— — — —

Gospel Reading:
Jesus Arrested

Just as he was speaking,
Judas, one of the Twelve, appeared.
With him was a crowd armed with swords and clubs,
sent from the chief priests,
the teachers of the law, and the elders.

Now the betrayer had arranged a signal with them:
“The one I kiss is the man;
arrest him and lead him away under guard.”
 Going at once to Jesus, Judas said, “Rabbi!” and kissed him.
 The men seized Jesus and arrested him.
Then one of those standing near drew his sword and struck the servant of the high priest,
cutting off his ear.

“Am I leading a rebellion,” said Jesus,
“that you have come out with swords and clubs to capture me?
 Every day I was with you,
teaching in the temple courts,
and you did not arrest me. But the Scriptures must be fulfilled.”
 Then everyone deserted him and fled.

A young man, wearing nothing but a linen garment,
was following Jesus. When they seized him,
he fled naked, leaving his garment behind.
(Mark 14:43-52).

* * *

God sent his Son to be the Savior of the world.
We saw his son and are now telling others about him.
(1 John 4:14 NIV)

   — — — —

Gospel Reading:
Gethsemane

They went to a place called Gethsemane,
and Jesus said to his disciples,
“Sit here while I pray.”
 He took Peter, James and John along with him,
and he began to be deeply distressed and troubled.
 “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death,”
he said to them. “Stay here and keep watch.”

 Going a little farther,
he fell to the ground and prayed that if possible the hour might pass from him.
 “Abba, Father,” he said, “everything is possible for you.
Take this cup from me.
Yet not what I will, but what you will.”

 Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping.
“Simon,” he said to Peter, “are you asleep?
Couldn’t you keep watch for one hour?
Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation.
The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

Once more he went away and prayed the same thing.
 When he came back, he again found them sleeping, because their eyes were heavy.
They did not know what to say to him.

 Returning the third time, he said to them,
“Are you still sleeping and resting?
Enough! The hour has come.
Look, the Son of Man is delivered into the hands of sinners.
 Rise! Let us go! Here comes my betrayer!”
(Mark 14:32-42).

* * *

God sent his Son to be the Savior of the world.
We saw his son and are now telling others about him.
(1 John 4:14 NIV)

   — — — —

Gospel Reading:
Jesus Predicts Peter’s Denial

“You will all fall away,”
Jesus told them, “for it is written:

“‘I will strike the shepherd,
    and the sheep will be scattered.’

But after I have risen, I will go ahead of you into Galilee.”

 Peter declared, “Even if all fall away, I will not.”

 “Truly I tell you,” Jesus answered,
“today—yes, tonight—before the rooster crows twice
 you yourself will disown me three times.”

 But Peter insisted emphatically,
“Even if I have to die with you,
I will never disown you.”
And all the others said the same.
(Mark 14:27-31).

* * *

God sent his Son to be the Savior of the world.
We saw his son and are now telling others about him.
(1 John 4:14 NIV)

   — — — —

Gospel Reading:
Jesus Anointed at Bethany

Now the Passover and the Festival of Unleavened Bread were only two days away,
and the chief priests
and the teachers of the law were scheming to arrest Jesus secretly and kill him.
“But not during the festival,” they said, “or the people may riot.”

While he was in Bethany, reclining at the table in the home of Simon the Leper,
a woman came with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume,
made of pure nard.
She broke the jar and poured the perfume on his head.

 Some of those present were saying indignantly to one another,
“Why this waste of perfume?
It could have been sold for more than a year’s wages
and the money given to the poor.”
And they rebuked her harshly.

 “Leave her alone,” said Jesus.
“Why are you bothering her? She has done a beautiful thing to me.
 The poor you will always have with you,
 and you can help them any time you want.
But you will not always have me.
 She did what she could.
She poured perfume on my body beforehand to prepare for my burial.
 Truly I tell you, wherever the gospel is preached throughout the world,
what she has done will also be told, in memory of her.”

Then Judas Iscariot, one of the Twelve,
went to the chief priests to betray Jesus to them.
 They were delighted to hear this and promised to give him money.
So he watched for an opportunity to hand him over.
(Mark 14:1-11).

* * *

God sent his Son to be the Savior of the world.
We saw his son and are now telling others about him.
(1 John 4:14 NIV)

   — — — —

Gospel Reading:
The Day and Hour Unknown

“But about that day or hour no one knows,
not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.
 Be on guard! Be alert!
You do not know when that time will come.
It’s like a man going away:
He leaves his house and puts his servants in charge,
each with their assigned task,
and tells the one at the door to keep watch.

“Therefore keep watch because you do not know when the owner of the house will come back—
whether in the evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or at dawn.
 If he comes suddenly, do not let him find you sleeping.
 What I say to you, I say to everyone: ‘Watch!’”
(Mark 13:32-37).

* * *

God sent his Son to be the Savior of the world.
We saw his son and are now telling others about him.
(1 John 4:14 NIV)

   — — — —

Gospel Reading:
The Widow’s Offering

Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put
and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury.
Many rich people threw in large amounts.
But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins,
worth only a few cents.

Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said,
“Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others.
 They all gave out of their wealth;
but she, out of her poverty, put in everything—
all she had to live on.”
(Mark 12:41-44).

* * *

God sent his Son to be the Savior of the world.
We saw his son and are now telling others about him.
(1 John 4:14 NIV)

   — — — —

Gospel Reading:
Warning Against the Teachers of the Law

As he taught, Jesus said,
“Watch out for the teachers of the law.
They like to walk around in flowing robes
and be greeted with respect in the marketplaces,
 and have the most important seats in the synagogues
and the places of honor at banquets.
They devour widows’ houses and for a show make lengthy prayers.
These men will be punished most severely.”
(Mark 12:38-40).

* * *

God sent his Son to be the Savior of the world.
We saw his son and are now telling others about him.
(1 John 4:14 NIV)

   — — — —

Gospel Reading:
Whose Son Is the Messiah?

While Jesus was teaching in the temple courts, he asked,
“Why do the teachers of the law say that the Messiah is the son of David?
David himself, speaking by the Holy Spirit, declared:

“‘The Lord said to my Lord:
    “Sit at my right hand
until I put your enemies
    under your feet.”’

 David himself calls him ‘Lord.’ How then can he be his son?”

The large crowd listened to him with delight.
(Mark 12:35-37).

* * *

God sent his Son to be the Savior of the world.
We saw his son and are now telling others about him.
(1 John 4:14 NIV)

   — — — —

Gospel Reading:
The Greatest Commandment

One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating.
Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer,
he asked him,
“Of all the commandments, which is the most important?”

“The most important one,” answered Jesus,
“is this: ‘Hear, O Israel:
The Lord our God, the Lord is one.
 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul
and with all your mind and with all your strength.’
The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’
There is no commandment greater than these.”

“Well said, teacher,” the man replied.
“You are right in saying that God is one and there is no other but him.
 To love him with all your heart,
with all your understanding and with all your strength,
and to love your neighbor as yourself is more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.”

When Jesus saw that he had answered wisely, he said to him,
“You are not far from the kingdom of God.”
And from then on no one dared ask him any more questions.
(Mark 12:28-34).

* * *

God sent his Son to be the Savior of the world.
We saw his son and are now telling others about him.
(1 John 4:14 NIV)

   — — — —

Gospel Reading:
Marriage at the Resurrection

Then the Sadducees,
who say there is no resurrection,
came to him with a question.
 “Teacher,” they said,
“Moses wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies and leaves a wife but no children,
the man must marry the widow and raise up offspring for his brother.
Now there were seven brothers.
The first one married and died without leaving any children.
 The second one married the widow, but he also died, leaving no child.
It was the same with the third.
In fact, none of the seven left any children. Last of all, the woman died too.
 At the resurrection whose wife will she be,
since the seven were married to her?”

Jesus replied,
“Are you not in error because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God?
 When the dead rise, they will neither marry nor be given in marriage;
they will be like the angels in heaven.
 Now about the dead rising—have you not read in the Book of Moses,
in the account of the burning bush, how God said to him,
‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’?
He is not the God of the dead, but of the living. You are badly mistaken!”
(Mark 12:18-27).

* * *

God sent his Son to be the Savior of the world.
We saw his son and are now telling others about him.
(1 John 4:14 NIV)