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The Crown of Thorns

¹ So Pilate then took Jesus and ^(F1)(C1)had Him flogged.^2 (C1)And the soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and placed it on His head, and put a purple ^(F1)cloak on Him;³ and they repeatedly came up to Him and said, "^(C1)Hail, King of the Jews!" and ^(C2)slapped Him in the face again and again.⁴ And then Pilate ^(C1)came out again and ^(*)said to them, "See, I am bringing Him out to you so that you will know that ^(C2)I find no grounds at all for charges in ^(F1)His case."⁵ Jesus then came out, ^(C1)wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. And Pilate ^(*)said to them, "Behold, the Man!"⁶ So when the chief priests and the ^(C1)officers saw Him, they shouted, saying, "Crucify, crucify!" Pilate ^(*)said to them, "Take Him yourselves and crucify Him; for ^(C2)I find no grounds for charges in ^(F1)His case!"⁷ The Jews answered him, "^(C1)We have a law, and by that law He ought to die, because He ^(C2)made Himself out to be the Son of God!"

⁸ Therefore when Pilate heard this statement, he was even more afraid;⁹ and he ^(C1)entered the ^(F1)Praetorium again and ^(*)said to Jesus, "Where are You from?" But ^(C2)Jesus gave him no answer.¹⁰ So Pilate ^(*)said to Him, "Are you not speaking to me? Do You not know that I have authority to release You, and I have authority to crucify You?"¹¹ Jesus answered him, "^(C1)You would have no authority ^(F1)over Me at all, if it had not been given to you from above; for this reason ^(C2)the one who handed Me over to you has the greater sin."¹² As a result of this, Pilate ^(F1)made efforts to release Him; but the Jews shouted, saying, "^(C1)If you release this Man, you are not a friend of Caesar; everyone who makes himself out to be a king ^(F2)opposes Caesar!"

¹³ Therefore when Pilate heard these words, 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 Passover; it was about the ^(F1)(C2)sixth hour. And he ^(*)said to the Jews, "Look, ^(C3)your King!"¹⁵ So 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 except Caesar."

The Crucifixion

^17 (C1)They took Jesus, therefore, and He went out, ^(F1)(C2)carrying His own cross, to the place called ^(C3)the Place of a Skull, which ^(C4)in ^(F2)Hebrew is called, Golgotha.¹⁸ There they crucified Him, and with Him ^(C1)two other men, one on either side, and Jesus in between.¹⁹ Now Pilate also wrote an inscription and put it on the cross. It was written: "^(C1)JESUS THE NAZARENE, ^(C2)THE KING OF THE JEWS."²⁰ Therefore many of the Jews read this inscription, because the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city; and it was written ^(C1)in ^(F1)Hebrew, Latin, and in Greek.²¹ So the chief priests of the Jews were saying to Pilate, "Do not write, '^(C1)The King of the Jews'; rather, write that He said, 'I am ^(C1)King of the Jews.'"²² Pilate answered, "^(C1)What I have written, I have written."

²³ Then ^(C1)the soldiers, when they had crucified Jesus, took His outer garments and made ^(C2)four parts: a part to each soldier, and the ^(F1)tunic also; but the tunic was seamless, woven ^(F2)in one piece.²⁴ So they said to one another, "^(C1)Let's not tear it, but cast lots for it, to decide whose it shall be." ^(C2)This happened so that the Scripture would be fulfilled: "THEY ^(C3)DIVIDED MY GARMENTS AMONG THEMSELVES, AND THEY CAST ^(F1)LOTS FOR MY CLOTHING." Therefore the soldiers did these things.

^25 (C1)Now beside the cross of Jesus stood ^(C2)His mother, His mother's sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and ^(C3)Mary Magdalene.²⁶ So when Jesus saw His mother, and ^(C1)the disciple whom He loved standing nearby, He ^(*)said to His mother, "^(C2)Woman, behold, your son!"²⁷ Then He ^(*)said to the disciple, "Behold, your mother!" And from that hour the disciple took her into ^(C1)his own household.

²⁸ After this, Jesus, ^(C1)knowing that all things had already been accomplished, ^(C2)in order that the Scripture would be fulfilled, ^(*)said, "^(C3)I am thirsty."²⁹ A jar full of sour wine was standing there; so ^(C1)they put a sponge full of the sour wine on a branch of hyssop and brought it up to His mouth.³⁰ Therefore when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, "^(C1)It is finished!" And He bowed His head and ^(C2)gave up His spirit.

Care of the Body of Jesus

³¹ Now then, since it was ^(C1)the day of preparation, to prevent ^(C2)the bodies from remaining on the cross on the Sabbath (^(F1)for that Sabbath was a ^(C3)high day), the Jews requested of Pilate that their legs be broken, and the bodies be taken away.³² So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first man, and of the other who was ^(C1)crucified with Him;³³ but after they came to Jesus, when they saw that He was already dead, they did not break His legs.³⁴ Yet one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately ^(C1)blood and water came out.³⁵ And he who has seen has ^(C1)testified, and his testimony is true; and he knows that he is telling the truth, so that you also may believe.³⁶ For these things took place ^(C1)so that the Scripture would be fulfilled: "^(C2)NOT A BONE OF HIM SHALL BE ^(F1)BROKEN."³⁷ And again another Scripture says, "^(C1)THEY WILL LOOK AT HIM WHOM THEY PIERCED."

³⁸ Now ^(C1)after these things Joseph of Arimathea, being a disciple of Jesus, but a ^(C2)secret one for ^(C3)fear of the ^(F1)Jews, requested of Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus; and Pilate granted permission. So he came and took away His body.^39 (C1)Nicodemus, who had first come to Him by night, also came, ^(C2)bringing a ^(F1)mixture of ^(C3)myrrh and aloes, about a ^(F2)(C4)hundred litras weight.⁴⁰ So they took the body of Jesus and ^(C1)bound it in ^(C2)linen wrappings with the spices, as is the burial custom of the Jews.⁴¹ Now in the place where He was crucified there was a garden, and in the garden was a ^(C1)new tomb ^(C2)in which no one had yet been laid.⁴² Therefore because of the Jewish day of ^(C1)preparation, since the tomb was ^(C2)nearby, they laid Jesus there.