The Story of the Bible

"When the Son of Man shall come in his glory, and all the angels of God shall come with him, then he shall sit on his glorious throne as King. And before him shall be brought together all the people of the world; and he shall divide them, and make them stand apart, just as a shepherd divides the sheep from the goats. And he shall put sheep on his right hand, and the goats on his left. Then the King shall say to those on his right hand, 'Come, ye, whom my Father has blessed; come, and take the kingdom which God has made ready for you. For I was hungry, and you gave me food; I was thirsty, and you gave me drink; I was a stranger, and you took me into your home; I was naked, and you gave me clothes; I was sick, and you visited me; I was in prison, and you come to me.'

"Then all those on the right of the King will say:

" 'Lord, when did we see thee hungry, and feed thee? or thirsty and gfave thee drink? And when did we see thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked and gave thee clothes? And when did we see thee sick, or in prison, and come to thee?'

"And the King shall answer, and shall say to them:

" 'Inasmuch as you did it to one of these my brothers, even the very least of them, you did it to me.'

"Then the King shall turn to those on his left hand, and shall say to them:

" 'Go away from me, ye cursed ones, into the everlasting fire which has been made ready for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry, and you gave me no food; I was thirsty, and you gave me no drink; I was a stranger, and you did not open your doors to me; I was naked, and you gave me no clothes; I was sick, and in prison, and you did not visit me.'

"Then shall they answer him:

" 'Lord, when did we see thee hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not help thee?'

"And the King shall say to them:

" 'Inasmuch as you did it not to one of these the least of my brothers, you did it not to me.'

"And the wicked shall go away to be punished forever; but the righteous unto everlasting life."

After these words, Jesus went with his disciples again to Bethany.

THEY TOOK THE UNFAITHFUL SERVANT AWAY

The Last Supper

Matthew xxvi: 17 to 35; Mark xiv: 12 to 31; Luke xxii: 7 to 38; John xiii: 1, to xvii: 26.

On one of the days in the week before the Passover, the disciples came to Jesus at Bethany, and said, "Master, where shall we make ready the Passover for you to eat?"

Then Jesus called to himself the two disciples, Peter and John, and said to them, "Go into the city, and a man carrying a pitcher of water will meet you; follow him, and go into the house where he goes, and say to the head of the house, 'The Master says, "Where is my guest-room; where I can eat the Passover with my disciples?' "

"And he will himself show you a large upper room, furnished; there make ready for us."

Peter and John went into Jerusalem, and soon in the street they saw a man walking toward them carrying a pitcher of water. They followed him, went into the house where he took the pitcher, and spoke to the man who seemed to be its head:

"The Master says, 'Where is the guest-room for me, where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?' "

The man led them upstairs, and showed them a larger upper room, with the table and the couches around it, all ready for the guests at dinner. Then the disciples went out, and brought a lamp, and roasted it; and made ready the vegetables and the thin wafers of bread made without yeast, for the meal.

On Thursday afternoon, Jesus and his disciples walked out of Bethany together, and over the Mount of Olives, and into the city. Only Jesus, who could read the thoughts of men, knew that one of these disciples, Judas, had made a promise to the chief priests to lead them and their servants to Jesus, when the hour should come to seize him; and Judas was watching for the best time to do this dreadful deed. They came into the house, and went upstairs to the large room, where they found the supper all ready. The meal was spread upon a table; and around the table were couches for the company, where each one lay down with his head toward the table, so near that he could help himself to the food, while his feet were at the foot of the couch, toward the wall of the room. Their feet were bare, for they had all taken off their sandals as they came in.

Jesus was leaning at the head of the table, and John, the disciple whom Jesus loved most, was lying next to him. While they were eating, Jesus took bread, and gave thanks. Then he broke it, and passed a piece to each one of the twelve, saying:

"Take, and eat; this is my body which is broken for you; do this and remember me."

Afterward, he took up the cup of wine, and passed it to each one, with the words:

"This cup is my blood, shed for you, and for many, that their sins may be taken away; as often as you drink this, remember me."