Judas Hangs Himself
1 Early in the morning, all the chief priests and the
elders of the people came to the decision to put Jesus to
death. 2 They bound him, led him away and handed him over to
Pilate the governor.
3 When Judas, who had betrayed him, saw that Jesus was
condemned, he was seized with remorse and returned the
thirty pieces of silver 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.”
5 So Judas threw the money into the temple and left.
Then he went away and hanged himself.
6 The chief priests picked up the coins and said, “It
is against the law to put this into the treasury, since it
is blood money.” 7 So they decided to use the money to buy
the potter’s field as a burial place for foreigners. 8 That
is why it has been called the Field of Blood to this day. 9
Then what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled:
“They took the thirty pieces of silver, the price set on him
by the people of Israel, 10 and they used them to buy the
potter’s field, as the Lord commanded me.”
Jesus Before Pilate
11 Meanwhile Jesus stood before the governor, and the
governor asked him, “Are you the king of the Jews?” “You
have said so,” Jesus replied.
12 When he was accused by the chief priests and the
elders, he gave no answer. 13 Then Pilate asked him, “Don’t
you hear the testimony they are bringing against you?” 14
But Jesus made no reply, not even to a single charge—to the
great amazement of the governor.
15 Now it was the governor’s custom at the festival to
release a prisoner chosen by the crowd. 16 At that time they
had a well-known prisoner whose name was Jesus Barabbas. 17
So 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?” 18 For he knew it was out
of envy that they had handed Jesus over to him.
19 While Pilate was sitting on the judge’s seat, his
wife sent him this message: “Don’t have anything to do with
that innocent man, for I have suffered a great deal today in
a dream because of him.”
20 But the chief priests and the elders persuaded the
crowd to ask for Barabbas and to have Jesus executed.
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?” Pilate asked. They all answered, “Crucify
him!”
23 “Why? What crime has he committed?” asked Pilate.
But they shouted all the louder, “Crucify him!”
24 When Pilate saw that he was getting nowhere, but
that instead an uproar was starting, he took water and
washed his hands in front of the crowd. “I am innocent of
this man’s blood,” he said. “It is your responsibility!”
25 All the people answered, “His blood is on us and on
our children!”
26 Then he released Barabbas to them. But he had Jesus
flogged, and handed him over to be crucified.
The Soldiers Mock Jesus
27 Then the governor’s soldiers took Jesus into the Praetorium and gathered the whole company of soldiers around
him. 28 They stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him, 29
and then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on
his head. They put a staff in his right hand as a scepter.
Then they knelt in front of him and mocked him. “Hail, king
of the Jews!” they said. 30 They spit on him, and took the
staff and struck him on the head again and again. 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.
The Crucifixion of Jesus
32 As they were going out, they met a man from Cyrene,
named Simon, and they forced him to carry the cross. 33 They
came to a place called Golgotha (which means “the place of
the skull”). 34 There they offered Jesus wine to drink,
mixed with gall; but after tasting it, he refused to drink
it. 35 When they had crucified him, they divided up his
clothes by casting lots. 36 And sitting down, they kept
watch over him there. 37 Above his head they placed the
written charge against him: this is jesus, the king of the
jews.
38 Two rebels were crucified with him, one on his
right and one on his left. 39 Those who passed by hurled
insults at him, shaking their heads 40 and saying, “You who
are going to destroy the temple and build it in three days,
save yourself! Come down from the cross, if you are the Son
of God!”
41 In the same way the chief priests, the teachers of
the law and the elders mocked 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, and we will
believe in him. 43 He trusts in God. Let God rescue him now
if he wants him, for he said, ‘I am the Son of God.’ ” 44 In
the same way the rebels who were crucified with him also
heaped insults on him.
The Death of Jesus
45 From noon until three in the afternoon darkness
came over all the land. 46 About three in the afternoon
Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?”
(which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”).
47 When some of those standing there heard this, they
said, “He’s calling Elijah.”
48 Immediately one of them ran and got a sponge. He
filled it with wine vinegar, put it on a staff, and offered
it to Jesus to drink. 49 The rest said, “Now leave him
alone. Let’s see if Elijah comes to save him.”
50 And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice,
he gave up his spirit.
51 At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn
in two from top to bottom. The earth shook, the rocks split
52 and the tombs broke open. The bodies of many holy people
who had died were raised to life. 53 They came out of the
tombs after Jesus’ resurrection and went into the holy city
and appeared to many people.
54 When the centurion and those with him who were
guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and all that had happened,
they were terrified, and exclaimed, “Surely he was the Son
of God!”
55 Many women were there, watching from a distance.
They had followed Jesus from Galilee to care for his needs.
56 Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James
and Joseph, and the mother of Zebedee’s sons.
The Burial of Jesus
57 As evening approached, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who had himself become a disciple
of Jesus. 58 Going to Pilate, he asked for Jesus’ body, and
Pilate ordered that it be given to him. 59 Joseph took the
body, wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, 60 and placed it in
his own new tomb that he had cut out of the rock. He rolled
a big stone in front of the entrance to the tomb and went
away. 61 Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were sitting
there opposite the tomb.
The Guard at the Tomb
62 The next day, the one after Preparation Day, the
chief priests and the Pharisees went to Pilate. 63 “Sir,”
they said, “we remember that while he was still alive that
deceiver said, ‘After three days I will rise again.’ 64 So
give the order for the tomb to be made secure until the
third day. Otherwise, his disciples may come and steal the
body and tell the people that he has been raised from the
dead. This last deception will be worse than the first.”
65 “Take a guard,” Pilate answered. “Go, make the tomb
as secure as you know how.” 66 So they went and made the
tomb secure by putting a seal on the stone and posting the
guard. |