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Jesus before Pilate

^1 (C1)Early in the morning the chief priests, with the elders and scribes and the whole ^(C2)Council (Sanhedrin, Jewish High Court), immediately consulted together; and they bound Jesus, they took Him away violently and handed Him over to Pilate. ^(VR1)2 (C1)Pilate questioned Him, "Are You the King of the Jews?" And He replied to him, "It is as you say." ^(VR1)3 The chief priests began accusing Him of many things.⁴ Then Pilate again asked Him, "Have You no answer to give? See how many charges they are bringing against You!"⁵ But Jesus ^(C1)gave no further answer; so Pilate was perplexed. ^(VR1)

^6 (C1)Now at the Passover feast Pilate used to set free for them any one prisoner whom they requested. ^(VR1)7 The man called Barabbas was imprisoned with the insurrectionists (revolutionaries) who had committed murder in the civil rebellion.⁸ The crowd came up and began asking Pilate to do as he usually did for them.⁹ Pilate answered them, saying, "Do you want me to set free for you the King of the Jews?"¹⁰ For he was aware that the chief priests had turned Jesus over to him because of envy and resentment.¹¹ But the chief priests stirred up the crowd ^(C1)to get him to release Barabbas for them instead.¹² Again Pilate answered, "Then what shall I do with Him whom you call the King of the Jews?"¹³ They screamed back, "Crucify Him!"¹⁴ But Pilate asked them, "Why, what has He done that is evil?" But they screamed all the more, "Crucify Him!"¹⁵ So Pilate, wishing to satisfy the crowd, set Barabbas free for them; and after having Jesus ^(F1)(C1)scourged, he handed Him over to his soldiers to be crucified. ^(VR1)

Jesus Is Mocked

^16 (C1)The soldiers led Him away into ^(C2)the palace (that is, the ^(F1)Praetorium), and they called together the entire Roman ^(C3)battalion of 600 soldiers. ^(VR1)17 They dressed Him up in a ranking Roman officer's robe of purple, and after twisting together a crown of thorns, they placed it on Him;¹⁸ and they began saluting and mocking Him: "Hail, King of the Jews!"¹⁹ They kept beating Him on the head with a ^(F1)reed and spitting on Him, and kneeling and bowing in mock homage to Him. ^(VR1)20 After they had mocked Him, they took off the purple robe and put His own clothes on Him. And they led Him out of the city to crucify Him.

^21 (C1)They forced into service a passer-by coming in from the countryside, Simon of ^(F1)Cyrene (the father of Alexander and ^(C2)Rufus), ^(F2)to carry His cross. ^(VR1)

The Crucifixion

^22 (C1)Then they brought Him to the place called ^(C2)Golgotha, which is translated, Place of a ^(F1)Skull. ^(VR1)23 They tried to give Him ^(F1)(C1)wine mixed with myrrh to dull the pain, but He would not take it.²⁴ And they crucified Him, and ^(F1)(C1)divided up His clothes among themselves, casting lots for them to see who should take what. ^(VR1)25 It was the ^(C1)third hour (9:00 a.m.) when they crucified Him. ^(VR1)26 The inscription of the accusation against Him had been written above Him: "^(C1)THE KING OF THE JEWS."

²⁷ They crucified two robbers with Him, one on His right and one on His left.^28 (F1)[And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, "He was counted with the transgressors."] ^(VR1)29 Those who were passing by were insulting Him with abusive and insolent language, ^(C1)wagging their heads as a sign of contempt, and saying, "Ha! You who would ^(C2)destroy the temple and rebuild it in only three days, ^(VR1)30 save Yourself by coming down from the cross!"³¹ In the same way the chief priests also, along with the scribes, were ridiculing and mocking Him among themselves and saying, "^(C1)He saved others from death; He cannot save Himself! ^(VR1)32 "Let the Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed), ^(C1)the King of Israel, now come down from the cross, so that we may see and believe and trust in Him!" ^(C2)Those who were crucified with Him were also insulting Him.

^33 (C1)When the ^(C2)sixth hour (noon) came, darkness covered the whole land until the ^(C2)ninth hour (3:00 p.m.). ^(VR1)34 And at the ^(C1)ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, "^(C2)ELOI, ELOI, LAMA SABACHTHANI?"—which is translated, "MY GOD, MY GOD, WHY HAVE YOU FORSAKEN ME?" ^(VR1)35 Some of the bystanders heard Him and said, "Look! He is calling for ^(F1)Elijah!"³⁶ Someone ran and filled a sponge with sour wine, put it on a reed and gave Him a drink, saying, "Let us see whether Elijah is coming to take Him down." ^{(VR1)37 (C1)}But Jesus uttered a loud cry, and breathed out His last voluntarily, sovereignly dismissing and releasing His spirit from His body in submission to His Father's plan.^38 (C1)And the veil of the Holy of Holies of the temple was torn in two from ^(F1)top to bottom.^39 (C1)When the centurion, who was standing opposite Him, saw the way He breathed His last being fully in control, he said, "Truly this man was the Son of God!"

^40 (C1)Now some women also were watching from a distance, among whom were Mary Magdalene, and ^(F1)Mary the mother of James ^(C2)the Less and of Joses, and ^(F2)(C3)Salome. ^(VR1)41 When Jesus was in Galilee, they used to accompany him and ^(C1)minister to Him; and there were also many other women who came up with Him to Jerusalem.

Jesus Is Buried

^42 (C1)When evening had already come, because it was ^(C2)the preparation day, that is, the day before the Sabbath, ^(VR1)43 Joseph of Arimathea came, a ^(C1)prominent and respected member of the Council (Sanhedrin, Jewish High Court), who was himself ^(C2)waiting for the kingdom of God—and he ^(C3)courageously dared to go in before Pilate, and asked for the body of Jesus.⁴⁴ Pilate ^(F1)wondered if He was dead by this time only six hours after being crucified, and he summoned the centurion and asked him whether He was already dead.⁴⁵ And when he learned from ^(C1)the centurion that Jesus was in fact dead, he gave the body to Joseph by granting him permission to remove it.⁴⁶ So Joseph purchased a fine linen cloth for ^(F1)wrapping the body, and after taking Jesus down from the cross, he wrapped Him in the linen cloth and placed Him in a tomb which had been cut out of rock. Then he rolled a large, wheel-shaped stone against the entrance of the tomb. ^{(VR1)47 (C1)}Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses were carefully watching to see where He was laid.