Leviticus 15; Leviticus 16; Matthew 27:1-26

1 The Lord also said to Moses and Aaron,

2 "Say to the people of Israel: 'When a fluid comes from a person's body, the fluid is unclean.

3 It doesn't matter if the fluid flows freely or if it is blocked from flowing; the fluid will make him unclean. This is the way the fluid makes him unclean:

4 "'If the person who discharges the body fluid lies on a bed, that bed becomes unclean, and everything he sits on becomes unclean.

5 Anyone who touches his bed must wash his clothes and bathe in water, and the person will be unclean until evening.

6 Whoever sits on something that the person who discharges the fluid sat on must wash his clothes and bathe in water; he will be unclean until evening.

7 Anyone who touches the person who discharges the body fluid must wash his clothes and bathe in water; he will be unclean until evening.

8 "'If the person who discharges the body fluid spits on someone who is clean, that person must wash his clothes and bathe in water; he will be unclean until evening.

9 Everything on which the person who is unclean sits when riding will become unclean.

10 Anyone who touches something that was under him will be unclean until evening. And anyone who carries these things must wash his clothes and bathe in water; he will be unclean until evening.

11 "'If the person who discharges a body fluid has not washed his hands in water and touches another person, that person must wash his clothes and bathe in water; he will be unclean until evening.

12 "'If a person who discharges a body fluid touches a clay bowl, that bowl must be broken. If he touches a wooden bowl, that bowl must be washed in water.

13 "'When a person who discharges a body fluid is made clean, he must count seven days for himself for his cleansing. He must wash his clothes and bathe his body in fresh water, and he will be clean.

14 On the eighth day he must take two doves or two young pigeons before the Lord at the entrance of the Meeting Tent. He will give the two birds to the priest.

15 The priest will offer the birds, one for a sin offering and the other for a burnt offering. And the priest will make that person clean so he can belong to the Lord again.

16 "'If semenn goes out from a man, he must bathe in water; he will be unclean until evening.

17 If the fluid gets on any clothing or leather, it must be washed with water; it will be unclean until evening.

18 "'If a man has sexual relations with a woman and semen comes out, both people must bathe in water; they will be unclean until evening.

19 "'When a woman has her monthly period, she is unclean for seven days; anyone who touches her will be unclean until evening.

20 Anything she lies on during this time will be unclean, and everything she sits on during this time will be unclean.

21 Anyone who touches her bed must wash his clothes and bathe in water; that person will be unclean until evening.

22 Anyone who touches something she has sat on must wash his clothes and bathe in water; that person will be unclean until evening.

23 It does not matter if the person touched the woman's bed or something she sat on; he will be unclean until evening.

24 "'If a man has sexual relations with a woman and her monthly period touches him, he will be unclean for seven days; every bed he lies on will be unclean.

25 "'If a woman has a loss of blood for many days and it is not during her regular monthly period, or if she continues to have a loss of blood after her regular period, she will be unclean, as she is during her monthly period. She will be unclean for as long as she continues to bleed.

26 Any bed she lies on during all the time of her bleeding will be like her bed during her regular monthly period. Everything she sits on will be unclean, as during her regular monthly period.

27 "'Whoever touches those things will be unclean and must wash his clothes and bathe in water; he will be unclean until evening.

28 When the woman becomes clean from her bleeding, she must wait seven days, and after this she will be clean.

29 Then on the eighth day she must take two doves or two young pigeons and bring them to the priest at the entrance of the Meeting Tent.

30 The priest must offer one bird for a sin offering and the other for a whole burnt offering. In this way the priest will make her clean so she can belong to the Lord again.

31 "'So you must warn the people of Israel to stay separated from things that make them unclean. If you don't warn the people, they might make my Holy Tent unclean, and then they would have to die!'"

32 These are the teachings for the person who discharges a body fluid and for the man who becomes unclean from semenn coming out of his body.

33 These are the teachings for the woman who becomes unclean from her monthly period, for a man or woman who has a discharge, and for a man who becomes unclean by having sexual relations with a woman who is unclean.

1 Now two of Aaron's sons had died while offering incense to the Lord, and after that time the Lord spoke to Moses.

2 The Lord said to him, "Tell your brother Aaron that there are times when he cannot go behind the curtain into the Most Holy Place where the Ark is. If he goes in when I appear in a cloud over the lid on the Ark, he will die.

3 "This is how Aaron may enter the Most Holy Place: Before he enters, he must offer a bull for a sin offering and a male sheep for a whole burnt offering.

4 He must put on the holy linen inner robe, with the linen underclothes next to his body. His belt will be the cloth belt, and he will wear the linen turban. These are holy clothes, so he must bathe his body in water before he puts them on.

5 "Aaron must take from the people of Israel two male goats for a sin offering and one male sheep for a burnt offering.

6 Then he will offer the bull for the sin offering for himself to remove sins from him and his family so they will belong to the Lord.

7 "Next Aaron will take the two goats and bring them before the Lord at the entrance to the Meeting Tent.

8 He will throw lots for the two goats -- one will be for the Lord and the other for the goat that removes sin.

9 Then Aaron will take the goat that was chosen for the Lord by throwing the lot, and he will offer it as a sin offering.

10 The other goat, which was chosen by lot to remove the sin, must be brought alive before the Lord. The priest will use it to perform the acts that remove Israel's sin so they will belong to the Lord. Then this goat will be sent out into the desert as a goat that removes sin.

11 "Then Aaron will offer the bull as a sin offering for himself, to remove the sins from him and his family so they will belong to the Lord; he will kill the bull for the sin offering for himself.

12 Then he must take a pan full of burning coals from the altar before the Lord and two handfuls of sweet incense that has been ground into powder. He must bring it into the room behind the curtain.

13 He must put the incense on the fire before the Lord so that the cloud of incense will cover the lid on the Ark. Then when Aaron comes in, he will not die.

14 Also, he must take some of the blood from the bull and sprinkle it with his finger on the front of the lid; with his finger he will sprinkle the blood seven times in front of the lid.

15 "Then Aaron must kill the goat of the sin offering for the people and bring its blood into the room behind the curtain. He must do with the goat's blood as he did with the bull's blood, sprinkling it on the lid and in front of the lid.

16 Because the people of Israel have been unclean, Aaron will perform the acts to make the Most Holy Place ready for service to the Lord. Then it will be clean from the sins and crimes of the Israelites. He must also do this for the Meeting Tent, because it stays in the middle of unclean people.

17 When Aaron makes the Most Holy Place ready for service to the Lord, no one is allowed in the Meeting Tent until he comes out. So Aaron will perform the acts to remove sins from himself, his family, and all the people of Israel, so they will belong to the Lord.

18 Afterward he will go out to the altar that is before the Lord and will make it ready for service to the Lord. Aaron will take some of the bull's blood and some of the goat's blood and put it on the corners of the altar on all sides.

19 Then, with his finger, he will sprinkle some of the blood on the altar seven times to make the altar holy for the Lord and clean from all the sins of the Israelites.

20 "When Aaron has finished making the Most Holy Place, the Meeting Tent, and the altar ready for service to the Lord, he will offer the living goat.

21 He will put both his hands on the head of the living goat, and he will confess over it all the sins and crimes of Israel. In this way Aaron will put the people's sins on the goat's head. Then he will send the goat away into the desert, and a man who has been appointed will lead the goat away.

22 So the goat will carry on itself all the people's sins to a lonely place in the desert. The man who leads the goat will let it loose there.

23 "Then Aaron will enter the Meeting Tent and take off the linen clothes he had put on before he went into the Most Holy Place; he must leave these clothes there.

24 He will bathe his body in water in a holy place and put on his regular clothes. Then he will come out and offer the whole burnt offering for himself and for the people, to remove sins from himself and the people so they will belong to the Lord.

25 Then he will burn the fat of the sin offering on the altar.

26 "The person who led the goat, the goat to remove sins, into the desert must wash his clothes and bathe his body in water. After that, he may come back into the camp.

27 "The bull and the goat for the sin offerings, whose blood was brought into the Most Holy Place to make it ready for service to the Lord, must be taken outside the camp; the animals' skins, bodies, and intestines will be burned in the fire.

28 Then the one who burns them must wash his clothes and bathe his body in water. After that, he may come back into the camp.

29 "This law will always continue for you: On the tenth day of the seventh month, you must not eat and you must not do any work. The travelers or foreigners living with you must not work either.

30 It is on this day that the priests will make you clean so you will belong to the Lord again. All your sins will be removed.

31 This is a very important day of rest for you, and you must not eat. This law will continue forever.

32 "The priest appointed to take his father's place, on whom the oil was poured, will perform the acts for making things ready for service to the Lord. He must put on the holy linen clothes

33 and make the Most Holy Place, the Meeting Tent, and the altar ready for service to the Lord. He must also remove the sins of the priests and all the people of Israel so they will belong to the Lord.

34 That law for removing the sins of the Israelites so they will belong to the Lord will continue forever. You will do these things once a year." So they did the things the Lord had commanded Moses.

1 Early the next morning, all the leading priests and older leaders of the people decided that Jesus should die.

2 They tied him, led him away, and turned him over to Pilate, the governor.

3 Judas, the one who had given Jesus to his enemies, saw that they had decided to kill Jesus. Then he was very sorry for what he had done. So he took the thirty silver coins back to the priests and the leaders,

4 saying, "I sinned; I handed over to you an innocent man." The leaders answered, "What is that to us? That's your problem, not ours."

5 So Judas threw the money into the Temple. Then he went off and hanged himself.

6 The leading priests picked up the silver coins in the Temple and said, "Our law does not allow us to keep this money with the Temple money, because it has paid for a man's death."

7 So they decided to use the coins to buy Potter's Field as a place to bury strangers who died in Jerusalem.

8 That is why that field is still called the Field of Blood.

9 So what Jeremiah the prophet had said came true: "They took thirty silver coins. That is how little the Israelites thought he was worth.

10 They used those thirty silver coins to buy the potter's field, as the Lord commanded me."

11 Jesus stood before Pilate the governor, and Pilate asked him, "Are you the king of the Jews?" Jesus answered, "Those are your words."

12 When the leading priests and the older leaders accused Jesus, he said nothing.

13 So Pilate said to Jesus, "Don't you hear them accusing you of all these things?"

14 But Jesus said nothing in answer to Pilate, and Pilate was very surprised at this.

15 Every year at the time of Passover the governor would free one prisoner whom the people chose.

16 At that time there was a man in prison, named Barabbas, who was known to be very bad.

17 When the people gathered at Pilate's house, Pilate said, "Whom do you want me to set free: Barabbas or Jesus who is called the Christ?"

18 Pilate knew that the people turned Jesus in to him because they were jealous.

19 While Pilate was sitting there on the judge's seat, his wife sent this message to him: "Don't do anything to that man, because he is innocent. Today I had a dream about him, and it troubled me very much."

20 But the leading priests and older leaders convinced the crowd to ask for Barabbas to be freed and for Jesus to be killed.

21 Pilate said, "I have Barabbas and Jesus. Which do you want me to set free for you?" The people answered, "Barabbas."

22 Pilate asked, "So what should I do with Jesus, the one called the Christ?" They all answered, "Crucify him!"

23 Pilate asked, "Why? What wrong has he done?" But they shouted louder, "Crucify him!"

24 When Pilate saw that he could do nothing about this and that a riot was starting, he took some water and washed his handsn in front of the crowd. Then he said, "I am not guilty of this man's death. You are the ones who are causing it!"

25 All the people answered, "We and our children will be responsible for his death."

26 Then he set Barabbas free. But Jesus was beaten with whips and handed over to the soldiers to be crucified.