Matthew 26:50–27:50

⁵⁰“Friend,”^g Jesus asked him, “why have you come?”^D

Then they came up, took hold of Jesus, and arrested him. ⁵¹At that moment one of those with Jesus reached out his hand and drew his sword. He struck the high priest’s servant and cut off his ear.^h

⁵²Then Jesus told him, “Put your sword back in its place because all who take up the sword will perish by the sword.^{i 53}Or do you think that I cannot call on my Father, and he will provide me here and now with more than twelve legions of angels?^{j 54}How, then, would the Scriptures be fulfilled^k that say it must happen this way?”

⁵⁵At that time Jesus said to the crowds, “Have you come out with swords and clubs, as if I were a criminal,^E to capture me? Every day I used to sit, teaching in the temple, and you didn’t arrest me.^{l 56}But all this has happened so that the writings of the prophets^m would be fulfilled.” Then all the disciplesⁿ deserted him and ran away.

JESUS FACES THE SANHEDRIN

⁵⁷Those^o who had arrested Jesus led him away to Caiaphas^p the high priest, where the scribes and the elders had convened. ⁵⁸Peter was following him at a distance right to the high priest’s courtyard. He went in and was sitting with the servants to see the outcome.^q

⁵⁹The chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin were looking for false testimony against Jesus so that they could put him to death,^{r 60}but they could not find any, even though many false witnesses^s came forward.^F Finally, two^G who came forward ⁶¹stated, “This man said, ‘I can destroy the temple of God^t and rebuild it in three days.’ ”

⁶²The high priest stood up and said to him, “Don’t you have an answer to what these men are testifying against you?” ⁶³But^u Jesus kept silent.^v The high priest said to him, “I charge you under oath^w by the living God: Tell us if you are the Messiah, the Son of God.”^x

⁶⁴“You have said it,” Jesus told him. “But I tell you, in the future^A you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power and coming on the clouds of heaven.”^By

⁶⁵Then the high priest tore his robes and said, “He has blasphemed!^z Why do we still need witnesses? See, now you’ve heard the blasphemy.^{aa 66}What is your decision?”

They answered, “He deserves death!”^{ab 67}Then they spat in his face^ac and beat him; others slapped him ⁶⁸and said, “Prophesy to us, Messiah! Who was it that hit you?”^ad

PETER DENIES HIS LORD

⁶⁹Now Peter was sitting outside in the courtyard.^ae A servant girl approached him and said, “You were with Jesus the Galilean too.”

⁷⁰But he denied it in front of everyone: “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

⁷¹When he had gone out to the gateway, another woman saw him and told those who were there, “This man was with Jesus the Nazarene!”^a

⁷²And again he denied it with an oath:^b “I don’t know the man!”

⁷³After a little while those standing there approached and said to Peter, “You really are one of them, since even your accent^C gives you away.”

⁷⁴Then he started to curse and to swear with an oath, “I don’t know the man!” Immediately a rooster crowed, ⁷⁵and Peter remembered the words Jesus had spoken, “Before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times.”^c And he went outside and wept bitterly.

JESUS HANDED OVER TO PILATE

27When daybreak came, all the chief priests and the elders of the people plotted against Jesus to put him to death.^{d 2}After tying him up, they led him away and handed him over to Pilate,^D the governor.^e

JUDAS HANGS HIMSELF

³Then Judas, his betrayer, seeing that Jesus had been condemned, was full of remorse and returned the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders.^{f 4}“I have sinned by betraying innocent blood,” he said.

“What’s that to us?” they said. “See to it yourself!” ⁵So he threw the silver into the temple^g and departed. Then he went and hanged himself.

⁶The chief priests took the silver and said, “It’s not permitted^h to put it into the temple treasury, since it is blood money.” ⁷They conferred together and bought the potter’s field with it as a burial place for foreigners. ⁸Therefore that field has been called “Field of Blood” to this day. ⁹Then what was spoken through the prophet Jeremiah was fulfilled: They took^E the thirty pieces of silver, the price of him whose price was set by the Israelites, ¹⁰and they gave^A them for the potter’s field, as the Lord directed me.^Bi

JESUS FACES THE GOVERNOR

¹¹Now Jesus stood before the governor.^j “Are you the king of the Jews?” the governor asked him.

Jesus answered, “You say so.”^{k 12}While he was being accused by the chief priests and elders, he didn’t answer.^l

¹³Then Pilate said to him, “Don’t you hear how much they are testifying against you?” ¹⁴But he didn’t answer him on even one charge, so that the governor was quite amazed.^m

JESUS OR BARABBAS

¹⁵At the festivalⁿ the governor’s custom was to release to the crowd a prisoner they wanted. ¹⁶At that time they had a notorious prisoner called Barabbas. ¹⁷So when they had gathered together, Pilate said to them, “Who is it you want me to release for you—Barabbas, or Jesus who is called Christ?”^{o 18}For he knew it was because of envy that they had handed him over.

¹⁹While he was sitting on the judge’s bench, his wife sent word to him, “Have nothing to do with that righteous man, for today I’ve suffered terribly in a dream because of him.”^p

²⁰The chief priests and the elders, however, persuaded the crowds to ask for Barabbas and to execute Jesus. ²¹The governor asked them, “Which of the two do you want me to release for you?”

“Barabbas!” they answered.

²²Pilate asked them, “What should I do then with Jesus, who is called Christ?”

They all answered, “Crucify him!”^q

²³Then he said, “Why? What has he done wrong?”

But they kept shouting all the more, “Crucify him!”^r

²⁴When Pilate saw that he was getting nowhere, but that a riot was starting instead, he took some water, washed his hands in front of the crowd, and said, “I am innocent of this man’s blood.^D See to it yourselves!”^s

²⁵All the people answered, “His blood be on us^t and on our children!” ²⁶Then he released Barabbas to them and, after having Jesus flogged, handed him over to be crucified.^u

MOCKED BY THE MILITARY

²⁷Then^v the governor’s soldiers took Jesus into the governor’s residence and gathered the whole company^E around him.^{w 28}They stripped him and dressed him in a scarlet robe.^{x 29}They twisted together a crown of thorns, put it on his head, and placed a staff in his right hand. And they knelt down before him and mocked him: “Hail, king of the Jews!” ³⁰Then they spat on him, took the staff, and kept hitting him on the head. ³¹After they had mocked him, they stripped him of the robe, put his own clothes on him, and led him away to crucify him.^a

CRUCIFIED BETWEEN TWO CRIMINALS

³²As they were going out, they found a Cyrenian man named Simon. They forced him to carry his cross.^{b 33}When they came to a place called Golgotha^c (which means Place of the Skull), ³⁴they gave him wine^A mixed with gall to drink. But when he tasted it, he refused to drink it. ³⁵After crucifying him, they divided his clothes by casting lots.^{Bd 36}Then they sat down and were guarding him there. ³⁷Above his head they put up the charge against him in writing: This Is Jesus, the King of the Jews.

³⁸Then two criminals^C were crucified with him, one on the right and one on the left.^{e 39}Those who passed by were yelling insults at^D him, shaking their heads^{f 40}and saying, “You who would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save yourself! If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross!”^{g 41}In the same way the chief priests, with the scribes and elders,^E mocked him and said, ⁴²“He saved others, but he cannot save himself! He is the King of Israel!^h Let him^F come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him. ⁴³He trusts in God; let God rescue him now—if he takes pleasure in him!^G For he said, ‘I am the Son of God.’ ” ⁴⁴In the same way even the criminals who were crucified with him taunted him.ⁱ

THE DEATH OF JESUS

⁴⁵From noon until three in the afternoon,^H darkness came over the whole land.^{Ij 46}About three in the afternoon Jesus cried out with a loud voice, “Elí, Elí, lemá^J sabachtháni?” that is, “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?”^Kk

⁴⁷When some of those standing there heard this, they said, “He’s calling for Elijah.”

⁴⁸Immediately one of them ran and got a sponge, filled it with sour wine, put it on a stick, and offered him a drink.^{l 49}But the rest said, “Let’s see if Elijah comes to save him.”

⁵⁰But Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and gave up his spirit.^m