15
It was very early in the morning. The chief priests, with the elders, the teachers of the law, and the whole Sanhedrin, made their plans. So they tied Jesus up and led him away. Then they handed him over to Pilate. 2 ‘Are you the king of the Jews?’ asked Pilate.
‘You have said so,’ Jesus replied.
3 The chief priests brought many charges against him. 4 So Pilate asked him again, ‘Aren't you going to answer? See how many things they charge you with.’
5 But Jesus still did not reply. Pilate was amazed.
6 It was the usual practice at the Passover Feast to let one prisoner go free. The people could choose the one they wanted. 7 A man named Barabbas was in prison. He was there with some other people who had fought against the country's rulers. They had committed murder while they were fighting against the rulers. 8 The crowd came up and asked Pilate to do for them what he usually did.
9 ‘Do you want me to let the king of the Jews go free?’ asked Pilate. 10 He knew that the chief priests had handed Jesus over to him because they wanted to get their own way. 11 But the chief priests stirred up the crowd. So the crowd asked Pilate to let Barabbas go free instead.
12 ‘Then what should I do with the one you call the king of the Jews?’ Pilate asked them.
13 ‘Crucify him!’ the crowd shouted.
14 ‘Why? What wrong has he done?’ asked Pilate.
But they shouted even louder, ‘Crucify him!’
15 Pilate wanted to satisfy the crowd. So he let Barabbas go free. He ordered that Jesus be whipped. Then he handed him over to be nailed to a cross.
15:1–15 Jesus' second trial was with the Roman governor of Judea named Pilate. Pilate didn't care about Jewish religious matters like the Sanhedrin did. But he did care that Jesus claimed to be a Jewish king. That could cause problems for Roman rule in Israel. Pilate was amazed that Jesus wasn't trying to stop the charges against him. Every year at the Passover Feast Pilate would let one prisoner go free. The crowd chose Barabbas to go free. They wanted Jesus to be crucified. Jesus hadn't done anything wrong against the Roman government. But the crowd wanted him to be put to death as a criminal.
16 The soldiers led Jesus away into the palace. It was called the Praetorium. They called together the whole company of soldiers. 17 The soldiers put a purple robe on Jesus. Then they twisted thorns together to make a crown. They placed it on his head. 18 They began to call out to him, ‘We honour you, king of the Jews!’ 19 Again and again they hit him on the head with a stick. They spat on him. They fell on their knees and pretended to honour him. 20 After they had made fun of him, they took off the purple robe. They put his own clothes back on him. Then they led him out to nail him to a cross.
21 A man named Simon was passing by. He was from Cyrene. He was the father of Alexander and Rufus. Simon was on his way in from the country. The soldiers forced him to carry the cross. 22 They brought Jesus to the place called Golgotha. The word Golgotha means the Place of the Skull. 23 Then they gave him wine mixed with spices. But he did not take it. 24 They nailed him to the cross. Then they divided up his clothes. They cast lots to see what each of them would get.
25 It was nine o'clock in the morning when they crucified him. 26 They wrote out the charge against him. It read,
The King of the Jews.
27-28 They crucified with him two rebels against Rome. One was on his right and one was on his left. 29 Those who passed by shouted at Jesus and made fun of him. They shook their heads and said, ‘So you are going to destroy the temple and build it again in three days? 30 Then come down from the cross! Save yourself!’ 31 In the same way the chief priests and the teachers of the law made fun of him among themselves. ‘He saved others,’ they said. ‘But he can't save himself! 32 Let this Messiah, this king of Israel, come down now from the cross! When we see that, we will believe.’ Those who were being crucified with Jesus also made fun of him.
33 At noon, darkness covered the whole land. It lasted three hours. 34 At three o'clock in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, ‘Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?’ This means ‘My God, my God, why have you deserted me?’ (Psalm 22:1)
35 Some of those standing nearby heard Jesus cry out. They said, ‘Listen! He's calling for Elijah.’
36 Someone ran and filled a sponge with wine vinegar. He put it on a stick. He offered it to Jesus to drink. ‘Leave him alone,’ he said. ‘Let's see if Elijah comes to take him down.’
37 With a loud cry, Jesus took his last breath.
38 The temple curtain was torn in two from top to bottom. 39 A Roman commander was standing there in front of Jesus. He saw how Jesus died. Then he said, ‘This man was surely the Son of God!’
15:16–39 The soldiers made Jesus a crown of thorns. They mocked him as king of the Jews. The sign above his head was a mean joke announcing that he was the king. Those who watched Jesus die made fun of him for pretending to be a king. No one understood that Jesus really was the King. He was the King who served his people by giving up his life for them. And he was bringing God's kingdom to earth even as he died. Jesus was suffering. He cried out to God using words from Psalm 22. There were three hours of darkness in the middle of the day as Jesus suffered. This was a sign that showed how important Jesus' death was. Even a Roman officer recognised that Jesus wasn't like other people. The temple curtain of the most the Most Holy Room was ripped apart when Jesus died. His death meant that people could be close to God again.
40 Not very far away, some women were watching. Mary Magdalene was among them. Mary, the mother of the younger James and of Joseph, was also there. So was Salome. 41 In Galilee these women had followed Jesus. They had taken care of his needs. Many other women were also there. They had come up with him to Jerusalem.
42 It was the day before the Sabbath. That day was called Preparation Day. As evening approached, 43 Joseph went boldly to Pilate and asked for Jesus' body. Joseph was from the town of Arimathea. He was a leading member of the Jewish Council. He was waiting for God's kingdom. 44 Pilate was surprised to hear that Jesus was already dead. So he called for the Roman commander. He asked him if Jesus had already died. 45 The commander said it was true. So Pilate gave the body to Joseph. 46 Then Joseph bought some linen cloth. He took down the body and wrapped it in the linen. He put it in a tomb cut out of rock. Then he rolled a stone against the entrance to the tomb. 47 Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joseph saw where Jesus' body had been placed.
15:40–47 Jesus was dead. All the hope that Jesus brought to his followers seemed to be dead too. The disciples had run away in fear. The women who had been with Jesus in Galilee stayed by him. They watched him die and then be buried. A Jewish leader named Joseph took care of Jesus' body. Jesus had finished the work he came to do.