John 19–20

Jesus Flogged and Mocked

19Then Pilate took Jesus and had Him flogged. ²The soldiers also twisted together a crown ^eof thorns, put it on His head, and threw a purple robe around Him. ³And they repeatedly came up to Him ^fand said, “Hail, King of the Jews!” and were slapping His face.

⁴Pilate went outside again and said to them, “Look, I’m bringing Him outside to you to let you know I find no grounds ^gfor charging Him.”

Pilate Sentences Jesus to Death

⁵Then Jesus came out wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. ^hPilate said to them, “Here is the man!” ⁱ

⁶When the chief priests and the temple police saw Him, they shouted, “Crucify! Crucify!”

Pilate responded, “Take Him and crucify Him yourselves, for I find no grounds for charging Him.”

⁷“We have a law,” the Jews replied to him, “and according to that law He must die, ^jbecause He made Himself ^kthe Son of God.” ^l

⁸When Pilate heard this statement, he was more afraid than ever. ⁹He went back into the headquarters ^mand asked Jesus, “Where are You from?” But Jesus did not give him an answer. ⁿ¹⁰So Pilate said to Him, “You’re not talking to me? Don’t You know that I have the authority to release You and the authority to crucify You?”

¹¹“You would have no authority over Me at all,” Jesus answered him, “if it hadn’t been given you from above. This is why the one who handed Me over to you has the greater sin.” ^op

¹²From that moment Pilate made every effort ^qto release Him. But the Jews shouted, “If you release this man, you are not Caesar’s friend. Anyone who makes himself a king opposes Caesar!”

¹³When Pilate heard these words, he brought Jesus outside. He sat down on the judge’s bench in a place called the Stone Pavement (but in Hebrew Gabbatha). ¹⁴It was the preparation day for the Passover, and it was about six in the morning. ^rThen he told the Jews, “Here is your king!”

¹⁵But they shouted, “Take Him away! Take Him away! Crucify Him!”

Pilate said to them, “Should I crucify your king?”

“We have no king but Caesar!” the chief priests answered.

¹⁶So then, because of them, he handed Him over to be crucified.

The Crucifixion

Therefore they took Jesus away. ^s17Carrying ^tHis own cross, ^uHe went out to what is called Skull Place, which in Hebrew is called Golgotha. ¹⁸There they crucified Him and two others with Him, one on either side, with Jesus in the middle. ¹⁹Pilate also had a sign lettered and put on the cross. The inscription was:

JESUS THE NAZARENE THE KING OF THE JEWS.

²⁰Many of the Jews read this sign, because the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city, ^vand it was written in Hebrew, ^wLatin, and Greek. ²¹So the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate, “Don’t write, ‘The King of the Jews,’ ^xbut that He said, ‘I am the King of the Jews.’ ”

²²Pilate replied, “What I have written, I have written.”

²³When the soldiers crucified Jesus, they took His clothes and divided them into four parts, a part for each soldier. They also took the tunic, which was seamless, woven in one piece from the top. ²⁴So they said to one another, “Let’s not tear it, but cast lots for it, to see who gets it.” They did this to fulfill ^ythe Scripture ^zthat says: They divided My clothes among themselves, and they cast lots for My clothing. ^abAnd this is what the soldiers did.

Jesus’ Provision for His Mother

²⁵Standing ^cby the cross ^dof Jesus were His mother, ^eHis mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. ^f26When Jesus saw His mother and the disciple He loved ^gstanding there, He said to His mother, “^•Woman, here is your son.” ²⁷Then He said to the disciple, “Here is your mother.” And from that hour the disciple took her into his home.

The Finished Work of Jesus

²⁸After ^hthis, when Jesus knew that everything was now accomplished ⁱthat the Scripture might be fulfilled, He said, “I’m thirsty!” ^j29A jar full of sour wine was sitting there; so they fixed a sponge full of sour wine on hyssop ^kland held it up to His mouth.

³⁰When Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, “It is finished!” ^m Then bowing His head, He gave up His spirit. ⁿ

Jesus’ Side Pierced

³¹Since it was the preparation day, ^othe Jews did not want the bodies ^pto remain on the cross ^qon the Sabbath ^r(for that Sabbath was a special ^sday). They requested that Pilate have the men’s legs broken and that their bodies be taken away. ^t32So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first man and of the other one who had been crucified with Him. ³³When they came to Jesus, they did not break His legs since they saw that He was already dead. ^u34But one of the soldiers pierced ^vHis side ^wwith a spear, and at once blood and water ^xcame out. ³⁵He who saw this has testified ^yso that you also may believe. His testimony is true, and he knows he is telling the truth. ^z36For these things happened so that the Scripture would be fulfilled: ^aNot one of His bones will be broken. ^bc37Also, another Scripture says: They will look at the One they pierced. ^de

Jesus’ Burial

³⁸After ^fthis, Joseph of Arimathea, who was a disciple of Jesus—but secretly because of his fear of the Jews—asked Pilate that he might remove Jesus’ body. ^gPilate gave him permission, so he came and took His body away. ³⁹Nicodemus ^h(who had previously come to Him at night) also came, bringing a mixture of about 75 pounds ⁱof myrrh and aloes. ⁴⁰Then they took Jesus’ body ^jand wrapped it in linen cloths ^kwith the aromatic spices, according to the burial ^lcustom of the Jews. ⁴¹There was a garden in the place where He was crucified. A new tomb was in the garden; no one had yet been placed in it. ⁴²They placed Jesus there because of the Jewish preparation and since the tomb was nearby.

The Empty Tomb

20On ^mthe first day of the week ⁿMary Magdalene ^ocame to the tomb ^pearly, while it was still dark. She saw that the stone ^qhad been removed ^rfrom the tomb. ²So she ran to Simon Peter ^sand to the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, and said to them, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, ^tand we don’t know where they have put Him!”

³At that, Peter and the other disciple went out, heading for the tomb. ⁴The two were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and got to the tomb first. ⁵Stooping down, he saw the linen cloths ^ulying there, yet he did not go in. ⁶Then, following him, Simon Peter came also. He entered the tomb and saw the linen cloths lying there. ⁷The wrapping ^vthat had been on His head was not lying with the linen cloths ^wbut was folded up in a separate place by itself. ⁸The other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, then entered the tomb, saw, and believed. ⁹For they still did not understand the Scripture ^xthat He must rise ^yfrom the dead. ^z10Then the disciples went home again.

Mary Magdalene Sees the Risen Lord

¹¹But ^aMary stood outside facing the tomb, ^bcrying. As she was crying, she stooped to look into the tomb. ¹²She saw two angels ^cin white sitting there, one at the head and one at the feet, where Jesus’ body ^dhad been lying. ¹³They said to her, “Woman, why are you crying?”

“Because they’ve taken away my Lord,” ^eshe told them, “and I don’t know where they’ve put Him.” ¹⁴Having said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, though she did not know it was Jesus. ^f

¹⁵“Woman,” Jesus said to her, “why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?”

Supposing He was the gardener, she replied, “Sir, if you’ve removed Him, tell me where you’ve put Him, and I will take Him away.”

¹⁶Jesus said, “Mary.”

Turning around, she said to Him in Hebrew, “Rabbouni!” ^g—which means “Teacher.” ^h

¹⁷“Don’t cling to Me,” Jesus told her, “for I have not yet ascended ⁱto the Father. ^jBut go to My brothers ^kand tell them that I am ascending to My Father ^land your Father—to My God ^mand your God.”

¹⁸Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord!” ⁿAnd she told them what ^oHe had said to her.

The Disciples Commissioned

¹⁹In the evening of that first day of the week, ^pthe disciples were gathered together with the doors locked because of their fear of the Jews. Then Jesus came, stood among them, and said to them, “Peace to you!” ^q

²⁰Having said this, He showed them His hands and His side. ^rSo the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord.

²¹Jesus said to them again, “Peace to you! As the Father has sent Me, ^sI also send you.” ^t22After saying this, He breathed on them ^uand said, ^v“Receive the Holy Spirit. ^w23If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.” ^x

Thomas Sees and Believes

²⁴But one of the Twelve, Thomas ^y(called “Twin”), was not with them when Jesus came. ²⁵So the other disciples kept telling him, “We have seen the Lord!”

But he said to them, “If I don’t see the mark of the nails in His hands, put my finger into the mark of the nails, ^zand put my hand into His side, ^aI will never believe!” ^b

²⁶After eight days His disciples were indoors again, and Thomas was with them. Even though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them. He said, “Peace to you!”

²⁷Then He said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and observe My hands. Reach out your hand and put it into My side. Don’t be an unbeliever, but a believer.” ^c

²⁸Thomas responded to Him, “My Lord and my God!”

²⁹Jesus said, “Because you have seen Me, you have believed. ^dThose who believe without seeing ^eare blessed.”

The Purpose of This Gospel

³⁰Jesus performed many other signs ^fin the presence of His disciples that are not written ^gin this book. ^h31But these are written so that you may believe Jesus is the Messiah, ⁱthe Son ^jof God, ^kland by believing you may have life in His name. ^m