ONE

ilate²⁷⁴¹ said to them, “Then what do you want me to do with the man you call the ‘King of the Jews’?”  They all said, “Let him be crucified!”

^

²⁷⁴² Again Pilate addressed them, still wishing to release Jesus, he said, “Why?  What evil has he done?” ²⁷⁴³ They only shouted the louder, “Let him be crucified!  Crucify him!  Crucify him!”

^

²⁷⁴⁴ Pilate addressed them a third time, “What evil has this man done?  I found him guilty of no capital crime.  ²⁷⁴⁵ Therefore, I shall have him flogged and then release him.”

 

Scourging of Jesus. ²⁷⁴⁶ Then Pilate took Jesus and had him scourged.

 

²⁷⁴⁷ The soldiers wove a crown out of thorns and placed it on his head; they stripped off his clothes, wrapped him in a scarlet military cloak, ²⁷⁴⁸ and they came to him and said, “Hail, ‘King of the Jews’!”  And, they struck him repeatedly.

 

²⁷⁴⁹ Once more Pilate went out and said to them, “Look, I am bringing him out to you, so that you may know that I find no guilt in him.” ²⁷⁵⁰ So Jesus came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the scarlet robe. 

 

And he said to them, “Behold, the man!”

^

²⁷⁵¹ When the chief priests and the guards saw him they cried out, “Crucify him, crucify him!”  Pilate said to them, “Take him yourselves and crucify him.  I find no guilt in him.”

 

²⁷⁵² The Jews answered, “We have a law, and according to that law he ought to die, because he made himself the Son of God.”

 

²⁷⁵³ Now when Pilate heard this statement, he became even more afraid, ²⁷⁵⁴ and went back into the praetorium and said to Jesus, “Where are you from?”  Jesus did not answer him.

 

²⁷⁵⁵ So Pilate said to him, “Do you not speak to me?  Do you not know that I have power to release you and I have power to crucify you?”

 

²⁷⁵⁶ Jesus answered, “You would have no power over me if it had not been given to you from above.  Therefore, the one who handed me over to you has the greater sin.”

 

Pilate's Capitulation to the World.  ²⁷⁵⁷ From then, Pilate tried to release him, but the Jews cried out, “If you release him, you are not a friend of Caesar.  Everyone who makes himself a king opposes Caesar.”

 

²⁷⁵⁸ When Pilate heard these words, he brought Jesus out and seated him on the judge’s bench in the place called “Stone Pavement,” in Hebrew, “Gabbatha.”

 

The Crowd's Capitulation to the World. ²⁷⁵⁹ It was preparation day for Passover, and it was about noon. 

And he said to the Jews, “Behold, your king!”

²⁷⁶⁰ They cried out, “Take him away, take him away! Crucify him!”  Pilate said to them, “Shall I crucify your king?” The chief priests answered, “We have no king but Caesar.”

 

²⁷⁶¹ When Pilate saw that he was not succeeding at all, but that a riot was breaking out instead, he took water and washed his hands in the sight of the crowd, saying, “I am innocent of this man’s blood.  Look to it yourselves.”

 

^2762 With loud shouts, however, they persisted in calling for his crucifixion, and their voices prevailed.  And the whole people said in reply, “His blood be upon us and upon our children.”

 

²⁷⁶³ So Pilate, wishing to satisfy the crowd, his verdict was that their demand should be granted.  ^Then he released Barabbas to them, the man who had been imprisoned for rebellion and murder, for whom they asked.  But it was after he had Jesus scourged that he handed him over to them to deal with as they wished and to be crucified.

 

Mockery by Soldiers. ^2764 Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus away inside the palace, that is, the praetorium, and assembled the whole cohort around him.

^

^2765/2766 They put a reed in his right hand, and kneeling before him, they mocked him, to salute him saying, “Hail, ‘King of the Jews’!”

 

²⁷⁶⁷ They kept striking his head with a reed and spitting upon him. They knelt before him in homage.  ^{2768 }And when they had mocked him, they stripped him of the scarlet cloak, dressed him in his own clothes, and led him out to crucify him.

^

²⁷⁶⁹ So they took Jesus, ²⁷⁷⁰ and, carrying the cross by himself, he went out to what is called the “Place of the Skull,” in Hebrew, Golgotha.

 

ONE Excerpt:

Chapter XV. Crucifixion and Death

 

   

ay of the Cross. ²⁷⁷¹ As they pressed him on, they took hold of a certain Simon, a Cyrenian, the father of Alexander and Rufus, who was coming in from the country.  They laid the cross on him, and pressed him into service making him carry it behind Jesus.

 

²⁷⁷² A large crowd of people followed Jesus, including many women who mourned and lamented him. ²⁷⁷³ Jesus turned to them and said, “Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me, but weep instead for yourselves and for your children. ²⁷⁷⁴ Indeed, the days are coming when people will say, ‘Blessed are the barren, and the wombs that never bore and the breasts that never nursed.’

 

²⁷⁷⁵ “At that time people will say to the mountains, ‘Fall upon us!’ and to the hills, ‘Cover us!’ ^{2776 }For if these things are done when the wood is green, what will happen when it is dry?”

 

²⁷⁷⁷ Two others, both criminals, were led away with him to be executed.

 

The Crucifixion; Father Forgive Them. ²⁷⁷⁸ And when they came to a place called “Golgotha” (which means “Place of the Skull”), ^2779 they gave Jesus wine to drink mixed with myrrh and gall.   But when he had tasted it, he refused to drink.

 

²⁷⁸⁰ It was nine o’clock in the morning when they had placed him onto the cross. ^{2781 }After being placed on the cross, ²⁷⁸² Jesus said:

 

“Father, forgive them, they know not what they do.” 

 

²⁷⁸³ Then, the soldiers took his clothes and divided them into four shares, one share for each.  They also took his tunic, but the tunic was seamless, woven in one piece from the top down, so ^2784 they divided his garments by casting lots for them to see what each should take. ²⁷⁸⁵ They said to one another, “Let’s not tear it, but cast lots for it to see whose it will be,” in order that the passage of scripture might be fulfilled:

 

They divided my garments among them,

and for my vesture they cast lots.

 

So that is what the soldiers did. ^{2786 }Then they sat down and kept watch over him there.

 

^2787  Pilate also had an inscription written and put on the cross and placed over his head, it read, “Jesus the Nazorean, the King of the Jews.” ^2788 Now, many of the Jews read this inscription, because the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city.  It was written in Hebrew, Latin, and Greek. ²⁷⁸⁹ So the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate, “Do not write ‘The King of the Jews,’ but that he said, ‘I am the King of the Jews.’” ^2790  Pilate answered, “What I have written, I have written.”

^

^2791 He was crucified with the two revolutionaries, one on his right and the other on his left.

 

^2792 The people stood by and watched, and those passing by reviled him shaking their heads, and ²⁷⁹³ the rulers, meanwhile, sneered at him ^{2794 }saying, “Aha! You who would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save yourself.  If you are the chosen one, the Messiah of God, come down from the cross!”

 

²⁷⁹⁵  Likewise the chief priests with the scribes and elders mocked him among themselves and said, ^2796 “He saved others but cannot save himself.  So, he is the king of Israel!  Let him come down from the cross now, and we will believe in him. ²⁷⁹⁷ He trusted in God.  Let him deliver him now if he wants him.  For he said, ‘I am the Son of God.’”

^

²⁷⁹⁸ Even the soldiers jeered at him.  As they approached to offer him wine ²⁷⁹⁹ they called out, “If you are ‘King of the Jews,’ save yourself.”

^

²⁸⁰⁰ There they crucified him, and with him the two others, one on each side, with Jesus in the middle. ²⁸⁰¹ And the scripture was fulfilled that says, “And he was counted among the wicked.”

 

^2802 One of the revolutionaries who was crucified with him also kept abusing him in the same way. ^2803 He reviled Jesus, saying, “Are you not the Messiah?  Save yourself and us.”

 

²⁸⁰⁴ The other, however, contradicting him, said in reply, “Have you no fear of God, for you are subject to the same judgment? ²⁸⁰⁵ We have been condemned justly, for the sentence we received corresponds to our crimes, but this man has done nothing criminal.” ²⁸⁰⁶ Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.”

 

²⁸⁰⁷ Jesus replied to him, “Amen, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.”

^ 

^Death of Jesus. ²⁸⁰⁸ It was now about noon and from noon onward, darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon ²⁸⁰⁹  because of an eclipse of the sun.

^

²⁸¹⁰ And about three o’clock, Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” 

 

²⁸¹¹ Some of the bystanders who heard it said, “He is calling for Elijah.” ^{2812  }But the rest said, “Wait, let us see if Elijah comes to save him and takes him down.”

 

²⁸¹³  Standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary of Magdala. ^2814 When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple there whom he loved, he said to his mother, “Woman, behold, your son.” ^2815 Then he said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother.” And from that hour the disciple took her into his home.

 

^2816 After this, aware that everything was now finished, in order that the scripture might be fulfilled, Jesus said, “I thirst.”

^

²⁸¹⁷ There was a vessel filled with common wine. ²⁸¹⁸ Immediately one of them ran to get a sponge.  He soaked it in wine, put it on a reed and put it up to his mouth and gave it to him to drink.

^

²⁸¹⁹ When Jesus had taken the wine, he cried out again in a loud voice, “Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.”  And, when he had said this, and bowing his head, he said, “It is finished.”

 

He breathed his last and handed over his spirit.

^

²⁸²⁰ And, behold, the veil of the sanctuary was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth quaked, rocks were split, ²⁸²¹ tombs were opened, and the bodies of many saints who had fallen asleep were raised. ²⁸²² And coming forth from their tombs after his resurrection, they entered the holy city and appeared to many.

 

²⁸²³ When the centurion who stood facing Jesus, and the others with him who were keeping watch over Jesus, saw how he breathed his last, and fearing greatly when they saw the earthquake and all that was happening, glorified God and they said, “This man was innocent beyond doubt.  Truly this man was the Son of God!”

^

²⁸²⁴ When all the people who had gathered for this scene saw what had happened, they returned home beating their breasts, ²⁸²⁵ but all his acquaintances stood at a distance.

 

²⁸²⁶ There were many women there, looking on these events from a distance, who had followed Jesus from Galilee, ministering to him.  ²⁸²⁷ Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of the younger James and Joseph, the mother of the sons of Zebedee, and Salome.^

 

Blood and Water. ^{2828 }Now, since it was preparation day, in order that the bodies would not remain on the cross on the Sabbath—for the Sabbath day of that week was a solemn one—the Jews asked Pilate that their legs be broken and they be taken down.

 

^2829 The soldiers came and broke the legs of the first and then of the other one who was crucified with Jesus. ²⁸³⁰ But, when they came to Jesus, they saw that he was already dead, so they did not break his legs. ²⁸³¹ One soldier thrust his lance into his side, and immediately blood and water flowed out.

 

²⁸³² An eyewitness testified to this, and his testimony is true.  He knows that he is speaking the truth, so that you also may believe. ²⁸³³ This happened so that the scripture passage might be fulfilled: “Not a bone of it will be broken.” ²⁸³⁴ And again another passage says: “They will look upon him whom they have pierced.”

 

 

ONE Excerpt

Chapter XVI. Burial and Resurrection

 

 

urial of Jesus. ²⁸³⁵ Now there was a good and just man named “Joseph” who, although he was a distinguished member of the council, ²⁸³⁶ had not consented to their actions regarding Jesus.  He came from the Jewish town of Arimathea and was awaiting the kingdom of God. ²⁸³⁷ He was a rich man who was himself a disciple of Jesus secretly for fear of the Jews.

 

^2838 It was already evening on the day of preparation—the day before the Sabbath—and the Sabbath was about to begin.  So, Joseph straightly went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus.

 

²⁸³⁹ Pilate was amazed that Jesus was already dead.  He summoned the centurion and asked him if Jesus had already died. 2840 And when he learned of it from the centurion, then Pilate ordered the body to be handed over to Joseph.

 

^{2841 }Nicodemus, the one who had first come to him at night, also came bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes weighing about one hundred pounds. ²⁸⁴² They took the body of Jesus down and having bought a linen cloth, bound it with clean burial cloths along with the spices, according to the Jewish burial custom.

^

^2843 Now, in the place where Jesus had been crucified, there was a garden, and, in the garden, Joseph had a new tomb that was hewn in the rock, in which no one had yet been buried. ²⁸⁴⁴ So they laid Jesus there because of the Jewish preparation day, because the tomb was nearby.