Matthew 27:11–54

Jesus Before Pilate

¹¹So Jesus stood before the governor, and the governor asked him, saying, “Are you the king of the Jews?” And Jesus said, “You say so.” ¹²And when he was being accused^d by the chief priests and elders he answered nothing. ¹³Then Pilate said to him, “Do you not hear how many things they are testifying against you?” ¹⁴And he did not reply to him, not even with reference to one statement, so that the governor was very astonished.

Pilate Releases Barabbas

¹⁵Now at each feast, the governor was accustomed to release one prisoner to the crowd—the one whom they wanted. ¹⁶And at that time they had a notorious prisoner named Jesus^e Barabbas.^{f 17}So after^* they had assembled, Pilate said to them, “Whom do you want me to release for you—Jesus^g Barabbas or Jesus who is called Christ?” ¹⁸(For he knew that they had handed him over because of envy. ¹⁹And while^* he was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent a message^* to him, saying, “Have nothing to do with that righteous man,^h for I have suffered much as a result of a dream today because of him.”) ²⁰But the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowds that they should ask for Barabbas and put Jesus to death. ²¹So the governor answered and^* said to them, “Which of the two do you want me to release for you?” And they said, “Barabbas!” ²²Pilate said to them, “What then should I do with Jesus, the one who is called Christ?” They all said, “Let him be crucified!” ²³And he said, “Why? What wrong has he done?” But they began to shout^* even louder, saying, “Let him be crucified!”

²⁴So Pilate, when he^* saw that he was accomplishing nothing, but instead an uproar was developing, took water and^* washed hisⁱ hands before the crowd, saying, “I am innocent of the blood of this man. You see to it!”^{* 25}And all the people answered and^* said, “His blood be on us and on our children!” ²⁶Then he released Barabbas for them, but after^* he had Jesus flogged, he handed him^* over so that he could be crucified.

Jesus Is Mocked

²⁷Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the governor’s residence and^* gathered the whole cohort to him. ²⁸And they stripped him and^* put a scarlet military cloak around him, ²⁹and weaving a crown of thorns, they put it^* on his head, and put^j a reed in his right hand. And kneeling down before him, they mocked him, saying, “Hail, king of the Jews!” ³⁰And they spat on him and^* took the reed and repeatedly struck^k him^* on his head. ³¹And when they had mocked him, they stripped him of the military cloak and put his own clothes on him, and led him away in order to crucify him.^*

Jesus Is Crucified

³²And as they^* were going out, they found a man of Cyrene named^l Simon. They forced this man to carry his cross. ³³And when they^* came to a place called Golgotha (which means Place of a Skull),^{m 34}they gave him wine mixed with gall to drink, and when he^* tasted it^* he did not want to drink it.^{* 35}And when they^* had crucified him, they divided his clothes among themselves^* by^* casting lots. ³⁶And they sat down and^* were watching over him there. ³⁷And they put above his head the charge against him in writing:ⁿ “This is Jesus, the king of the Jews.” ³⁸Then two robbers were crucified with him, one on his right and one on his left. ³⁹And those who passed by reviled him, shaking their heads ⁴⁰and saying, “The one 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!” ⁴¹In the same way also the chief priests, along with the scribes and elders, were mocking him,^* saying, ⁴²“He saved others; he is not able to save himself! He is the king of Israel! Let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him! ⁴³He trusts in God; let him deliver him now if he wants to,^o because he said, ‘I am the Son of God’!” ⁴⁴And in the same way even the robbers who were crucified with him were reviling him.

Jesus Dies on the Cross

⁴⁵Now from the sixth hour, darkness came over all the land until the ninth hour. ⁴⁶And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” (that is, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”)^{p 47}And some of those who were standing there, when they^* heard it,^* said, “This man is summoning Elijah!” ⁴⁸And immediately one of them ran and took a sponge and filled it^* with sour wine and put it^* on a reed and^* gave it^* to him to drink. ⁴⁹But the others said, “Leave him^* alone! Let us see if Elijah is coming to save him.” ⁵⁰And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and^* gave up his^* spirit. ⁵¹And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom, and the earth shook and the rocks were split. ⁵²And the tombs were opened, and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised, ⁵³and coming out of the tombs after his resurrection, they went into the holy city and appeared to many.

⁵⁴Now the centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus, when they^* saw the earthquake and the things that took place, were extremely frightened, saying, “Truly this man was God’s Son!”