“Crucify Him!”

Now at the first morning light, an official council was held, made up of the ruling priests, along with the elders and Scribes and the whole Sanhedrin. They tied Jesus up and led Him away, turning Him over to Pilate.

And Pilate questioned Him, “Are You the king of the Jews?”

Jesus answered by saying to him, “You yourself say so.”

Now the ruling priests accused Him of many things, but He answered none of them.

Pilate asked Him again, “Aren’t You going to say anything? Listen to all the accusations they bring against You!” But Jesus said nothing more, which amazed Pilate.

Now it was a custom on holy days for Pilate to release one prisoner to the Jews. Whoever they asked for. And there was a prisoner called Barabbas, a member of the resistance [against Rome], who had committed murder during a riot.

So when the crowd began shouting, wanting Pilate to follow his custom for them, he asked them, “Do you want me to release the King of the Jews?” For he knew that the ruling priests had turned Jesus over to him out of envy.

But those very priests now stirred up the crowd, calling for him to free Barabbas, instead.

So again Pilate responded, asking the people, “Then what do you want me to do with the man you call the King of the Jews?” And they shouted back, “Crucify Him!”

But Pilate asked them, “For what? What is His crime?”

Yet they shouted all the more, “Crucify Him! Crucify Him!”

Finally Pilate, deciding to please the crowd, released Barabbas to them. And, after having Jesus beaten with a whip, Pilate ordered Him to be taken away to be crucified.

Then the soldiers led Him away into a courtyard called the Praetorium, and they called the whole battalion together. There they put a purple robe on Him, and weaving a crown from thorns, they put it on Him.

And they saluted Him, “Hail, King of the Jews!” And they hit Him in the head with a staff, and spit at Him. And kneeling, they pretended to honor Him. And when they had finished mocking Him, they removed the purple robe, and put His own clothes on Him. Then they took Him out to crucify Him.

God’s Son Dies on Cross

Now a man was passing by, on his way back from the fields (it was Simon from Cyrene, the father of Alexander and Rufus), and the soldiers forced him to carry the cross for Jesus. They led Him to a place called Golgotha, which means, Skull Place. And they offered Him a mixture of wine and myrrh to drink, but He didn’t drink it. Then they nailed Him to the cross, and divided up His clothes, gambling for them, to decide who should get what.

Now they crucified Him at the third hour [9:00 a.m.]. And His crime was written out over His head: “The King of the Jews.” And they crucified two robbers with Him, one on His right, and one on His left. So the Scripture was fulfilled that says, “And He was counted among the lawless.”

And those walking close by threw insults at Him, shaking their heads, and saying, “Ha!”

“The One who destroys the temple, and builds it up again in three days!”

“Save Yourself!”

“Come down off that cross!”

And in the same way, the leaders of the priests and Scribes were also joking with each other, saying, “Others He saved, Himself He cannot save!”

“The Messiah!”

“The King of Israel!”

“Let Him get down off the cross now, so we can see and believe!”

Even those being crucified beside Him yelled insults at Him.

Now during the noon hour, darkness settled over the entire land, lasting until the ninth hour [3:00 p.m.]. And at the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?” Translated [from the Aramaic], this means, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”

But some of those standing nearby heard this, and said, “Listen! He’s calling for Elijah!”

Then one of them ran and filled a sponge with sour wine, and putting it on a reed, gave it to Him, saying, “Let’s not hinder Him. We’ll see if Elijah comes to take Him down.”

But then Jesus uttered a loud cry and died. And the curtain of the temple was ripped in two, from top to bottom.

Now the centurion stood close by, watching Him. And when he saw that He cried out this way and died, he said, “This man was truly God’s Son!”

And there were also some women watching from a distance. Mary Magdalene was among them, and Mary the mother of James (the younger) and Joses. And Salome was there, who had also followed Him and served Him while He was in Galilee. And many others were there who had come up to Jerusalem with Him.

Jesus is Buried

Now when evening had come, since it was Preparation Day (which is the day before the Sabbath), Joseph of Arimathea arrived, an honorable member of the council, who was also hoping for God’s kingdom. He went boldly in to see Pilate, and asked for the dead body of Jesus. And Pilate couldn’t believe Jesus was already dead. So, he called in the centurion, and asked him if He had been dead very long. Receiving the centurion’s report, Pilate then granted the dead body to Joseph.

Joseph had bought a linen winding cloth. And now he took Him down and wrapped Him in the linen. Then he laid Him in a tomb hewn out of the rock, and rolled a stone against the door of the tomb. Mary Magdalene, along with Mary of Joses, watched to see where He would be placed.

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