Matthew 27:11–54

Jesus before Pilate

^11aNow Jesus stood before the governor, and the governor questioned Him, saying, “Are You the ^bKing of the Jews?” And Jesus said to him, “^cIt is as you say.”

¹²And while He was being accused by the chief priests and elders, ^aHe did not answer.

¹³Then Pilate said to Him, “Do You not hear how many things they testify against You?”

¹⁴And ^aHe did not answer him with regard to even a single ¹charge, so the governor was quite amazed.

^15aNow at the feast the governor was accustomed to release for the ¹people any one prisoner whom they wanted.

¹⁶At that time they were holding a notorious prisoner, called Barabbas.

¹⁷So when the people gathered together, Pilate said to them, “Whom do you want me to release for you? Barabbas, or Jesus ^awho is called Christ?”

¹⁸For he knew that because of envy they had handed Him over.

^19aWhile he was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent him a message, saying, “Have nothing to do with that ^brighteous Man; for ¹last night I suffered greatly ^cin a dream because of Him.”

²⁰But the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowds to ^aask for Barabbas and to put Jesus to death.

²¹But the governor ¹said 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 ^awho is called Christ?” They all said, “¹Crucify Him!”

²³And he said, “Why, what evil has He done?” But they kept shouting all the more, saying, “¹Crucify Him!”

²⁴When Pilate saw that he was accomplishing nothing, but rather that ^aa riot was starting, he took water and ^bwashed his hands in front of the crowd, saying, “I am innocent of ^cthis Man’s blood; ^dsee to that yourselves.”

²⁵And all the people said, “^aHis blood shall be on us and on our children!”

²⁶Then he released Barabbas ¹for them; but after having Jesus ^ascourged, he handed Him over to be crucified.

Jesus Is Mocked

^27aThen the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into ^bthe ¹Praetorium and gathered the whole Roman ^2ccohort around Him.

²⁸They stripped Him and ^aput a scarlet robe on Him.

^29aAnd after twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on His head, and a ¹reed in His right hand; and they knelt down before Him and mocked Him, saying, “^bHail, King of the Jews!”

^30aThey spat on Him, and took the reed and began to beat Him on the head.

^31aAfter they had mocked Him, they took the scarlet robe off Him and put His own garments back on Him, and led Him away to crucify Him.

^32aAs they were coming out, they found a man of ^bCyrene named Simon, ¹whom they pressed into service to bear His cross.

The Crucifixion

^33aAnd when they came to a place called ^bGolgotha, which means Place of a Skull,

^34athey gave Him ^bwine to drink mixed with gall; and after tasting it, He was unwilling to drink.

³⁵And when they had crucified Him, ^athey divided up His garments among themselves by casting ¹lots.

³⁶And sitting down, they began to ^akeep watch over Him there.

³⁷And above His head they put up the charge against Him ¹which read, “^aTHIS IS JESUS THE KING OF THE JEWS.”

³⁸At that time two robbers were crucified with Him, one on the right and one on the left.

³⁹And those passing by were ¹hurling abuse at Him, ^awagging their heads

⁴⁰and saying, “^aYou who are going to destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save Yourself! ^bIf You are the Son of God, come down from the cross.”

⁴¹In the same way the chief priests also, along with the scribes and elders, were mocking Him and saying,

⁴²“^aHe saved others; ¹He cannot save Himself. ^bHe is the King of Israel; let Him now come down from the cross, and we will believe in Him.

⁴³“^aHe trusts in God; let God rescue Him now, if He ¹delights in Him; for He said, ‘I am the Son of God.’ ”

^44aThe robbers who had been crucified with Him were also insulting Him with the same words.

^45aNow from the ¹sixth hour darkness ²fell upon all the land until the ³ninth hour.

⁴⁶About the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “^aEli, Eli, lama sabachthani?” that is, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”

⁴⁷And some of those who were standing there, when they heard it, began saying, “This man is calling for Elijah.”

^48aImmediately one of them ran, and taking a sponge, he filled it with sour wine and put it on a reed, and gave Him a drink.

⁴⁹But the rest of them said, “¹Let us see whether Elijah will come to save Him².”

⁵⁰And Jesus ^acried out again with a loud voice, and yielded up His spirit.

^51aAnd behold, ^bthe ¹veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and ^cthe earth shook and the rocks were split.

⁵²The tombs were opened, and many bodies of the ¹saints who had ^afallen asleep were raised;

⁵³and coming out of the tombs after His resurrection they entered ^athe holy city and appeared to many.

^54aNow the centurion, and those who were with him ^bkeeping guard over Jesus, when they saw ^cthe earthquake and the things that were happening, became very frightened and said, “Truly this was ^1dthe Son of God!”