Hi, friends. I'm Annie F. Downs. Let's read the Gospels. The Gospels are the first four books of the New Testament in the Bible, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.

These are the stories of Jesus Christ's life on earth, the friendships, the parables, the sacrifices, the meals, the miracles.

Each month we read all four books. We have done Luke. We've done John, and today we've finished the book of Mark.

Go ahead, subscribe today, rate and review the show if you get a chance. And today's a great day to share it with your friends who can join us for the last book of the month of April.

And then stick around as we do it again in May. Here's how it works. I'm going to read three chapters to you. And you can listen or read along in your own Bible. And then I'll pray. That's it.

So today is April 20th, day 20. And I will be reading Mark chapters 14 through 16. And this month I'm reading from the message.

Mark 14. And only two days, the eight-day festival of Passover and the feast of unleavened bread would begin. The high priest and religion scholars were looking for a way they could see Jesus by stealth and kill him.

They agreed that it should not be done during Passover week. We don't want the crowds up in arms, they said.

Jesus was at Bethany, a guest of Simon the leper, while he was eating dinner, a woman came up carrying a bottle of very expensive perfume.

Opening the bottle, she poured it on his head. Some of the guests became furious among themselves. That's criminal. A sheer waste. This perfume could have been sold for well over a year's wages and handed out to the poor.

They swelled up an anger, nearly bursting with indignation over her. But Jesus said, let her alone. Why are you giving her a hard time? She has just done something wonderfully significant for me.

You have the poor with you every day for the rest of your lives. Whenever you feel like it, you can do something for them, not so with me.

She did what she could when she could. She pre-annointed my body for burial. And you can be sure that wherever in the whole world the message is preached, what she did is going to be talked about admiringly.

Judas Iscariot, one of the twelve, went to the cobble of high priests determined to betray him. They couldn't believe their ears and promised to pay him well.

He started looking for just the right moment to hand him over. On the first of the days of unleavened bread, the day they prepared the Passover sacrifice, his disciples asked him, where do you want us to go and make preparations so you can eat the Passover meal?

He directed two of his disciples. Go into the city. A man carrying a water jug will meet you. Follow him. Ask the owner of whichever house he enters. The teacher wants to know, where is my guest room where I can eat the Passover meal with my disciples?

He will show you a spacious second story room swept and ready. Prepare for us there. The disciples left, came to the city, found everything just as he had told them and prepared the Passover meal.

After sunset, he came with the twelve. As they were at the supper table eating, Jesus said, I have something hard but important to say to you, one of you is going to hand me over to the conspirators, one who at this moment is eating with me.

Stunned, they started asking one after another. It isn't me, is it? He said, it's one of the twelve, one who eats with me out of the same bowl.

In one sense, it turns out that the son of man is entering into a way of treachery well marked by the scriptures. No surprises here. In another sense, the man who turns him in turns traitor to the son of man better never to have been born than do this.

Then the course of their meal, having taken him blessed the bread, he broke it and gave it to them. Then he said, take this is my body.

Taking the chalice, he gave it to them, thanking God, and they all drank from it. He said, this is my blood. God's new covenant poured out for many people.

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