Jesus Faces Pilate

1Asa soon as it was morning, the •chief priests had a meeting with the elders,b •scribes,c and the whole •Sanhedrin.d After tying Jesus up, they led Him away and handed Him over to •Pilate.e

2So Pilate asked Him, “Are You the Kingf of the Jews? ”g

He answered him, “You have said it.”h

3And the chief priests began to accuse Him of many things. 4Then Pilatei questioned Him again, “Are You not answering anything? Look how many things they are accusing You of! ” 5But Jesus still did not answer anything, so Pilate was amazed.

Jesus or Barabbas

6Atj the festivalk it was Pilate’sl custom to release for the people a prisoner they requested. 7There was one named Barabbas, who was in prison with rebels who had committed murderm during the rebellion.n 8The crowd came up and began to ask Pilate to do for them as was his custom. 9So Pilate answered them, “Do you want me to release the Kingo of the Jewsp for you? ” 10For he knew it was because of envyq that the chief priests had handed Him over. 11But the chief priests stirred up the crowd so that he would release Barabbas to them instead.

12Pilate asked them again, “Then what do you want me to do with the One you call the King of the Jews? ”

13Again they shouted, “Crucify Him! ”

14Then Pilate said to them, “Why? What has He done wrong? ”

But they shouted, “Crucify Him! ” all the more.

15Then, willing to gratify the crowd, Pilate released Barabbas to them. And after having Jesus flogged,r he handed Him over to be crucified.

Mocked by the Military

16Thens the soldiers led Him away into the courtyard (that is, •headquarterst) and called the whole •company together. 17They dressed Him in a purpleu robe, twisted together a crownv of thorns, and put it on Him. 18And they began to salute Him, “Hail,w Kingx of the Jews! ” 19They kept hitting Him on the head with a reed and spitting on Him. Getting down on their knees,y they were paying Him homage. 20When they had mockedz Him, they stripped Him of the purple robe, put His clothes on Him, and led Him out to crucify Him.

Crucified between Two Criminals

21Theyaa forced a man coming in from the country, who was passing by, to carry Jesus’ cross.ab He was Simon, a Cyrenian,ac the father of Alexander and Rufus.ad 22Andae they brought Jesus to the place called Golgotha (which means Skull Placeaf). 23They tried to give Him wineag mixed with myrrh,ah but He did not take it. 24Then they crucified Him and divided His clothes, casting lotsai for them to decide what each would get. 25Now it was nine in the morningaj when they crucified Him. 26The inscription of the charge written against Him was:

THE KINGak OF THE JEWS.al

27Theyam crucified two criminalsan, ao with Him, one on His right and one on His left. 28So the Scripture was fulfilled that says: And He was counted among outlaws. ap, aq, ar 29Thoseas who passed by were yelling insultsat atau Him, shaking their heads,av and saying, “Ha! The One who would demolish the sanctuary and build it in three days,aw 30save Yourself by coming down from the cross! ”ax 31In the same way, the chief priests with the scribesay were mocking Him to one another and saying, “He saved others; He cannot save Himself! 32Let the •Messiah,az the Kingba of Israel,bb come down now from the cross,bc so that we may see and believe.”bd Even those who were crucified with Him were taunting Him.

The Death of Jesus

33Whenbe it was noon,bf darkness came over the whole landbg until three in the afternoon.bh, bi 34And at threebj Jesus cried out with a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lemábk sabachtháni?” which is translated, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”bl,bm

35When some of those standing there heard this, they said, “Look, He’s calling for Elijah! ” 36Someone ran and filled a sponge with sour wine, fixed it on a reed, offered Him a drink,bn and said, “Let’s see if Elijah comes to take Him down! ”

37But Jesus let out a loud cry and breathed His last. 38Then the curtainbo of the sanctuarybp was split in two from top to bottom. 39When the •centurion, who was standing opposite Him, saw the way Hebq breathed His last, he said, “This man really was God’s Son! ”br, bs

40Therebt were also women looking on from a distance. Among them were •Mary Magdalene,bu Mary the mother of James the younger and of Joses, and Salome. 41When He was in Galilee,bv they would follow Him and help Him. Many other women had come up with Him to Jerusalem.bw

The Burial of Jesus

42Whenbx it was already evening, because it was preparation day (that is, the day before the Sabbath), 43Joseph of Arimathea, a prominent member of the Sanhedrin who was himself looking forwardby to the kingdom of God,bz came and boldly went in to Pilateca and asked for Jesus’ body.cb 44Pilate was surprised that He was already dead. Summoning the centurion, he asked him whether He had already died. 45When he found out from the centurion, he gave the corpse to Joseph. 46After he bought some fine linen, he took Him down and wrapped Him in the linen. Then he placed Him in a tombcc cut out of the rock, and rolled a stonecd against the entrance to the tomb. 47Nowce Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses were watching where He was placed.