Matthew 26:50–27:50

⁵⁰Jesus replied, “Friend, do what you came to do.”

Then the men stepped forward. They grabbed Jesus and arrested him. ⁵¹At that moment, one of Jesus’ companions reached for his sword. He pulled it out and struck the servant of the high priest with it. He cut off the servant’s ear.

⁵²“Put your sword back in its place,” Jesus said to him. “All who use the sword will die by the sword. ⁵³Do you think I can’t ask my Father for help? He would send an army of more than 70,000 angels right away. ⁵⁴But then how would the Scriptures come true? They say it must happen in this way.”

⁵⁵At that time Jesus spoke to the crowd. “Am I leading a band of armed men against you?” he asked. “Do you have to come out with swords and clubs to capture me? Every day I sat in the temple courtyard teaching. And you didn’t arrest me. ⁵⁶But all this has happened so that the words of the prophets would come true.”

Then all the disciples left him and ran away.

Jesus Is Taken to the Sanhedrin

⁵⁷Those who had arrested Jesus took him to Caiaphas, the high priest. The teachers of the law and the elders had come together there. ⁵⁸Not too far away, Peter followed Jesus. He went right up to the courtyard of the high priest. He entered and sat down with the guards to see what would happen.

⁵⁹The chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin were looking for something to use against Jesus. They wanted to put him to death. ⁶⁰But they did not find any proof, even though many false witnesses came forward.

Finally, two other witnesses came forward. ⁶¹They said, “This fellow claimed, ‘I am able to destroy the temple of God. I can build it again in three days.’ ”

⁶²Then the high priest stood up. He asked Jesus, “Aren’t you going to answer? What are these charges that these men are bringing against you?”

⁶³But Jesus remained silent.

The high priest said to him, “I command you under oath by the living God. Tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God.”

⁶⁴“Yes. It is just as you say,” Jesus replied. “But here is what I say to all of you. In days to come, you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One. You will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven.”

⁶⁵Then the high priest tore his clothes. He said, “He has spoken a very evil thing against God! Why do we need any more witnesses? You have heard him say this evil thing. ⁶⁶What do you think?”

“He must die!” they answered.

⁶⁷Then they spit in his face. They hit him with their fists. Others slapped him. ⁶⁸They said, “Prophesy to us, Christ! Who hit you?”

Peter Says He Does Not Know Jesus

⁶⁹Peter was sitting out in the courtyard. A female servant came to him. “You also were with Jesus of Galilee,” she said.

⁷⁰But in front of all of them, Peter said he was not. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he said.

⁷¹Then he went out to the gate leading into the courtyard. There another woman saw him. She said to the people, “This fellow was with Jesus of Nazareth.”

⁷²Again he said he was not. With an oath he said, “I don’t know the man!”

⁷³After a little while, those standing there went up to Peter. “You must be one of them,” they said. “The way you talk gives you away.”

⁷⁴Then Peter began to call down curses on himself. He took an oath and said to them, “I don’t know the man!”

Right away a rooster crowed. ⁷⁵Then Peter remembered what Jesus had said. “The rooster will crow,” Jesus had told him. “Before it does, you will say three times that you don’t know me.” Peter went outside. He broke down and sobbed.

Judas Hangs Himself

27It was early in the morning. All the chief priests and the elders of the people decided to put Jesus to death. ²They tied him up and led him away. Then they handed him over to Pilate, who was the governor.

³Judas, who had handed him over, saw that Jesus had been sentenced to die. He felt deep shame and sadness for what he had done. So he returned the 30 silver coins to the chief priests and the elders. ⁴“I have sinned,” he said. “I handed over a man who is not guilty.”

“What do we care?” they replied. “That’s your problem.”

⁵So Judas threw the money into the temple and left. Then he went away and hanged himself.

⁶The chief priests picked up the coins. They said, “It’s against the law to put this money into the temple fund. It is blood money. It has paid for a man’s death.” ⁷So they decided to use the money to buy a potter’s field. People from other countries would be buried there. ⁸That is why it has been called The Field of Blood to this very day. ⁹Then the words spoken by Jeremiah the prophet came true. He had said, “They took the 30 silver coins. That price was set for him by the people of Israel. ¹⁰They used the coins to buy a potter’s field, just as the Lord commanded me.”

Jesus Is Brought to Pilate

¹¹Jesus was standing in front of the governor. The governor asked him, “Are you the king of the Jews?”

“Yes. It is just as you say,” Jesus replied.

¹²But when the chief priests and the elders brought charges against him, he did not answer. ¹³Then Pilate asked him, “Don’t you hear the charges they are bringing against you?”

¹⁴But Jesus made no reply, not even to a single charge. The governor was really amazed.

¹⁵It was the governor’s practice at the Passover Feast to let one prisoner go free. The people could choose the one they wanted. ¹⁶At that time they had a well-known prisoner named Barabbas. ¹⁷So when the crowd gathered, Pilate asked them, “Which one do you want me to set free? Barabbas? Or Jesus who is called Christ?” ¹⁸Pilate knew that the leaders were jealous. He knew this was why they had handed Jesus over to him.

¹⁹While Pilate was sitting on the judge’s seat, his wife sent him a message. It said, “Don’t have anything to do with that man. He is not guilty. I have suffered a great deal in a dream today because of him.”

²⁰But the chief priests and the elders talked the crowd into asking for Barabbas and having Jesus put to death.

²¹“Which of the two do you want me to set free?” asked the governor.

“Barabbas,” they answered.

²²“Then what should I do with Jesus who is called Christ?” Pilate asked.

They all answered, “Crucify him!”

²³“Why? What wrong has he done?” asked Pilate.

But they shouted even louder, “Crucify him!”

²⁴Pilate saw that he wasn’t getting anywhere. Instead, the crowd was starting to get angry. So he took water and washed his hands in front of them. “I am not guilty of this man’s death,” he said. “You are accountable for that!”

²⁵All the people answered, “We and our children will accept the guilt for his death!”

²⁶Pilate let Barabbas go free. But he had Jesus whipped. Then he handed him over to be nailed to a cross.

The Soldiers Make Fun of Jesus

²⁷The governor’s soldiers took Jesus into the palace, which was called the Praetorium. All the rest of the soldiers gathered around him. ²⁸They took off his clothes and put a purple robe on him. ²⁹Then they twisted thorns together to make a crown. They placed it on his head. They put a stick in his right hand. Then they fell on their knees in front of him and made fun of him. “We honor you, king of the Jews!” they said. ³⁰They spit on him. They hit him on the head with the stick again and again.

³¹After they had made fun of him, they took off the robe. They put his own clothes back on him. Then they led him away to nail him to a cross.

Jesus Is Nailed to a Cross

³²On their way out of the city, they met a man from Cyrene. His name was Simon. They forced him to carry the cross.

³³They came to a place called Golgotha. The word Golgotha means The Place of the Skull. ³⁴There they mixed wine with bitter spices and gave it to Jesus to drink. After tasting it, he refused to drink it.

³⁵When they had nailed him to the cross, they divided up his clothes by casting lots. ³⁶They sat down and kept watch over him there.

³⁷Above his head they placed the written charge against him. It read, This Is Jesus, The King of the Jews.

³⁸Two robbers were crucified with him. One was on his right and one was on his left.

³⁹Those who passed by shouted at Jesus and made fun of him. They shook their heads ⁴⁰and said, “So you are going to destroy the temple and build it again in three days? Then save yourself! Come down from the cross, if you are the Son of God!”

⁴¹In the same way the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders made fun of him. ⁴²“He saved others,” they said. “But he can’t save himself! He’s the King of Israel! Let him come down now from the cross! Then we will believe in him. ⁴³He trusts in God. Let God rescue him now if he wants him. He’s the one who said, ‘I am the Son of God.’ ”

⁴⁴In the same way the robbers who were being crucified with Jesus also made fun of him.

Jesus Dies

⁴⁵From noon until three o’clock, the whole land was covered with darkness. ⁴⁶About three o’clock, Jesus cried out in a loud voice. He said, “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?” This means “My God, my God, why have you deserted me?”

⁴⁷Some of those standing there heard Jesus cry out. They said, “He’s calling for Elijah.”

⁴⁸Right away one of them ran and got a sponge. He filled it with wine vinegar and put it on a stick. He offered it to Jesus to drink. ⁴⁹The rest said, “Leave him alone. Let’s see if Elijah comes to save him.”

⁵⁰After Jesus cried out again in a loud voice, he died.