Study Desk

Jesus Before Pilate^(a)

Very early in the morning, the chief priests, with the elders, the teachers of the law^(b) and the whole Sanhedrin,^(c) made their plans. So they bound Jesus, led him away and handed him over to Pilate.^(d)

"Are you the king of the Jews?"^(e) asked Pilate. "You have said so," Jesus replied.

The chief priests accused him of many things.

So again Pilate asked him, "Aren't you going to answer? See how many things they are accusing you of."

But Jesus still made no reply,^(f) and Pilate was amazed.

Now it was the custom at the festival to release a prisoner whom the people requested.

A man called Barabbas was in prison with the insurrectionists who had committed murder in the uprising.

The crowd came up and asked Pilate to do for them what he usually did.

"Do you want me to release to you the king of the Jews?"^(g) asked Pilate,

knowing it was out of self-interest that the chief priests had handed Jesus over to him.

But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to have Pilate release Barabbas^(h) instead.

"What shall I do, then, with the one you call the king of the Jews?" Pilate asked them.

"Crucify him!" they shouted.

"Why? What crime has he committed?" asked Pilate. But they shouted all the louder, "Crucify him!"

Wanting to satisfy the crowd, Pilate released Barabbas to them. He had Jesus flogged,⁽ⁱ⁾ and handed him over to be crucified.

The soldiers led Jesus away into the palace^(k) (that is, the Praetorium) and called together the whole company of soldiers.

They put a purple robe on him, then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on him.

And they began to call out to him, "Hail, king of the Jews!"^(l)

Again and again they struck him on the head with a staff and spit on him. Falling on their knees, they paid homage to him.

And when they had mocked him, they took off the purple robe and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him out^(m) to crucify him.