Jesus is Taken to Pilate

(Matthew 27:1-2, 11-14; Luke 23:1-5; John 18:28-38)

1As soon as it was morning, the high priests convened a meeting with the elders and scribes and the whole Council.a They bound Jesus with chains, led him away, and handed him over to Pilate. 2Pilate asked him, “Are you the king of the Jews?”

Jesusb answered him, “You say so.”

3The high priests kept accusing him of many things. 4So Pilate asked him again, “Don’t you have any answer? Look how many accusations they’re bringing against you!” 5But since Jesus no longer answered, Pilate was astonished.

Jesus is Sentenced to Death

(Matthew 27:15-26; Luke 23:13-25; John 18:39-19:16)

6At every festival,c Pilated would release any one prisoner whom the peoplee requested. 7Now there was a man in prison named Barabbas. He had been with the insurgents who had committed murder during the rebellion. 8So the crowd came and began to request that Pilatef do for them what he always did.g 9Pilate answered them, “Do you want me to release the king of the Jews for you?” 10because he knew that the high priests had handed him over due to jealousy.

11But the high priests stirred up the crowd to get him to release Barabbas for them instead. 12So Pilate asked them again, “Then what should I do with the man you callh ‘the King of the Jews’?”

13“Crucify him!” they shouted back.

14“Why?” Pilate asked them. “What has he done wrong?”

But they shouted even louder, “Crucify him!”

15So Pilate, wanting to satisfy the crowd, released Barabbas for them, but he had Jesus whipped and handed over to be crucified.

The Soldiers Make Fun of Jesus

(Matthew 27:27-31; John 19:2-3)

16The soldiers led Jesusi into the courtyard of the palace (that is, the governor’s headquarters)j and called out the whole guard. 17They dressed him in a purple robe, twisted some thorns into a victor’s crown, and placed it on his head.k 18They began to greet him, “Long live the king of the Jews!” 19They kept hitting him on the head with a stick, spitting on him, kneeling in front of him, and worshiping him. 20When they had finished making fun of him, they stripped him of the purple robe, put his own clothes back on him, and led him away to crucify him.

Jesus is Crucified

(Matthew 27:32-44; Luke 23:26-43; John 19:17-27)

21They forced a certain passer-by namedl Simon of Cyrene, the father of Alexander and Rufus, who happened to be coming in from the country, to carry Jesus’m cross. 22They took Jesusn to a place called Golgotha, which means Skull Place. 23They tried to give him wine mixed with myrrh, but he wouldn’t accept it. 24Then they crucified him. They divided his clothes among themselves by throwing dice to see what each one would get. 25It was nine in the morningo when they crucified him. 26The written notice of the charge against him read, “The king of the Jews.” 27They crucified two banditsp with him, one on his right and the other on his left.q 28 29Those who passed by kept insultingr him, shaking their heads, and saying, “Ha! You who were going to destroy the sanctuary and rebuild it in three days— 30save yourself and come down from the cross!”

31In the same way, the high priests, along with the scribes, were also making fun of him among themselves. They kept saying, “He saved others, but can’t save himself! 32Let the Messiah,s the king of Israel, come down from the cross now, since seeing is believing!” Even the men who were crucified with him kept insulting him.

Jesus Dies on the Cross

(Matthew 27:45-56; Luke 23:44-49; John 19:28-30)

33At noon,t darkness came over the whole landu until three in the afternoon.v 34At three o’clock,w Jesus cried out with a loud voice, “Eloi, eloi,x lema sabachthani?”y (which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”)z

35When some of the people standing there heard this, they said, “Listen! He’s calling for Elijah!”aa

36So someone ran and soaked a sponge in some sour wine. Then he put it on a stick and offered Jesusbb a drink, saying, “Wait! Let’s see if Elijah comes to take him down!”

37Then Jesus gave a loud cry and breathed his last. 38The curtaincc in the sanctuary was torn in two from top to bottom. 39When the centuriondd who stood facing Jesusee saw how he had cried out andff breathed his last, he said, “This man certainly was the Son of God!”

40Now there were women watching from a distance. Among them were Mary Magdalene,gg Mary the mother of young James and Joseph, and Salome. 41They used to accompany him and care for him while he was in Galilee. Many other women who had come up to Jerusalem with him were there, too.

Jesus is Buried

(Matthew 27:57-61; Luke 23:50-56; John 19:38-42)

42It was the Day of Preparation, that is, the day before the Sabbath. Since it was already evening, 43Joseph of Arimathea, a highly respected member of the Council,hh who was waiting for the kingdom of God, went boldly to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. 44Pilate was amazed to hearii that Jesusjj had already died, so he summoned the centurion to ask him if he was in fact dead. 45When he learned from the centurion that he was dead, he let Joseph have the corpse. 46Josephkk bought some linen cloth, took the bodyll down, wrapped it in the cloth, laid it in a tomb that had been cut out of the rock, and rolled a stone against the door of the tomb. 47Now Mary Magdalenemm and Mary the mother of Joseph observed where the bodynn had been laid.