John 18:28–19:16

Jesus Brought Before Pilate

²⁸Then they brought Jesus from Caiaphas to the governor’s residence. Now it was early, and they did not enter into the governor’s residence so that they would not be defiled, but could eat the Passover. ²⁹So Pilate came outside to them and said, “What accusation do you bring against this man?” ³⁰They answered and said to him, “If this man were not doing evil, we would not have handed him over to you!” ³¹So Pilate said to them, “You take him and judge him according to your law!” The Jews said to him, “It is not permitted for us to kill anyone,” ³²in order that the word of Jesus would be fulfilled that he had spoken, indicating by what sort of death he was going to die.

Pilate Questions Jesus

³³Then Pilate entered again into the governor’s residence and summoned Jesus and said to him, “Are you the king of the Jews?” ³⁴Jesus replied, “Do you say this from yourself, or have others said this^* to you about me?” ³⁵Pilate replied, “I am not a Jew, am I?^* Your people and the chief priests handed you over to me! What have you done?” ³⁶Jesus replied, “My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would be fighting so that I would not be handed over to the Jews. But now my kingdom is not from here.” ³⁷Then Pilate said to him, “So then you are a king!” Jesus replied, “You say that I am a king. For this reason I was born, and for this reason I have come into the world: in order that I can testify to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears my voice.” ³⁸Pilate said to him, “What is truth?”

And when he^* had said this, he went out again to the Jews and said to them, “I find no basis for an accusation against him. ³⁹But it is your custom that I release for you one prisoner^* at the Passover. So do you want me^* to release for you the king of the Jews?” ⁴⁰Then they shouted again, saying, “Not this man, but Barabbas!” (Now Barabbas was a revolutionary.)^c

Pilate Attempts to Release Jesus

19So then Pilate took Jesus and had him flogged.^{* 2}And the soldiers wove a crown of thorns and placed it^* on his head, and put a purple robe on him, ³and were coming up to him and saying, “Hail, king of the Jews!” and were giving him slaps in the face.

⁴And Pilate came outside again and said to them, “Behold, I am bringing him outside to you, so that you will know that I find no basis for an accusation against him.” ⁵Then Jesus came outside wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe, and he said to them, “Behold the man!” ⁶So when they saw him, the chief priests and the officers shouted, saying, “Crucify! Crucify!” Pilate said to them, “You take him and crucify him!^* For I do not find a basis for an accusation against him.” ⁷The Jews replied to him, “We have a law, and according to the law he ought to die, because he made himself out to be the Son of God!”

⁸So when Pilate heard this statement, he was even more afraid, ⁹and he entered into the governor’s residence again and said to Jesus, “Where are you from?” But Jesus did not give him an answer. ¹⁰So Pilate said to him, “Will you not speak to me? Do you not know that I have authority to release you, and I have authority to crucify you?” ¹¹Jesus replied to him, “You would not have any authority over me unless it was given to you from above. For this reason the one who handed me over to you has greater sin.”

¹²From this point on Pilate was seeking to release him, but the Jews shouted, saying, “If you release this man, you are not a friend of Caesar! Everyone who makes himself out to be a king opposes Caesar!” ¹³So Pilate, when he^* heard these words, brought Jesus outside and sat down on the judgment seat, in the place called The Stone Pavement (but Gabbatha in Aramaic). ¹⁴(Now it was the day of preparation of the Passover; it was about the sixth hour.) And he said to the Jews, “Behold your king!”

¹⁵Then those shouted, “Away with him! Away with him! Crucify him!” Pilate said to them, “Shall I crucify your king?” The chief priests replied, “We do not have a king except Caesar!” ¹⁶So then he handed him over to them in order that he could be crucified.

Jesus Is Crucified

So they took Jesus,