this and share it among yourselves. 18 I tell you that from now on I will not drink this wine until the Kingdom of God comes."

19 Then he took a piece of bread, gave thanks to God, broke it, and gave it to them, saying, "This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in memory of me."

20 In the same way, he gave them the cup after the supper, saying, "This cup is God's new covenant sealed with my blood, which is poured out for you.

21 "But, look! The one who betrays me is here at the table with me! 22 The Son of Man will die as God has decided, but how terrible for that man who betrays him!"

23 Then they began to ask among themselves which one of them it could be who was going to do this.

John chapter 13 (NLT)

23 One of Jesus' disciples, the one Jesus loved, was sitting next to Jesus at the table. 24 Simon Peter motioned to him to ask who would do this terrible thing. 25 Leaning toward Jesus, he asked, "Lord, who is it?"

26 Jesus said, "It is the one to whom I give the bread dipped in the sauce."
And when he had dipped it, he gave it to Judas, son of Simon Iscariot.

27 As soon as Judas had eaten the bread, Satan entered into him. Then Jesus told him, "Hurry. Do it now."
28 None of the others at the table knew what Jesus meant. 29 Since Judas was their treasurer, some thought Jesus was telling him to go and pay for the food or to give some money to the poor.

30 So Judas left at once, going out into the night.


31 As soon as Judas left the room, Jesus said, "The time has come for me, the Son of Man, to enter into my glory, and God will receive glory because of all that happens to me. 32 And God will bring me into my glory very soon. 33 Dear children, how brief are these moments before I must go away and leave you! Then, though you search for me, you cannot come to me - just as I told the Jewish leaders. 34 So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. 35 Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples."

Matthew chapter 26 (TEV)

30 Then they sang a hymn and went out to the Mount of Olives.

Luke chapter 22 (GWT)

31 [Then the Lord said,] "Simon, Simon, listen! Satan has demanded to have you apostles for himself. He wants to separate you from me as a farmer separates wheat from husks. 32 But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith will not fail. So when you recover, strengthen the other disciples."

33 But Peter said to him, "Lord, I'm ready to go to prison with you and to die with you."

34 Jesus replied, "Peter, I can guarantee that the rooster won't crow tonight until you say three times that you don't know me."

The main Bible pages on this site:

Bible Bible Part 1: Bible Quotations, The Holy Spirit, People And Their Stories
Bible Part 2: The Lives and Suffering of the Ancient Israelites
Bible Part 3: The Bible, Articles About Alleged Inaccuracies in it, And Stories of People who Became Christians.
Or go directly to the next in the series: The Final Words Of Jesus To His Disciples Before He Was Arrested; And His Trial And Crucifixion.

The selections of Bible quotations have been put together by Diana Holbourn.

Throughout this series, wherever the initials TEV appear, they stand for Today's English Version (The Good News Bible).

Other initials:

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