Matthew 27:1–31

Judas Hangs Himself

27Early in the morning, all the chief priests and the elders of the people made their plans how to have Jesus executed.^{b 2}So they bound him, led him away and handed him over^c to Pilate the governor.^d

³When Judas, who had betrayed him,^e saw that Jesus was condemned, he was seized with remorse and returned the thirty pieces of silver^f to the chief priests and the elders. ⁴“I have sinned,” he said, “for I have betrayed innocent blood.”

“What is that to us?” they replied. “That’s your responsibility.”^g

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

⁶The chief priests picked up the coins and said, “It is against the law to put this into the treasury, since it is blood money.” ⁷So they decided to use the money to buy the potter’s field as a burial place for foreigners. ⁸That is why it has been called the Field of Blood^j to this day. ⁹Then what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled:^k “They took the thirty pieces of silver, the price set on him by the people of Israel, ¹⁰and they used them to buy the potter’s field, as the Lord commanded me.”^al

Jesus Before Pilate

27:11–26pp—Mk 15:2–15; Lk 23:2,3,18–25; Jn 18:29–19:16

¹¹Meanwhile Jesus stood before the governor, and the governor asked him, “Are you the king of the Jews?”^m

“You have said so,” Jesus replied.

¹²When he was accused by the chief priests and the elders, he gave no answer.^{n 13}Then Pilate asked him, “Don’t you hear the testimony they are bringing against you?”^{o 14}But Jesus made no reply,^p not even to a single charge—to the great amazement of the governor.

¹⁵Now it was the governor’s custom at the festival to release a prisoner^q chosen by the crowd. ¹⁶At that time they had a well-known prisoner whose name was Jesus^b Barabbas. ¹⁷So when the crowd had gathered, Pilate asked them, “Which one do you want me to release to you: Jesus Barabbas, or Jesus who is called the Messiah?”^{r 18}For he knew it was out of self-interest that they had handed Jesus over to him.

¹⁹While Pilate was sitting on the judge’s seat,^s his wife sent him this message: “Don’t have anything to do with that innocent^t man, for I have suffered a great deal today in a dream^u because of him.”

²⁰But the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowd to ask for Barabbas and to have Jesus executed.^v

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

“Barabbas,” they answered.

²²“What shall I do, then, with Jesus who is called the Messiah?”^w Pilate asked.

They all answered, “Crucify him!”

²³“Why? What crime has he committed?” asked Pilate.

But they shouted all the louder, “Crucify him!”

²⁴When Pilate saw that he was getting nowhere, but that instead an uproar^x was starting, he took water and washed his hands^y in front of the crowd. “I am innocent of this man’s blood,”^z he said. “It is your responsibility!”^a

²⁵All the people answered, “His blood is on us and on our children!”^b

²⁶Then he released Barabbas to them. But he had Jesus flogged,^c and handed him over to be crucified.

The Soldiers Mock Jesus

27:27–31pp—Mk 15:16–20

²⁷Then the governor’s soldiers took Jesus into the Praetorium^d and gathered the whole company of soldiers around him. ²⁸They stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him,^{e 29}and then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on his head. They put a staff in his right hand. Then they knelt in front of him and mocked him. “Hail, king of the Jews!” they said.^{f 30}They spit on him, and took the staff and struck him on the head again and again.^{g 31}After they had mocked him, they took off the robe and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him away to crucify him.^h