And having said this, Jesus left and again hid from the bishops.
And of those who had heard these words from Jesus, many of the strong and wealthy people believed in Jesus’s teaching, but they were afraid to admit this before the bishops because not one of the bishops admitted that they believed. This was because they were accustomed to judging by men’s standards and not by God’s.
After Jesus had hidden, the bishops and the elders again gathered at Caiaphus’s courtyard. And they began to determine how they might apprehend Jesus in secret, take him from the people and kill him. They were afraid to apprehend him in the open.
And one of the twelve students of Jesus, Judas Iscariot, came to them at their conference and said, “If you want to apprehend Jesus secretly, so that the people don’t see, then I will find a time when very few people will be with him and I will show you where he is so that you can take him. What will you give me for this?”
They promised to give him thirty rubles for this service. He agreed, and from then on began looking for a time when he could lead the bishops to Jesus, so that they could take him.
Meanwhile, Jesus was hiding from the people, and only his students were with him. When the first part of the holiday, the celebration of unleavened bread, arrived, the students said to Jesus, “Where are we going to celebrate Passover?”
And Jesus said, “Go into the village somewhere and stop by someone’s house and say that we have no time to prepare Passover and ask him to let us in to observe Passover.”
The students did just that—they went and asked a man in the village and he let them in. Then they entered and sat at the table: Jesus and the twelve students; and Judas was with them.
Jesus knew that Judas Iscariot had already promised to turn him over to face his death, but he did not expose Judas and did not avenge himself on Judas for this, and just as he had taught his students love his whole life, now he likewise reproached Judas only with love.
When all the twelve had sat down to the table, he looked at them and said, “Among you sits someone that has betrayed me. Yes, he who drinks and eats with me will also destroy me.”
He said nothing more, and they could not determine who it was that he was referring to, so they began their dinner. When they had begun to eat, Jesus took the bread, broke it into twelve parts, gave each of the twelve students a piece and said, “Take and eat—this is my body.”
And then he poured out a cup of wine, gave it to the students and said, “Drink from this cup, all of you.”
And when they had all drunk, he said, “This is my blood. I spill it so people can know that my will is to forgive others their sins. Because I will soon die and I will no longer be with you in this world, but will be united with you only in the kingdom of heaven.”
After that Jesus stood up from the table, wrapped a towel around himself like a belt, and took a pitcher of water and began to wash all of the students’ feet.
And he came to Peter, but Peter said, “How is it that you can be washing my feet?”
Jesus said to him, “It seems strange to you that I wash your feet, but you must understand now why I do this. I do it because although you are clean, albeit not entirely so, among you sits my betrayer, to whom I gave bread with my own hands as well as wine, and whose feet I want to wash.”
And when Jesus had washed all of their feet, he again sat down and said, “Have you understood why I did this? I did this so that you will do the very same for each other, always. I, your teacher, do this so that you will know how to behave with those who do evil to you. If you have understood this and will do this, then you will be blessed. When I said that one of you will betray me, I was not speaking about all of you, because only one of you whose feet I have washed and given bread to eat, just one of you will destroy me.”
And having said that, Jesus became indignant in his spirit and again said, “Yes, yes, one of you will betray me.”
And again the students began to look at one another and did not know who it was that he referred to. One student sat close by Jesus. Simon Peter nodded to him so that he would ask him who the traitor was. This student asked him.
Jesus said, “I will dip a piece of bread and offer it to someone, and the one to whom I offer it is the traitor.”
And he offered it to Judas Iscariot, and he said to him, “Do what you will, and do it quickly.”
Judas understood that he had to leave and as soon as he took the piece of bread, he left immediately. And there was no time to chase after him.
And when Judas had left, Jesus said, “Now it is clear to you, what the son of man is, now it is clear to you that if God is within him, he can be as good as God is.
“Children! I do not have long to be with you. Do not philosophize about my teaching, as I said to the orthodox, but just do as I do. I give you one new commandment: just as I have always and indefinitely loved you all, likewise you must always and indefinitely love one another. This will be the only thing that will set you apart. Only in this will you differ from other people: love one another.”
And after this they went to the Mount of Olives.
Along the way Jesus said to them, “Now is the time when what is written in the scriptures will take place, that they will kill the shepherd and the sheep will all scatter. That will happen this very night. They will take me and you will all abandon me and run your separate ways.”
And in answer, Peter said to him, “Even if all the others are frightened and run away, I will not deny you. I am prepared to go with you to prison and to death.”
Jesus said to him, “But I tell you that when I am taken, you will turn your back on me, not once, but three times before the cocks crow this night.” But Peter said that he would not turn his back; the other students said the same.
Then Jesus said to the students, “Previously I did not need anything and you did not need anything. You traveled without a bag and without extra footwear; and I had commanded you to do so. But now, if they have found me to be a lawbreaker, it has become impossible to continue that way, so we must store up everything and gather knives so that we are not destroyed in vain.”
And the students said, “Here, we have two knives.”
Jesus said, “Good!”
And having said that, Jesus went with the students into the Garden of Gethsemane. And as they entered the garden, Jesus said, “Let us stay here a while, I want to pray.”
And approaching Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, he began to languish and to grow sorrowful, saying to them, “This is very difficult for me. I am sorrowing before death. Remain here and do not despair as I do.”
And he went off a short way, laid down, prone, on the ground and began to pray, saying, “My father, the spirit! Let this be not as I want, to not die, but as you want. Even though I may die, still, for you, as the spirit, everything is possible; make it so that I do not fear death, so that there be no temptation of the flesh for me.”
Then he stood, approached the students and saw that they had become depressed. And he said to them, “How is it that you do not have the power to lift your spirits for one hour, as I do? Lift your spirits so that you do not fall into the temptation of the flesh. The spirit is strong, but the flesh is weak.”
And again Jesus went off a short way and again began to pray and said, “Father! If it is impossible for me to avoid suffering and I have to die, then let me die. Let your will come to pass!”