Luke 23–24

Jesus Brought Before Pilate

23And the whole assembly of them rose up and^* brought him before Pilate. ²And they began to accuse him, saying, “We have found this man misleading our nation and forbidding us^* to pay taxes to Caesar, and saying he himself is Christ, a king!” ³And Pilate asked him, saying, “Are you the king of the Jews?” And he answered him and^* said, “You say so.” ⁴So Pilate said to the chief priests and the crowds, “I find no basis for an accusation against this man.” ⁵But they insisted, saying, “He incites the people, teaching throughout the whole of Judea and beginning from Galilee as far as here.”

Jesus Brought Before Herod

⁶Now when^* Pilate heard this,^* he asked if the man was a Galilean. ⁷And when he^* found out that he was from the jurisdiction of Herod, he sent him over to Herod, who was also in Jerusalem in those days. ⁸And when^* Herod saw Jesus, he was very glad, for he had been wanting to see him for a long time, because he had heard about him and was hoping to see some miracle performed by him. ⁹So he questioned him at considerable length,^a but he answered nothing to him. ¹⁰And the chief priests and the scribes were standing there vehemently accusing him. ¹¹And Herod with his soldiers also treated him with contempt, and after^* mocking him^* and^* dressing him^* in glistening clothing, he sent him back to Pilate. ¹²And both Herod and Pilate became friends with one another on that same day, for they had previously been enemies of one another.^b

Pilate Releases Barabbas

¹³So Pilate called together the chief priests and the rulers and the people ¹⁴and^* said to them, “You brought me this man as one who was misleading the people, and behold, when I^* examined him^* before you, I found nothing in this man as basis for the accusation which you are making^c against him. ¹⁵But neither did Herod, because he sent him back to us. And behold, nothing deserving death has been done^d by him. ¹⁶Therefore I will punish him and^* release him.”^{* e 18}But they all cried out in unison, saying, “Take this man away, and release for us Barabbas!” ¹⁹(who had been thrown in prison because of a certain insurrection that had taken place in the city, and for murder). ²⁰And Pilate, wanting to release Jesus, addressed them^*f again, ²¹but they kept crying out, saying, “Crucify! Crucify him!” ²²So he said to them a third time, “Why? What wrong has this man done? I found no basis for an accusation deserving death^g in him. Therefore I will punish him and^* release him.”^{* 23}But they were urgent, demanding with loud cries that he be crucified. And their cries prevailed. ²⁴And Pilate decided that their demand should be granted. ²⁵And he released the one who had been thrown into prison because of insurrection and murder, whom they were asking for, but Jesus he handed over to their will.

Jesus Is Crucified

²⁶And as they led him away, they seized Simon, a certain man of Cyrene, who was coming from the country, and^* placed the cross on him, to carry it^* behind Jesus. ²⁷And a great crowd of the people were following him, and of women who were mourning and lamenting him. ²⁸But turning to them, Jesus said, “Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me, but weep for yourselves and for your children! ²⁹For behold, days are coming in which they will say, ‘Blessed are the barren, and the wombs that did not give birth, and the breasts that did not nurse!’ ³⁰Then they will begin to say to the mountains, ‘Fall on us!’ and to the hills, ‘Cover us!’ ³¹For if they do these things when the wood is green,^h what will happen when it is dry?”ⁱ

³²And two other criminals were also led away to be executed with him. ³³And when they came to the place that is called “The Skull,” there they crucified him, and the criminals, the one on his right and the other on his left. ³⁴⟦But Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”⟧^j And they cast lots to divide his clothes. ³⁵And the people stood there watching, but the rulers also ridiculed him,^* saying, “He saved others; let him save himself, if this man is the Christ^k of God, the Chosen One!” ³⁶And the soldiers also mocked him, coming up and^* offering him sour wine ³⁷and saying, “If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself!” ³⁸And there was also an inscription over him, “This is the king of the Jews.”

³⁹And one of the criminals who were hanged there reviled him, saying, “Are you not the Christ? Save yourself—and us!” ⁴⁰But the other answered and^* rebuked him, saying, “Do you not even fear God, because you are undergoing the same condemnation? ⁴¹And we indeed justly, for we are receiving what we deserve^l for what we have done. But this man has done nothing wrong!” ⁴²And he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom!” ⁴³And he said to him, “Truly I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.”

Jesus Dies on the Cross

⁴⁴And by this time it was about the sixth hour, and darkness came over the whole land until the ninth hour ⁴⁵because^* the light of the sun failed. And the curtain of the temple was torn apart down the middle. ⁴⁶And Jesus, calling out with a loud voice, said, “Father, into your hands I entrust my spirit!”^m And after he^* said this, he expired.

⁴⁷Now when^* the centurion saw what had happened, he began to praise^* God, saying, “Certainly this man was righteous!” ⁴⁸And all the crowds that had come together for this spectacle, when they^* saw the things that had happened, returned home^* beating their^* breasts. ⁴⁹And all his acquaintances, and the women who had followed him from Galilee who saw these things, stood at a distance.

Jesus Is Buried

⁵⁰And behold, a man namedⁿ Joseph, who was a member of the council,^o a good^p and righteous man ⁵¹(this man was not consenting to their plan and deed), from Arimathea, a Judean town,^q who was looking forward to the kingdom of God. ⁵²This man approached Pilate and^* asked for the body of Jesus. ⁵³And he took it^* down and^* wrapped it in a linen cloth and placed him in a tomb cut into the rock where no one had ever been placed. ⁵⁴And it was the day of preparation, and the Sabbath was drawing near. ⁵⁵And the women who had been accompanying him from Galilee followed and^* saw the tomb and how his body was placed. ⁵⁶And they returned and^* prepared fragrant spices and perfumes, and on the Sabbath they rested according to the commandment.

Jesus Is Raised

24Now on the first day of the week, at very early dawn, they came back to the tomb bringing the fragrant spices which they had prepared. ²And they found the stone had been rolled away from the tomb, ³but when they^* went in, they did not find the body.^{a 4}And it happened that while they were perplexed about this, behold, two men in gleaming clothing stood near them. ⁵And as^* they were terrified and bowed their faces to the ground, they said to them, “Why are you looking for the living among the dead? ⁶He is not here, but has been raised! Remember how he spoke to you while he^* was still in Galilee, ⁷saying that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of men who are sinners, and be crucified, and on the third day rise?” ⁸And they remembered his words, ⁹and when they^* returned from the tomb, they reported all these things to the eleven and to all the rest. ¹⁰Now Mary Magdalene and Joanna and Mary the mother of James and the others with them were telling these things to the apostles. ¹¹And these words appeared to them as nonsense, and they refused to believe them. ¹²But Peter got up and^* ran to the tomb, and bending over to look, he saw only the strips of linen cloth, and he went away to his home^b wondering what had happened.

Jesus Encountered on the Road to Emmaus

¹³And behold, on that same day, two of them were traveling to a village named^c Emmaus that was sixty stadia^d distant from Jerusalem, ¹⁴and they were conversing with one another about all these things that had happened. ¹⁵And it happened that while they were conversing, and discussing, Jesus himself also approached and^* began to go along with^* them, ¹⁶but their eyes were prevented from recognizing him. ¹⁷And he said to them, “What are these matters that you are discussing with one another as you^* are walking along?” And they stood still, looking sad. ¹⁸And one of them, named^e Cleopas, answered and^* said to him, “Are you the only one living near Jerusalem and not knowing the things that have happened in it in these days?” ¹⁹And he said to them, “What things?” So they said to him, “The things concerning Jesus the Nazarene, a man who was a prophet, powerful in deed and word before God and all the people, ²⁰and how our chief priests and rulers handed him over to a sentence of death, and crucified him. ²¹But we were hoping that he was the one who was going to redeem Israel. But in addition to all these things, this is the third day since^f these things took place. ²²But also some women from among us astonished us, who were at the tomb early in the morning, ²³and when they^* did not find his body, they came back saying they had seen even a vision of angels, who said that he was alive! ²⁴And some of those with us went out to the tomb and found it^* like this, just as the women had also said, but him they did not see.” ²⁵And he said to them, “O foolish and slow in heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken! ²⁶Was it not necessary that the Christ suffer these things and enter into his glory?” ²⁷And beginning from Moses and from all the prophets, he interpreted to them the things concerning himself in all the scriptures. ²⁸And they drew near to the village where they were going, and he acted as though he was going farther. ²⁹And they urged him strongly, saying, “Stay with us, because it is getting toward evening, and by this time the day is far spent.” And he went in to stay with them. ³⁰And it happened that when he reclined at the table with them, he took the bread and^* gave thanks, and after^* breaking it,^* he gave it^* to them. ³¹And their eyes were…