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String Him Up

¹ Then Pilate had Jesus beaten with a whip. ² The Roman soldiers made a crown of thorns and put it on Jesus's head. They threw a purple robe around him ³ and made fun of him saying, "All hail the king of the Jews!" Then they would slap him on the face.

⁴ Pilate went outside again and said, "I've done my part. I'm telling you now that I find no basis for the charges brought against him." ⁵ The soldiers brought Jesus out with the crown of thorns and the purple robe. Pilate said, "Look, here he is."

⁶ As soon as he said this, the crowd exploded. "String him up! String him up!"

But Pilate said, "You do it. I can find no wrong in him."

⁷ The Jews pressured him and said, "Our law states that any man who claims to be the Son of God must die."

⁸ When Pilate heard this, he started getting worried. ⁹ He brought Jesus with him back into the mansion and asked him, "Where are you from?" But Jesus said nothing.

¹⁰ Pilate continued, "Will you say nothing in your defense? On my authority, I can have you freed or killed."

¹¹ Jesus then spoke up and said, "The only authority over me that you have is the authority that my Father gives you. The man who double-crossed me has committed a far greater sin."

¹² Pilate again tried to release Jesus, but the Jewish leader yelled, "This man is claiming to be above Caesar. That makes him a rebel and you just as bad for allowing it."

¹³ Pilate brought Jesus back out and sat down in the judge's chair (in Aramaic, it's called Gabbatha). ¹⁴ It was now about noon on the day of preparation of the Passover.

"Here is your king," Pilate announced.

¹⁵ But the crowd erupted and said, "Take him out and string him up. Kill him!"

"You want me to kill your king?" Pilate asked incredulously.

"Our king is Caesar," the head preachers yelled.

¹⁶ Finally, Pilate gave the order to string Jesus up.

Jesus Is Crucified

Jesus was then led away. ¹⁷ He carried his own cross to the place called the Skull (in Aramaic, it's called Golgotha). ¹⁸ The Romans strung him up between two thieves.

¹⁹ Pilate had the last word and had a sign posted on Jesus's cross that said, "Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews." ²⁰ The killing spot was near the city, and many people saw the sign. It was even posted in three languages: Hebrew, Latin, and Greek.

²¹ The religious leaders objected and asked the sign be changed to, "He said he was the king of the Jews."

²² But Pilate replied, "What's written is written."

²³ After Jesus was strung up, the soldiers took his clothes and divided the spoils among the four of them. The only thing that was left was his robe and they didn't want to tear it. ²⁴ The soldiers said, "Let's roll dice to see who gets the best part." This happened because the Good Book said, "They divided my clothes among themselves. They gambled for my garments." And this is what happened.

²⁵ Near the foot of the cross stood Jesus's momma, his momma's sister, Mary the bride of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. ²⁶ When Jesus saw his momma, standing there with the cowboy who he loved so much, he said, "Momma, here is your son," ²⁷ and to the cowboy he said, "Here is your momma." That cowboy took care of her the rest of her life.

Jesus Dies

²⁸ After this, when everything had nearly been accomplished, Jesus said, "I'm so thirsty." He said this to fulfill the Good Book's final prophecy about his death. ²⁹ A jar of sour wine was nearby. The soldiers dipped a sponge in the vinegar and held it up for him to drink. ³⁰ He drank some and said, "It is done." And his last breath left his body with his spirit.

³¹ All this happened on Friday. The next day was a very special day of rest and the Jews didn't want any bodies hanging around. They asked Pilate if he would break the legs of those on the crosses so they would die faster and their bodies could be removed. ³² Pilate agreed, and the soldiers broke the legs of the two men on either side of Jesus.

³³ When the soldiers saw Jesus had already died, they didn't break his legs. ³⁴ They did stab him in the side with a spear. Blood and water poured out. ³⁵ The cowboy who saw it is giving an eyewitness account so that you may believe. ³⁶ These things happened to fulfill the scripture that said, "No bone will be broken," ³⁷ and another that said, "They will look at the one who has been stabbed."

Jesus Is Buried

³⁸ Later, Joseph from Arimathea asked Pilate if he could have Jesus's body. Joseph was a secret rider for Jesus because he was afraid of the Jews. With Pilate's permission, he took Jesus's body away. ³⁹ Nicodemus, the fellow who had visited Jesus under the cover of darkness, gave him a hand. He brought some stuff to put on Jesus's body for burial. ⁴⁰ They followed the Jewish custom and wrapped Jesus in a long linen cloth. ⁴¹ There was a new tomb near the place where Jesus died⁴² and they laid him in it because of the Day of Preparation.