Jesus before Pilate

1Early in the morning the chief priests with the elders, scribes, and the entire [a]Council immediately held a consultation; and they bound Jesus and led Him away, and turned Him over to Pilate. 2Pilate questioned Him: “So You are the King of the Jews?” And He answered him, “It is as you say.” 3And the chief priests started accusing Him [b]of many things. 4But Pilate questioned Him again, saying, “Do You offer nothing in answer? See how many charges they are bringing against You!” 5But Jesus said nothing further in answer, so Pilate was amazed.

6Now at the Passover Feast he used to release for them any one prisoner whom they requested. 7And the one named Barabbas had been imprisoned with the rebels who had committed murder in the revolt. 8And the crowd went up and began asking Pilate to do as he had been accustomed to do for them. 9Pilate answered them, saying, “Do you want me to release for you the King of the Jews?” 10For he was aware that the chief priests had handed Him over because of envy. 11But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to ask him to release Barabbas for them instead. 12And responding again, Pilate said to them, “Then what shall I do with Him whom you call the King of the Jews?” 13They shouted [c]back, “Crucify Him!” 14But Pilate said to them, “Why, what [d]evil has He done?” But they shouted all the more, “Crucify Him!” 15Intent on satisfying the crowd, Pilate released Barabbas for them, and after having Jesus flogged, he handed Him over to be crucified.

Jesus Is Mocked

16Now the soldiers took Him away into the [e]palace (that is, the Praetorium), and they *called together the whole Roman [f]cohort. 17And they *dressed Him in [g]purple, and after twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on Him; 18and they began saluting Him: “Hail, King of the Jews!” 19And they repeatedly beat His head with a [h]reed and spit on Him, and kneeling, they bowed down before Him. 20And after they had mocked Him, they took the [i]purple cloak off Him and put His own garments on Him. And they *led Him out to crucify Him.

21And they *compelled a passer-by coming from the country, Simon of Cyrene (the father of Alexander and Rufus), to carry His cross.

The Crucifixion

22Then they *brought Him to the place Golgotha, which is translated, Place of a Skull. 23And they tried to give Him wine mixed with myrrh; but He did not take it. 24And they *crucified Him, and *divided up His garments among themselves, casting [j]lots for them to decide [k]what each man would take. 25Now it was the [l]third hour [m]when they crucified Him. 26The inscription of the charge against Him [n]read, “THE KING OF THE JEWS.”

27And they *crucified two [o]rebels with Him, one on His right and one on His left.[p] 29Those passing by were [q]hurling abuse at Him, shaking their heads and saying, “Ha! You who are going to destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, 30save Yourself by coming down from the cross!” 31In the same way the chief priests also, along with the scribes, were mocking Him among themselves and saying, “He saved others; [r]He cannot save Himself! 32Let this Christ, the King of Israel, come down now from the cross, so that we may see and believe!” Those who were crucified with Him were also insulting Him.

33When the [s]sixth hour came, darkness [t]fell over the whole land until the [u]ninth hour. 34At the [v]ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, “ELOI, ELOI, LEMA SABAKTANEI?” which is translated, “MY GOD, MY GOD, WHY HAVE YOU FORSAKEN ME?” 35And when some of the bystanders heard Him, they began saying, “Look! He is calling for Elijah!” 36And someone ran and filled a sponge with sour wine, put it on a reed, and gave Him a drink, saying, “[w]Let us see if Elijah comes to take Him down.” 37But Jesus let out a loud cry, and [x]died. 38And the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. 39And when the centurion, who was standing [y]right in front of Him, saw that He [z]died in this way, he said, “Truly this man was [aa]the Son of God!”

40Now there were also some women watching from a distance, among whom were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of [ab]James the [ac]Less and Joses, and Salome. 41When He was in Galilee, they used to follow Him and serve Him; and there were many other women who came up with Him to Jerusalem.

Jesus Is Buried

42When evening had already come, since it was the preparation day, that is, the day before the Sabbath, 43Joseph of Arimathea came, a prominent member of the Council, who was himself also waiting for the kingdom of God; and he gathered up courage and went in before Pilate, and asked for the body of Jesus. 44Now Pilate wondered if He was dead by this time, and summoning the centurion, he questioned him as to whether He was already dead. 45And after learning this from the centurion, he granted the body to Joseph. 46Joseph bought a linen cloth, took Him down, wrapped Him in the linen cloth, and laid Him in a tomb which had been cut out in the rock; and he rolled a stone against the entrance of the tomb. 47Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses were watching to see where He was laid.

[a] 1 Or Sanhedrin
[b] 3 Or harshly
[c] 13 Or again
[d] 14 Or crime has He committed
[e] 16 Or court
[f] 16 Normally 600 men (the number varied)
[g] 17 Prob. a term for a Roman soldier’s red cloak (cf. Matt 27:28)
[h] 19 Or staff (made of a reed)
[i] 20 See note v 17
[j] 24 Lit a lot upon
[k] 24 Lit who would take what
[l] 25 I.e., 9 a.m.
[m] 25 Lit and
[n] 26 Lit had been inscribed
[o] 27 Or robbers
[p] 27 Late mss add the following as v 28: And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “And He was counted with wrongdoers.”
[q] 29 Or blaspheming Him
[r] 31 Or can He not save Himself?
[s] 33 I.e., noon
[t] 33 Lit occurred
[u] 33 I.e., 3 p.m.
[v] 34 I.e., 3 p.m.
[w] 36 Lit Allow that we see; or Hold off, let us see
[x] 37 Lit expired
[y] 39 Or opposite Him
[z] 39 Lit expired
[aa] 39 Or a son of God; or a son of a god
[ab] 40 Or Jacob
[ac] 40 Lit little (either in stature or age)