Matthew 27:1–26

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