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The Crown of Thorns

¹ So then Pilate took Jesus and had Him ^(F1)(C1)scourged (flogged, whipped).^2 (C1)And the soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on His head, and put a purple robe around Him; ^(VR1)3 and they kept coming up to Him, saying mockingly, "^(C1)Hail, King of the Jews Good health! Peace! Long life to you, King of the Jews!" And they ^(C2)slapped Him in the face. ^(VR1)4 Then Pilate ^(C1)came out again and said to them, "Look, I am bringing Him out to you so that you may know that ^(C2)I find no guilt in Him no crime, no cause for an accusation."⁵ So Jesus came out, ^(C1)wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe, and Pilate said to them, "Look! The Man!"⁶ When the chief priests and ^(C1)officers saw Him, they shouted, "Crucify Him! Crucify Him!" Pilate said to them, "Take Him yourselves and crucify Him, for ^(C2)I find no guilt in Him no crime, no cause for an accusation." ^(VR1)7 The Jews answered him, "^(C1)We have a law regarding blasphemy, and according to that law He should die, because He ^(C2)made Himself out to be the Son of God." ^(VR1)

⁸ So when Pilate heard this said, he was even more ^(F1)alarmed and afraid.⁹ He ^(C1)went into the Praetorium again and said to Jesus, "Where are You from?" But ^(C2)Jesus did not answer him. ^(VR1)10 So Pilate said to Him, "You do not speak to me? Do You not know that I have authority to release You, and I have authority to crucify You?"¹¹ Jesus answered, "^(C1)You would have no authority over Me at all if it had not been given to you from above. For this reason the sin and guilt of ^(C2)the ^(F1)one who handed Me over to you is greater than your own."¹² As a result of this, Pilate kept making efforts to release Him, but the Jews kept screaming, "^(F1)(C1)If you release this Man, you are no friend of Caesar! Anyone who makes himself out to be a king opposes Caesar and rebels against the emperor!"

¹³ When Pilate heard this, he brought Jesus out, and ^(C1)sat down on the judgment seat at a place called ^(F1)The Pavement, but ^(C2)in ^(F2)Hebrew, Gabbatha.¹⁴ Now it was ^(C1)the day of Preparation for the ^(F1)Passover week, and it was about the ^(C2)sixth hour (noon). He said to the Jews, "Look, ^(C3)your King!"¹⁵ But they shouted, "^(C1)Away with Him, away with Him, crucify Him!" Pilate said to them, "Shall I crucify your King?" The chief priests answered, "We have no king but Caesar!"

The Crucifixion

¹⁷ So ^(C1)they took Jesus, and He went out, ^(F1)(C2)bearing His own cross, to the place called ^(F2)(C3)the Place of the Skull, which is called ^(C4)in Hebrew, Golgotha. ^(VR1)18 There they crucified Him, and with Him ^(C1)two others, one on either side, and Jesus between them. ^(VR1)19 Pilate also wrote an inscription on a placard and put it on the cross. And it was written: "^(C1)JESUS THE NAZARENE, ^(C2)THE KING OF THE JEWS." ^(VR1)20 And many of the Jews read this inscription, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city; and it was written ^(C1)in Hebrew, in Latin, and in Greek.²¹ Then the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate, "Do not write, '^(C1)The King of the Jews'; but, 'He said, "I am ^(C1)King of the Jews."'"²² Pilate replied, "^(C1)What I have written I have written and it remains written."

²³ Then ^(C1)the soldiers, when they had crucified Jesus, took His outer clothes and made ^(C2)four parts, a part for each soldier, and also the tunic. But the ^(F1)tunic was seamless, woven in one piece from the top throughout. ^(VR1)24 So they said to one another, "^(C1)Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it, to decide whose it will be." This was ^(C2)to fulfill the Scripture, "THEY ^(C3)DIVIDED MY OUTER CLOTHING AMONG THEM, AND FOR MY CLOTHING THEY CAST LOTS." ^(VR1)

²⁵ So the soldiers did these things. ^(C1)But standing by the cross of Jesus were ^(C2)His mother, His mother's sister ^(F1)Salome, ^(F2)Mary the wife of Clopas, and ^(C3)Mary Magdalene. ^(VR1)26 So Jesus, seeing His mother, and the ^(F1)(C1)disciple whom He loved (esteemed) standing near, said to His mother, "Dear ^(C2)woman, look, here is your son!"²⁷ Then He said to the disciple (John), "Look! here is your mother protect and provide for her!" From that hour the disciple took her into ^(C1)his own home.

²⁸ After this, Jesus, ^(C1)knowing that all was now finished, said ^(C2)in fulfillment of the Scripture, "^(C3)I am thirsty." ^(VR1)29 A jar full of ^(F1)sour wine was placed there; so ^(C1)they put a sponge soaked in the sour wine on a branch of hyssop and held it to His mouth. ^(VR1)30 When Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, "^(C1)It is finished!" And He bowed His head and voluntarily ^(F1)(C2)gave up His spirit.

Care of the Body of Jesus

³¹ Since it was ^(C1)the day of Preparation for the Sabbath, in order to prevent ^(C2)the bodies from hanging on the cross on the Sabbath (for that Sabbath was a ^(C3)high holy day) the Jews asked Pilate to have their legs ^(F1)broken to hasten death and the bodies taken away.³² So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first man, and of the other who had been ^(C1)crucified with Him.³³ But when they came to Jesus and saw that He was already dead, they did not break His legs.³⁴ But one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately ^(C1)blood and water came flowing out.³⁵ And he (John, the eyewitness) who has seen it has ^(C1)testified, and his testimony is true; and he knows that he is telling the truth, so that you also who read this may believe.³⁶ For these things took place ^(C1)to fulfill the Scripture, "^(C2)NOT A BONE OF HIS SHALL BE BROKEN." ^(VR1)37 And again another Scripture says, "^(C1)THEY SHALL LOOK AT HIM WHOM THEY HAVE PIERCED." ^(VR1)

^38 (C1)And after this, Joseph of Arimathea—a disciple of Jesus, but ^(C2)secretly for ^(C3)fear of the Jews—asked Pilate to let him take away the body of Jesus; and Pilate gave him permission. So he came and took away His body. ^{(VR1)39 (C1)}Nicodemus, who had first come to Him at night, also came ^(C2)bringing a mixture of ^(C3)myrrh and aloes, weighing about a ^(C4)hundred Roman ^(F1)pounds.⁴⁰ So they took Jesus' body and ^(C1)bound it in ^(C2)linen wrappings with the fragrant spices, as is the burial custom of the Jews.⁴¹ Now there was a garden at the place where He was crucified, and in the garden a ^(C1)new tomb cut out of solid rock ^(C2)in which no one had yet been laid.⁴² Therefore, because of the Jewish day of ^(C1)Preparation, and since the tomb was ^(C2)nearby, they laid Jesus there.