Matthew 27:11–54

Jesus Before Pilate

^11lNow Jesus stood before the governor, and the governor asked him, “Are you ^mthe King of the Jews?” Jesus said, ⁿ“You have said so.” ^12oBut when he was accused by the chief priests and elders, he gave no answer. ¹³Then Pilate said to him, ^p“Do you not hear how many things they testify against you?” ¹⁴But he gave him no answer, not even to a single charge, so that the governor was greatly amazed.

The Crowd Chooses Barabbas

^15qNow at the feast the governor was accustomed to release for the crowd any one prisoner whom they wanted. ¹⁶And they had then a notorious prisoner called Barabbas. ¹⁷So when they had gathered, Pilate said to them, “Whom do you want me to release for you: Barabbas, or ^rJesus who is called Christ?” ¹⁸For he knew that it was out ^sof envy that they had delivered him up. ¹⁹Besides, while he was sitting on ^tthe judgment seat, his wife sent word to him, “Have nothing to do with ^uthat righteous man, for I have suffered much because of him today ^vin a dream.” ²⁰Now the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowd to ^wask for Barabbas and destroy Jesus. ²¹The governor again said to them, “Which of the two do you want me to release for you?” And they said, “Barabbas.” ²²Pilate said to them, “Then what shall I do with Jesus who is called Christ?” ^xThey all said, “Let him be crucified!” ²³And he said, “Why? ^yWhat evil has he done?” But they shouted all the more, “Let him be crucified!”

Pilate Delivers Jesus to Be Crucified

²⁴So when Pilate saw that he was gaining nothing, but rather that ^za riot was beginning, he took water and ^awashed his hands before the crowd, saying, “I am innocent of ^bthis man’s blood;^{2 c}see to it yourselves.” ²⁵And all the people answered, ^d“His blood be on us and ^eon our children!” ²⁶Then he released for them Barabbas, and having ^fscourged³ Jesus, delivered him to be crucified.

Jesus Is Mocked

^27gThen the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the ^hgovernor’s headquarters,⁴ and they gathered the whole ⁱbattalion⁵ before him. ²⁸And they stripped him and put ^ja scarlet robe on him, ²⁹and twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on his head and put a reed in his right hand. And kneeling before him, they ^kmocked him, saying, “Hail, ^lKing of the Jews!” ³⁰And ^mthey spit on him and took the reed and struck him on the head. ³¹And when they had mocked him, they stripped him of the robe and put his own clothes on him and ⁿled him away to crucify him.

The Crucifixion

^32opAs they went out, they found a man of Cyrene, Simon by name. They compelled this man to ^ocarry his cross. ^33qAnd when they came to a place called Golgotha (which means Place of a Skull), ^34rthey offered him wine to drink, mixed with ^sgall, but when he tasted it, he would not drink it. ³⁵And when they had crucified him, ^tthey divided his garments among them by casting lots. ³⁶Then they sat down and ^ukept watch over him there. ³⁷And over his head they put the charge against him, which read, “This is Jesus, ^vthe King of the Jews.” ³⁸Then two ^wrobbers were crucified with him, ^xone on the right and one on the left. ³⁹And ^ythose who passed by ^zderided him, ^awagging their heads ⁴⁰and saying, ^b“You who would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save yourself! ^cIf you are ^dthe Son of God, come down from the cross.” ⁴¹So also the chief priests, with the scribes and elders, mocked him, saying, ^42e“He saved others; ^fhe cannot save himself. ^gHe is the King of Israel; let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him. ^43hHe trusts in God; let God deliver him now, if he desires him. For he said, ‘I am the Son of God.’ ” ⁴⁴ⁱAnd the robbers who were crucified with him also reviled him in the same way.

The Death of Jesus

⁴⁵Now from the sixth hour⁶ there was darkness over all the land⁷ until the ninth hour.^{8 46}And about the ninth hour Jesus ^jcried out with a loud voice, saying, ^k“Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” that is, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” ⁴⁷And some of the bystanders, hearing it, said, “This man is calling Elijah.” ⁴⁸And one of them at once ran and took a sponge, filled it with ^lsour wine, and put it on a reed and ^mgave it to him to drink. ⁴⁹But the others said, “Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to save him.” ⁵⁰And Jesus ⁿcried out again with a loud voice and ^oyielded up his spirit.

⁵¹And behold, ^pthe curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And ^qthe earth shook, and the rocks were split. ⁵²The tombs also were opened. And many bodies of ^rthe saints ^swho had fallen asleep were raised, ⁵³and coming out of the tombs after his resurrection they went into ^tthe holy city and appeared to many. ^54uWhen the centurion and those who were with him, ^vkeeping watch over Jesus, saw the earthquake and what took place, they were filled with awe and said, ^w“Truly this was the Son⁹ of God!”