John 18:28–19:16

Jesus Is Brought to Pilate

²⁸Then the Jews led Jesus from Caiaphas to the palace of the Roman governor. By now it was early morning. The Jews did not want to be made “unclean.” They wanted to be able to eat the Passover meal. So they did not enter the palace.

²⁹Pilate came out to them. He asked, “What charges are you bringing against this man?”

³⁰“He has committed crimes,” they replied. “If he hadn’t, we would not have handed him over to you.”

³¹Pilate said, “Take him yourselves. Judge him by your own law.”

“But we don’t have the right to put anyone to death,” the Jews complained. ³²This happened so that the words Jesus had spoken about how he was going to die would come true.

³³Then Pilate went back inside the palace. He ordered Jesus to be brought to him. Pilate asked him, “Are you the king of the Jews?”

³⁴“Is that your own idea?” Jesus asked. “Or did others talk to you about me?”

³⁵“Am I a Jew?” Pilate replied. “It was your people and your chief priests who handed you over to me. What have you done?”

³⁶Jesus said, “My kingdom is not part of this world. If it were, those who serve me would fight. They would try to keep the Jews from arresting me. My kingdom is from another place.”

³⁷“So you are a king, then!” said Pilate.

Jesus answered, “You are right to say I am a king. In fact, that’s the reason I was born. I came into the world to give witness to the truth. Everyone who is on the side of truth listens to me.”

³⁸“What is truth?” Pilate asked.

Then Pilate went out again to the Jews. He said, “I find no basis for any charge against him. ³⁹But it is your practice for me to set one prisoner free for you at Passover time. Do you want me to set ‘the king of the Jews’ free?”

⁴⁰They shouted back, “No! Not him! Give us Barabbas!” Barabbas had taken part in an armed struggle against the country’s rulers.

Jesus Is Sentenced to Be Crucified

19Then Pilate took Jesus and had him whipped. ²The soldiers twisted thorns together to make a crown. They put it on Jesus’ head. Then they put a purple robe on him. ³They went up to him again and again. They kept saying, “We honor you, king of the Jews!” And they hit him in the face.

⁴Once more Pilate came out. He said to the Jews, “Look, I am bringing Jesus out to you. I want to let you know that I find no basis for a charge against him.”

⁵Jesus came out wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. Then Pilate said to them, “Here is the man!”

⁶As soon as the chief priests and their officials saw him, they shouted, “Crucify him! Crucify him!”

But Pilate answered, “You take him and crucify him. I myself find no basis for a charge against him.”

⁷The Jews replied, “We have a law. That law says he must die. He claimed to be the Son of God.”

⁸When Pilate heard that, he was even more afraid. ⁹He went back inside the palace. “Where do you come from?” he asked Jesus.

But Jesus did not answer him.

¹⁰“Do you refuse to speak to me?” Pilate said. “Don’t you understand? I have the power to set you free or to nail you to a cross.”

¹¹Jesus answered, “You were given power from heaven. If you weren’t, you would have no power over me. So the one who handed me over to you is guilty of a greater sin.”

¹²From then on, Pilate tried to set Jesus free. But the Jews kept shouting, “If you let this man go, you are not Caesar’s friend! Anyone who claims to be a king is against Caesar!”

¹³When Pilate heard that, he brought Jesus out. Pilate sat down on the judge’s seat. It was at a place called The Stone Walkway. In the Aramaic language it was called Gabbatha. ¹⁴It was about noon on Preparation Day in Passover Week.

“Here is your king,” Pilate said to the Jews.

¹⁵But they shouted, “Kill him! Kill him! Crucify him!”

“Should I crucify your king?” Pilate asked.

“We have no king but Caesar,” the chief priests answered.

¹⁶Finally, Pilate handed Jesus over to them to be nailed to a cross.

Jesus Is Nailed to a Cross

So the soldiers took charge of Jesus.